Aprilia SXV 550

[LiterR1]

As a second bike just to ride around town not too much of the highway. any one own/owned one. ownership costs. positives and negatives. opinions and comments welcome

[Chippertheripper]

Older ones were prone to detonation. I'm pretty sure there was at least one person here who had one, and had problems...

[typeone]

i have an 07 550 with the original, zero mile engine in it with about 3300mi on it now. not one issue. insanely fun bike but can be expensive to maintain. frequent oil changes and early maintenance depending on how you ride it. same as any MX bike really, just double the parts.

back roads and track = hell yes. any slab at all = hell no. dropping a few teeth off the rear sprocket will help with droning through towns but the bike really is not meant for 'cruising' of any type.

the big issues to watch out for on the '06 - '07 models are proper setup (derestriction, mapping, tech bulletin updates) and case sealant problems that cause water to mix with oil. setup was probably the biggest thing to plague the early bikes. if you dont derestrict them correctly, apply all tech updates, then map to suit... you get burnt up starter motors and starting issues. if you dont change the oil correctly you get blow-by into the airbox (way common issue) filling the drain line. EDIT: a few other important setup points on the older bikes to check, black plastic oil filter cap was upgraded to an aluminum one, check, loctite and retorque the flywheel bolts, upgraded starter gears and upgraded mapping with 6 sec starter delay. Aprilia had dealers pressure test the motors, if they failed, they got an '08, black sealant motor.

the '08s seem to experience head gasket problems more than the older models but the case sealant issue was cured (for the most part). setup is still really important or you get some of the issues mentioned above. most dealers just don't know much about the bikes. for local shops, Seacoast and Wagner seem to know their stuff.

i may put mine up for sale, thinking about grabbing another dirt bike and ditching pavement altogether but i cant decide because i LOVE the bike here's a pic

[scottieducati]

Husky SM610, not as fast, far fewer headaches.

Perfect for the street.

[Chippertheripper]

KTM LC4, not as fast, far fewer headaches.

Perfect for the street.

You're so smaht, guy.

[OreoGaborio]

You're so smaht, guy.

[scottieducati]

I've never ridden one... *ahem*.

But I did love mah Husky





...and by "mah Husky" I mean Jim.

[OreoGaborio]

Yeah, he's really let himself go. Last night at Hooters, he got a REGULAR Coke.... I mean, really? Shouldn't he be drinking Diet?

Jim, how bout a water next time? Better yet, a Slimfast with a side of Hydroxicut.

[Chippertheripper]

Me turd is a rfs. You should scoot one that's set up better. Like tricky's or heath's
Rfs turds rip too, op, but like anything fancyish, require a lil more maintenance. Pretty simple though.


*look at me, mr koolaid drinker...I swore I'd never become one of those guys...

[hawk]

I'd be interested!

i have an 07 550 with the original, zero mile engine in it with about 3300mi on it now. not one issue. insanely fun bike but can be expensive to maintain. frequent oil changes and early maintenance depending on how you ride it. same as any MX bike really, just double the parts.

back roads and track = hell yes. any slab at all = hell no. dropping a few teeth off the rear sprocket will help with droning through towns but the bike really is not meant for 'cruising' of any type.

the big issues to watch out for on the '06 - '07 models are proper setup (derestriction, mapping, tech bulletin updates) and case sealant problems that cause water to mix with oil. setup was probably the biggest thing to plague the early bikes. if you dont derestrict them correctly, apply all tech updates, then map to suit... you get burnt up starter motors and starting issues. if you dont change the oil correctly you get blow-by into the airbox (way common issue) filling the drain line. EDIT: a few other important setup points on the older bikes to check, black plastic oil filter cap was upgraded to an aluminum one, check, loctite and retorque the flywheel bolts, upgraded starter gears and upgraded mapping with 6 sec starter delay. Aprilia had dealers pressure test the motors, if they failed, they got an '08, black sealant motor.

the '08s seem to experience head gasket problems more than the older models but the case sealant issue was cured (for the most part). setup is still really important or you get some of the issues mentioned above. most dealers just don't know much about the bikes. for local shops, Seacoast and Wagner seem to know their stuff.

i may put mine up for sale, thinking about grabbing another dirt bike and ditching pavement altogether but i cant decide because i LOVE the bike here's a pic

[R7]

As a second bike, it's a blast to own and ride. I found when I had mine, 100-150 mile days was about the max I could stand being on it.
If you follow the manual for oil+filter and gear box oil changes, it gets costly. I used to use the dash oil light signal as a guide and that was every 15 hours.
If you get an 06/07, upgrade to the larger fuel tank so you can get more than 50-60 miles out of a tank

I had 1,800 almost trouble free miles on mine when I sold it and it was the same 07 as Typeone has.
3 trackdays I think and the rest was a mix of paved roads, dirtroads..and believe it or not even some single track.

IMO it is the sickest looking and sounding Motard out there...sharp body lines, the big 180 rear tire and that V-twin sound.

If I found a good deal, I'd buy one again in a second

[typeone]

I'd be interested!

good to know, i'll PM you if i put an ad up. its got lots of tasty bits