the RSV1000R and RSV4 VS all the others out there

No one has mentioned the RC8 yet...

the trouble is all the bikes that have been mentioned are bloody good and it's clear from people's responses that people buy bikes for all sorts of reasons. I don't think people are avoidiing your question or answering it incorrectly it's just difficult to put your finger on all of the reasons or indeed refer to solid facts when trying to decide which bike, as individuals we like best. I've got a 2000 model, '01 Mille R. I love it but it's not going to be as fast as a new 848. I can think of a million reasons why I love me bike but none of them would help you out. I can't think of anything I don't like about it. I commute on it, I do my shopping on it, I go out with my mates, i take it to track, the noise annoys the neighbours and it puts a massive grin on my face everytime i ride it.

I'd agree with spoonz, I guess I'd buy the big one with all the toys and tell my mates i could ride it, knowing full well I bought it because it was the biggest and I'll never use 20% of it's potential. without 10k burning a whole in my pocket it's difficult to say what you would actually go for. It's always easy to make practical statements but it's a different story when you're in the dealers and there's a big spec sheet in front of you and one bike looks shinier than the other one. If I had the sunny side of 10k lying around, I'd get the biggest, fastest, shinest thing and live with it.

All the bikes that have been mentioned are pretty fabulous. they're all pretty exclusive, compared to jap bikes, they're all a compromise on comfort, they're al fast as hell and they're all more capable than most of us. Might be fun to save some money by buying the factory - it's a great bike and you could spend the arm and a leg that you save on getting it set up just for you.

or, just go and ride them all and pick the one that makes you grin the most.

As Rsvrr said there isn't anything really to dislike about the Aprilia. I'm guessing you like the styling or you wouldn't consider it an option.

For me i loved my 2 rsv's but i generally change bikes around the 5 year mark and buy new if i can and that wasn't an option on the RSV for various reasons.

The only thing i can say about the Rsv maybe more than some bikes is it needs a good suspension setup. The bike handles better if it's pushed on a bit and if the handling is scaring you enough not to push you will never click.
It's not especially vibey for a twin and has more than enough go unless you want to drag race a Gsxr1000 etc.

Rc8 is a bit like marmite it seems styling wise. From some angles i find it nice but especially from the front i'm not keen. I've only ever ridden one on a brief dealer test ride around town and was immediatly struck by the common complaint of very notcchy gearbox and on/off throttle. The gearchange has a mod now so can be sorted and i dare say map updates or a pc3 will improve the fueling. Then it's just down to riding it and see. It has the kit so no lack of spec.

Generally no one builds a bad bike anymore so it comes down to what power configuration you want and what floats your boat looks wise. A good spec sheet is always nice but i find the power figure meaningless amongst the bigger machines as they all are rocketships. Better to ride someting at or near it's potential than 50% of it from a fulfillment point of view imo.

rsvrrr said:

No one has mentioned the RC8 yet...

the trouble is all the bikes that have been mentioned are bloody good and it's clear from people's responses that people buy bikes for all sorts of reasons. I don't think people are avoidiing your question or answering it incorrectly it's just difficult to put your finger on all of the reasons or indeed refer to solid facts when trying to decide which bike, as individuals we like best. I've got a 2000 model, '01 Mille R. I love it but it's not going to be as fast as a new 848. I can think of a million reasons why I love me bike but none of them would help you out. I can't think of anything I don't like about it. I commute on it, I do my shopping on it, I go out with my mates, i take it to track, the noise annoys the neighbours and it puts a massive grin on my face everytime i ride it.

I'd agree with spoonz, I guess I'd buy the big one with all the toys and tell my mates i could ride it, knowing full well I bought it because it was the biggest and I'll never use 20% of it's potential. without 10k burning a whole in my pocket it's difficult to say what you would actually go for. It's always easy to make practical statements but it's a different story when you're in the dealers and there's a big spec sheet in front of you and one bike looks shinier than the other one. If I had the sunny side of 10k lying around, I'd get the biggest, fastest, shinest thing and live with it.

All the bikes that have been mentioned are pretty fabulous. they're all pretty exclusive, compared to jap bikes, they're all a compromise on comfort, they're al fast as hell and they're all more capable than most of us. Might be fun to save some money by buying the factory - it's a great bike and you could spend the arm and a leg that you save on getting it set up just for you.

or, just go and ride them all and pick the one that makes you grin the most.

