Shiver-Me-Timbers

Just when you thought the naked sector couldn't get much hotter, Aprilia brings more flame to the party.

- Jon Urry

Entering the naked middleweight class at the moment is like stepping into a Wild West gunfight. And if you have come armed with a knife, you are going to leave looking like a Swiss cheese. You have the current £8000-area top dogs in the shape of the Triumph Street Triple R, Yamaha MT-09 and Kawasaki Z900 as well as the more premium Ducati 821 and the lower capacity Suzuki GSX-S750 all vying for a slice of this fiercely competitive market. And now moseying into the middle of this with its own set of six-shooters drawn is Aprilia’s offering; the new Shiver 900. Although calling it new is a bit of a stretch of the imagination…

The same, but different

The Shiver 900 is essentially a reworked Shiver 750. As the name suggests, the capacity has seen a hike through a longer stroke within the 90º V-twin’s barrels and to go with this update a few internal mods have been applied. Nothing that drastic, but sensible changes that have also seen the clutch’s lever effort reduced by 15%, the fuelling improved and the motor’s midrange and peak torque boosted by 9Nm.

Interestingly, the power remains the same at just shy of 94bhp, a figure that means an Aprilia dealer can simply slap in a new fuel map and the Shiver 900 becomes an A2-legal machine, which is a nice touch for newer riders as it means they don’t have to change their bike once they gain a full licence.