what's up everyone? well i'm looking for a new bike had to sell my 03 rc last fall and now am looking for a new bike thinking about either another sp2 rc or a 00-03 aprilia mille and was wondering if anyone knew if there is a huge difference between them. lol and i know the major differences already.
rc51 vs aprilia rsv mille
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The Mille and RC51 are similar in purpose.
The Mille is typically Italian in riding position. Although a bit more relaxed than Ducati.
The Rotax engine is tough as nails and very reliable. It's very torquey engine.
Some have reported a few electrical problems, typically the regulator/rectifier dying due to a connector melting.
The bike handles very well, especially the Factory's which have Ohlins forks and shocks.
The main drawback (at least in my area) is almost no dealer support (if needed).
And parts can take forever to obtain (apparently similar to Ducati).
Otherwise every bit the equivalent to the RC51.
The Mille is typically Italian in riding position. Although a bit more relaxed than Ducati.
The Rotax engine is tough as nails and very reliable. It's very torquey engine.
Some have reported a few electrical problems, typically the regulator/rectifier dying due to a connector melting.
The bike handles very well, especially the Factory's which have Ohlins forks and shocks.
The main drawback (at least in my area) is almost no dealer support (if needed).
And parts can take forever to obtain (apparently similar to Ducati).
Otherwise every bit the equivalent to the RC51.
DON'T DO IT! I owned a 2001 Aprilia mille and the ones made 98-03 had electrical issues. The issue involved your battery not holding a charge and it had to do with a "brown plug" thing or "brown wire" can't remember. I fixed mine but then my issue went to the starter relay. That's another problem. You have to buy a yamaha part and fix it with that one. And the worst part of it all is the dash resets itself sometimes. My dash wash soooo wacked somehow and what would happen is when I took the battery out, my RPM needle would literally click up a couple notches and stay there. So before I figured I'd have to keep tapping my terminals wires on the bike, I would ride around town with my rpm needle idling at 12k lol. Eventually I kept taping the pos/neg wires to the terminals so that the rpm needle sat at 0 when off. What was odd was one time when I touched the new battery to the wires it started the bike by itself, no key even in the ignition. I can't remember how I fixed that issue. Other than the electrical issues, the bike was cool I guess. You could switch from KPH to MPH so I bought it when the guy had it in KPH so the mileage was much less than I thought it would be. Also, you can set your own redline to wherever you want. It has a shift light to tell you when it hits the redline and it governs the bike. Before I fixed my rpm needle issue, I was trying to go fast and it was in 6th gear full throttle and it topped at 80 and wouldn't budge. That's when I discovered the governing rpm feature. It was pretty cool. The brakes are great, though the RC51 is pretty close. I've had the brembos on the mille, and the nissin on the rc, and the tokickos on the hayabusas/gsxr600 and the tokikos SUCK! Also, the Milles don't hold their value for whatever reason. They look really nice I guess, but the dual exhaust of the rc is better looking IMO and sounds better. The Mille sits very high up and is very slim. It feels A LOT like a dirt bike under you. The tank is plastic/composit which is delicate. Honestly, having owned the 2, the RC is much better in my opinion. Now, If you're looking at a Mille R, with the Ohlins and carbon fiber, that might be worth checking out. They look nice, but also, check for headlight spider cracking. And parts aren't that easy to get either. I hope this helped some. Good luck!
Thanks I am looking at a rsv-r the one with the olins shocks and forged wheels. But I'm only 5'7" tall and like to ride long distances so is it as comfotable as the rc or better? And I noticed the mille is lighter and has more power is it a noticeable difference or about the same? And as far as matinace like valve checks and stuff hard or bad? I guess what I'm asking how is the reliablie compared to the rc
Here is a link of the mille I'm looking at I haven't seen it but I'm hoping some here can tell me if it for sire has olins forks on it I think it does but I have been wrong before http://milwaukee.craigslist.org/mcy/1579717445.html
Yes, that is the R. Nice looking one too! And he upgraded to high mount duals!?!?! That thing looks SWEET! I've never owned a new bike, and I've never owned a bike that had it's scheduled valve jobs so I can't say anything other than the Mille I was riding had 16,000 miles no motor opened ever. Only electrical issues. If you go for it, I'd see if he can budge on price because he's high compared to the ones I've seen on Ebay. Take a look and try to compare. And ask him if he's done the 'brown wire' fix or any electrical issues. Let me grab the link for it, so look for a reply real quick. As for the comfort, the RC is by far the LEAST comfortable bike I've ever ridden. The mille isn't nearly as 'committed' riding position.
