Used Bike Guide's review archive - APRILIA

Used Bike Guide: Issue 176: Sample Only

GUILTY BUT INSANE

Aprilia dropped the RS250 from their range at the end of 2002. It was the last of the red-hot performance two-strokes. Steve Whalley owns an early race rep example that costs him more to insure that it did to buy. It’s unreliable, uncomfortable and not at all practical for his use as everyday transport. But...

There are many good reasons for not buying an RS250 Aprilia. In my case they begin with the insurance. I own a 1996 model, which I bought last November for £1500. I am 20, work behind the sales counter at Corby Kawasaki. How much does it cost me for fully comp cover? Would you believe £2304?
This is where you stop reading and shout across to whoever is sitting opposite - even if it’s a complete stranger - and say, “Guess how much this 20-year-old pays to insure an RS250 Aprilia?”
The guess that comes back is miles out. You give the answer. No one believes you. Must be a misprint. People crowd round to see you stabbing the appropriate spot on the page with your finger. There it is in black and white: £2304.
People start talking about what you could buy for £2304: Luxury holidays, a home entertainment system with a TV screen the size of a barn door, a good condition 600 Suzuki Bandit, another 1996 RS250 Aprilia with 800 quid or so stuffed inside the fairing.
Someone suggests that I must have a couple of trillion penalty points on my licence and an appalling driving record. My licence is clean but I have made an insurance claim following the theft last year of my KMX125 Kawasaki. I received a settlement cheque of £2200.
Is it any wonder that born again bikers of 40 and 50 plus are the people you see riding most top of the range sports bikes? How much would I have to pay to insure something like an R1 fully comp? It doesn’t bear thinking about.

Cover for the RS works out at nearly 45 quid a week. Fortunately I have something called a dad. He takes care of it for me but I could also do with a fairy godmother at the petrol pumps.
More GBH of the wallet is dished out there. Ride the Aprilia hard and it gulps down a gallon of gas every 25 miles laced with a squirt or two of fully synthetic two-stroke to stop the whole thing welding itself together. I am at my local garage so often I am beginning to think of it as a second home.
The tank holds 16.5 litres including 3.5 litres reserve. That’s full to empty every 90 miles. They see me even more frequently than that at my local pumps. There is something wrong with my petrol tap. I can’t figure out what, but I have to run with it switched to reserve all the time. Goodbye to that 3.5-litre safety net. Having run the tank bone dry once I don’t intend repeating the experience so I stop for top ups every 40 or 50 miles.
I can understand why many bikers might find this frustrating.
I don’t. Why? Because the Aprilia is as uncomfortable as motorcycles come. Riding position, vibration and seat combine to inflict pain everywhere.
The longest journey I have ever made on the bike in a single day was 180 miles and involved three fuel stops. I can tell you, it sure feels good to get off and stretch your legs a little.

The enforced fuel stops also give you the chance to check that you have not lost any nuts and bolts. They are shaken loose with monotonous regularity. You should check the cables at the same time. I have had both a throttle and speedo cable snap. Just one of those things? Not on the RS. Take a look at the way the throttle cable is routed and you can see the problem. Sharp angles and sharp edges all over the shop.
It seems to me that Aprilia’s designers are focused on the performance aspect of their models and don’t take enough care over the everyday practicalities. Take the seat on the RS as another example. There is a bolt at the front you have to remove to take off the seat or petrol tank. Fuses and battery are under the seat and you can’t get at the engine without removing the petrol tank. Unfortunately the all-important bolt is impossible to get at without damaging the seat. They must have known this at the factory but the bike still went into production that way.

The Japanese seem willing to compromise more by ensuring their performance bikes are also practical. Aprilia and some of the other Italian manufacturers don’t appear to care. I see it as a serious flaw in their design philosophy and something they are going to have to rectify.
The engine in the RS250 is, of course, Japanese - a lightly tweaked RGV250 Suzuki power plant rehoused in Aprilia’s purpose-built chassis. A marriage made in heaven, but shortly after buying the bike I had to replace a badly scored piston. Ideally you should always replace both pistons at the same time on any twin but my wallet needed a break. The piston cost £70 and the base gasket was £20. I couldn’t afford a double dose of that expense.
Aprilia quote 60bhp for my machine. On the dyno at Corby’s Demon Bike Sport, mine produced a reading of 72bhp. Where did all that extra oomph come from? I have no idea. Could it be a mistake? Of course, mistakes happen. Or maybe a previous owner somewhere down the line invested in the tuning services of a two-stroke specialist.
I can’t honestly say one way or the other.

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