Which Aprilia?

[Salty Dog]

Have owned my Storm for 2 years now, still love it, but find i'm sometimes pushing through its limits when i ride.
Mostly suspension and brakes, more likely the suspension which then effects the brakes.

Anyway, i'm loving the V-Twin, i read a lot of the mods you guys do to make your Storms better, but for my mind, it just seems smarter to buy the bike that has these things as standard. And keep my little Storm just the way it is. Don't get me wrong, i have made simple mods, but swapping out the front isn't really an option for me. I like a bike to be pure and as it was manufactured.

So.... This brings me to the Aprilia's. Still not cheap second hand, especially here in Oz.

Aprilia RSV1000 Millie ( $6000 to $15,000AUD depending on year)
Aprilia RSV1000 R ($9500 to $17000AUD depending on year)
Aprilia RSV4 R APRC (yes ok, its V4... $15500 to $22000AUD)

The price for even a 2002 Aprilia RSV is still $6000, more then i paid for low milage, mint condition 2004 Firestorm.

Anyone here have a suggestion or personal experience with the Aprilia V-Twin options?
Of course the other option i just remembered is buying a SP2.... Will no doubt be cheaper!

[budd]

I bought a '01 RSV Mille R in Oct to replace my much loved Storm, and I have to say I'm very impressed with it, all the items you mention brakes, suspension etc are a big step up in everyway, you'd spend more than a VTR is worth to get anywhere near the quaility of the APE kit, one of the things I like about Hondas is their build quaility so I was a little concerned that the Aprilia would be akin to a fiat Punto ie sh*te, but I have been pleasently surprised, it's very well screwed together and from what I've read the engine is very robust to, so it's a win win.
The Mille represents excellent value for money here in the UK, I went for the 'R' because I like the idea of Ohlins, OZ wheels and all the carbon that comes as standard but from what I hear in practice there isn't much real world difference between the stock Mille and the R version but it's nice to have the bling bits and bobs so I'd recommend a R if you can get one without to much of a price premium.

[Salty Dog]

Thanks budd, yes, that is pretty much my view also.

Before getting the Storm, i looked seriously at an Aprilia SXV 550 Motard, different machine altogether, but they had a lot of engine failures due to oil seals.
Its nice to hear the bigger Mille 1000 is stronger V-Twin.
Basically, i'm 105Kg without gear, 6'2", so a little extra horsepower and slightly lighter bike would match the riding we do.
Which is a lot of tight radius turns, a lot of 2nd, 3rd, 4th gear work and heavy braking if you are having a crack.

The Storm fails me first in the front end, braking pressures see me pushing through the fork stroke and generally blowing fork seals if i keep it up.
So a quick steering, well handling and good braking, balanced bike is all i'd ask to improve over the Storm.
Not that i am at all unhappy with my Storm... Its doing all i can ask of it

[fabiostar]

i was baby sitting a mates 02 millie for near a year and i have to say it was nice to ride. parts are dam hard to get mind you . the handling was great the brakes also great but the engine i expected more from.. i much prefared the way the storm engine picked up. if i had to sum both bikes up id say the perfect bike would have been my engine in the priller chassis if that makes sense.

horses for courses i suppose. i had the chance to buy it real cheap and kept the storm instead.

[Salty Dog]

Thanks fabiostar, i appreciate what you are saying.
The 60 degree twin will be different from the 90 degree of our Storms.
A bit quicker reving and a bit less engine braking... Which will not be as much "fun" as the Storm.


Of you guys that have owned an APE after having a Storm, how did the fuel range go by comparison?
I was just reading about the SP2, then found out about its thirst!!!

Is the RSV1000 APE a little kinder on fuel than our Storms?

[budd]

I've only had my RSV a couple of months and the weather here at the moment isn't really conducive for bike riding so I’ve only been out on brief runs, preferring to spend the downtime fettling the thing, so far it’s had a full service (all fluids) rear suspension linkage strip and re-furb (just the same issues as the Storm re linkage bearings), new rear brake pads and just general cleaning, replacing dodgy fasteners etc so once then better weather arrives it will be ready to ride, safe in the knowledge that all the oily (and greasy) bits are tip top.
On my brief rides out (and these were only very short trips not pushing the bike at all) first impressions are the bike is very solid and together, where the Storm tends to wallow and feel a bit loose the APE is very tight and controlled, I guess this is why so many Storm owners swop out the front ends to achieve just this result. The brakes (the fronts at least) are simply stunning compared to the Honda, gold line Brembos with 8 individual pads (one for each piston) what’s not to love, the rear brake is another story, the MC is mounted under the engine rather than is the normal position and can be ineffective, mine seems OK (just OK it’s nothing special) but other owners have reported very very poor rear brake performance, there’s no clear reason why, difficult to bleed? engine vibes causing captivation in the fluid ? nobody has come up with a definitive answer from what I’ve read on the matter, the only sure way to improve it is to fit rearsets and relocate to MC to a more traditional position, although like I said mine is OK and given the strength of the fronts it’s not really a problem.
One thing you may want to consider is the Ohlin front forks have a reputation for blowing oil seals, I think the seals were subject to a revision, although I believe people also fit Gixer 1000 seals to cure this problem.
So it’s a great chassis, but as it’s based around the World Championship winning RS250 GP bike then I guess it blood well should be !!!

