Thursday 27 June 2013

28/6/2013 : What a hoot to ride!


 
During a stint overseas for more than a week, I sent Silver to my resident Aprilia specialist to tweak the bike further and to pursue more preventive maintenance works. During that week, Silver had its wiring works re-examined and the LED indicators fully-integrated with the main wiring harness (looked better that way), carburetor cleaned, tank dismantled and cleaned too (to check for rust), etc.

When I went to pick her up, there was another bill amounting to RM1,920 waiting for me. But it was monies worth spending as Silver was as performing as good as new; and I believed could be the best Rotax 125 cc engine in the market right now.



I have been wanting to take her out for a ride but the haze was not conducive for one's health, so I have been keeping a look-out for a clear day. And voila, the day came a-reckoning this morning and I quickly donned on my leather riding jacket, and rode to work today.

And... Silver performed beautifully around the corners and on the highway. I'll leave the top speed out from black and while, less that PDRM comes for a chit-chat; but for a nice, lil' 2-stroker, it was giving maximum bang-for-buck and the smile-o-meter was on a high.

If I have to complained, it'll be that I felt riding my Ninja 650R to be more stable during higher triple-digit speeds compared to the RS125 Tuono; but then again, the former was so much heavier with a 650 cc engine capacity. The Tuono was an excellent hoot to ride around town- being so nimble and fast, and on the highway, the top speed was excellent for its rev-happy engine.

I'm now anticipating the long ride home- it should be fun!

Monday 3 June 2013

Wallpaper : Aprilia RS Tuono, one & only in Malaysia

Enjoy some latest pictures fresh from the oven, dear readers...

















3/6/2013 - Re-building of Aprilia RS125 Tuono Completed

Aprilia RS125 Tuono in its original stock condition.
With the Aprilia RS125 Tuono, I found that I like re-building the bike to its original sport touring condition, and then improved it further with newer technologies. 

According to Wikipedia, the RS125 Tuono was introduced in 1999 as a semi-naked version of the RS125. Production ran until 2005 and was subsequently dropped from the line-up. The Tuono was essentially an RS125 with the middle and lower portions of the fairings absent and a handlebar fitted on the top yoke.

The previous owner (PO) explained that the Tuono was CBU Italy and believed to be the one and only such bike in Malaysia, which was brought in through a private AP in 2007. Unlike its racer-posed RS125 sibling, the RS125 Tuono was designed for sport touring and town rides with its easier riding position. In fact, riding this bike was very similar to riding the ER6/Ninja 650R, with the exception of the sudden power delivery and constant high revs that were the highlights of 2-stroke bikes.

Let's re-cap, when I first got the bike, the gears were not shifting properly; neutral was very elusive; idling was somewhat rough; top-speed suffered; parts of the bikes rattled about; the side mirrors were shaking terribly; there was no horn; a leaking rear suspension; and a few other issues made riding this bike not as enjoyable as it could have been.

With its above conditions, the owner reduced the price to RM8,000 (still on Mudah @ http://www.mudah.my/Aprilia+tuono+125cc-21849815.htm) from his earlier asking price of RM15,000 and RM10,000 (which was booked, but the potential buyer failed to pay the rest of the monies so the seller advertised again) respectively.



As of today, having been making time in-between Moto Service Works (an Aprilia specialist) and KS Motorport (specialise in superbikes, where my Ninja 650R was serviced and maintained) from 18th May 2013, the Tuono was now restored to all its glory and more.

I thought that the project bike may take 6 months to a year to be done back to its original glory and more; but apparently it was already in relatively good condition despite the little niggles here and there, so the improvements could be implemented easily. A few weeks (lots of time travelling to and fro, and setting and re-setting as appropriate) and RM4,911 later, Silver was in top-form.

Currently, the changes and replacement parts made included the following :

1) Plastic balancer gear;
2) 2T pump gear;
3) Adjustable re-built rear suspension (original Italy, not local suspension);
4) Suspension bearing;
5) Suspension shaft;
6) Clutch gasket;
7) Gear oil;
8) Engine oil.

Under the PO, the following were done between 2012 - 2013 :

9) Battalax tyres;
10) Motor chain;
11) Battery;
12) Wiring kit (lap timer, temperature, clock, voltmeter, etc all works!);
13) Overhauled engine.

Aftermarket upgrade parts from both me and PO included the following :

14) Rizoma side mirrors;
15) Front and rear imported LED indicators and load resistors;
16) Bosch BM dual air horn;
17) Progrip Italy tank protector;
18) Twin performance exhaust cans.

I had the Tuono re-tuned for better acceleration and torque, and it'll now take off with a wheelie if you want it to.




This may be the one and only Aprilia RS125 Tuono in Malaysia, and it could well be the best-conditioned RS125 Rotax engine in the local market at the moment. You would expect to pay about RM10k for all the above (1) - (18) works to be done to your Rotax engine to be in top-form.



