APRILIA RSV1000 R running and living with

[rembrandt]

well i have seen one of many I like but dont no much about them are they easy to live with/ride etc , are they expensive to look after , what are they like to insure any info would great

the one I am interested in is here

http://www.nxgn-ltd.com/ezweblite/public/styles/parkinson/view_bike.asp?SP_ID=936406&BRA_ID=5088

hope the link works




http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g94/bigbikefan/untitled.jpg

[Jetski]

Hmmmm... I can think of someone that would be perfect to answer this question for you, but he's at Snetterton all day today letching over Aprilia, Ducati and many other V-Twins ;)

Lateshift, the Aprilia 'star (that's mon... 'star) :D

All I know, is it's a sexy beast of a bike :)

[rembrandt]

Hi Jetski I read the post were lateshift said he was going to Snetterton today thats why i posted here and not PMed him direct but hopefully he should be able to answer my questions at some point

[EverSoSlightlyFasterThanU]

get all your old mcn and bike and ride mags out and read up know as much as you can befro you sepnd the money.

twins are easer to ride but after about 15000 miles they tend to fall apart

[harriebird]

i've seen that bike in parkys looks very nice in the flesh! and...erm....that'a bout all i can say :grin2 now ask me abour dry clutches coz i know about them :clap

[harriebird]

get all your old mcn and bike and ride mags out and read up know as much as you can befro you sepnd the money.

twins are easer to ride but after about 15000 miles they tend to fall apart

not all of them do, like anything if you look after them properly it'll be fine.

obviosuly with a bike that was bred for the racetrack you are likely to get more niggles than you might out of some great big comfy sports touring mile muncher but surely that's part of the charm ;)

my experience of an italian sports twin :love1 has been pretty good - i bought my 748 about 3 months ago now, it hasn't been totally niggle free but it's 9 years old so you expect things to wear!

as soon as i said i was getting a ducati i heard all the usual unimaginative jokes about breaking down, belts etc but so far so good. the worst thing i've had to do so far (touch all available wooden surfaces just in case :grin2 ) has been a new slave cylinder piston (£20) and new clutch plates (£100). both things that this particular bike is known for having problems with.

i did loads of research first, went for a test ride, thought about it really carefully, hummed and hawed for ages, then went for it with no regrets.

as jules says, mick will be able to tell you all the niggles to look for, then you can ask parky's about them and see what they say. i went in for some advice on 748s long before i bought mine, they were so helpful, and i have found them to be infinitely better for helpfulness and quality of service than other local bikeshops. who shall remain nameless (b*stards)

sorry for long post but big thumping twins get me all excited!!!! :skip :skip :skip

[rembrandt]

i've seen that bike in parkys looks very nice in the flesh! and...erm....that'a bout all i can say :grin2 now ask me abour dry clutches coz i know about them :clap

got it done ok then , was it a hard job? :rockon

[harriebird]

nah it was a doddle really and i'm v inexperienced with anything mechanical. you just have to get the plates back in the right order, that's the worst bit.

[harriebird]

http://www.parkers.co.uk/pricing/used_bike/valuation.aspx?deriv=4792&plate=67

might help a bit - price looks ok given the mileage and insurance is group 16, same as the 748.

[rembrandt]

cheers harriebird the main ting that worrys me is servicing A M8 at work had a 916sps and it needed a big service and was quoted £600+ so he sold it and got a blade instead on the parkers guide it says it needs a dealer to change the oil ???? looks like i will need to do some internet searchs later as Im packing to move house at the end of the week

[harriebird]

yeah the big 24month/12000 mile service is a big one for ducatis as they change the belts so the whole engine comes out i think. ouch! £600 is about right unfortunately.

[Gixxer-TeZ]

The little experience I have with Aprilia's was pretty good. The later RSV's/Millies are nice to ride and pretty well balanced although I stopped short of buying one after the feedback I also got about servicing, resale values and low tank range ( which I have been told is a v-twin thing )

Sorry if it don't help a lot. As with most bikes, they always seem to look nice but you have to do your homework I suppose.

