[Apriliarider]

BOD for today, December 4th 2021:

1993 Aprilia RS125 Futura Extrema.

I chose this because it was the very first Aprilia I ever set eyes on. I walked into Aylesbury Kawasaki and was stunned when I saw it.

The one I remember seeing was slightly different to what is pictured.

I have never seen another exactly like it either. For certain, it was a 125 and in the same colors.

However, the one I remember had OZ wheels, as well as an OZ decal just above the Futura logo that was on the side.

There was an Extrema logo in small script on the waspish tail section. Other than those details, it looked like this very bike, complete with the Mobil 1 decal.

From the wensite: www.motorcyclespecs.co.za it was produced in 1992 and 93. I’m fairly sure the one I saw was a 1993 MY bike.

Specs from the same site state it made 34 hp from its single 125cc cylinder at 11,000 rpm.

For torque, it made 18 1/2 lbs at 9K rpm. It only weighed 313 lbs filled with fuel and 2 stroke oil.

Dry weight was a paltry 254 lbs. I weigh about 80% of that!!….okay, okay…maybe more like 85%.

Anyway, if interested in knowing more, follow the link below for mo betta detail.

1992 Aprilia RS 125R Extrema

"Motorcycle Specifications, reviews, road tests

www.motorcyclespecs.co.za

 

[ridervfr]

Maybe if you lived in parts of Italy, you could own one, here in the USA where would you get parts from? Ebay? It is problematic just getting a regular Japanese bike serviced at the dealer you bought it from! (LOL) I think long term availablity of parts from OEM and even after market stuff. I am an old bike guy any way, so all the latest hype is wasted on me. A very well healed lawyer back in the 2000s bought a MV 750 tripple that I was lucky enough to work on. Every nut and bolt were a treat, dont even ask how beautiful the fuel rail was on that bike. There were some goofy fairing attatchment parts and I remember wrestling around with a rubber well nut that went into the air tube.

I took that bike out in his gated community down in Miami and remember going 130 down the streets with an ill fitting helmet on to boot. Bike was destined to be a race only machine and know that it ended up in a Canal at the end of the front straight with a poor rider on it. Anyway, Cheers and happy safe riding.

 

[Apriliarider]

Maybe if you lived in parts of Italy, you could own one, here in the USA where would you get parts from?

2 words. AF1 Racing. They’re in Austin, Texas but have been the center of the Aprilia owner’s parts resources for the last 20 years.

As the name suggests, they started out racing Aprilia AF1’s on the club racing scene. For those who have no idea what that is, the AF1 125 preceded the Futura Sport Pro.

The Sport Pro came along before the Extrema. There was also an AF1 250, which evolved into the RS250. For the street anyway. There was even an AF1 50cc.

 

[Apriliarider]

Bike of the Day:

1996 ZX7RR

Back in the day I had a ZX7 (aka ZXR 750 H1 in the UK). Mine was a first year model from 1989. This however is a different kettle of the same fish.

The ZX7RR came from the factory with an alloy fuel tank, 6 piston brake calipers from Nissin, 43mm upside down forks, close ratio gear box, adjustable swing arm pivot and 41mm flat slides….all from the factory.

Just 500 homologation bikes ever built to qualify it for WSBK competition. Goes without saying that they’re pretty rare.

The engine made a claimed 121 hp and the bike weighed 440 lbs. Low mileage examples change hands in the $20-$30K range. Not many made it to US or UK shores (just 50 to the UK)

If you see one for sale, be suspicious. If it checks out, and the sale price is low compared to where it should be, snap it up and get outta Dodge before the seller can figure it out

 

[Apriliarider]

This morning I was unsure of what bike to choose for today’s BOD. I’d done a little research and had several waiting to be posted and expounded on.

But then I went back (in my mind) to @Davenay67’s post about a whacky Bimota.

The only Bimota that popped into my brain as being what I considered “whacky” was the DB3 Mantra.

So, I decided that would be a perfect BOD. It’s so whacky….positively the ugliest Bimota to ever roll out of the Rimini factory gates:

The name Mantra in Sanskrit means “tool for thought”. What ever. Writers of the day called the styling “odd”. I think they were just being polite.

The Mantra was powered by the same 904cc Ducati engine found in the Monster. Performance figures were not changed from the OEM Ducati figures.


Power measured at the crank was 86 hp and the bike weighed 407 lbs full of fluids.

Just 454 were built but just 28 in the red pictured above. The rest were yellow/gray/black

Build quality was described as “poor” compared the the typical Bimotas of the era by more than one Moto journalist of the day.

454 was about 453 too many IMHO. I remember them being sold at almost fire sale prices back in the 90s…..IIRC, list was well past $15K and I’d routinely see them at $5-$6K

Even than, dealers couldn’t move them. Aside from Bimota’s V-due disaster, I don’t think any other project lost them as much money

 

[Apriliarider]

Since I brought up the V-due in my previous post, I figured it would be a good follow up to the Mantra.

