Aprilia RSVR Any Good?
Discussion
Mines not an R but I think the RSV is a cracking bike for the money.
Couple of comments.
1. The factory fit alarm is a fire hazard by all accounts
2. Starter selonid is pants and an upgrade to a Yamaha one is recommended
3. Well worth upgrading the battery to 14amp
Had mine for almost 10 years now.
Couple of comments.
1. The factory fit alarm is a fire hazard by all accounts
2. Starter selonid is pants and an upgrade to a Yamaha one is recommended
3. Well worth upgrading the battery to 14amp
Had mine for almost 10 years now.
As per the above, there are a few common niggles all of which have known fixes and are pretty easy DIY. Clutch slave seals is another and the rear brake can be a bit hit and miss.
RSVZone and ApriliaForum will have all the info. and instructions you could ever need but once those little bits are taken care of, the bikes are generally bomb-proof by all accounts.
Batteries need to be tip top, otherwise they'll struggle to turn the engine from cold.
They're quite a big old beast when compared to modern stuff but I'm a short-arse and manage alright.
Get one with twin Akra / Arrow pipes and they sound awesome!
RSVZone and ApriliaForum will have all the info. and instructions you could ever need but once those little bits are taken care of, the bikes are generally bomb-proof by all accounts.
Batteries need to be tip top, otherwise they'll struggle to turn the engine from cold.
They're quite a big old beast when compared to modern stuff but I'm a short-arse and manage alright.
Get one with twin Akra / Arrow pipes and they sound awesome!
Only other pearls of wisdom from me;
Sprag clutch is worth upgrading or a bike with the upgrade, starts much easier/doesn't need a 100% charged battery.
Ohlins pinch bolts can crack at bottom of forks on the R version, so have a good inspection.
Starter solenoid upgrade and wiring are also working checking.
Rear brakes often don't work properly and are a bh to bleed, but a bit redundant. Mine must have been pretty unique as the back brake always worked fine.
They are a very very capable bike. Some of the bike mags have done 'what to buy for £3k' articles and also rate these.
Sprag clutch is worth upgrading or a bike with the upgrade, starts much easier/doesn't need a 100% charged battery.
Ohlins pinch bolts can crack at bottom of forks on the R version, so have a good inspection.
Starter solenoid upgrade and wiring are also working checking.
Rear brakes often don't work properly and are a bh to bleed, but a bit redundant. Mine must have been pretty unique as the back brake always worked fine.
They are a very very capable bike. Some of the bike mags have done 'what to buy for £3k' articles and also rate these.
StuB said:
Only other pearls of wisdom from me;
Sprag clutch is worth upgrading or a bike with the upgrade, starts much easier/doesn't need a 100% charged battery.
The standard sprag works fine as long as it's not knackered, in which case it has no impact on the ease of starting. The reason owners are paranoid about starting on partly discharged batteries is that there's more chance of the engine kicking back and damaging the sprag, and once it's worn things go downhill very quickly.Sprag clutch is worth upgrading or a bike with the upgrade, starts much easier/doesn't need a 100% charged battery.
Out of interest who makes an upgraded sprag for them? I know you can fit the sprag from various other bikes (KTM and BMW spring to mind) but the main advantage was price and availability as it appeared to be the exact same part.
Watch out for the brown connector between the wiring loom and the stator - they are very prone to poor connections and subsequent overheating/melting.
I loved my RSV, a greatly undervalued bike IMO.
Mine is a black, yr 2000, steel tank RSV, I've owned it nearly 10 years without major problems, a clutch slave seal and the weird in-tank rubber drainage pipes rotting are all that has happened.
RSV's are way easier to work on, less costly and temperamental than Ducati, Benelli, Morini etc, no timing belts for example.
You must keep them on a battery tender though as the dash needs a fair bit of power to run the memory, alarms make this worse and trying to start with a weak battery is death to the starter sprag, which is Rotax made, identical to the Rotax made BMW and KTM items.
The wheels on the R version are a lot lighter but OTOH their Ohlins forks are a bit of a pain to service.
I swapped the rubbish unstable prop stand for a USA market one from Ebay USA, well worth £50 for peace of mind.
AF1 forum is superb for info and advice, some of the O/T Yanks posts are "interesting" as well.
