I didn't stray far

Well I thought I may be jumping ship. But after testing a few bikes I ended up with brand new RR.

To cut a long story short I decided to see what a main dealer would offer me for my 2019 Gen 4 against a brand new RR. I was offered pretty much exactly the same money as i paid for it back in July 2020. This was against an unregistered 21 model in the show room. It is fully spec'd with Forged wheels (Which i was adamant about having) plus a few other extras like the rock hard M sport seat, tracker and Akra Slip-on.

They knocked further hefty amount of the new RR after I said i was paying cash (Guess cash still talks) and chucked its first service for free.

Picked it up Friday and it stayed stock for about 12 hours haha. I fitted all my existing parts i still had, crash protection, rear sets etc this week. Now all i need to do is try and work out how to do 650 miles next year haha. So far it has done 10ft to the showroom door to the back of the van!

Winter

Let the Winter track modifications begin?

Haha, didn't like the Honda then ?
Nice deal deal !!

Sounds like a proper result that. Congrats.

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TheGodfather said:

Haha, didn't like the Honda then ?
Nice deal deal !!

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I didn't hate it and i really need another go. But what i did hate was the Honda dealership/service.

Definitely a result in my eyes as i never would have got the trade in price if sold privately. So it was a no brainer

tasty

Looks a little menacing in black, like a panther on the prowl

Out of interest is that Welwyn Garden Lind?

alex said:

Out of interest is that Welwyn Garden Lind?

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Yes it is. Never used them before but happy with their service. I usually use either Oxford or Maidenhead Bahnstormer, I only went to Lind on the off chance as it was on the way home.

I have only been once. Think I borrowed their Gen3...I thought the frontage looked vaguely familiar.

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Love it. Pure stealth and the black screen looks spot on. Lind always seem like the are spot on too.

I got to say i do like the stealth look with the black screen. Just wish it was a bit higher! (I'll stick my large/clear screen on the TDs)

Yes Lind do seem to be spot on. I had an issue with the tracker not setup and they sorted it within half hour of emailing them.

Can?t grumble at that at all. Fair play to them.

I like the MRA screens. I have one on my gen3 but still not as tall as a power bronze one I have. That doesn?t look as good though

I realised I never posted the 2nd RR's replacement. So the 2nd Gen 4 didn't last long, leaking brakes in 70 miles then a knocking with the fork. After a 1000 miles the RR went and i thought it was time to look at something else.

A 2021 RSV4 Factory came up at a very reasonable price privately, dare i say cheap. I had already test rode one briefly and fell for the noise alone which may up for it being a not very good Super bike on the road but all is forgiven with that engine, you just don't care. But coming from an RR which is probably the best Superbike on the road, it had stiff competition.

But TBF i am only interested how it is on the track, I did a couple of UK days and the first thing I realised is how small it is was, i am no giant at all (you can see from the pics) but it really is a small bike. The other thing i found myself doing was bouncing off the rev limiter, it doesn't rev out like an RR at all. So that was another adjustment. But what it has over the RR is front end stability and the way it turns and holds a line. Incredible stability that eggs you on. This is something i personally found a bit vague with the RR even when the DDC was not active. (well apparently its still 10% active?) Out of a corner, the RSV4 it tends squats quite hard and likes to have a good head shake, makes it exciting but i think i can dial this out with a few more suspension tweaks. (The Ohlins i do not run active) I'd say the BMW is slightly better at changing direction and certainly doesn't chew tyres like the RSV4.

The electronics are very good though, i am not a racer or a super quick rider but at my level (Slow advanced?) i would say they felt on par with the RR. You do not notice the TC hold you back and does allow you to spin the rear up to a degree. The ABS, even though it cannot be switched off has never kicked in on track in race mode.

