Probably going to be saying goodbye to the 300.

[ninjamunky85]

Hello ladies and gents, been a while since I've posted. Lets just say that it's been a busy, fun, and kinda crazy summer. Hope everyone has been doing well.

Anyway I purchased another bike today and I know that everyone around here is always interested in what other member "upgrade" to from their ninjettes... Also this is my first "real" street bike, been riding for over 10 years now on my 250 and then 300... Yeah I've got a plated 450 dirt bike that is definitely faster and lighter than the ninjette but it's not a "real" street bike.

Sooo, what bike might have me putting a for sale sign on my ninjette???

du,du,du, duh


2008 Aprilia Shiver 750 Got it used from a local owner selling it on craigslist. Became interested in this bike after I looking at one at Indy last week. Saved a lot of $$$ over buying new and should be able to sell my 300 for close to what I paid for it.

Got in a few miles today. The weather was beautiful, and all I'll say for now is What a bike!

[csmith12]

[adouglas]

[ForceofWill]

Welcome to the club lol.

[ninjamunky85]

Originally Posted by ForceofWill

Welcome to the club lol.

Haha thanks, yeah I see that you picked up a RSV. Sick bike. I'm sure the power and sound is amazing!

[DEFY]

nice

[broken neck]

Nice,

A coworker went crazy and fitted and RSV4 front end on it... He's now looking to put an Ohlins rear shock.

He totally enjoy (t)his motorcycle...

Great choice!

[ninjamunky85]

Another pic


I've already got a few mods planned for the bike but nothing major as of yet. Honestly it doesn't need a lot as it comes stock with good stuff like adjustable levers and SS brake lines. That rear fender definitely has to go and I've already ordered TecSpec tank grip pads and a Puig rear hugger for the swingarm.

Was having some issues today that I think are attributed to a dying battery so a lightweight lithium one will probably also be coming soon. I'm considering an aftermarket exhaust mainly for the weight savings, apparently almost 20 lbs can be eliminated with an aftermarket exhaust, but I like the look and sound of the stock muffler so we'll see.

[ForceofWill]

Looks good man. Any reason you went with a shiver instead of a tuono?

[ninjamunky85]

Originally Posted by ForceofWill

Any reason you went with a shiver instead of a tuono?

Tuono is a sweet bike but not something that I ever really considered, although there are some very nice used ones in my area for not much more than I paid for the Shiver.

Really I've never been into naked bikes. They've always just looked like sportbikes with missing body work to me, but the Shiv just really spoke to me. I also really like v-twins and the 750 seemed like the perfect package, plus I like the look of undertail exhausts.

I'm not sure that I'd trust myself on a Tuono. The Shiver still allows some full throttle fun without going into warp speed. Just seemed like a more practical bike for the street.

[ForceofWill]

Originally Posted by ninjamunky85

Tuono is a sweet bike but not something that I ever really considered, although there are some very nice used ones in my area for not much more than I paid for the Shiver.

Really I've never been into naked bikes. They've always just looked like sportbikes with missing body work to me, but the Shiv just really spoke to me. I also really like v-twins and the 750 seemed like the perfect package, plus I like the look of undertail exhausts.

I'm not sure that I'd trust myself on a Tuono. The Shiver still allows some full throttle fun without going into warp speed. Just seemed like a more practical bike for the street.

For sure it's gonna be fun . The 990 twin has good street manners but you can't grab a handful of throttle if you wanna stay out of jail.

Enjoy it even if it has the Italian quirks lol.

[Jono]

Sweet bike! I bet that think is a blast to ride. After owning a proper naked bike for over a month now I have to say they make excellent street bikes. You're gonna love it.

[ninjamunky85]

Originally Posted by Jono

After owning a proper naked bike for over a month

So are you saying the SV isn't a proper naked bike.

Anyway a couple of years ago I rented a HD dyna glyde for a few days while on vacation, and I thought it was pretty cool to look down at the tank every time I got on it and seeing that #1 in the American flag theme on the tank.

It's also pretty cool to look down at the tank and see this.