My initial plan was to next convert the RS125 Tuono to a RS125 GP1; but considering that it's the one and only RS125 Tuono in the country, I decided to keep its rare status alive.



With this project over, I am now thinking of picking up an Aprilia RS250 as a project bike to continue on the restoration works towards the race-bred Rotax engine, and to convert it into a RS250 GP1. Whoever have thought that restoration works could be as fun as riding.

 
Ride safe, mates.

Saturday 1 June 2013

How To Grow Your Superbike?

Actually, just add water...


Not too much water though...

 

What Bikers Do At Bike Gatherings?

If you're asking the same question as what my wife did, here's a picture of what us guy riders do during bike gatherings...


Mudah : A Lemon Purchase @ Aprilia RS250


A fellow biker, Hafi (IIRC), brought his newly-bought 2007-registered Aprilia RS250 to Az's workshop for a quotation. It had a nice no. plate Wxx 3663 and nice decals plastered all over the bike. Poor Hafi had been pushing the bike for the last km or so, as it had died on him while on the road to the workshop. As we asked further, it seemed that this was the 3rd time it had happened to him in his short ownership of the bike.


I thought I recognized the bike from a Mudah advert and asked him if it was the same 3663 that was advertised, and he confirmed accordingly. 

I had earlier been interested in the same bike- attracted by its nice decals and advert that read, "Aprilia RS250 to letgo. Weekend motorbike. Condition...no problem....just start and vrooommm.... Location : Rawang/Kota Damansara (Zali)". The seller advertised the bike for RM14,000 and was willing to negotiate downwards. I contacted the seller but steered away as I felt that he was not very forthright with the questions that I posed. 

"There would be other fish in the sea", I thought to myself then.

Anyway, Hafi bought the bike for RM13,000 and was told that it was in good condition. There was a problem with starting the bike but the seller convinced him that it was a small problem.



It wasn't, and Hafi ended up pushing a bike that went dead suddenly on the road, three times including today's experience.
 


The bike couldn't be started while at Az's workshop, which Az felt was not good news as the ignition may needed to be changed at a substantial cost. The rear suspension was a goner and needed to be re-built at the same RM450 that Silver went through. The rev throttle was tight, which the seller informed Hafi was typical of RS250. But Az told Hafi to try the throttle on the many RS250 in the workshop and none was in that condition. The brake level was broken, and the fairings had some broken points- indicating that the bike had crashed or fallen on its right side, which could have affected the handle and throttle.



All in all, the bike was in a sorry state and much moolahs would be necessary to have it done up to be road-worthy again. 

 
Buying a used bike depends much on the buyer's luck and the seller's honesty and attitude in maintaining the bike. As Hafi found out today, he's gotten a lemon and he had to now bear the hefty repair bills. Or he could just repair it slightly to be able to start, and then sell it off to get a better RS250 that actually works. But the next buyer would then face what he faced. Ouch.

Ouch... Good luck, Hafi!
 

1/6/2013 - Silver Undergoes Upgrade



I've made an appointment with Az to help me install the GP-style LED signal lights and load transistors that I've got to replace the Mickey Mouse ears-look-alike Aprilia stock signal lights.
 

Point to note was that you need to check with the seller if the items that you were ordering was for your specific bike- some sellers specify that their LED signal lights and load transistors were specific for Japanese bikes, so you need to get the ones that were designed for European bikes. Expect to pay RM200 for a pair of lights and resistors.

We re-positioned the front LED indicators to the lower front fairing, which in my opinion, looked better than the upper front fairing (which gave the impression of Mickey Mouse ears). The ones at the rear were slotted into its original position. Overall, I must say that the newer LED signal lights looked so much better than the original Aprilia big indicators. Plus the LEDs were much brighter and thus more visible for added safety.



I also installed the Rizoma Tomok gold-black anti-glare side mirrors from the 2013 collection, and I must say that these improved the overall looks of the bike immediately. Expect to pay RM600 for genuine ones.


I am still on the hunt for Rizoma gold handlebar caps from the same 2013 collection, but these seemed to be more elusive. Expect to par RM200 for genuine ones.

Az had some guests this afternoon so we have to continue with the works this coming Monday.


After bidding our goodbyes, I rode to KS Motorsports to install a set of twin Bosch BM horns. I have always used BM horns on my bikes and this is one upgrade that I have been waiting to install. With these horns, our presence as bikers would garner more attention from drivers when used during needful times. Expect to pay RM90 with installation charges.

A set of Progrip resin tank protector was also installed to protect the tank. Expect to pay RM90 for the protector.

Overall, 6 hours of my precious time was spent on these upgrades. But Silver definitely looked better and felt safer with these upgrades installed.

Ride safe, fellow readers!