why i haven't been around so much

asha · 16 Aug 2005, 07:33 (Ref:1383329)

Having been a member here for sometime, i figured i'd share with you all why i haven't been around so much.

And we are very happy together!

Alex K · 16 Aug 2005, 09:11 (Ref:1383388)

Beutiful Aprilia, grats asha

asha · 16 Aug 2005, 09:26 (Ref:1383403)

i'm pretty stoked on it

N I Tram · 16 Aug 2005, 10:56 (Ref:1383471)

Congratulations on the wedding, I hope your bike knows she's got a playa for life and that's no (rubbish).

SALEEN S7R · 16 Aug 2005, 11:48 (Ref:1383532)

Nice bike Asha, I can certainly see why you havent been around as much. I woudnt be either!

**Dani Filth** · 16 Aug 2005, 15:26 (Ref:1383730)

if i had a bike like that .. i'd never come back

. neah . joking

ASCII Man · 16 Aug 2005, 17:44 (Ref:1383871)

Is that a 125 or a 250?

Looks like a 125 judging by the exhaust..

Nice!

Alex K · 16 Aug 2005, 22:03 (Ref:1384080)

looks like 250cc to me

:

I didn't know anything about wedding, good luck on a new way of life (like we used to say in Poland).

djb · 16 Aug 2005, 23:28 (Ref:1384130)

yummy looking, so are you keep us guessing or what, 125 or 250? Back in the day when I had bikes, there were always scrumptious looking jewels like this that never saw the light of day in North America, and its the same now. Come to think of it, there aren't any 2 strokes here now, the last ones were I think the RG500 a good 15 years back. Don't know if any of you remember, but I have a real fondness for 2 strokes as I raced a Yamaha RD 350 LC one summer back in the dark ages, it was a real giant killer in its time (and the subsequent RZ) and much more fun that should have been allowed. Haven't ridden a two stroker for a good 17-18 years.

You gotta love a light late braking bike like this Aprilia doncha ya. flick flick brake, ah the memories....

oh and when your at it, telling us if its a 125 or 250, how about top speed, how it wheelies, stoppies, sounds, what it revs to, how many hp, weight etc etc don't be shy.

asha · 17 Aug 2005, 00:53 (Ref:1384187)

Its a 2004 Aprilia RS125 manuel poggiali replica. I got it 2nd hand (only 2,400 kms) from the guy that does the marketing for Aprilia Australia. There is only 10 in the country (although probably less now days due to it being a learner legal motorcycle).

And yes its a 2-stroke, which makes life interesting! Its fitted with a full Giannelli exhaust and silencer, a Regina Race chain, and Metzeler Ren Sport Tries (which are the slicked-stickest legal tyre). It has also had a change in the front sprocket to lower the gear ratio slightly and make it more fun around town (the RS125 has tall gears)

Its coughs and splutters a bit when you start it up, but once its up to temp. its awesome. The powerband is around 7500-8500rpm when you get it in that sweet spot it just "cracks" it sounds great. The 6 speed gearbox makes staying in that powerband a bit easier. It just pulls and pulls. The breaks are outstanding (just look at the size of the front disk), expecially with the RenSport tyres which give so much confidence when tiping it into a corner.

It only weighs 140kgs (i only weigh about 70kgs myself) so we are a good match. I made it very happy by taking to 140kph briefly.

The best thing is that its one of those bikes that you can ride to 80% of its potential while remaining within the speed limit. Rather then 20% of the potential of a big 1000cc bike (that can break 100kph in 1st gear). I cant see the fun in that.

djb · 17 Aug 2005, 03:45 (Ref:1384250)

To begin with, very cool indeed. I'm a lightweight as well, abit under you and this bike looks seriously fun.

Quote:

Originally Posted by asha

The best thing is that its one of those bikes that you can ride to 80% of its potential while remaining within the speed limit. Rather then 20% of the potential of a big 1000cc bike (that can break 100kph in 1st gear). I cant see the fun in that.

agree with you on that, for a few weeks last month I borrowed my sister-in-laws CBR 600 F3 because my old car bit the dust, and even a 600 nowadays is quite more than is really fun. I did an impromptue 0-100kph and it was somewhere in the 3's, in second gear.I figure that it is pretty well like a 900 or 1000 from 20yrs ago when I was riding alot. It probably weighs close to an '82 Yammy 550 I had, but with twice the hp, at least 90 I figure. The power plus the full fairing means that I have made IT happy getting it to 220 a few times and going from my seat of the pants, its got another 20 in it for sure, maybe up to 250. My old Seca 550 had 180 in it tapped out, no more.

The front end of your Aprilia really looks confidence inspiring, really looks like it goes where you want it to and sticks wonderfully-and yes, I did notice the size of the brake, must be great (careful in the wet mind you...)

My old RD used to pull well from about 7-9, but being a 350 had still fair "getting around town without making a complete racket" mid-range, but of course, it was happiest when one's left foot was doing a good tap dance. Is this your first 2 stroke? My first legal road bike was a 175 enduro 2 stroke, and I think it could go 120, but was so shakey etc over 100 that it felt faster than the forementioned CBR at 200.

