Aprilia falco

Hey guys

my sv is now paid for its 3 years old and im looking to change want another twin, not really interested in sv1000, have been looking at rsv's and falco's dont really think an rsv is the ideal all year round bike but what do you know about the falco? is it reliable for all year usage about 12-13,000 miles a year. anyone had experience with them?

thanks

dave

[mattSV]

Jelster went from a SV650 to a Falco - I am sure he will be along shortly to tell you all about it!

My old man has one and it's been a great bike. Stonking engine and pretty comfortable. He's not had any issues with his.

I not 100% but I think Jelster had some minor electrical issues with his, it might be worth a PM.

[rictus01]

very nice engine. pulls like a train, not over happy with the build quality (on the falco at least), but Aprillia have made great strides in spares availability over the last few years, which is a plus.

good bouncy bits to, handles very well, engine braking is somewhat more than your SV as you would expect.

If you're looking Italian and can live with what that means (draw your own conclusions) then I wouldn't rule out a Ducati monster (not the baby one though/ engines a bit weak) either.

Cheers Mark.

Originally Posted by mattSV

Jelster went from a SV650 to a Falco - I am sure he will be along shortly to tell you all about it!

You rang sir ?


I had an '01 model in black. first the good bits.

As Mark says, it pulls like a train. I used to call it my "VERY" bike, it was very fast, very loud, very shiney, and very comfortable. Mine had the Aprilia RSC cans & chip (if you change the cans you really should change the EM chip too).



It's the only bike I've had that I could wheelie, most of them non intentional, but the front came up easily, especially when I changed the front sprocket. I liked the dash layout and although the suspension is pretty good, they are terrible if they're set up wrong, like mine was. I couldn't hold lines and I found it gave poor feedback.

The lights... The headlamp set up is like a floodlight on a football ground. Terrific lights, on a par with my 'Blade (and they're brilliant).

What I didn't like:

The continual problems with batteries. It comes with a 12mAh battery as std, which just isn't enough when you're continually starting the bike every morning in the cold weather. I changed it twice. But, the solution is a Mercedes battery. The larger Mercedes models have 2 batteries, a normal one, plus one to power the starter motor. It's the same size but it's 16mAh and does the job nicely, but at £65 it's not cheap.

Switch gear. Hit the starter and the solenoid would just click. The starter switch is crap, and at 6:45 in the morning, in -3 degress, the last thing I wanted to be doing was whipping the starter switch off and spraying it with WD40.

The noise. Eventually it wears you (and your neighbours) down. My 'Blade is not that loud on tickover, the Falco gave a constant "thump, thump, thump" while on my drive, which the guy next door didn't like. He's moved now....... But the bike was loud, just make sure you have decent ear plugs.

Tank range... Like any big twin, 100 miles is about it, if your riding hard, make that about 80.

Would I have one again ? Actually, I probably would. Now I have more experience and also know what to expect, it would make a great tourer, as long as the petrol stations are open

If you've never expereinced the Mille engine I would advise you to treat it with respect. There's a lot of power on tap and it can come on quickly. I had it sideways a few times out of roundabouts. It can catch pillions out too, I once had my sons ankles round my ears due to the accelleration. We now have a pillion pal

Later models had revised switchgear on the left. I took one for a ride and found that whenever I cancelled the indicators I hit the horn.

Take it for a spin, it's certainly got character. Anything else I can help with drop me a PM....

.

Never owned one,but I think they are one of the most over looked bikes out there. Can be had relatively inexpensively too. That gets you a whole lot of machine that is not out and out sport focussed and a little taste of Italian exotica! Go on you know you want to........ :P

Just to add to Jelster's comments about the electrical problems. They're certainly a bit temperamental as a model.

Common faults seem to be:
Switch gear breaks,
Eats batteries,
Doesn't always charge properly so won't always start,
Dash sometimes resets,
Clutch slave cylinder has a crappy seal and needs replacing regularly or just put a better cylinder on.

That's all I can remember offhand, and the last one is the only one that could do with money being spent on it, the others are all fixable and mostly come down to poor planning or just build quality.

edit: p.s. a black one will be mine, oh yes, she will be mine.

[timwilky]

Italian and electrics, two words that do not go together at all well, apart from the phrase fecking Italian electrics

cool thanks for the replies, ive been looking at a 2004 model seen 1 brand spankers for £5299 up north and one closer to home, 1200miles and they want about £5400 for it , do the last models still suffer from the same probs as the older ones or did they sort any of them out? sound wise not too much of a problem allthough theyre not very chatty round here a lot are bikers and use me as an alarm clock in the mornings with the sv. whatever i get itll be getting the renegade treatment!!

i would love an rsv, have found a colin edwards rep with low mileage for £5300 but really dont think it would be pheasable unless i could get a cheap winter hack.

Mr.Wilky....now,now! I do seem to recall a very recent thread by a certain Suxuki owner that mentioned "chaffed" wiring?

I think dodgy Italian electrics is one of those tails that just goes on and on without any true substance. I pop along to a number of Italian bike forums and electrics are not something that is often mentioned,so go figure....

p.s...No smart ass it is not cos they have too many other probs to worry about! :P :P :P