Bimota harbored dreams of competing in Grands Prix again and embarked on the project with the everyday name of V-due.

That is literally translated as V twin. Sounds much cooler in Italian; pronounced “Vee doo ayy”

At any rate, the V-due was a 500cc 2 stroke V twin meant to compete with Grands Prix bikes like Hondas NSR500 and Yamaha’s YZR500. Suzukis RGV500 and Cagivas Mito 500.

The problem is, the V due engine was not ever going to make the power necessary to even make a lap time fast enough to qualify on the grid.

Once that realization dawned, Bimota attempted to pivot to making it a road bike. That required them to ensure that it could pass emissions in the EU at the time.

To achieve this, Bimota developed its own in house electronic fuel injection system. With it, they actually did manage to pass the Euro emissions test.

That was the last bit of positive news though. As buyers received the first $30K bikes, the news was decidedly negative.

In the UK where these things were selling at over £14K, the motorcycling press was less than impressed.

Fueling was apparently good enough to get it past the emissions test but not good enough to make the power required to beat a good 750 super sport bike.

Bimota was forced to recall the bikes and the next year (1998?) Released a “evoluzione” version. This version, equipped with 39mm Dellorto carbs worked better.

At least, more predictably. It wasn’t enough to save the company though. The same year, Yamaha released the original R1. It made 170 hp.

The V-due made a paltry 110 hp and was over double the price. Bimota went bankrupt in 1999.

Bimota built 340 V-dues out of the originally projected 500. Of these, just 21 were “Evoluzione” versions.

The V-due made 110 hp and weighed just 340 lbs with a full tank.

A really informative and brief read on this bike is online over @
http://www.odd-bike.com/2012/11/bimota-v-due-500-bike-that-killed-bimota

if anyone is curious enough to read further

 

[Davenay67]

The happy ending to the V-Due story is that the guy who designed the exhaust system was eventually re-united with his seeing eye dog, and the two of them are leading a happy life once more....

 

[Apriliarider]

The happy ending, at least for owners is actually 2 separate stories.

The first one is that chief engineer on the V-due project Piero Caronni bought up all the remaining V-dues when Bimota went bankrupt.

He then set about fixing all the problems and replacing the EFI with Dell’Orto carbs. He released the Evoluzione 03, Evoluzione 04 and Edizione Finale models in 2003 and 2004.

The Evoluzione 03 actually made 120 h

The second happy ending story took place right here in the good ol US of A.

It was later discovered that the crankcase seals were faulty and leaked air into the crankcase.

This caused the poor running that plagued the V-due from the beginning.

Bob Steinbugler at Bimota Spirit in Raleigh, North Carolina offers newly manufactured crankcases that fix this issue and allow you to rebuild the V-Due into the screaming sport weapon it was meant to be.

 

[po18guy]

2022 BSA Goldstar 650. Financed by multi-billion dollar Mahindra, to be built in the UK. 4 valves, F.I. DOHC, Euro5. Would be a great plunker. Mellow exhaust mandatory.

 

[Davenay67]

2022 BSA Goldstar 650. Financed by multi-billion dollar Mahindra, to be built in the UK. 4 valves, F.I. DOHC, Euro5. Would be a great plunker. Mellow exhaust mandatory.

View attachment 55387

It's a beautiful bike, as was the original. I'd ride this thing in a heartbeat. However, I'm not sure how I feel about these replicas. I mean, the original was the epitome of race tech at the time, and this bike is nowhere near. Akin to Suzuki building an '85 GSXR replica when we are all riding around on cycles from the Tron movie.

Still, HD did the same with the Sportster, and it doesn't seem to have hurt their sales....

 

[Apriliarider]

Another analogy might be the Honda GB500. Cult classic now, but a retro “cafe” bike when released way back in 1990:

 

[po18guy]

Yamaha couldn't sell these in the US, either. Big in Japan.

 

[Apriliarider]

Also cult bikes now. I know a guy in The City who has a number of them.

The SRX was the subject of a great John Burns article when he was with Cycle World back in the 90s.

 

[po18guy]

Where the GB500 was more classic British styling, the SRX6 was a sort of 80s version of it. The proportions of each bike strike me as just right.

 

[Apriliarider]

I once rode a local twisty road with absolutely no one in front of me that I could see. It was early on a Sunday.

I was on my old ZX7 at the time. After about 20 minutes I caught sight of a tail light disappearing around a corner a few corners ahead of me.

I caught up in short order and went past what I assumed was a vintage race bike apparently being ridden by a racer.

That assumption made from the condition of the riders leathers as I sailed past. The rider clearly had been knee down.

At first, the bike remained in my mirrors, and I could see the rider knee down for several corners.

I started gapping them at what I considered a reasonable pace as I wasn’t pushing either the bike nor myself.

When I got to the corners, I stopped like always to see who was there. A little while later I saw the “vintage” bike and rider pull in.