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i'll mention the rc8 as i have just aquired one!
i agree with spoonz on some things the one i have has had the mods done gearbox wise and have had no drama's! around town is a pain at the moment because throttle response is to sharp and first gear is fooooooking long but thats the only thing i find wrong the front definatley grows on you in time !
i think nobody makes a bad bike nowadays it is personal opinion !
myself could have bought a 1098,848,new r1,etc.....just thought the ktm was different and stands out in the crowd me personally i would consider the newer bikes like the rsv4,duc,ktm,r1 the rsv has been around awhile now but is still good:thumbup

rs3 mille said:

around town is a pain at the moment because throttle response is to sharp

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Are you getting that upgraded throttle I keep reading about?

A303 said:

Are you getting that upgraded throttle I keep reading about?

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you mean the one they fitted to the R?
in time probably mate as this is the only problem with it but only round town on open rounds its obviously not it just takes off instantly like a bull thats has its nuts chopped off:biggrin
i think people who ride the ktm around town from a dealer on a test ride would maybe get the wrong impression from this bike take it out for a couple of hours in the sticks and oh boy do you fall in love with how light sharp and powerful it is giving me the feeling when i first got my mille:devious

stuckon250 said:

ok so wat about the RSV wat do you like and dont you like about your RSV/old RSV? thats wat i was more looking for when i asked about your likes and dislikes about each of the bikes... does it virbrate alot? and so on?

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Well rightly or wrongly the RSV seems to have a reputation for some certain niggles such as eating batteries and sprag clutches, duff back brake, leaking clutch and brake resevoirs and brakes and clutch that need bleeding alot. Bizarrely this didn't put me off as I REALLY take care of my bikes and I did alot of research on forums like this, of which I found this to be the best.

Subsequently if you listen to the guys on the forum you can avoid alot of these. I personally bought my RSV new in September 2008 and I've currently done around 1100 miles (rubbish I know but a combination of working alot and crap weather) and I haven't had any issues thus far with any of the above. However I have purchased an optimate which is the equivalent of the holy grail to an RSV owner. If you keep it hooked up or use it like myself as often as possible you shouldn't have any issues with your battery or sprag.

The back brake is a bit of a bugger due to odd positioning of the rear brake resevoir etc, right next to the engine, but this can generally be sorted without bleeding or changing/moving anything. If you get an RSV or are really thinking of getting one the answers are all on this forum so check out the search function above.

In terms of the aforementioned leak issues I haven't had any at all but I think it's got alot to do with the preparation and servicing of the bike by careful and compentent owners/mechanics. Although I guess there are bound to be some issue with materials that will occur no matter how good or careful someone is and Aprilia don't have the cash of any of the jap boys, among others, and that will obviously effect the quality of materials used. That said alot of people don't have any problems and if they do it's fixable 99% of the time.

The only problem I had was while I was running it in for the first 600 odd miles as I got terrible vibes in my throttle hand to the point my right hand was going dead and I couldn't feel anything which was scary and dangerous. However as soon as I hit the 600 mile mark and had it serviced I just used the bike normally and I haven't had any vibe issues since at all.

Hope this helps, and being in a similar position to yourself 7 months ago I can say that I definitely don't regret my decision so far. Although I must say I do tend to change bikes every 2 to 3 years so I'm not too worried about the long term future with the RSV, but the old timers on the site :nana can help you there if you're in it for the long haul.

im not after the most powerful bike or the highest top speed koz here in aussie land we dont have auto bahn so anything over 150 is really well and truely too fast for roads unless on a track but at least 90% or riding will be done on streets koz closest track is 700k away and only have meets once a month i think =( and i fell inlove with the RSV when i 1st saw it and read about it. after 3-4 months worth of research and reading and watching vids i thought to myself for my b-day ill get myself one. only problem is closest dealer is 3-4000k away so test riding it is.... well hard?? haha

A303 said:

Are you getting that upgraded throttle I keep reading about?

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A303, judging by your avatar you've really let yourself go. :nana

Jokes aside I just wondered if it was a pic from a recent trip to the East?

(Sorry no thread hijack intended, just a very quick enquiry!)

stuckon250 said:

im not after the most powerful bike or the highest top speed koz here in aussie land we dont have auto bahn so anything over 150 is really well and truely too fast for roads unless on a track but at least 90% or riding will be done on streets koz closest track is 700k away and only have meets once a month i think =( and i fell inlove with the RSV when i 1st saw it and read about it. after 3-4 months worth of research and reading and watching vids i thought to myself for my b-day ill get myself one. only problem is closest dealer is 3-4000k away so test riding it is.... well hard?? haha

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That does sound hard to say the least. Service intervals are 10,000 kilometers so you'll no sooner have had a service done than be riding back to the dealer, probably before you've got back home from the previous one, to have the next one done! That might be funny if it wasn't pretty close to the truth. Bugger. :rant

Although at least you'll have some good weather to do all those k's to and from the dealer. Sounds like epic road trips are almost essential by the sounds of it. Could be worse I guess. :thumbup

sorry closest service dealer is 700k with closest track but closest retailer is 3-4000k
so service is only a short ride away getting the bike itself.... thats another story

3-4 k from an Aprilia dealer would be a scary prospect for me.