[Jono]

Originally Posted by ninjamunky85

So are you saying the SV isn't a proper naked bike.

My SV was the 'S' so I had wind protection. The "proper naked" bikes I am referring to are the naked Ninja 250 I used to own and my KLX supermoto. Having the power to fight the wind resistance is nice!

[ninjamunky85]

Today the Puig rear hugger I ordered came in the mail. Thought it was gonna be an easy install but boy was I wrong.







Anyway I'm happy with the hugger, fits the lines of the bike perfectly. Not sure why the bike didn't come stock with one. I also got all the warning stickers off with a heat gun and took the reflectors off the forks for a cleaner look.

Another shiny pic

[MrAtom]

I don't see why you wanna delete that particular fender. It looks nice, I think. Personal preference, I guess.

[ninjamunky85]

Originally Posted by MrAtom

I don't see why you wanna delete that particular fender. It looks nice, I think. Personal preference, I guess.

Yep, personal preference. I just don't like the way they look, although I can't argue that they are functional in the rain... Yesterday I got rid of this ugly thing, and shed a few lbs from the bike.

[xXecuterXx2]

Originally Posted by ninjamunky85

Yep, personal preference. I just don't like the way they look, although I can't argue that they are functional in the rain... Yesterday I got rid of this ugly thing, and shed a few lbs from the bike.

Lol be careful, that looks important

[ninjamunky85]

Originally Posted by xXecuterXx2

Lol be careful, that looks important

Hmm that's funny, the bike seemed to run fine without it. Did a few hundred miles today with no problems.

[sharky nrk]

very nice!!!!

[ninjamunky85]

Another pic,.. inspired by @Jono and his striple haha.

[superflytako]

How do you like the Shiver? It's a sweet looking bike and it caught my attention when I was looking into naked bikes and the FZ-09 at the time.

[ninjamunky85]

Originally Posted by superflytako

How do you like the Shiver?

Tomorrow will be two weeks since I got the bike so I'm probably still in that honeymoon phase a bit but I gotta say I love the Shiver... It's been a great couple of weeks of riding. Go to the bottom for the short version

For me right now it's pretty much perfect for 95% of the riding I do on the street, the Husberg takes care of the other 5%... I think it's a great platform and overall a very well designed and built motorcycle. Although it's a budget bike for Aprilia nothing on the bike feels cheap. Also IMO v-twins make great motors for the street and without a doubt the engine is the bikes strong point.

While it's overall output might be on the soft side for a 750cc, the engine itself looks like it was built to survive the Armageddon. Someone on the AF1 forum did a tear down of their engine after 75k miles and it basically showed no wear. I haven't seen any reports of engine failure on these bikes and I think that's pretty impressive considering this was one of the first engines built in house by Aprilia. And while the peak numbers might not be that impressive the engine will do pretty much anything you ask of it,.. btw the bike is plenty fast.

Just look at that power curve, very linear.


Another thing I like about v-twins is that they are thin, which means that the center of gravity is very close to the center of the bike. The undertail exhaust also helps with that. I play a sort of game at stop signs/lights where I go as long as I can without putting a foot down. I was pretty good at balancing on the ninja, but it's way easier with the Shiver. I can almost stop and balance the bike, it just wants to stay upright.

Riding the Shiver feels a lot like riding a big supermoto, not a surprise that they made a SM version with the Dorsoduro. When I first rode it I was used to riding the ninja and I was turning in too quickly. Even with small inputs on the bars the bike reacts quickly and it can almost feel twitchy at first. Once I got used to it though it wasn't a problem.

Suspension upgrades are a popular topic on the forums, as I suppose they are with any bike in it's price range/category. And this is one area where cost cutting came into play. The general consensus though is that the stock suspension is better than any of the competitors coming out of Japan. I'm luck in that I weigh 155 lbs without gear so I'm right in the range that most manufactures tune their bike for from the factory.

