My Dorsoduro ride

[jrflanne]

Took AF1's 1200 out for a tankfull yesterday.
The good:
The basic motorcycle was very good. Brakes were good, handling was very stable and solid, torquey motor, very well built, nice looking bike.

The not so good:
The fueling sucked and the bike surged a lot. Sorted, the bike would be loads better. Perhaps more miles. The on-off throttle was aggravating, especially in town. I never got smooth with it and I suppose it is an emissions thing. It acts like the ride-by-wire needs about 5 more sensors to make it smoother. The seat? I know were the old KTM seat guy went to work. Aprilia. Narrow and stiff. The good part is these are fixable issues (I assume) and not killers.

That being said, after getting out of town and away from traffic, the bike was fun to ride. I found myself gearing to about 5-6k rpm. Lots of wind blast, which isn't surprising, but loads more than my Tuono.

I imagine with the fueling issues sorted, the 1200 Dorso would be a fun bike to own, but very limited in utility. The tank took 2.4 gallons of gas with the fuel light on. Would I trade my Tuono for one? Nope. Would I trade a stock Tuono for one? Nope, I don't think so. I cannot imagine riding a DD for 250 miles in one day, but it is worth checking out.

The only motard style bike I have ever ridden is my old KTM Duke II, which was an absolute freaking blast in the city. They are cheap now. Perhaps it is time for another one?

[Centerline]

My 1200 doesn't surge whatsoever..... really civilized and tractable on the throttle compared to my past 750DD. Perhaps I just learned to be ultra smooth with the throttle with the 750, but still at least my particular 1200; night and day difference in partial throttle fueling between the 2 bikes. Also, galaxy of difference in TORQUE.:)

[jrflanne]

That is good to know. I really did like the bike.

[redduro]

Less than 200 miles on mine, but it fuels alot smoother than the DD750 around town, out on back roads it can feel a little abrupt on/off throttle in Sport mode but still worlds better than the 750. Only thing is with much more torque and a touchy throttle it can launch forward with little input. I like the 1200 alot, reminds me of my old Suzuki TL1000S I had back in 98 only with a much cooler look and more comfy ride position.

[jrflanne]

I think the one I rode was in T mode. Probably should have figured out how to put it in S. The thing sure looked good in white. I kept comparing it to my Tuono which is very well sorted and probably not a fair comparison with the 1102 motor which will smoke the 1200. I think I will ride it again in S mode. I had a great time on the bike once I got out of town.

[TheJAY]

I've gotta say, I've not had any sort of on/off fuelling issues from mine in any mode, or the demo I rode before that, in and around the suburbs & traffic near the shop.

In traffic you have to use the clutch, you can't balance it at jogging pace, it's a twin, not a 4, it lacks that absolute bottom end smoothness. You have to give a tiny blip & blend the clutch in when lane splitting under 20KPH / 12MPH

That said I am very gentle with the throttle for the on & off bit, my 2010 CBR600RR Ltd was pretty savage on and off, compared to that I still think my Dorso feels like a Buell, the CBR I'm pretty sure was trying to snap the chain :lol:

As far as the seat is concerned, way more comfy than the Layla, I recall the 2005 Blade feeling similar, but also not as nice, and a lot softer than my 916. The '95 NSR didn't have seat padding, just a sticky silicone anti-slip pad - my own doing :)

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@ jrflanne : you change the drive mode by double-tapping the start button when the engine is running with the throttle at zero, you can do this on the move . . .

Interesting since the manual says in 3 places you must not press the start button while the engine is running to avoid damaging the starter motor, and it only tells you in 2 places how to change drive modes with the starter button - the joys of owning a brand new model I guess :lol:

Good thing I can understand Dutch & German, there were quite a few copy-paste errors & language cross-overs

[jrflanne]

Took the 1200 out for a short spin after Ed remapped the thing. Fueling is completely fixed. Big meat, smooth torque now!

[redduro]

Took the DD12 out my favorite road today and gave her all she had, hit he straight screaming 4th 5th 6th, flat out she wound out to 155mph on the dash and it stopped pulling at 9k revs, it wouldnt pull redline/rev limiter in 6th. It really doesnt matter because its not making any more power that high up anyway. All told it was more like 145-146mph actual which is pretty fast for a SUMO with no where to reduce drag except behind the headlight housing.

[lanter]

Nice! I hit 135 in 5th then I chickened out :p: I still bet the black 1200 is faster :lol:

[JHB1984]

205 km/h = 127.381094 mph then i shift into 6th ... and the end :WTF::peace::lame:

[redduro]

Hmm, black faster huh? Im going out again soon with my gps and see what it will really do. My guess, assuming 6% speedo error, it will hit 145mph. We shall see. :gunner:

[Quza]

240km/h GPS(~149mph) on the highway today, then I had to brake because of some idiot...
nearly the same number on my dash (248 if i remember it right), I won't try again, those idiots always scare the crap out of me :/ ("what the f*** is an indicator and why should I use it, I drive a car lol?")

[redduro]

Hey Centerline, did you ever manage to find out how much more hp you got out of the Arrows and new map? Do you have any dyno charts you could post? Stock is around 114 at the wheel.

[lanter]

:plus:
Hey Centerline, did you ever manage to find out how much more hp you got out of the Arrows and new map? Do you have any dyno charts you could post? Stock is around 114 at the wheel.

[redduro]

Hey Centerline, you still kickin? Us fellas have inquiring minds. :p:

[Centerline]

Hey Centerline, you still kickin? Us fellas have inquiring minds. :p:
Still here guys..... Lots of stuff goin on.... kids starting high school today, etc. Been riding mostly my Hardley Abelson and its about 260 miles each way to AF1 Racing. Not to continue whining too much more, but the daily peak temps are 102-107 degrees.
Anywho, no Dyno of the beast with the Arrows AND the proper mapping yet.

[redduro]

Its all good, yeh that heat is a bummer down there, its hot here (west KY) but its the humidity that makes us miserable. How could you park the DD12 for the hardly? Just kiddin. I guess we can wait for an updated dyno run, Im eyeballin the Leo's for the 12, still gotta get updated arrow map too. By the way, the Evotech tail tidy http://www.evotech-performance.com/aprilia-dorsoduro-1200-tail-tidy-fender-eliminator is "in stock" on their website. I dont think AF1 has them yet. Ed/Micah, any update on the Evotech for the DD12?