Is a Gilera Comeback in the Pipeline?
Piaggio’s joint venture in China, known as Zongshen-Piaggio, confirmed in January that a new 900cc model was under development for launch later this year, and now the company has patented designs for a V-twin engine bearing the Gilera name tag. The same V-twin, complete with Gilera branding, also appeared in the metal on the firm’s stand at last year’s CIMA show in China. Alongside it sat the Zongshen Cyclone RA9 concept bike, which we featured following the show, using a similar engine but with Cyclone badges on the cases. The engine itself is based on the 90-degree DOHC twin that first appeared back in 2007 powering the Aprilia Shiver, then with a 750cc displacement. In Aprilia’s hands the same engine grew to 896cc, and eventually to 1,197cc, and was used in assorted Shiver models, the Dorsoduro supermoto, and the Caponord adventure bike, in its various forms.
The 896cc version of the engine was the last to remain in production—indeed, the Dorsoduro 900 is still listed as a current model on Aprilia’s international website, though we’ve yet to find a country in which it actually remains on the market. Putting out 95 hp at 8,750 rpm and 66 pound-feet at 6,500 rpm, it was certified up to the recently superseded Euro 4 emissions standards, which are roughly equivalent to China’s current limits.
Related: Zongshen Cyclone RA9 V-twin Concept Revealed
Given the fast-growing interest in larger-capacity bikes in China and the economic advantages of manufacturing machines in that country rather than importing them, it makes sense for Zongshen-Piaggio to take over the manufacture of that engine for a future model to top the company’s Chinese range. The appearance of the new patents, along with Zongshen-Piaggio’s confirmation that its new bike will be 900cc, appears to be absolute proof that the Aprilia Shiver/Dorsoduro 900 engine will power its new flagship. According to the documents, the engine is called the “SV900.”
However, real intrigue lies over the Gilera branding that’s now appeared twice in relation to the new engine. Piaggio has owned Gilera since 1969, but after a spate of delectable two-stroke sportbikes in the 1980s and early ‘90s—as well as the oddball 1991 Gilera CX, and the Nordwest 600 that same year that effectively created the concept of a road-going supermotard—the company was somewhat sidelined. Piaggio’s purchase of Aprilia in 2004 sealed the company’s fate; Piaggio made Aprilia its motorcycle brand, canceling a near-completed project to develop a 600cc four-cylinder Gilera sportbike around a brought-in Suzuki GSX-R600 engine and leaving the Gilera name on nothing more than scooters.
While Zongshen’s Cyclone RA9 concept bike showed the styling direction that could be taken by a reborn, Chinese-made version of the Aprilia Shiver—it used the Italian brand’s chassis as well as its V-twin engine—the use of the Gilera name tag would add a cachet that’s lacking from the Cyclone branding. Perhaps more importantly, it could indicate that the firm’s plans aren’t purely focused on China; a new Gilera, even one based on cast-off Aprilia components, could be an interesting proposition on the global market.
It won’t have gone unnoticed at Piaggio that Benelli’s Chinese-made TRK502 adventure bike has been a huge success in the Italian market in recent years, ending 2021 as the country’s best-selling motorcycle. Using its partnership with Zongshen to save manufacturing costs while leveraging the heritage of the Gilera brand, the company has the tool kit to replicate the formula that’s working so well for Benelli at the moment.
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