These days, manufacturers are extremely secretive about their new models pre-launch. Test mules have their badges removed and are cloaked with cloth, false panels and whatnot. But Aprilia, it seems, would rather have you read the owner’s manual on the net much before the world even sees the real motorcycle – the bike in question being the Dorsoduro 1200, which has yet to be unveiled.
The 1200 is slated to be the elder sibling to the current Dorsoduro 750. Now, as the manual says, the 1200 will make approximately 135 bhp at 9500 rpm with a very healthy torque output of 10.5 kgm at 4000 rpm. That’s more than ample to fling a very happy rider along with the 1200’s dry weight of 212 kg. It gets better.
Featuring fuel injection (predictably), the motor is slung onto a chassis made of steel and aluminium and sprung from a pair of 43 mm inverted forks, at the front, which are three-way adjustable – the rear sports a hydraulic shock absorber. Dual discs of 320 mm are bitten onto by a pair of 4-piston callipers at the fore, while a sole 240 mm disc handles the aft. We are wondering whether this ‘leak’ was really a faux pas or a very crafty way to whet the appetite of anxious motorcyclists around the world. In any case, we thoroughly like what we read.
