What to look for??

Hi everyone,

Plenty of good info on this forum!

I'm thinking of taking the plunge and buying an 03 RSVR with only 7200 miles. What should I look for to make sure I don't buy a pig in a poke?

Also how durable? I do about 8-10,000 miles a year and my last sports bike was a gsxr600 which gave me 30,000 trouble free miles. I sold it last year and have had an r1150gs which I intend to keep to cart the missus about on so the miles will be split between two bikes.

Ta Folks

The engines are virtually bulletproof.

Ask the following questions to the seller

1 What amperage is the battery
2 Is it left on an optimate when not in use
3 Has the sprag clutch been changed?

Does the bike make a clunck noise from the left hand side when starting??

And other usual questions.

No doubt others will help you more, but its a start.

Tim

Yep, agree with above...the engines are great, there's quite a few guys on here with pretty high mileages on their bikes. The electrical issues start with poor battery maintenence (hence the optimate) as the bike needs a lot of power to start it 14amp batteries appear to be preferred over 12amps. The sprag clutch is a classic casualty of poor battery life and is fairly expensive to fix (although most essential components on bikes are !) Obviously a decent service history would be helpful and a good chat with previous owner if possible, to determine how much of an enthusiast they were.
Obvious stuff like checking the fasteners for corrosion to see how much time the bike has spent outdoors & checking the V5 details with the VIN plate on the bike etc...Aprilia appear to have a weird sense of humour, when it comes to V5's as far as I'm concerned...My '03 (newer shape) RSVR was recorded as a Factory but never was and my current older shape RSV is very clearly BLACK in colour but the V5 states BLUE!!!

that's coz u buy bent bikes LOL !

Gasboy said:

that's coz u buy bent bikes LOL !

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You cheeky bugger Pete...they're all very Kosher I assure you M'Lud:devious....Granted the last one I had was pretty bent when I was finished with it!:dowhat

Look for marks on the swingarm and frame - If the bike goes down on either side because of the proximity of things like gear select lever, back brake, exhaust routing, there will be marks.

Other thing worth asking is when it had its last major service?

All of the above. It should start first press. Also, look at how he starts it. If he holds the button down be afraid as this suggests starting issues which can lead to the dreaded spragg clutch problem, ££££££££££££££

3TWINS said:

Hi everyone,

Plenty of good info on this forum!

I'm thinking of taking the plunge and buying an 03 RSVR with only 7200 miles. What should I look for to make sure I don't buy a pig in a poke?

Also how durable? I do about 8-10,000 miles a year and my last sports bike was a gsxr600 which gave me 30,000 trouble free miles. I sold it last year and have had an r1150gs which I intend to keep to cart the missus about on so the miles will be split between two bikes.

Ta Folks

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Plenty of sound advice so far.

I can see that your a hardened biker but would recommend that if you're not technical then take a friend who is.

These bikes can be pretty damn expensive to repair if you buy a neglected one.

Why not ask one of the fine gents on here who lives near you to pop along and view the bike with you before you hand over your hard earned cash?

(If you had posted a few weeks ago I could have helped, was in Belfast on business)

Some good info on this thread matey :thumbup

Welcome to the zone :thumbup

If the owner/seller has a wooden leg, an eye patch, and/or a parrot on his/her shoulder, and greets you with ooh aargghh me `earty irate

i suggest you walk away :thumbup

Follow what the others say and you cant go wrong matey :biggrin

Thanks for the advice folks. The spragg clutch thing looks the main issue but seems do able as a DIY fix. I was wondering about electrics in general. Seemed to read some stuff about needing to waterproof the wiring? :dunno

sprocker said:

Some good info on this thread matey :thumbup

Welcome to the zone :thumbup

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Good One!!