Husaberg motorcycles may not be mainstream, but they are cool. In an era of fat, slow four-stroke play bikes Husaberg became famous for effective, yet agriculturally simple, racing thumpers. Long before Yamaha ushered in the four-stroke revolution Husaberg was capturing world titles. In fact, the company has something like 20 FIM World Titles, in various disciplines, to their credit.
Showing posts with label Adventure. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Adventure. Show all posts
Husaberg FE570
Husaberg motorcycles may not be mainstream, but they are cool. In an era of fat, slow four-stroke play bikes Husaberg became famous for effective, yet agriculturally simple, racing thumpers. Long before Yamaha ushered in the four-stroke revolution Husaberg was capturing world titles. In fact, the company has something like 20 FIM World Titles, in various disciplines, to their credit. Husaberg FE570 – Part III
Our Vet off-road guy loved it but thinks it’s too soft. Our second Vet tester also loved the bike, thinking it would make a great hardcore dual sport bike. Our motocross guy wants an FE570 to use for ice racing. The slow guy likes it better than the KTM530 for trail riding, but even he wants the suspension a little stiffer.
BMW F800GS – I
This BMW, while not the biggest two-wheeled SUV on the block, still makes something like 85 horsepower and weighs a scale-crushing 455 pounds. That’s average by street standards, but compared to even a big fat Honda XR650L or KTM 640 Adventure single-cylinder dual-sport bike, it seems huge.
BMW F800GS – III
Things that bothered us the most about the F800GS were the wide rear end, the non-adjustable brake pedal height and the tricky-to-use turnsignal controls. At highway speeds of 75 mph, wind buffeting gets gnarly, especially if you’re wearing motocross gear. Ridden on the street, the firm saddle, motocross footpegs and motocross handlebars might even be too dirt-bikey to be truly comfortable for long trips. But if we had to choose a bike to ride from coast to coast, using only dirt roads, an F800GS with a few simple mods and some non-essential items trimmed off to reduce weight would be totally up to the task!
Aprilia Shiver 750
Though the latest SL750 hasn’t received sweeping changes from the 2008/09 versions, the few changes it has are largely a result of Shiver customer input, according to Aprilia. A narrower saddle, a new flyscreen, lower handlebars and rear-set foot controls are meant to impart a sportier feeling bike, while wave brake rotors, a narrower (5.5” vs. 6.0”) rear wheel and updated fuel mapping round out the technical upgrades.
Aprilia Shiver 750
Aprilia Shiver 750 – II
No changes are listed for the liquid-cooled, four-valves-per cylinder, DOHC, 749cc, 90-degree Twin, yet it made a different impression on me this time out. And by different I mean it’s a barrel o’ monkeys to whack the throttle open, fan the clutch and try to contain the front-end. Also unchanged is the funky undertail exhaust, but here again I thought I should’ve remembered such a burly noisemaker providing a neat pop and burble on the overrun after you slam the throttle shut from higher rpm.
The one thing I’d like to see eliminated from the mode switching procedure is the need for a fully closed throttle before mode changes take place. While bombing down the interstate (or just about anywhere, really) I don’t care to decelerate to wait for the mode to switch, and then have to crank the throttle to catch up to where I once was. After all, it’s not like there’s such a great chasm of power between modes that the Shiver might suddenly rear up, whinny, and dump her unsuspecting rider.
Aprilia Dorsoduro 1200 – I
The Dorsoduro 1200 is liquid-cooled just like its little brother the 750. Due to this there’s a wide radiator messing with the supermoto riding style a little as your boots can’t reach as far forward to the front wheel as on a proper motard.
The Dorsoduro 1200 is a fairly heavy machine (457 pounds claimed dry weight) compared to something like the Ducati Hypermotard but with 30 extra horsepower to compensate. The chassis is ultra stable for this type of bike. Nailing the throttle out of first and second gear corners there’s nothing but smoothness with the correct traction control and riding mode selected.
Aprilia Dorsoduro 1200
Riding a supermotard to the limit sliding in and out of corners requires some superhuman skills on something like the SXV. The Dorsoduro 1200, however, allows the street-riding public to approach some of those skills in a safe way. With that big 1197cc engine and stiff chassis, I couldn’t feel anything resembling that of riding a heavy bike. The Dorso 1200 just feels nimble and willing to all inputs.
Aprilia Dorsoduro 1200 – III
The 1197cc liquid-cooled 90-degree-vee engine has got that full and rich V-Twin feel that’s missing on the 750. The midrange is rich with torque and Twin goodness, and it accelerates in a rewarding fashion all the way from 4000 rpm and up to the max power of 130 hp at 8700 rpm. In high gears with low load there’s a fine push from 5000 revs. Maximum torque of 84.8 ft-lb at 7200 rpm ensures plenty of momentum even at much lower rpm, exemplifying of a nice and flat curve.
Aprilia Dorsoduro 1200
