The Dorsoduro Thread

Discussion in 'Moto Bellissima: All Other Dualsports' started by Yooper-at-heart, Feb 4, 2010.

  1. Yooper-at-heart

    Yooper-at-heart Moto Adventurer

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    *Alright, being a former "the DR650 thread" and "the DR350 thread" regular I am hoping to start a Aprilia Dorsoduro owners thread. I'm not sure how many of you are out there yet.

    I'm picking one up next week and I am jacked. It looks sweet and I think it's going to make a great mid distance adventure bike. I plan on getting the oem saddle bags and hopefully a removable windscreen for longer trips to start out with.

    I know a few have mentioned a removable windscreen would be nice. I found a dorsoduro specific windscreen on the Puig website. You can't order strait from them. I called AF1 Racing to see if they could order one and they said they will try to include it in their next order and let me know. There number is 877-626-3966, if you would want one call them. Maybe if enough people show interest they will order some for sure.

    Anyways, I hope this thread catches on.
    #1
  2. GB

    GB . Administrator Super Moderator

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    I think there's a thread on it in Road Warriors. Have a look there see if you can find it.
    #2
  3. ram1000

    ram1000 Long timer

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    I have a DD and two DRs. I put an old windscreen from a 2003 GSXR 1000 on. Pictures later. I also rode mine 10000 the first year 2009. I would not recommended the Aprilia bags since they are so small and look backwards to me. More later.

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    #3
  4. ram1000

    ram1000 Long timer

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    The wind screen is the lowest turbulance setup I have every seen on my streetbikes
    No time to be building racks for other bikes.
    #4
  5. hey guys. Great to see a few other Aprilia riders floating around. I know she wasn't designed for touring but I will also be taking some long rides this summer.

    I'm still working on the setup. I plan to get the aprilia bags as most of my riding will be shorter 3 or 4 day trips and I like the factory look.

    What has everyone been doing on the fuel capacity issue? I ride with two BMW GS' and they could go all day without a stop but the DD is ready for a refill after only ~90miles (to low fuel). I've never run it dry and am usually putting nearly a full gallon in when the light is just on - so I know the range can be slightly extended just by adding risk.

    Thanks for the windscreen tip as well. I saw Pigulia (sp?) has a formal solution but I think the GSXR fix looks better and probably has much greater coverage. How did you secure it? Is it removable?
    #5
  6. ram1000

    ram1000 Long timer

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    I took off for Texas (4000 miles) with only 1000 miles on the odo last summer. I took two 1 gallon cans along packed into two backpacks laid over my tent and sleeping bag. I used it about a half dozen times but normally I could get to a gas station before needing to unpack my extra fuel. I got about 42-44 miles a gallon normally but when traffic slowed I would get a litle more- as much as 50+ mpg. Anything above 70 would take my mileage down to 40 or so. I had to buy a rear tire in Dallas and found a Shinko for $120. I changed in at my son-in-laws garage. That tire was just about wore out when I got back to Oregon.
    #6
  7. ram1000

    ram1000 Long timer

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    At first I just slide the screen in front of the gauges and behond the headlight screen with velcro on both respective parts. I didn't like the fact that it still moved around a little so I drilled two holes through the top outside edges of the headlight screen and through the GSXR screen and put in a couple screws with rubber between everything. I had to cut the outside edges of the screen off to fit. I also painted the back of the screen flat black which shows as glossy black on the front.
    #7
  8. YakSpout

    YakSpout Obstacle Allusion

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    I ordered my '09 on 12-30-09. Picked it up on 1-15-10. I got on decent ride in and had to put it away during the SoCal monsoon. Took a snowboarding trip the next weekend and finally got to commute on it on 1-26-10. Let my friend swap bikes on 1-27-10 during a lunch-hour ride and he tossed it down the road. I got it back from the shop last Saturday and it looks brand new.

    Only mods so far are an Evotech radiator guard, an Evotech tail tidy and the Aprilia gel seat. I have a set of grip heaters that I'll put on when I have a chance and maybe a small rear bag of some sort.