But did i get a fault free bike? Of course not, don't be silly. 300 miles in (1500 total) it developed an oil leak(s) from the Spark plug oil wells on the rocker covers and was overheating unless moving over 40mph. A common fault on early 2021 RSV4s but fixed under warranty (another Covid built bike). The oil leak is caused by incorrect fitting of the oil o-rings from the 2020 bikes. (2021 is slightly different) and the overheating, well apparently the machines used to mix the coolant in house at Aprilia were having a day off and the bikes were being filled with 100% antifreeze and not having a mix of 25/75 distilled and antifreeze. Fixed on warranty, however Aprilia warranty isn't as blissful as BMW. Some resellers of Aprilia wouldn't touch it, in the end i had to take it 50 miles down to Bikerworld in East Grinstead. But while it was there we decided to install the Akrapovic Race can/decat, remap it and ditch the charcoal canister and do a 50/50 mix on the coolant. Since then the bike has been faultless and the race map makes a huge difference, it loses what i felt was a jerky throttle at slow speeds.

Do I love it? Yes. Is it better than the RR? No, it is different that's all. But it is a lot of fun and gives a ton of confidence. Especially now with the fixes/mods. Am i worried it will get all leaky on me (sometimes) But what i can say is it did 3 days at Mugello. And then another 400 miles on the road around Tuscany on some of the best roads. And i do not road ride much! I have been on and it didn't miss a beat.

They are really compact, and neat, I stood next to one in BMW Edinburgh and thought exactly the same..

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I had the '18 rf, it was looked after by John at Bikersworld who also races them. Awesome sound, very competent but felt so small for my 6 '2" frame. Chopped it in for a 2020 rr which I have to say I've not yet become comfortable on even though my times at Portimao were quicker than the rf. Been offered a great deal on a 2022 factory ape but the jury is out for now.... What put me off with the rf was refresh after 3000 track miles .

Thanks for the write up. Great to hear about another ownership experience.

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bananaman said:

I had the '18 rf, it was looked after by John at Bikersworld who also races them. Awesome sound, very competent but felt so small for my 6 '2" frame. Chopped it in for a 2020 rr which I have to say I've not yet become comfortable on even though my times at Portimao were quicker than the rf. Been offered a great deal on a 2022 factory ape but the jury is out for now.... What put me off with the rf was refresh after 3000 track miles .

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John and Anita are really top, they pulled the stops out to get the bike sorted before Italy. At your height i can see why you would struggle with the RSV. The newer bikes are a tad roomer than the older bikes. Wider bars, longer seat and lower tank. But is still designed for a 5'8" italian! I'm marginally quicker on the RSV than my RR at Donny and Silverstone GP but there isn't a lot in it, then again it was on crapped out SP tyres.
I am not sure if you have to refresh them after 3000 miles. But the new bikes do record or the ECU knows when the bike is on track due to the higher RPM loads etc. So it means more regular servicing which flash up on the dash. However if you keep to the service schedule it will still be under warranty, even if used on track.

GavD101 said:

John and Anita are really top, they pulled the stops out to get the bike sorted before Italy. At your height i can see why you would struggle with the RSV. The newer bikes are a tad roomer than the older bikes. Wider bars, longer seat and lower tank. But is still designed for a 5'8" italian! I'm marginally quicker on the RSV than my RR at Donny and Silverstone GP but there isn't a lot in it, then again it was on crapped out SP tyres.
I am not sure if you have to refresh them after 3000 miles. But the new bikes do record or the ECU knows when the bike is on track due to the higher RPM loads etc. So it means more regular servicing which flash up on the dash. However if you keep to the service schedule it will still be under warranty, even if used on track.

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Yes, top couple.... I 'think' the refresh is recommended by Aprilia for track miles

Both my mates have recently had a refresh done by John. Both 2019 bikes with under 4K track only miles. In the region of ?1,500 each to get done.
I test rode the new one on the Aprillia day at Cadwell. Compared back to back to my m mates 2019 and wasn't keen on it. Prefered my mates. But tbf the new one was in road trim although set up for track.