40% power gain on Ninja 250? Yeah?

[mckeann]

buy a ktm 690 superduke. 65bhp, 110mph top speed, but needs ragged to get there. Properly fun in the twisties.

[Stu R]

Oh

[Castrol Craig]

Stu R said:

Oh

oh yes.

[andrew311]

I can’t believe that it looks like you’ve submitted Cyberface! If you fancy an SV get yourself along to the SV650 forum as they know their SV’s over there. I’m not sure where you got your weight figure form but I thought they were around the 170kgs mark? They’re a great bike and have a huge following-still on the budget side of things but there are many parts out there to upgrade just about everything you’d like.

[rhinochopig]

Castrol Craig said:

Stu R said:

Oh

oh yes.

Rather that engine in a Mito or RS chassis personally.

[Castrol Craig]

rhinochopig said:

Castrol Craig said:

Stu R said:

Oh

oh yes.

Rather that engine in a Mito or RS chassis personally.

no, in a purpose built tigcraft or similar chassis, with a nice set of honda rs250gp bodywork, or, alternatively...buy one like these boys are running.





you can either run the rs250 chassis OR just convert the rxv450 aprillia chassis to look like the ones above.

[rhinochopig]

Castrol Craig said:

rhinochopig said:

Castrol Craig said:

Stu R said:

Oh

oh yes.

Rather that engine in a Mito or RS chassis personally.

no, in a purpose built tigcraft or similar chassis, with a nice set of honda rs250gp bodywork, or, alternatively...buy one like these boys are running.





you can either run the rs250 chassis OR just convert the rxv450 aprillia chassis to look like the ones above.

Even better - for me (if it had lights) that is the ideal UK bike. Awesome B road weapon without the license losing power / temptation.

I still don't understand why Aprilia hasn't built a 400ish cc 4 stroke sports bike - they seem to have talked about it for years. They would sell like hotcakes IMO.

I do miss the days of the RD350 and RGV250 etc. Halcyon days for the younger biker.

[Castrol Craig]

rhinochopig said:

Castrol Craig said:

rhinochopig said:

Castrol Craig said:

Stu R said:

Oh

oh yes.

Rather that engine in a Mito or RS chassis personally.

no, in a purpose built tigcraft or similar chassis, with a nice set of honda rs250gp bodywork, or, alternatively...buy one like these boys are running.





you can either run the rs250 chassis OR just convert the rxv450 aprillia chassis to look like the ones above.

Even better - for me (if it had lights) that is the ideal UK bike. Awesome B road weapon without the license losing power / temptation.

I still don't understand why Aprilia hasn't built a 400ish cc 4 stroke sports bike - they seem to have talked about it for years. They would sell like hotcakes IMO.

I do miss the days of the RD350 and RGV250 etc. Halcyon days for the younger biker.

you can buy the full kits, including lights etc. and as the bike they are based on are road legal, can be ridden on the road.

[rhinochopig]

Castrol Craig said:

rhinochopig said:

Castrol Craig said:

rhinochopig said:

Castrol Craig said:

Stu R said:

Oh

oh yes.

Rather that engine in a Mito or RS chassis personally.

no, in a purpose built tigcraft or similar chassis, with a nice set of honda rs250gp bodywork, or, alternatively...buy one like these boys are running.





you can either run the rs250 chassis OR just convert the rxv450 aprillia chassis to look like the ones above.

Even better - for me (if it had lights) that is the ideal UK bike. Awesome B road weapon without the license losing power / temptation.

I still don't understand why Aprilia hasn't built a 400ish cc 4 stroke sports bike - they seem to have talked about it for years. They would sell like hotcakes IMO.

I do miss the days of the RD350 and RGV250 etc. Halcyon days for the younger biker.

you can buy the full kits, including lights etc. and as the bike they are based on are road legal, can be ridden on the road.

[whispers so wife can't here]So how much would one of these projects cost then: Donor bike + kit[/whispers so wife can't here]

[srob]

rhinochopig said:

Castrol Craig said:

rhinochopig said:

Castrol Craig said:

rhinochopig said:

Castrol Craig said:

Stu R said:

Oh

oh yes.

Rather that engine in a Mito or RS chassis personally.

no, in a purpose built tigcraft or similar chassis, with a nice set of honda rs250gp bodywork, or, alternatively...buy one like these boys are running.





you can either run the rs250 chassis OR just convert the rxv450 aprillia chassis to look like the ones above.

Even better - for me (if it had lights) that is the ideal UK bike. Awesome B road weapon without the license losing power / temptation.

I still don't understand why Aprilia hasn't built a 400ish cc 4 stroke sports bike - they seem to have talked about it for years. They would sell like hotcakes IMO.

I do miss the days of the RD350 and RGV250 etc. Halcyon days for the younger biker.

you can buy the full kits, including lights etc. and as the bike they are based on are road legal, can be ridden on the road.

[whispers so wife can't here]So how much would one of these projects cost then: Donor bike + kit[/whispers so wife can't here]

See this thread:

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...

They look like the fella's. I'd love one too

[Castrol Craig]

i WAS building one until swmbo decided she would like another sprog. following that it was sold to a guy who used to work for honda f1, it had tigcraft chassis, rs250 swinger, ex 250gp wheels, rs125 forks with custom internals.

as far as i know, the guy is near build completion, iirc he had a more progressive linkage made (HE CAD DESIGNED IT HIMSELF) and has some designed and made some new yokes for adjustable offset.

i may even end up building one and running it myself, however im currently building a stockpile of zx7r based parts to build myself an 800cc, ilmor bodywork covered, zx6r suspended, mille swingarm shod zx7r.