[rembrandt]

Hi fezby tank range is V twin thing vtr / sv etc do about 90 miles to the tank surpose dukes and rsv are about the same but then again there not tourers but any feed back is a help thanks

[Shorty]

i have to say, it looks sweet. Yellow is a great colour ;) ;)

[kasandrich]

The 2 year service is no big deal, it needs the belts changed which is a similar job to the cam belt on a car, only smaller and easier acces than most. It also needs the valve clearances checked/adjusted, because the valves actively close as well as actively opening, there is more to it than normal valve clearances, and this scares the living daylight out of most DIY'ers, but I believe once you have your head round it it is straight forward.

Follow the Haynes book!

[Gixxer-TeZ]

For another £455 this might be worth a look.

17500 less miles, 2 years newer, nearly standard and a much nicer colour. :grin2



http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/WWW/BIKES_popup.asp?modelexact=1&make=APRILIA&model=RSV&ccappr=1000&min_pr=75&max_pr=&mileage=&agerange=&postcode=ss3+9lx&miles=60&max_records=200&source=0&keywords=&photo=1&sort=5&search=SEARCH&start=1&distance=55&adcategory=BIKE&channel=BIKES&id=200618234572840

[Gixxer-TeZ]

Sorry by the way ......... I'm an avid anti-yellow biker as it attract too many bugs.

:shooter

[rembrandt]

cheers fezby that looks a nice bike to and still in my price range

[Gixxer-TeZ]

cheers fezby that looks a nice bike to and still in my price range


Don't just go on that one. Shop around, look further a field and also consider other makes and models. Although it won't be a new bike, it will still be your pride and joy and it's still a huge lump of money to spend.

Take your time and make sure your near as 100% as you'll get before departing with the money.


:reading

[Gixxer-TeZ]

PS - If you go for a private bike, take somebody who knows what they are looking at to chaeck it over for you.

[harriebird]

PS - If you go for a private bike, take somebody who knows what they are looking at to chaeck it over for you.

sorry to be picky but if i would always take someone with me before making the big decision whether i knew what i was looking for or not, and whether it was a private sale or my favourite bike shop....sometimes it takes a 2nd pair of eyes to spot the blindingly obvious and remind you to check the documents/engine numbers etc, i always get too carried away with all the excitement!

(maybe that's just me but it can't hurt - and sorry if this is stuff you already know, it's common sense tbh but there we are)

good luck

[Lateshift]

get all your old mcn and bike and ride mags out and read up know as much as you can befro you sepnd the money.

twins are easer to ride but after about 15000 miles they tend to fall apart

absolute ****e Drew that unfortunately, mine is in Southern Cross at the moment with 27000 miles on the clock and according to them its still a baby with that mileage, and the forums that i tend to float about on, most of the riders on there are already into the 37000 bracket and still taking them on the track aswell as using them for normal riding ;)

I will have a read of the rest of the thread first and then give you everything i know on them, and if you do get one, i have a manual that i got printed out them, not to mention a Haynes that i no longer need ;)

[Lateshift]

Okay, where to start

Things that go wrong, and not wanting to sound like i am slating Ducati here, there is a wild difference between the reliability of an Aprilia and Ducati, in so much as the Aprilia engines tend to be unburstable where the V990 engine is concerned.

Early models had problems with the sprag clutch, this is because people tend to try and use the throttle to start the bike, instead of just setting it to choke, if it didnt fire first time, by using the throttle people were putting the sprag clutch under a massive amount of strain unnecessarily and risked shattering it, the result was a £500 bill to get it done, however its not a common fault, just a costly one, if the bike starts well then there isnt any reason to suggest its going to go as its obviously working fine.

