Gilera Comeback Takes Another Step

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Will Piaggio rebrand the discontinued Aprilia Shiver 900 as a new Gilera model? (Piaggio/)

The Gilera brand has a storied history but appears to be something of a forgotten hero in Piaggio’s vast catalog of famous motorcycle brands. While sister companies like Moto Guzzi and Aprilia are the focus of development and investment, the Gilera name—like Laverda, which Piaggio also owns—has been pushed to the side.

Perhaps not for long, though, as a project to reinvent Gilera appears to be making progress in China, where the name is set to reappear on a range of machines made by the Zongshen Piaggio Foshan joint venture that already makes an array of bikes under other Piaggio Group names.

It was back in March 2022 that the details started to crystalize with the appearance of designs for a Gilera-badged version of Aprilia’s 896cc DOHC V-twin engine, as used in the now-discontinued Shiver and Dorsoduro models, under the Zongshen-Piaggio umbrella. The same engine, in a Shiver-derived chassis, had already appeared from Zongshen (now styled as Zonsen) under its Cyclone brand, as the RA9 concept. That bike is progressing toward production, and a mechanically similar model bearing the Gilera title and different styling is expected to appear alongside it.

Design registrations from Piaggio and Zongshen show a unit that is identical to the 2021 Aprilia Shiver 900. (Piaggio/)

Prototypes, looking identical to the old Aprilia Shiver but with Gilera branding hidden under tape, were spotted later in 2022 in China, and now two sets of designs for a complete bike have been registered by the Zongshen-Piaggio enterprise.

The first design is just like the prototypes seen last year, and in turn is all but indistinguishable from the last version of the Aprilia Shiver 900 that dropped from production at the start of 2021 when Euro 5 emissions rules came into force in Europe. The design patent, which was applied for in June 2023 and first published in November, even refers to it as “Shiver 900,” bringing back to life a bike that’s been gone for nearly four model years.

The second version, designs for which were filed on the same date in June and published alongside the first in November, is mechanically identical but gets a revised look, albeit one that’s done with the bare minimum of new components. The rear section of the bike is the same as the old Shiver, as is the part-alloy, part-steel frame, the V-twin engine, the aluminum swingarm, and even the fork and brakes. The 4-gallon fuel tank is carried over too, but it gains new bolt-on plastic side panels that extend forward and down, hiding the sides of the radiator and adding a more modern, forward-focused stance to the bike.

A second design gets new bodywork to give it an updated look, but it is unclear which of the two will be released. (Piaggio/)

Ahead of that, the second design—code-named GLR900, leaving little doubt that it will carry the Gilera brand when it reaches production—has a new headlight, with two side-by-side lights in a more compact unit than the original Shiver’s vertically stacked pair. There’s also a small cowl above the light, wrapping around the same instrument pack that the final versions of the Aprilia Shiver used.

Overall, while the underseat exhausts are still something of a throwback to an earlier age of design, the “GLR900″ style is a worthwhile step forward compared to the Shiver 900 version. It’s unlikely that the reborn Gilera will introduce both machines—they’re mechanically identical, with no change in the seating position, pegs, or bars, so from a rider’s perspective there’s nothing to differentiate them—but it appears the company is weighing up two style options for the production model.

When it comes to performance, the old Shiver 900 managed a claimed 95 hp and 66 lb.-ft. and there’s little reason to believe a reborn version would be substantially different, though if it’s approved for sale globally, meeting the latest emission rules, the numbers could drop slightly. But with manufacturing done in China rather than Italy, costs are likely to be much lower than the old Aprilia Shiver, potentially giving the new Gilera version a useful niche in the market.

Pricing for the Gilera GLR900 should be less than it was for the Aprilia Shiver 900. (Piaggio/)

With Cyclone already progressing toward putting its RA9 into production using essentially the same engine and chassis, albeit with an extended wheelbase and a single-sided swingarm to create a power-cruiser stance a little like a Ducati Diavel, the ingredients are in place for the Shiver to return. Will the result be sold globally? That’s not clear, but the use of the Gilera brand would certainly give it an edge over lesser-known names if Piaggio intends to do so.

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