[MC Bodge]

rhinochopig said:

I still don't understand why Aprilia hasn't built a 400ish cc 4 stroke sports bike - they seem to have talked about it for years. They would sell like hotcakes IMO.

I do miss the days of the RD350 and RGV250 etc. Halcyon days for the younger biker.

Maybe people would appear keen initially, then look at the spec sheet and decide to buy a 600 (or 1000) sports after all, because it has more POWER?

[rhinochopig]

MC Bodge said:

rhinochopig said:

I still don't understand why Aprilia hasn't built a 400ish cc 4 stroke sports bike - they seem to have talked about it for years. They would sell like hotcakes IMO.

I do miss the days of the RD350 and RGV250 etc. Halcyon days for the younger biker.

Maybe people would appear keen initially, then look at the spec sheet and decide to buy a 600 (or 1000) sports after all, because it has more POWER?

But what's changed. In the days of the RGV 250 / NC30s, 600s had a chunk more power and torque then, but the smaller bikes still sold.

[Baldy881]

rhinochopig said:

But what's changed. In the days of the RGV 250 / NC30s, 600s had a chunk more power and torque then, but the smaller bikes still sold.

My personnal experience was that when i started out biking 10 years ago the 400 4's seemed the perfect solution. I wanted a proper looking sports bike and that was my main consideration. It was cheap to buy, cheap to run and offered a full on looking and performing sports bike that wasn't overly intimidating but amazed with its capabilities

I doubt i'd have the same level of riding experience i have now had i not spent my first few years on a 400. 60bhp seemed managable, 100bhp (600's) would have scared the st out of me back then.

I still maintain that a well sorted 400 is as good a bike as you would need on UK roads, and riding them hard leaves you feeling pretty damn good. They are useless for pillions and long journeys IMO, but take those away and for the weekend loon are perfect.

If you ride a 600/1000 to the same level as you would a 400 on the road i think would result in something nasty happening, therefore there is much more fun to be extracted from a smaller engined bike

[Stu R]

rhinochopig said:

I still don't understand why Aprilia hasn't built a 400ish cc 4 stroke sports bike - they seem to have talked about it for years. They would sell like hotcakes IMO.

They've been facing bankruptcy until last year, I suspect they've been playing a very careful game when it comes to new models - going for the easier markets that already exist than trying to forge new ones. Thankfully they're doing a fair bit better financially these days, so who knows what they've got up their sleeve. Still my favourite manufacturer

Edited by Stu R on Tuesday 22 June 11:47

[MC Bodge]

rhinochopig said:

But what's changed. In the days of the RGV 250 / NC30s, 600s had a chunk more power and torque then, but the smaller bikes still sold.

Then the bigger-engined bikes were bigger and heavier than those small bikes. When the 2 strokes worked, they were fast and furious. nowadays, 600cc sports bikes are very compact and virtually racing bikes off the shelf.

I'm not sure if it is true, but most bikers now seem to be older than they were 20-30 years ago, with more cash in their pocket.

Bar room peak bhp figures (and actors riding around the world) appear to sell bikes these days.

Edited by MC Bodge on Tuesday 22 June 11:59

[3doorPete]

rhinochopig said:

MC Bodge said:

rhinochopig said:

I still don't understand why Aprilia hasn't built a 400ish cc 4 stroke sports bike - they seem to have talked about it for years. They would sell like hotcakes IMO.

I do miss the days of the RD350 and RGV250 etc. Halcyon days for the younger biker.

Maybe people would appear keen initially, then look at the spec sheet and decide to buy a 600 (or 1000) sports after all, because it has more POWER?

But what's changed. In the days of the RGV 250 / NC30s, 600s had a chunk more power and torque then, but the smaller bikes still sold.

The smaller bikes were cheaper though (2 stroke 250), plus offered a very different riding experience to 600's (which weren't that sporty) and 750's that were.

The 400's that were officially brought in new never did sell due to their price being above or the same as 600's. The UK 400 boom was a product of the Japanese licensing laws (making the above 400 test nigh impossible), Japanese strict MoT laws meaning there were warehouses full of 400's a few years old, and the weakness of the Yen/strength of £ at the time causing a grey import boom.

Now 600's have all the trick bits, are 20 - 30kg lighter than 400's and the 250 racing class is dead.

I think people have to ride a mass centralised 600 to realise they are not some kind of barge that would be so much better if lighter and robbed of their top end power. 99% of people couldn't even take advantage of a 20kg lighter 600 on the road anyway and could make any bike they ride a lot more flickable just by learning to transfer their weight and agressively countersteer.

[Fleegle]

3doorPete said:

and the 250 racing class is dead.

How very dare you.

[Kawasicki]

rhinochopig said:

Bikes that fit your requirements are:

Any of the 250 4 pots from the late 80s early 90s.
NC30
ZX400RR

Why the aversion to two strokes - a looked after RS will be reliable. Or you could even go for one of Honda's or Yamahas 250cc bike - both lovely bits of kit although now not cheap due to their desirability.

You mention insurance - massively modding a 250 will cost you the same as a standardish 250 2ST or 400 4ST.

The bike you really want is an RS fitted with that aussie 2 stroke 500cc V4 or V2 (I forget which now). Anyway it give you 100bhp and is the natural bike equivalent of the Elise. Or you could opt for one of the 250 450 crosser 4 stroke conversions.

ZXR400RR? I thought he didn't want to do 100mph+ everywhere?

[sprinter1050]

rhinochopig said:

The bike you really want is an RS fitted with that aussie 2 stroke 500cc V4 or V2 (I forget which now). Anyway it give you 100bhp....

Is that an Orbital engine you speak of ???

Edited by sprinter1050 on Tuesday 22 June 12:39