And yes, those are Ohlins. The Ohlins forks are a unique looking gold color and both had those fancy wheels, the non-R just had a different spoke pattern. The R's look way better though. If you're know a little about turning wrenches and working with wires, you should be good. For the money, I'd still stick with the RC even if that Aprilia is reallllllly cool and unique. Then again, I had the non-R model and I ended up trading it for a hayabusa and now some bikes later have a 2001 RC.
Thanks for the info. And I'm pretty good with wrenchs and wires lol. And I love the looks of this mille but I also love the rc lol I guess it all depends on which one is aviable when I get the cash and I was thinking of offering the guy 5 grand for the mille or do u think I should go lower than that?
Honestly lower, but then again I'm in South FLorida. I almost bought one a couple months ago on Ebay from a guy in the keys. It was not an R but it was a 2002, it had 900 miles and was bone stock. The owner was in the military and when he bought it he got deployed so it just sat. The pics of the bike showed it was all legit. It sold for $3200 I believe. It hadn't been down or messed up at all. Now it's on craigslist near me for way more lol the new buyer is trying to make a buck but it hasn't sold at his asking price. http://orlando.craigslist.org/mcy/1593779416.html
If you're not really concerned with resale value, go for the bike that makes you smile when you look at it and when you ride it. Both bikes have high cool factors, but as for parts Honda is easier but then again you probably (hopefully) won't really need any parts anyway. I know in the shootout for 2000 or 2001 they said the RC was the best, then the aprilia I think, and then the Ducati. Can't remember.
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Honestly, it depends on what kind of riding you do, I own both a 2005 RC 51 and a 2000 RSV. SO far the rsv is the fastest bike I own, got clocked doing 188 on the autobahn near frankfurt. In italy the rc51 hit 180. However I think the aprilia is better on the track than my honda, so if its track the aprilia is the one, and the street go with the honda. Thats just my opinion. The best thing to do is test ride them and come up with your on conclusion.
That sounds good too, I haven't tracked on any bike and I never went fast on either bike so I couldn't help with this department.
well i do all street riding and i kind of leaning toward the rsv-r just something about that bike catches my eye. the only thing i'm worried about is the height of the seat cause like i said before i'm only 5'7" tall and not sure if i'll be able to reach the ground if any of your other previous or current rsv owners could to tell me how tall u are and how well you can or did touch that may help
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rc51 vs rsv
I am 5'10" the RSV is a great bike but must I remind you that in the states its hard to get parts for that bike. It took me three months just to get a kickstand. Also like any bike you can have it lowerd thats easy. just go with your gut on this one. I own both for a reason. All my bikes are v-twins and its hard for me to say the aprilia is better than the honda or vise versa. But chicks do like the rsv for some reason, maybe cause you don't see a lot of them in certain ereas, however I can care less about the chick part, its a great track bike. Good throttle response in the turns.
I am 5'10" the RSV is a great bike but must I remind you that in the states its hard to get parts for that bike. It took me three months just to get a kickstand. Also like any bike you can have it lowerd thats easy. just go with your gut on this one. I own both for a reason. All my bikes are v-twins and its hard for me to say the aprilia is better than the honda or vise versa. But chicks do like the rsv for some reason, maybe cause you don't see a lot of them in certain ereas, however I can care less about the chick part, its a great track bike. Good throttle response in the turns.
In a perfect world a substantial test ride would surely give you the answer you need. Too bad I cant think of any seller thats going to let a prospective buyer test ride his bike for the amount of time needed to really come up with an informed opinion. So the best thing to do IMO is to gather all this valuable info here on the internet and couple that with the test rides you can manage and form a conclusion that way.
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Yea your right, well I'm sure when the time comes he will figure it out.
i plan on testing the rsv but from what i understand the rsv-r is a total different machine. Much better suspension more power and less weight, better brakes. if anyone knows of a site or fourm that could give me some more info that would help. the more you know the better off you are.
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