As an aside, don't know how much riding experience you have, but getting onto a racetrack was one of the most fun things I did in my life. Its really eye opening to learn how to get to the limit of your bike in a safe and controlled environment, and what I used to think was going around corners fast on the road got to a whole new level. Learning to be smooth so that you could get over and scrape the pegs and other bits all the way around a corner and use the tires right up to the edge was a fantastic learning experience. Makes one a better road rider as well as you get real life experience with both ends beginning to drift and dealing with it properly at speeds that I had never done before (which again back to the enduro I had, was a good beginning for this on dirt when goofing around). I suspect that todays tires are even better than before for giving good feedback prior to breaking away in a controlled way. As I was doing production racing, the tires were all street legal, but the stickiest ones around for the time.

well, have fun and be safe.

ps, just looked at the photo again, and darn, even the swingarm is beautiful looking. Its a sort of bike that you could even stick up on a wall just to look at its so nice looking....I even like how the kickstand is nicely tucked into its own little fairing wind eddy--cool is definately the word.

asha · 17 Aug 2005, 04:08 (Ref:1384255)

just for you djb http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...c/DSC01564.jpg

Yeah this is my first 2-stroke and my first street bike. I'm definately doing an advance rider course soon (track day). I've got a feeling that i'll be taking off all the lights and turning it into a track bike in the very near future!

djb · 17 Aug 2005, 04:49 (Ref:1384264)

did you take the photo, I'm curious as I am at work and there is a cyclorama right behind me as I type, unfortunately empty of Aprilia-anything...(its 12:30 am and should be heading home soon, worked very late).

as for an advanced rider course. great stuff. They usually walk you around the track in groups first, explaining the racing line and braking points, and then you go around in groups with a "'teacher" up front controlling the speed. gradually going faster with each session. I did a weekend thing to get my beginners racing license and then did a bunch of race weekends racing in the 600 and 750 production classes, which meant a fair amount of practice sessions and elimination races (and races for the slow sods like me and others who didn't advance to the finals)

remember, smooth smooth smooth. Its just great to be able to hit the same corners over and over and gradually increase corner speed and work on the transition from braking to midcorner to throttling out, and getting to know the signals that the suspension and tires are giving you, its a fantastic experience in a safe place not having to worry about crap on the road, people pulling out in front of you and all the hard things to hit if you mess up.
Keep consistent lines, even if its a slow one, so that faster riders behind won't trip over you (yep, I did that) and remember, if someone in front of you locks up or whatever and goes off line or off track, DON'T LOOK AT THEM, as you'll tend to follow them (nope never did, but have seen someone in front of me do it)--real life advantage to learning this, when my kids were really yound and baby toys were thrown around, ye old bike racing instincts helped ignore it all--hows that for an excuse to go on a track--you see dear, I'm learning how to be a safer father....!

Its just like downhill skiing, don't know if you ever did it, but motorcycling around corners is just like skiing, slow in, smooth mid corner to maintain momentum and hence a fast exit.

I gotta get out of here, cheers (off I go home on a two wheeler, no cc's, just me legs)

asha · 17 Aug 2005, 11:19 (Ref:1384511)

I didn't take the photos, the aprilia guy that owned the bike took em in a studio. I've got about 110 photos of the bike and documentation of the work done to the bike. Its basically the perfect private sale

see the links below
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...DSC00764_1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...DSC00729_1.jpg

djb · 18 Aug 2005, 16:34 (Ref:1385661)

neat to have the photos, (wish you were in Montreal and you could wheel into our studio and I'd do some proper lighting on it to bring out the shapes better, some light painting would be fun--but I digress)

I guess thats the only drawback to the bike, the fact that there aren't many-meaning that parts would be hard to get--offset obviously by the "wow" factor of being so unique on the road. You must get bike nuts asking about it all the time.

cheers and again, happy riding.

DavidStHubbins · 25 Aug 2005, 08:11 (Ref:1390754)

I hate you Asha! Really, I do...

I had that bike a few years ago, just the rs125 though, (no limited edition like some showoffs...) and brand-spanking new from Italy. A work of art.

I find solace in the fact - **** my 6kg cat just jumped on me from a great height and almost broke my bloody arm

- was going to say they are a bugger to ride in the city due to the clutch and the power being all at the top end. NOT an easy bike to ride round town and in traffic jams. I found anyway.

I recommend you keep it mainly for track days. Although early morning weekend rides are surreal when it's your first bike. Freedom and fun on a sweet handling machine.

If I ever get enough money I am going to get another and just keep it in my house.

Seriously though, have fun mate - that is one amazing looking bike. I always wanted to get mine in my apartment and just sit on it. Work of art. Ow my arm.

ASCII Man · 25 Aug 2005, 20:03 (Ref:1391289)

It's fairly common here though...
Well, not in the new livery...

Airhead · 29 Aug 2005, 10:23 (Ref:1393602)

Quote:

Originally Posted by asha

The best thing is that its one of those bikes that you can ride to 80% of its potential while remaining within the speed limit. Rather then 20% of the potential of a big 1000cc bike (that can break 100kph in 1st gear). I cant see the fun in that.

Don't know that I agree with that bit...

Certainly on the Daytona you need to know what the scenary is doing before you let 112kws loose but it is one hell of a trip.