Let's Get Motarded!
Aprilia Dorsoduro 1200 vs. Ducati Hypermotard 1100 EVO SP
LET’S GET Motarded!
DON CANET
THE MAXI-MOTARD IS ESSENTIALLY A FRAT PARTY ON TWO wheels. Overdone substance abuse, togas and giving in to your most sordid impulses? Sure, as long as the substances are fuel and rubber, your toga is leather and “getting it up” refers to one of your wheels.
Don’t forget your helmet!
It's true that the Aprilia Dorsoduro 1200 and Ducati Hypermotard 1100 EVO SP are a far cry from supermoto's converted-dirtbike roots. But they retain key supermoto attributes like roomy, upright, moto-centric ergos and generous suspension travel, both of which are great for general street use. Even better, highly maneuverable maxi-motards offer pure, infectious fun while instilling a superhu man sense of confidence for roosting the nastiest paved lumps and bumps of daily travel.
Introduced a year ago, the Hypermotard 1100 EVO SP is the flagship model of Ducati’s Hyper trio, which includes lower-spec 1100 EVO and 796 versions. While the SP shares an identical engine specification to its standardmodel sibling, component upgrades help deliver sharper handling. The massive 50mm Marzocchi fork has been treated to a 1.2-inch increase in travel and a friction-reducing diamond-like coating, while an Öhlins shock stands in for the standard’s Sachs damper. Forged aluminum Marchesini wheels weigh less than the standard model’s cast wheels, while the Brembo Monobloc radialmount calipers borrowed from the 1198 SP parts bin provide incredible stopping power. A few choice carbon-fiber bits further lighten the load while adding to the heavy-hitter look and exclusivity of the bike’s Ducati Corse livery.
Arriving stateside a year after its 2010 European debut, the Aprilia Dorsoduro 1200 is the highly anticipated followup to the company’s 750cc Shiver and Dorsoduro models. While we like those two bikes, the big Dorso gets an all-new liquid-cooled 1197cc engine that shares little with its 750cc predecessor and brings a welcome whack of extra power. The big Twin’s highly oversquare bore/ stroke ratio features a shorter stroke than even that of the 1078cc air-cooled Ducati and certainly contributes to the Dorso’s higher rev ceiling. Aprilia’s triple-map, ride-by-wire fuel injection offers Sport, Touring and Rain settings that can be toggled through on the fly. Chassis construction is a combination of tubular-steel trellis and lateral aluminum plates, while suspension consists of an inverted 43mm fork with radialmount Brembo calipers and an easily accessed side-mounted Sachs shock.
CW COMPARISON
Comparative analysis of dyno pulls shows the Dorso producing a very broad spread of torque with an impressive topend punch that dwarfs the Ducati’s peak output. In addition to a power advantage throughout the upper third of the rev range, the Aprilia spins 1000 rpm beyond the Ducati’s 8500-rpm limit. The twovalve-per-cylinder Due puts up a good fight below 6000 rpm, and its 5850-rpm torque peak (1770 rpm lower than on the Dorso) offers insight into the different tuning emphasis at play here.
The Hyper counters its peak power deficit by combining competitive lowerrpm torque with a 70-pound weight advantage, effectively taking a big bite out of the brutish Dorso’s power advantage in real-world acceleration at low-tomedium speeds. Both bikes pack the punch to easily loft a low-gear power wheelie with a snap of the throttle. Considering the importance of wheelie ability for many maxi-motard owners, it’s worth noting that we found floating a smooth wheelie on the Dorso very difficult to achieve. Even a slight roll off
the throttle often resulted in abrupt power reduction that caused the front wheel to plummet. The Ducati’s predictable response and linear delivery lends itself to carrying a multi-gear wheelie in style.
Fortunately, the Dorso’s throttle characteristics didn’t prove problematic for normal riding. In fact, ftieling and rideby-wire throttle mapping felt much more refined than on any 750 Dorso or Shiver we’ve tested. Idle is ultra-steady, and the big engine pulls the bike away from a standstill with uncanny ease. Around town, the big Dorso cruises with impressive fluidity and refinement at low revs, whereas the Hyper tends to hunt and lurch if asked to hold a steady pace below 3000 rpm. While you’ll always feel
the Dorso’s extra mass, the bike’s exceptional steering lock, feline-like balance and lurchless drivetrain make it my pick for low-speed maneuvering. Both bikes find their stride at freeway cruise with only modest vibration levels felt in the grips, footpegs or frame.
Lofty saddle heights had me tiptoeing with my 32-inch inseam when I backed either machine out of a parking stall; at least I could completely flat-foot one boot at stops. We initially picked the Due’s broad saddle as a clear-cut comfort winner due to the Dorso’s poorly located passenger grab strap (it runs right across the meat of the seat where one tends to sit). Thankfully, the strap can be tucked beneath the seat in a not-so-obvious remedy that we highly recommend.
Riding this pair at speed on sporting backroads was both thrilling and revealing. Ridden on its own, the Dorso feels highly competent for clipping apexes, offering abundant cornering clearance and the composure to put its Dunlop Sportmax Qualifiers to full use. The chassis feels nicely planted and stable, exhibiting less fore/aft weight transfer motion than your typical long-travel road bike. This was particularly reassuring when aggressively clamping hard on those dual Brembos up front; there was much less fork dive than with the more softly sprung Hypermotard.
But as the pace heated up, the Hypermotard really began to rock ’n’ roll! Living up to its Hyper name, the bike has a shorter wheelbase, greater compactness and relative lightness in both steering feel and actual weight that could not be denied. Effortless feel entering and exiting turns, an ability to hold a tighter line and clawing the road with stickier Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa radiais resulted in a cornering prowess that left the Dorso nipping at the Hypermotard’s heels.
After pulling a couple of backroad equivalents to an allnight party, things actually came into focus.
Thanks to this first application of Aprilia’s new 1200 powerplant, the big Dorso succeeds in elevating the anticipation of what’s next from the Noale-based company. Because if it’s engine performance and outright speed you’re looking for in a maxi-motard, the Dorsoduro 1200 is the machine to fulfill that desire, all while still providing a high degree of everyday civility. But if you’re seeking a nimble partner for bad behavior to feed that supermoto need in a perfectly livable day-to-day package, the Hypermotard 1100 EVO SP is a willing accomplice. Think of it as practical insanity, or a ffat party on two wheels with essentially no hangover. H
APRILIA
DORSODURO 1200
$11,999
DUCATI
HYPERMOTARD 1100 EVO SP
$14,495
