and it's hello from me . . .

Good morning all, first contribution to the forum by way of an introduction. I'm a Scot, living and working in the netherlands, very close to the Belgian border and Antwerp in fact.
After a succession of Ducatis, I'm days away from buying my first Aprilia (RSV Mille 2001) and looking forward to it veeeerrry much. Although the guys bikes I've been looking at must think i'm Mr Anal due to all the servicing history etc questions I've been asking (legacy of ducati ownership). Anyhoo, looks like I've hooked a 2001 model with the matt black paint and with 18k on the clock. Can't believe that I've ignored Aprilia all these years in favour of Ducs (although I'm still a ducati boy at heart).
So, first questions . . . anything I should be on the look out for on a used bike of that vintage? What about servicing, oil changes etc? Is it a little more relaxed than a duc?

cheers all and hope to be getting to know some of you soon

Willie

Welcome fella, servicing every 4500 miles with valve clearance check every 9000. Battery must be in tip top condition otherwise sprag clutch failure can occur, so keep it hooked up to an optimate at all times. Starter solenoids can fail, disc bobbins need regular cleaning to avoid brake judder. Post some piccies when you can :thumbup

And run it.....run it like someone is chasing you....fast, very FAST:biggrin

Welcome to the site,,
Hope you enjoy:thumbup

Welcome fella,was over your way 2wks ago,in rotterdam,enjoy the site fella...:thumbup
p.s.(Will be coming over to belgiam in july,meeting some buddys for the german gp,hopefully meet up...):thumbup

thanks for the welcome gentlemen. Another question if I may? I'm looking at two 2001 models - one has some rather tasty underseat pipes professionally fittet and looks real good. The other is more or less standard. However, the underseat pipes version looks from the photo to be glossy black with a different sticker layout - the other is matt (also with a bit of a sratch/ding in the fairing - not too big , but . . .)

Anyone know if the glossy is an earlier graphic layout etc? And if so, any difference in the engine etc?

cheers
Willie

Welcome and enjoy

bad boy said:

Welcome fella,was over your way 2wks ago,in rotterdam,enjoy the site fella...:thumbup
p.s.(Will be coming over to belgiam in july,meeting some buddys for the german gp,hopefully meet up...):thumbup

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sounds like a plan, I'm about 15 mins from Antwerp, just gimme a shout when you're going to be in the neighbourhood.

Willie

Welcome to the site fella :thumbup Enjoy which eva one ya buy :biggrin

Thanksh guysh, looks like I'm going for a 2001 R - nice bike, OZ wheels, ohlins etc and having talked to the owner, sounds like he knows what he's doing. However it has 23k miles on it - should I be thinking twice or is there loads of lovely rides in it still? Remember I come from a ducati background . . . irate

cheers
Willie

Welcome to the site mate :thumbup.

I came from Ducati as well and you can worry less with these bikes. There's a member on here whose bike has around 47K miles on it! The common statement seems to be that although valve clearances are checked they rarely need adjusting, seems to be a nice, reliable bike that also happens to be a blast to ride!

Why have you left Ducati out of interest? My reason was the usual 748 eats valve rockers expense.

DaveRSV said:

Welcome to the site mate :thumbup.

I came from Ducati as well and you can worry less with these bikes. There's a member on here whose bike has around 47K miles on it! The common statement seems to be that although valve clearances are checked they rarely need adjusting, seems to be a nice, reliable bike that also happens to be a blast to ride!

Why have you left Ducati out of interest? My reason was the usual 748 eats valve rockers expense.

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Hi Dave, thanks for the feedback. I guess I left Ducati for the same reasons as yourself - great bikes, but bloody expensive to run (and to be honest, I'm a bit bored with the dry clutch death rattle) - I had always heard good things about Aprilia and decided for this season to make a move. The spec on the R Mille is pretty good as you know and to get a hold of a full specced duc I'd for sure need to be paying a lot more than I am for the RSV!!

all the best and thanks again
Willie

welcome willie :cheers i lived in the hague for a little bit. I don't miss the dutch one iota, but its good to have yah on board the site :cheers :cheers :cheers

-:banana

williec said:

sounds like a plan, I'm about 15 mins from Antwerp, just gimme a shout when you're going to be in the neighbourhood.

Willie

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Will do fella...:thumbup

Welcome to the forum fella, enjoy whichever you choose, its hard not to :thumbup:thumbup