Another bike next bike question... Falco

As some of you will have seen I was thinking along the lines of a RSV mille or just sticking to the SV. There are a few reasons I didnt want to go with the mille, insurance being a big one and usability for the milage I do. Sticking with the SV might be the best thing to do... but I suppose ill only know that after I get rid of it.

Well anyway, after reading rides, ride power and seeing the falco come 15th I thought Nice big V-twin with very good write-ups, goo ergonomics, it can do the milage (from what I read) in relative comfort, should be a similar to the SV650S. Not bad insurance (first online quote was £1200 fully comp... not bad ). Should be made a little less damaging since itll be about half way through the insurance year by the time I get around to changing the bike.

So what im wondering is if anyone on here knows something about the bike, good and bad. Wether ill like it comming from the SV etc etc.

Cheers again.

[Luckypants]

One or two folks on here have had them, so they can tell you more, but here is my tuppence worth.

When I crashed my SV I was thinking like you. I had a Falco for an extended test and the dealer has borrowed me it as a courtesy bike several times. I have probably done 500 miles on one.

I found that the riding position was a bit cramped after the SV, controls were a bit clunky and the gear change needed a good firm prod to work. All in all it seems to need a lot more riding than the SV, more effort to chuck it into a bend, more effort to change gear / brake / etc. The handling feels very solid though, it tracks so well in a bend. The acceleration is pretty fierce, but usable. The only criticism of the bike I had was the constant headshakes off cats-eyes (which might be down to the set-up) and the riding position. As I rode it back to back with the bike I bought (my Viffer) I just preferred the Viffer.

Now someone who really knows what they talking about will post in a minute!

[rictus01]

I've worked on a couple and used then on test runs, lovely engine although slightly refined from the "full fat" RSV lump, it's a bike you sit on rather than in, the CoG tends to be a little high, so cornering feels like you lean further, tyre choice seems to be more important as the bike will complain on certain rubber (can't remember which now those), but the biggest thing is electrical gremlins, the starting system is marginal at best and you need to keep the battery in tiptop condition, a lot of owners swap it out for a higher rated one.

You can pick them up for reasonable money these days, but don't expect them to be cheap to run as they do drink a bit in comparison to the SV, but generally a good big V bike.

Cheers Mark.

[fizzwheel]

Jelster had one for a while, have a search as I think he wrote a little writeup or replied to similar thread a while ago. IIRC he had issues with the battery not being man enough to turn the bike over in the cold weather which he fixed by replacing it for a higher amp rated battery and also he had problems with the starter switch to.

My Father has one and he loves his. He has uprated the battery but other than that he has had no electrical problems. The best thing about the bike IMO is the motor; it is a stonker.
I have ridden it a couple of times and loved it, the only thing I didn't like was the Bridgestone 014's he has on it. It's a personal thing for me but I just don't like the way the 014's feel like they are dropping into corners; I had the same issue with them on my Triumph Daytona.
Great bikes and unique looking.

[arc123]

Great bikes - I owned one for 2 and a half years and sometimes wish i'd never sold it! Can pick them up pretty cheap nowadays as well.

Fantastic engine which is just as good tootling around as giving it a good thrashing (except perhaps a bit of jerkiness low down the rev range). Adequate handling - it certainly doesn't flick in and out of corners, but holds a good line (that was using Pirelli Diablo Corsas). Apparently changing the rear shock for a standard Mille unit helps as well, but I never bothered.

Only prob I had (which has already been mentioned) was the battery - just changed it out for a more powerful unit (about 40 quid) and never had probs again. Sounded awesome with a pair of Remus GPs on (not road legal). Aprilia service costs were not cheap! It was in warranty so I had it done at a Aprilia place - think the major service cost me about £450, which I can do without!

Very reliable for me though - bit of an acquired taste for some people, but I loved mine in silver. All in all, a great bike.

Cool! I think id do the major service myself if thats the sort of money they cost :S

Cheers for the feed back, if anyone else has any EXP please share it.

As for price like you say can pick them up cheap, 2004 model with 9k miles on clock for around £3500! Dang.

So how is the comfort compaired to the SV, I know Lucky pants touched on it but more detail?

Also, any idea if there are any manuals for it? Looked and haynes dont do one...

[arc123]

As for price like you say can pick them up cheap, 2004 model with 9k miles on clock for around £3500! Dang.

If you have a good look around, you may even find one cheaper than that. I've seen them advertised at silly prices. I sold mine a couple of years ago for £2900, was 3 year old bike, 9,000 miles with a few extras, and in tip-top condition. Theres one on Visordown here:

http://www.visordown.com/forums/showthread.php?t=373470

Sure the price could be knocked down a bit, and is low mileage, and only a couple of years old (personally think they can be had for even cheaper though).

As for comfort - I had no issues with it. More comfortable than the SV for me (I prefer physically bigger bikes), I found the riding position very similar to the SV if I remember correctly - first 1000cc i'd ever ridden and was expecting it to be sooooo different, but getting on and riding was easy.

You do have to be careful/smooth with the throttle if coming from the SV - I opened it up on my test ride, and had the front end coming up Just need to learn to be smooth with the acceleration - and enjoy!

Never got a manual or anything, but did use the following site for refernece:

http://www.geocities.com/sl_mille/

some useful info in there, all with instructions/pictures etc. Sure there may be other online resources too - I used to use the 'apriliaridersite' forum, which was quiet but had some knowledgable people on.

Hope this helps anyway - get yourself a test ride and see what you think

Andy

[STRAMASHER]

http://www.apriliaforum.com/forums/

Plenty of gen.

1000 V-twins are great VFM (falco/firestorm/SV) Proper shunt!

Originally Posted by arc123

get yourself a test ride and see what you think

Andy

Thats where the problem may lie. i wont buy a bike without a test ride as I do a lot of miles and its my only transport so I dont want to end up with the wrong bike... But with only being 21 no one wants to let me out on their bikes Urg Say its their insurance restricting to 25 years +.

So I guess its down to getting a test ride. Sigh. Maybe ill keep the SV for another 3 and a bit years... then thought the Falco will probably be too old for me to really want to go for. Damn ageist world

Wish i had enough money to buy that now... Thats damn good value! I need to pay off the finance on the Sv then get rid of that. Then buy and insure a SL. All very expensive!

I sometimes get cold feet when it comes to spending money... Sigh. Im a wimp