Yellow is OK but not as fast as black!
RSV's are way easier to work on, less costly and temperamental than Ducati, Benelli, Morini etc, no timing belts for example.
You must keep them on a battery tender though as the dash needs a fair bit of power to run the memory, alarms make this worse and trying to start with a weak battery is death to the starter sprag, which is Rotax made, identical to the Rotax made BMW and KTM items.
The wheels on the R version are a lot lighter but OTOH their Ohlins forks are a bit of a pain to service.
I swapped the rubbish unstable prop stand for a USA market one from Ebay USA, well worth £50 for peace of mind.
AF1 forum is superb for info and advice, some of the O/T Yanks posts are "interesting" as well.
Yellow is OK but not as fast as black!
kev b said:
I swapped the rubbish unstable prop stand for a USA market one from Ebay USA, well worth £50 for peace of mind.
I'd forgotten about the pathetic European side stand, on anything but solid level ground I used to be a bit paranoid about it falling over. I couldn't find a US spec one (why are they different anyway?) for reasonable money so ended up fitting one from a Honda (Firestorm IIRC) which only required a minimal amount of fettling to fit and worked very nicely.The US sidestand is beefier and attached differently (crankcase is different I believe) because US regs say that the propstand must be able to support the bike, plus rider and passenger, without collapsing.
The important difference is in the angle the stand protrudes, the Euro stand leaves the bike at a precarious angle, on mine the suspension could rise up slightly whilst the bike was parked, leaving it almost vertical and prey to the slightest knock or breeze.
I got fed up of trying to find the perfect parking space whilst my mates were walking off into the distance and the fact a US stand cost less than a brake lever sealed it.
Still better than those suicidal self-retracting Ducati stands though.
The important difference is in the angle the stand protrudes, the Euro stand leaves the bike at a precarious angle, on mine the suspension could rise up slightly whilst the bike was parked, leaving it almost vertical and prey to the slightest knock or breeze.
I got fed up of trying to find the perfect parking space whilst my mates were walking off into the distance and the fact a US stand cost less than a brake lever sealed it.
Still better than those suicidal self-retracting Ducati stands though.
kev b said:
The US sidestand is beefier and attached differently (crankcase is different I believe) because US regs say that the propstand must be able to support the bike, plus rider and passenger, without collapsing.
The important difference is in the angle the stand protrudes, the Euro stand leaves the bike at a precarious angle, on mine the suspension could rise up slightly whilst the bike was parked, leaving it almost vertical and prey to the slightest knock or breeze.
I got fed up of trying to find the perfect parking space whilst my mates were walking off into the distance and the fact a US stand cost less than a brake lever sealed it.
Still better than those suicidal self-retracting Ducati stands though.
Yes, Aprilia probably made their side stands fairly crap so that wouldn't be that much better than Ducatis abysmal offerings The important difference is in the angle the stand protrudes, the Euro stand leaves the bike at a precarious angle, on mine the suspension could rise up slightly whilst the bike was parked, leaving it almost vertical and prey to the slightest knock or breeze.
I got fed up of trying to find the perfect parking space whilst my mates were walking off into the distance and the fact a US stand cost less than a brake lever sealed it.
Still better than those suicidal self-retracting Ducati stands though.
Brilliant bikes, weak, or aftermarket batteries that are not the same rating as original, are likely to cause the above sprag issues, and the front forks cracking is only due to the pinch bolts being over tightened. Nothing else exists that is as physically large, with the sound and feel of these. It takes time to get used to, and is no use expecting to compare with an I4 at all really, the quality shames other manufacturers, and they can be ridden all day in comfort, have a tank range easily over 120 miles which many new bikes might not. They've always been cheaper to insure due to being less popular. There wasn't a factory fit alarm, but with insurance companies insisting on alarms, there are plenty with badly fitted ones I bet. Yellow looks great, the 2001 if I recall was a mono design and a conversion kit was available, and the 2002 had pillion accessories. My favourite was the Flashy yellow pearl version with the steel tank, and if I could find an absolutely mint one I'd have it, even if considered old. I have the later 2003 Colin Edwards Replica which doesn't get used, and the gen 2 Factory. Best bikes ever for my 6'3".
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