During the warranty period you are going to need a dealer if you want to maintain the warranty status with valve checks etc.
Waranty claims are not uncommon either and a real pain with that distance.

That probably goes for anything Italian and the Ktm. It's one area the Japs can claim an advantage. Their r&d normally reduces problems for the owner to a minimum.

stuckon250 said:

sorry closest service dealer is 700k with closest track but closest retailer is 3-4000k
so service is only a short ride away getting the bike itself.... thats another story

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Ah ok I'm with you, well the servicing side of things could be worse then. Without sounding rude or presumptuous you sound like you're not short of a dollar or two so, (this may sound really mad) would air freight be an option?

Plus if you bought an RSV over the more expensive options on your list you'd have cash to use to get it to you one way or another I guess. What are your thoughts on how you'd get it?

not so much not being short of a buck but i love riding... rain or shine ill ride in it plus the amount you save on fuel is much more then you ever could driving a car so it pays off in the end also the aprilia seems like an amazing bike packed full of extras (brembos ohlins braid lines carbo light weight rims and a V2 thud to boot) so if im going to enjoy every moment on it im more then happy to keep it in the best condition it could ever be in so if getting it trucked to service it must be done then ill do it or ill hijack my mates ute and drive up on a weekend but i think ill get it trucked to me after i buy it then for when i need to service it ill leave 1000k short of a service and have it done at the closest service dealer (i dont understand being able to service the aprilia if you cant sell it)

spoonz said:

Don't worry mate i'm not insulted just curious how you thought it looked cheap when it's essentially the same bike.
I was assuming you were basing that on an experience at looking at the bikes and couldn't see how you arrived at the conclusion.

Now i can say that in the knowledge that the 1098 and 848 actaully cost the same for Ducati to make pretty much. It came up on a ducati forum and a chap from DNA (Ducati North America) basically said it was the case and that often a retail price is as much about position/status in the market place as it is profit.

Sure there will be a few savings by not painting the belly panel and no monoblocs but otherwise the same except the motor. Even the panels are all marked 848.1098.1098s.

A Ford worker commented in the same thread that a Ford focus base model costs Ford £9k to make and the top of the range model £1200 more than the base model yet there is 5k difference it retail between the 2. You get my point ?
If the top model was £1200 more than the base, no one would buy the base and the top models market status would degrade as a result.

A little bird told me that the Gold OZ (that aren't Oz) wheels on the post 06 Factories cost Aprilia £80 from the chinese Factory to buy in. That's probably little more than the base model wheels so assuming that is a trend the Factory costs little more than a Rsvr for Aprilia to make but it has to be set apart in price as per the Ford,Ducati etc.

Anyway mo problem everyone has their opinions and i wouldn't have it any other way but it is my nature to ask for sound reasoning behind an opinion if i don't agree with it. That doesn't mean i'm right just that i like to understand why someone else sees it different.
As an 848 owner myself i would be more sensitive to it getting a bashing than i otherwise would be for sure.

It's like a bloke in a pub telling you your bird is a minger. not that i've ever been in situation myself of course. :dowhat

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Spoonz, check out this weeks MCN. There's a small piece in it about Ducati USA making an 848R Superleggera in limited numbers, as the Ducati factory won't as it cost the same price as an 1098/1198 R at £27,000. Guess this article well and truly backs up the points you made in this post so I guess I stand corrected to some degree.

They also mention a few choice mods that seem beneficial and may appeal to you like a quick action throttle and dropping the front cog by a tooth.

Rage Rider said:

Spoonz, check out this weeks MCN. There's a small piece in it about Ducati USA making an 848R Superleggera in limited numbers, as the Ducati factory won't as it cost the same price as an 1098/1198 R at £27,000. Guess this article well and truly backs up the points you made in this post so I guess I stand corrected to some degree.

They also mention a few choice mods that seem beneficial and may appeal to you like a quick action throttle and dropping the front cog by a tooth.

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cheers bud will have a looky.

Have read about the sprocket mod but mixed opinions on that. Makes traffic better but the bike redlines really quicklyso i'm told. It revs fast for a twin anyway.