The Dorsoduro Thread

My Dorso is back at the shop. The bike died mid left-turn last week and the Urgent Service light came on when I restarted it. It did the same weird surge between 2500-3000rpm with no throttle input. Managed to limp it home and then trucked it to the shop a few days later. Still waiting for the call back on what went wrong, but it the symptoms were identical to the bad cylinder pressure sensor that I had replaced about 18mo ago. I told the shop back then to replace both since if one was failing the other was probably going out and they told me they did.

That shop no longer services Apes, so I'm trying out a new dealer. Ugh. If this was mechanical I could fix it myself, but I can't diagnose error codes from the ECU, so I'm stuck with the shops.

Not sure when I can get the bike back.

Herb, have you ever looked at or ridden a Yamaha TW200? It's an amazingly competent and economical dirt bike (not a motcrosser of course) as well as a good learner's bike.

+1

I have seen, but not ridden one.

A friend of mine had one that he used for travelling town to town on secondary highways (50 to 70 mph sustained for 1.5 hours). He burned down 2 motors before the dealership told him they would no longer honor the warranty if he continued to drive at those speeds. When my wife is ready, we plan to do similar riding in our area, so I was a bit concerned about the limited top speed of the TW. I used to have a Honda XL185, and it's top speed fell a bit short of what we need too.

I talked to a guy with a DR250SE, and he said his would do a top speed of 85, with happy cruising around 70. That sounds like the minimum that will work for us. It won't need to be a motocross bike, but we need a jack of all trades.

+1

I wouldn't ride the TW at 70mph.
A 250cc bike/scoot with at least 20hp - sure.

So this young fella down the street is on his third year with a "Learner's Permit". It has expired twice, and he has been trying to take the test, but can't find the right bike. He built his own Harley out of spare parts, so he gets points for ingenuity. It's vintage, though, and doesn't have turn signals. The few people he knows with bikes also have something wrong with them: missing turn signals, expired registration, what have you. One guy even brought his bike to the DMV, only to realize his insurance was expired.

His Mom walks with my wife regularly, and mentioned it to her, but I didn't want to be to forward because I wasn't sure how Mom felt about her son riding. Apparently, Mom mentioned to him that I had a bike (I'll take that as a green light), so he stopped by to talk.

I've never let anyone but my wife ride the Dorsoduro (actually she let herself, since everything is half hers), but this guy is respectful, hard working, and honest, just like everyone in his family. We suggested he take the bike for a test ride, so going through the cones at the DMV wouldn't be his first time on it. I set the throttle map on "Rain", and off he goes. As he's riding away, my wife asks "Do you think he will like it as well as his Harley?". "He'll probably want one" I say.

He gets back after a 10 minute ride, first words out of his mouth: "I gotta get one of those! It's soooo smooth." I asked, but he didn't want to try it in "Tour" mode. He's responsible that way.

I met him down at the DMV on lunch today, and he passed the test with flying colors. He went back to work with a smile a mile wide.

great story and good for you for being a generous person.

Update:

I've had the bike back for a little over a week and it's running great. The codes were erroneous. Turned out to be carbon buildup in the throttle bodies. That's an easy fix when it pops up again. 30min, a rag and a can of carb cleaner will save me some money. I'll keep an eye out for it in another 8-9000 miles.

I'm curious if leaving the bike in the very snorty, backfiring S mode contributed to the issue. I'm also running a DNA air filter. The rest of the drivetrain is stock except for the smog cannister, which fell off at some point.

Took a weekend up the mountains to escape the 37C city summer...

Woke up to a wonderful morning and decided to take the less beaten path. 10kms or so into it, the skies opened up and poured down enough to make the return trip hell. Legs out like outtriggers, 3 ATC and too many near misses later, I got back to the lodge... Gave the Ape a much deserved bath and swore not to do that again til I have proper tires...

The promised TKCs didn't arrive... Now looking into Scorpion Trails...






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I'm running the Scorpion Trails. While they are an improvement, they will not help with mud. They do well with hard packed dirt, are passable on gravel, and are excellent on tarmac. They would have more traction if I air them down, but then the rim hits the ground on rough sections. (I only let that happen once.)

I am still debating the TKC80s for my next set, along with a 15T front sprocket to compliment my 48T out back.

You'd think they'd be bolted on better...

Hey everyone, I just wanted to let out a very big THANK YOU for all the information in this thread, it was very helpful. I wanted a hypermotard but the dorso is similar and I got a pretty good deal on a leftover.

I am really looking forward to riding the Dorso :) I am curious about something though. Has anyone considered mounting an aftermarket exhaust down low - like the location on the Nuda 900 or like on the newer CBR1000RR's? Then there might be room under and possibly also partially over the back portion of the seat and tail light for a decent sized aux fuel tank with an electronic pump that can transfer the contents into the main tank on command... I would love to carry another 1.5 gallons of fuel, and there appears to be plenty of prime real estate where the stock exhaust is located...

Thank you again for sharing all your wisdom!

Here are two pics to explain my username, otherwise someone might get the wrong idea...

Funny you should mention that. Over on Apriliaforums.com, someone has installed a low exhaust on their Shiver (very similar to the Dorsoduro), and my first thought was adding a fuel tank in the left over space. Check out the thread here:

http://www.apriliaforum.com/forums/showthread.php?269878-GPR-Thunderslash-exhaust

inspired by the post that Kamchat has on day rides, I will try to attempted to post pictures of my rides. I have been working in the bush up north for the past couple years, and have recently been transferred to HO in the city, so that now gives me time to get out and ride, couple to get started.

I finally got my bike home from back east and I SOOOO LOVE IT. :) I saw that thread, it is definitely a good idea. :) I was thinking about just buying a used stock GSX750 exhaust can or something similar, a used stock dorso pipe with the cat, and a cheap Harbor Freight 90 amp flux welder and then try to make something.

As for the gas tank, I would like to close off the back plastic side panels and mount a gas tank inside there. It should look pretty nice if done correctly. :)

I have a question about the tail racks if anyone has any experience with them. Are any of these racks rated to carry a substantial amount of weight? I would prefer something that is small and low profile too. I am going to mount a padded plastic box (aprox 17 L x 9 W x 9 H) on the back over the taillight and rear portion of the seat so I can take my dog with me. The whole setup including the dog should only weigh about 25 lbs, but it needs to be heavy duty for safety reasons.

Speaking of the seat - OMG this thing is horrible. I think the translation of "hard back" is really closer to "sore ass" Is the gel seat worth it or would I be better off reupholstering the stock seat with another 2 inches of padding?

The racks are plenty strong for 25 lbs, assuming you use good hardware to attach them. I have the Krauser rack, with Givi Monolock base plate, and it feels strong with no flexing. (I used a 3/16" plate of aluminum to connect the two.) I haven't carried any significant weight on it yet, but plan to attach a 50 lb duffel bag this summer for a road trip. My wife has leaned on the Givi top box pretty hard; more than 25 lbs worth I'm sure.

From what I've heard, the gel seat is marginally better than the 750 standard seat. The standard seat from the DD 1200 (about 1" taller) is better than either, and fits the 750. Some have spent upwards of $400 for custom seats from Renazco and others, and seem to be happy with them. I'm too cheap for that, so when the opportunity presents itself I will get the 1200 seat.