The “vintage” bike turned out to be a fully faired SRX6 that had been campaigned in the local club racing scene.

The rider having been the one who campaigned it. Looking back, I can see how much fun it must have been to ride that bike at 100% of its capability with out reaching go to jail speeds.

Back then I just thought it was a slow bike. Something I posit others might have thought too so didn’t buy in.

 

[Apriliarider]

Suzuki TL1000R. These were once common as chips back in the 2000s. Only a dozen years on they're much harder to find for sale anywhere.

Ones you do find are either high mileage beaters or mint low mileage ones for a whole lot of $$.

These came from the factory with an odd ball rear suspension system that consisted of a rotary damper combined with a standard spring.

Silly really. Supposedly it was done to prevent a conventional arrangement from heat related performance degradation.

Most common issue was the rotary damper losing all damping because of .... heat related issues. The fix? A Fox or Ohlins rear shock. No more weird handling issues.

Really, as V-Twins go, it was a porker. Not just weight wise, but it was wide across the middle. As wide as any 4 cylinder of the day.

The engine was a real corker though, with more horsepower and torque than anyone else on the block. They sound awesome through a set of Yoshimura pipes too.

Another bike on my "wish list" to own....but realistically it'll likely not happen. Too many others I like more.

 

[Davenay67]

View attachment 55392

Suzuki TL1000R. These were once common as chips back in the 2000s. Only a dozen years on they're much harder to find for sale anywhere.

Ones you do find are either high mileage beaters or mint low mileage ones for a whole lot of $$.

These came from the factory with an odd ball rear suspension system that consisted of a rotary damper combined with a standard spring.

Silly really. Supposedly it was done to prevent a conventional arrangement from heat related performance degradation.

Most common issue was the rotary damper losing all damping because of .... heat related issues. The fix? A Fox or Ohlins rear shock. No more weird handling issues.

Really, as V-Twins go, it was a porker. Not just weight wise, but it was wide across the middle. As wide as any 4 cylinder of the day.

The engine was a real corker though, with more horsepower and torque than anyone else on the block. They sound awesome through a set of Yoshimura pipes too.

Another bike on my "wish list" to own....but realistically it'll likely not happen. Too many others I like more.

Looked at a couple of those this year as potential winter projects. Passed on both; too much money for their condition. i.e. owners wanting $$$$ for a bike that had been abused and showing every bit of that abuse. One of them even had 2nd gear issues, which I discovered is quite common once I started doing some research.
They can join Yamaha and Kawasaki in the "crappy 2nd gear club".

One styling cue I don't like on the 1000R is the tail section, straight out of the SRAD gixxer playbook. Not pleasing to my eyes.

Picked up my ZX-7R instead, which is a bike much higher on my "need to own at least 1 in my lifetime" list.

Did Honda make any bikes with ifffy 2nd gears?

 

[Apriliarider]

Did Honda make any bikes with ifffy 2nd gears?

Hmmmmm…..good question. I can’t recall any, but there were few Hondas that held my attention long enough to do actual research.

Sure, the RC-51 still does….Superhawk and Hawk do also but to a lesser extent…..still not done a bunch of prospective buyer type research though.

 

[Apriliarider]

My Bike of the Day:

Ducatis 851 Desmo Quattro. The first of a long line of WSBK title winning Desmos. This particular one is a 1989.

I chose the 1989 over any earlier or later ones because a buddy of mine had one. I was stationed in Panama City at Tyndall AFB at the time.

My buddy Mike had a GSXR1100 done up as a Kevin Schwantz replica “Yoshimura Pepsi” Superbike.

One day he says to me, he’s buying an 851. He’s found one at a reasonable price and the seller is “motivated”.

I didn’t realize when he told me this that “motivated” meant the seller paid for his one way ticket to Miami to pick the bike up.

When he got back with said 851, he tells me the bike had been kept in the guys living room and he’d only ridden it up and down the street for the previous 6 years!

I think it had less than 500 miles on it AFTER Mike got back from Miami with it. It was in stellar shape as one might imagine.

I had the opportunity many years ago to buy not one, but 2 for less than $5K as a package deal.

Wish today I’d have taken that deal….but at the time you almost couldn’t give those things away.

Today….well…..if you can find one for sale, it’ll take a trunk load of cash to secure it.

I don’t think I’ve even seen one for sale locally in the last 4 or 5 years. That and the last one I did see was over $10K

Because it was the first, the start of 2 decades of WSBK dominance and my buddy had one, makes it a perfect BOD.

 

[auburn]

I don’t think I’ve even seen one for sale locally in the last 4 or 5 years. That and the last one I did see was over $10K

i swear i thought i saw one on craigslist just this week, but i checked again and it was in la. 17k miles, $12k! beautiful bike though. sounds like an amazing experience for your buddy, to pick up a virtually new 851 with a plane ticket baked into the price. motivated seller indeed hahah. did you get a chance to ride it? what'd you think?