Rear brake, they tend to be non existant, and in reality with the semi slipper clutch and the enging braking, not people worry about it, the trick is to get a kit from an Aprilia dealer (if it hasnt already been done) that relocates the rear brake master cylinder away from the engine, also people often dont know how to bleed the rear brake properly, best way is to take the rear caliper off and hold it as high as possible with a wedge between the pads because air gets trapped at the lowest part of the caliper and never gets forced out properly.

Starter Relay, these can often go as they were a particularly naff part, easiest thing to do if it fails to start and you know the battery is good, is to just replace it with a Yamaha R1 relay (for about £14).

Batteries, more often than not the standard battery is too low on power to provide the right amount of cranking power, upgrade to a 14amp one, rather than the 12 that comes with it (again most Mille owners got wise to this and did it anyway) failing that keep the battery connected to an Optimate, however mine sat all winter with the alarm system active and still fired first time after nearly 3 months.

Lastly, the clutch, it can require bleeding every couple of months, you will know it needs doing when it starts to drag slightly while its warm, and then starts to creep forward with the clutch pulled in.

I would list more but there really isnt anymore faults that the earier RSV's had.

The one you are listing there is the RSVR and when it first came out was the top model, the insurance is still group 15 and you will find it cheaper to insure one of these than it is a ZX6R, trust me on this one ;)

The earlier Mille had a better low down grunt and pulled harder, but the engine peaks at around 10500, and peaks power is around 9500, but the beauty of the engine is that you can kick this into 6th at 35mph and stay in that gear :D

Tips, sprocket change for better rideability, the standard UK bike came with a 17/42 but most people change to a 16/42 first to get the feel of it, and then 16/44 for proper twin power ;)

Do i need to carry on??

Servicing, a major service including the valve check should be done every 9000 miles or every 2 years, on both occassions its cost me £240 all in!!

A minor service is literally half of it, so dont be fooled into thinking that servicing is expensive on these bikes, Aprilia have just been taken over by Piaggio too, the 4th largest bike company in the world, whilst parts were a problem a few years ago, they certainly arent now and again the Mille is a common enough bike to be able to get stuff for them.

I could go on all night like this to be honest, and having just come back from Snetterton where the guys that look after my bike have just picked up three first places and a second over the weekend, i have seen just how reliable these bikes can be even when tuned to close on 170bhp ;)


Dont ever knock these twins if you have never ridden one, they can win races out of the crate and still do 10,000 a year commuting ;)

[rembrandt]

not to mention a Haynes that i no longer need ;)[/quote]

Lateshift do i read that bit as you have sold yours or that you have had it apart so many times you can do it blindfolded or that its so reliable you dont need a haynes manual :laugh1 :reading then again is it the haynes manuall is so bad its of no use :grin2

[Lateshift]

The haynes manual wasnt needed mate, and is in immaculate condition, however i only got it because i wanted to learn about a few things on the engine, once you have seen it you get the basics and dont need it again :)

The other manual i have is the 300 odd page official Aprilia manual printed out too :)

That Yellow one you are looking at, is extremely sought after, and tend to hold their value slightly better than the other earlier ones too ;)

Oh and the servicing is every 4000 or so miles, the dash display will tell you when it needs doing :)

[rembrandt]

cheers lateshift great info I think I now were I am going now

[harriebird]

would that be straight to parkys in the morning? :grin2 :clap

[Lateshift]

cheers lateshift great info I think I now were I am going now

you have a PM.

depending on when you are going to look at it, i might even be able to come over and give it the once over, but i dont think it will need it, they seem to have a pretty good reputation and there shouldnt be anything to worry about on that particular model what with the ohlins suspension and damper etc ;)

[harriebird]

i wouldn't have any quibbles about buying from parky's, matt (fnagwaa) got his 749 from them and has also been really pleased with the service.

[rembrandt]

Harriebird I would but work tomorrow :( thanks lateshift will let you now cant see me getting time till next week end to take a proper look the other problem I move house friday and i might not get leave sat we will see

[Lateshift]

Next weekend i am free all weekend so the offer is there :)

[rembrandt]

chers will PM you later on in the week