It's still a definite upgrade from the suspension on the 300, and I was even running a gsxr shock on the rear of my ninjette. The Shiver has a little more suspension travel and it is more plush over bumps but also feels controlled at speed. For me, on the street, it works just fine. Although there is a little more front end dive than I would like when braking hard.

That brings up another strong point of the Shiver in the brakes. Aprilia didn't cheap out here and gave this bike the same brakes as the ones used on the Tuono and RSV4. You've got full floaters up front and that definitely inspires confidence when braking. I was used to using two fingers to brake on the 300 and had to go to only using one on the Shiver until I got used to the extra stopping power... It's nice to know you can shed off speed in a hurry when needed.

The frame is awesome, and is actually made of three pieces using the engine block as it's main supporting member. The bike looks just beautiful IMO with the perfect blend of modern aggressiveness and Italian sexiness. It's an Aprilia, so pretty much no one knows what it is and I get asked about it all the time (I like owning a unique bike). Then there's the sound Even with the stock exhaust it's easily as loud as the 300 with a full race exhaust. All I can say is Italian v-twin.

The only real downfall of the bike is electronic gremlins. Unfortunately however that is a pretty big downfall. Now I'm not worried about that but I think that it turned quite a few people away from this bike. I've already experienced one of the common issues when my speedo sensor started not working after I washed the bike

The speedo sensor going out is nothing more than an inconvenience, although it is annoying because when it doesn't work neither does the odo and trip meter. And Aprilia didn't give the bike a gas guage so the trip meter is my gas guage. It does have a low fuel light that comes on when you've got about a gallon left in the tank though, so no big deal.

There are other, bigger, electronic problems that can happen though and without the information available from previous owners I wouldn't be so sure about owning this bike. For example, this winter I plan on replacing both cylinder pressure sensors. These sensors are known to fail out of nowhere and when they do it can leave you stranded. No one has reported a failure after they were replaced... There are other electronic issues but non that seem too common.

Alright, well that was a lot to type, and I could go on but I've got other stuff to do.

The short version:

Pros:

wonderful engine
great looks
dat sound!
modern Tech ie. ride by wire
decent suspension, great brakes
appears to be built like a tank

Cons:

electronic woes
not so great MPG
low RPM fueling issues

[ninjamunky85]

Couple of updates:

A few weeks ago I replaced the cheap walmart battery of unknown age (had no date on it anywhere, PO didn't know either) with a Bikemaster Li-ion battery. Twas an expensive battery but it weighed 8.5 lbs less than the old battery, it's a big friggin' battery, so it was worth it. It also cranks the starter a little quicker and is supposed to need less maintenance... It'll cost a lot more $$$ to lose that much weight anywhere else.

Last Saturday the high flow air filter I ordered arrived. It's a DNA brand filter, basically the euro K&N, made in Greece.


So anyway I installed that, even though I knew it would be a pita since you have to lift the tank in order to get to the air filter. I just couldn't wait lol


While I was in there I removed the intake snorkel too. Overall it gave the bike a slightly louder and more throaty intake noise and seemed to help performance a little bit, so I'm happy. Throttle response seems a little better in T mode and the low RPM lurching is almost gone.

I also got some T-Rex frame and fork sliders for the bike and those arrived a few days ago. I'm not usually a fan of frame sliders but I think they look good on a naked bike. Also because of the design of the shiver I think there is less chance of frame damage in the event of a crash, hopefully I won't have to find out... Still trying to find out if I can get sliders for the rear axle, they show a pic of them on their site but don't have em listed for sale.



Last night I also installed some Techspec tank grip pads, but I haven't gotten a pic of them yet. They work but I was surprised at how thick they are. I had stompgrip on the 300 and I think I liked it a little better, but the Techspec is just as good of a product, just different.

That's most of the mods I have planned for the bike right now. Maybe a few little things here and there, wanna do the clear clutch cover sometime. In the winter I'll probably pick up a slip on exhaust too,.. really wanna hear that Italian v-twin uncorked.

Oh yeah, and here's a pic I took at lunch last Friday. I didn't know the guy, he showed up after I did, but I did talk to him for a minute before I left.

Italian parking only, haha