Did a little bit tonight on the LH Front side panel...experimented with some 2000grade Wet & Dry....moderate results (definately better) one thing im noticing (and im not sure if im correct in saying this) but i think theres an amount of glue thats almost ingrained into the plastic.....if i get a bit of speed up on the drill you can literally see the glue appear...stop, clean with WD40 and then repeat but i think i got it a bit better...
had about an hour last night messing around with different grades of wet and dry and the buffing paste/cream/whatever....not bad... Was concentrating on the top section and got that better....at the moment im leaning to just going with the wet and dry but very fine (that was 2000 grade) just by hand to finish and the drill and disc to start...
Yeah,the weight difference is huge. You'll be counting hours and not miles regarding oil changes haha.
Parts turning up for weekend work. New battery cables for me to make up a set (the ones on there are pretty tatty) had enough left to make one up.....ill get some proper ones eventually but need to take these off to measure them first any way and work out the route. Metal plate number plate turned also along with the front side light loom. Roadlok has turned up at work (got the day off today) - Cheers Billy Big Roy. Just waiting on the ends for the battery cables now.
The gamble paid off....Ordered a roadlok. There is no official fitting for an SXV (the caliper is a bit of a weird shape) so ordered an M4 that i found on ebay for 90 quid. Roadlok fits perfectly.
If anyone fancies an SXV for themselves, this one’s for sale in NI (UK). https://www.donedeal.ie/view/38538249 Aprilia SXV 2007
Not a bad price but it is a 450....also id be interested to know if those excel wheels (well the back one) is the correct width as the sxv takes a 180 section rear (which i think equates to a 5 1/4" rim) - that rear rim could be a 5"....not the end of the world as excel rims are fucking nice (had some on my 525)
Says 550cc in the detail of the ad. What’s yours? What’s normal? I’m not familiar with them. There was/is a guy in Dublin has one for sale, he offered it in our Italian bike owners group, got laughed at and slated due to the service intervals. How many hrs between oil changes and why so often if it’s only being used on the road?
Well definately a 450 on the engine size....there are 450's and 550's - not sure how many of each though...As for getting laughed at....its a pure race bike....so its a case of what youre looking for....personally i couldnt think of anything better...its the ultimate supermoto. Period. Scott (who built the engine has advised 500 mile oil changes) - about 1.2litres and every 4 changes (10w40 semi synthetic) then change the gearbox oil [same oil] (not sure how much that it though) - Im just using it for ripping about town in the summer now and again and maybe the odd bike night...thats it. I would say the crucial thing is the engine history....2024 theres (so i hear) a specific way of building the motors with a number of fixes and updates along the way....assuming thats been done (and you stick to the oil changes) its as reliable as any other bike. Oh theres also 3 different engine types (of the 550 as thats all i know) - the original's which were built obviously by Aprilia (they used shitty sealant) which went hard resulting in the oil leaking into the coolant and vice versa....so out of the box they exploded for a past time (this is kinda where the stigma came from) then second generation had thicker crankcase walls which was more reliable. Then the final generation which had thinner crankcase walls but made more power...but, they were more prone to heat issues. Mines got the 2nd gen engine so best of both worlds.
There are visual checks....something to do with the castings....i know the gen3 has some little fins on the right hand side of the engine....ill see if i can find some pics.... There is this thread which you can identify by engine numbers also....they mention 2 different engine type but ive read on a number of occasions theres 3... https://www.apriliaforum.com/forums/showthread.php?282248-SXV-550-New-Engine-Numbers
Back in the garage tomorrow......light stuff...running fresh battery cables, fitting the new catch tanks, new numberplate...question...i finally got the set of black rear panels out of the lad i bought them from "6 weeks later"! - anyway....they were rattlecan sprayed and really badly - is there an easy way of getting the paint off....im guessing paint stripper will just dissolve them...im thinking wet and dry at the moment..?
I found heat on my Sons Aprilia lifted the paint from the panels, obviously start off with gentle heat at distance not full blast psycho killer mode from the off. Failing that on other panels very coarse sanding discs, then we plastic primed and undercoated flatting off as we went. Time consuming but got the job done in the end. As you’re aware most quality paint finishes require good prep which is time consuming.