    This bike is a strictly a commuter/weekend canyon ride for me, so it won't see any real touring duty.

    Oh, and no more bike-swapping. :evil
    #8
  9. RaY YreKa

    RaY YreKa AA Zoom Baby

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    Lovely bikes. I'm jealous.
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  10. YakSpout

    YakSpout Obstacle Allusion

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    It's not a huge difference, but I think it's worth the money. I've ridden about 4 hours at a stretch on the stocker and it started to get uncomfortable at that point. I've only had the gel seat on for a week and haven't been able to ride more than about an hour on it, but it feels a bit better.

    A screen would be helpful. I'll keep an eye out on af1racing.com for the Puig.

    Which ECU mode do you guys use most often?

    S is a lot of fun, but it's really touchy and makes lane-splitting rather interesting. (The wide bars and mirrors don't help that either.) T doesn't have the same exhaust bark or quick response, but seems to work better when I'm riding in town. R is just plain silly. I nearly stalled the bike the first time I tried it. It takes so much throttle movement to get the motor to respond.
    #10
  11. YakSpout

    YakSpout Obstacle Allusion

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    Just received my DNA high-flow filter. Too bad I don't have the time to install it or the grip heaters right now. I also want to pull the evap canister. Jeez, that thing's ugly.

    I've been commuting on the Dorso for a couple weeks now and it's a blast. My previous bike was a CBR954RR, which could slide between cars more easily, but I like the riding position, the torque and the nimble feel of the Dorso so much better. And it's fun below 60mph, while the CBR wasn't much fun until you exceeded the speed limit.

    The 600 mile service is rapidly approaching. I've got a pretty nasty lean surge in S mode between 4-5K RPM. I'll ask them to take a look at that.
    #11
  12. Cortez

    Cortez BAZINGA!

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    They'll tell you to swap to T mode for anything other then WOT riding.
    :huh
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  13. YakSpout

    YakSpout Obstacle Allusion

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    That's about what I figured. I've left it in S and tried to avoid that part of the rev range. It's not that big a deal unless I'm splitting/filtering.
    #13
  14. YakSpout

    YakSpout Obstacle Allusion

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    Not yet. I'm going to put grip heaters on it when I get a chance. I may add an outlet then.
    #14
  15. SlipChip

    SlipChip Adventure Commuter

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    As (not)featured on the back page of the current Cycle World!:huh

    You wouldn't even know they had the bike in the lineup.

    :dunno
    #15
  16. YakSpout

    YakSpout Obstacle Allusion

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    You got it. I'll probably post pics and a write up over at the Dorso forum on www.apriliaforum.com.
    #16
  17. RaY YreKa

    RaY YreKa AA Zoom Baby

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    It's a bit of a sleeper isn't it? The 'Dorso was voted 4th best Aprilia, by readers, in one of the mags here.
    #17
  18. YakSpout

    YakSpout Obstacle Allusion

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    Excellent. You'll like the seat better than the stock one, I'm sure.

    Could you put be down as first in line for the windscreen if you choose to sell the duplicate? I saw the Puig on AF1 and, depending on mount options, it looks okay. (I'd like to know in advance if it requires any drilling, etc., but AF1 doesn't give a whole of detail on their descriptions.)

    In other Dorso news, mine is at the dealer for the 600mi service. Goodbye 6K rpm break-in period. :D
    #18
  19. YakSpout

    YakSpout Obstacle Allusion

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    Sweet! Thanks.

    I performed an evap cannister-ectomy today. Pulled the vacuum line that runs to the rear cylinder and plugged the hole. Then re-routed the fuel tank vent line to the right side of the engine. Definitely cleaned up the look of the engine.
    #19
  20. YakSpout

    YakSpout Obstacle Allusion

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    Forgot to add... I was going to tackle the grips today and add a molex connector as well, but ran out of time this morning. I'm going to put a small terminal block and a relay under the seat. The block will get its power from the battery, but won't be on until the taillight wire powers the relay.

    I'll use the block to power the grips and the molex connector. Or I might just leave the molex plugged right into the battery so I can use a battery tender on it... Not sure yet.
    #20