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.