Been looking to buy either one one of these , being a Ducati owner for years my heart says Ducati but my head says Aprilia . Any RSV4 factory owners on here .
My neighbour Dan from across the road has recently bought an Aprilia RSV4 Factory (2019 spec) brand new, from M&P in Swansea. Full retail price £21.5k. He paid £15.5k for it, delivered to West Yorkshire. Though it started when it was delivered, when it came to wheeling it out for a ride it was dead as a dodo. A couple of weeks of Skype calls with techs, lithium ion battery charger bought, lithium ion battery replaced, and nothing worked. Despite Dan suggesting having a local (35 miles away) Aprilia dealer look at it and M&P pay for the privilege, M&P decided to collect it and take it back to Swansea to try and sort it themselves. 72 hours later it’d been collected, a new relay fitted, and it was redelivered back to Holmfirth and in full working order. He’s since put 1000 miles on it and loves it.
I had 2011 RSV4 Factory for a while a couple of years ago after swapping my 999S for it, i found it to be a little rocket with a fantastic soundtrack (Austin racing Can), however i am 5'11'' and 14 stone and i found it a little cramped after a while and it didnt always start on the button, together with the engine sounding like it was going to Grenade at any moment after start-up. What swayed me though was the relatively poor dealer network and backup, i ended up swapping it for a 1198S.
It’s a tricky one. The RSV4 does get great reviews and it sounds like there are great deals to be had. But a mate of mine had one and hated it. He’s a big lad mind (6’3” and 17 stone). He soon chopped it in for a gen 3 bimmer which he much preferred.
RSV4 Factory owner for the last - almost 10 years.....ive got the one which kept exploding which tarnished the name almost forever id say....in that time its had just one issue that stopped it being ridden (a tps sensor failed in the garage while i was doing some other upgrade work) which cost 20 quid and pretty well thats it....all the other cash thats been thrown at it is in upgrades and enhancements. It doesnt get regular usage but its main job in that time has been taking me to the TT every year so it gets 800 miles or so of "good excercise". Im 5'9 (and a 15.5 stone lardy) and its perfect for me, i can stay on it every day, for a full day, that week of the TT. My mate has a 16 plate (no issues with his either), another one has got a tuono (again no issues) 15 plate i think... I love everything about it, yeah mines the old one with zero electronics but it more than does the job for me....and the sound....nothing beats it...period. The only thing i can say is, keep on top of your valve clearances which can be expensive if you use it alot....i had one check at 10k and gonna get another one done soon (14k)....if you dont...detonation...the book says every 7k but most people on the AF1 forum tend to do them between 3 and 5k..
I have a V4S for track, and my mate has a 17 RSV4RF. It’s quite a bit slower in a straight line but handles incredibly, and the noise is the best out there. However at 6,2” I can’t ride it, did 3 laps of Cadwell and my knees wouldn’t fit to the shape of the tank as the pegs are so high, most uncomfortable I’ve ever been! But again my mate is 6’ and he gets on fine so maybe my legs are strange. Can’t ignore the price but even if I fitted on one the Ducati is for me, I really dislike the dash, too many lights flashing all the time! He is constantly worried that it will blow up though and is planning on having the valve springs sorted this winter and then it should be fine.
But you see so many for sale almost new with little mileage. Why is that? I considered a Tuono but found it an uncomfortable riding position.
Theres seems quite a lot up for sale usually with around 10K on them ,cos theres a majorly expensive valve service due at 12K.
This is the decision I'm going to have to make in around 2 years time, first big bike will be one of these. Thankfully a while yet.
I think the price you can pick you a new Factory vs V4s can't be ignored. I have an 1199s and Tuono 1100 Factory... I have to say the viseral experience on the Aprilia is unbeatable, the noise, the pops and bangs etc.. And the mid range feels a ton stronger than the Pani, alas its twin not the V4, naked vs sportsbike so it's a hardly comparing apples with apples. Have a few years on the Aprilia.. Its worth ticking the box.
I have a clutch of Ducati’s and mv’s but money wise the rsv makes sense especially the 2019 model , going to try and get a deal on a 2020 model this week.
How does residual value stack up between the two, as that also needs to be taken into consideration too.
If I was doing lots of track stuff, I'd probably get the Aprilia, but only because the relative costs of crashing it are less. Plus, I'm not sure that Ducati's ridden REALLY hard on track are quite yet as reliable as Japanese bikes either. No doubt though, Aprilia's ridden hard seemed to need very careful valve train maintenance. On the road, I've not ridden the Ducati yet but the RSV4 was just beautiful to ride, really nice and smooth and easily more than enough power wise. I was put off my rubbish switchgear and some other things like the fans blowing all the heat up around your wrists making traffic work really uncomfortable, and, the R1...
^ I agree. The chassis on the Aprilia is superb! The sound is intoxicating. It really is a joy to ride fast. Did I mention the sound it makes? The switch gear really is terrible! Quality is down compared to Ducati in that area. Ergos fit my 5'9 frame well. I can see how a 6 ft. frame might be cramped on this bike.
I spent 9 years tracking Ape's, the last one being a 1000RF and bloody love them.. Never had an issue except my own doing and despite being down on power they are incredible track bikes. Last time out at Almeria all 3 of my mates were on V4's and even though they were pulling back 2/3 seconds on the back straight, as soon as we hit the first corner I would gap the fuck out of them and was consistently 2/3 seconds quicker (1:42's) despite their straight line advantage... I would imagine that the increased balls of the 1100 coupled with the superior agility would be an awesome bike. I only switched to the V4 for a change and to see what all the hype is about but would happily switch back... Go For It!!!