Now the engine, apparently very tough and reliable if looked after correctly (15w 50 oil) regular valve checks etc etc, just normal maintenance really but there are no recurring faults or horror stories to worry about .
One of the previous post mention the engine been weak in the midrange in comparison to the Storm and I’d totally agree with this, although it’s not quite that straightforward the APE as a lot more top end where the power is tailing off on the Honda the RSV is just getting inti its stride, it’s just a matter of getting used to it, I tended to short shift the VTR a lot but with the APE I think letting it rev a little more is the way. Another word re the engine, all gen 1 RSVs were restricted from the factory, typically this restriction was removed at 1st service (you cut a wire enter the ECU and it changes the to a full power map on the chip), on inspection my bike as this wire connected which leads me to suspect it may be on the restricted map, there is also evidence of a Power Commander have been fitted at one time and dyno sheets which mention PC settings so I’m not really sure what’s going on within the brain of my APE, even in it’s current form it’s easily a match for my old Storm, with the prospect of more power to come. Further engine tuning is also a fairly simple matter with the Aprilia, a popular set up involves a modified collector box (this changes the exhaust gas pules and is said to add 10bhp), an open air box (basically you remove the air box lid and use the underside of the tank as the top of the air box this considerably increases the volume), of course there’s the mandatory ‘race’ pipe it seems to me these are much of a muchness performance wise so choice is largely down to personal preference, now here is where the EFI system is worth its weight in gold, rather than hours of dyno time messing with fickle carbs jets etc you simply tell the chip man (ECU chip that is) your engine spec and he writes a custom EPROM which simply replaces the old one (Forza and Gabro are respected EPROM suppliers) and hey presto you have extra HP and more importantly it removes the built in dip in mid range power at around 4500rpm, giving a smoother fatter power curve with more top end.

This the plan I have for mine once the weather improves, at the moment I’m quite happy with it as it is, an extra 15bhp may do more harm than good on cold greasy roads, plus I’m still very much getting to know the bike, once I’m more comfortable with it I’ll look at releasing the engines potential fit a set of Supercoras and see what it will do, roll on the summer.

[Salty Dog]

Thanks again budd, really appreciate the hands on input and your appraisal.
Just the handling alone and brakes would make my riding quicker, while feeling safer....

I was hoping to hear there was a noticeable power increase over the Storm, but seems its kind of the same, just different.

[budd]

I was hoping to hear there was a noticeable power increase over the Storm, but seems its kind of the same, just different.

possibly but as I said above mine may be running the restricted map and because this is the only one I've ever ridden I've no way of knowing if it's slow (for an RSV) or not , I guess when I cut the wire I'll find out !!!

[Wicky]

One thing I've seen at my local bike shop, that confirms what budd mentioned, was an Aprillia RSV where the rear shock dogbone linkage had delaminated and disintegrated.

Like in these cases:

http://tuonozone.com/aprilia-rsv-tuono/ ... nes-2.html

http://www.rsvr.net/epic-failure_topic8500.html

[budd]

One thing I've seen at my local bike shop, that confirms what budd mentioned, was an Aprillia RSV where the rear shock dogbone linkage had delaminated and disintegrated.

Like in these cases:

http://tuonozone.com/aprilia-rsv-tuono/ ... nes-2.html

http://www.rsvr.net/epic-failure_topic8500.html

this is caused by poor or none existent maintenance, seized bearings snapping a dog bone, but it’s a problem that can effect any cast part, the casting process can leave slight imperfections caused by impurities in the molten metal, if these imperfections are on the surface of the part it’s possible for water ingress to cause the metal to delaminate or split in this weakened state the part can fail.
However it’s pretty rare and potentially afflicts any bike using cast parts but is only likely to snap if the bearings are seized, the solution would is to service the bearings regularly and the use of a billet part would make it that much stronger, but in the end if the suspension linkages are maintained correctly it’s not likely to be a problem.

[bazzashadow]

try order bits for an aprilia

[budd]

try order bits for an aprilia

Aprilia performance have been great with the few parts I've needed, OK I haven't required a great deal mainly service parts and dog bone bearings but there hasn't been a problem.

[fabiostar]

try order bits for an aprilia

they are great bikes but . the spares problems is what keeps people away from them in this country...