The 'RS'

[pwntifex]

Righto, in my search for lo-displacement silly fun, there's an RS125 come up for sale near me for £1795, 8,000 miles, recent top-end overhaul, MOT.

Sounds ok (dealer, parker's says £1975), so I'll probably go check it out. Besides the obvious (...OK, it's me. Include the obvious). What should I look out for, what questions should I ask and who should I jab with a pointy stick if it all goes wrong?

Ta folks
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the warped one: This is a follow up from the thread 'my willy hurts'

[The Tot]

Is the powervalve fitted? (for full power models)
When was the spark plug last change?
What 2 stoke you do you use (usually careful owners stick to one brand and it's usually the fully synth stuff
Service history would be nice since it's about that sort of mileage when it's due for a top end rebuild at some point.
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The Tot 2019 Z1000SX - 2007 R1
Never argue with autism

[shaun_04]

What year is the bike? - It still sounds a bit pricey, for that money it needs to be in really good nick.

Check the tyres to see how much life's left in them, a decent pair will cost you a fair bit.
Tax is irrelevant as it's only £15, so don't worry if it will need renewing soon.
And finally i'd ask/look to see how much life is left in the brake pads (they might have recently been replaced, or will probs need replacing soon.)
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[garth]

See how the owner starts the bike, talk to him and ask stupid questions, I.e how fast mister etc. Hopefully you can suss out if he's a mong.
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You ain't a has been if you never was

[panhead]

If it does have a powervalve fitted, make sure its working.
You can check this by slowly revving it up to 8-9000rpm, you should hear a click at around 2500 rpm and again at 8000 i think or just take it for a test ride.
Again the 2 stroke oil is a big thing for these bikes, look for evidence that the owner has been using a good quality fully synthetic oil, if you arrive and there is no 2 stroke in the bike at all, its probley best to run away.

Also one thing to quiz the owner on is has he been warming it up thoroughly before giving it some as they are prone to cold seizures. Ask him things like how long does he warm it up for, whats its running temperature and what temperature does he let it reach before opening the throttle, just stuff like that. If he desn't know the answers to these questions its not a good sign.

[Kickstart]

Hi

What was done in the top end overhaul? Rings? Piston? Complete replacement barrel? If the barrel has been replaced is it with an original Aprilia one or an aftermarket (Mitaka for example) barrel?

Check the fork condition & seals.

Check the brake pads (mine eats them).

Check for missing fairing bolts.

Check for accident damage.

Check tyres.

Check rear shock (they are short lived).

Check the digital display is all working properly.

Check it has both keys (people seem to snap them in the petrol cap quite often).

Power valve (if fitted) is open below 2500rpm, closed between there and ~8000 and then opens again. Only open at low revs so that when used round town it gets operated fairly often to avoid it sticking. Also see if the cdi unit has been modified to remove the "environmental dip" (a hideously bad flat spot engineered in between 5000 and 6000rpm).

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[colin1]

A good way to check the powervalve is working, is to take the side fairing off, find the control cable that goes to the powervalve, and hold it as you rev the engine.

The cable will stiffen when it pulls the power valve open, and go slack when you let the revs drop again.
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colin1 is officially faster than god

[Fahd]

Wait a couple of months for my insurance to run out and you can have mine... (for a tidy some of ₤1200)
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I Ride: Honda CBR 400RR.
I Drive: Audi S3.

[Fawbish]

Its been pretty much summed up, but when you go for a proper look, make sure the bike is cold (ie, touch the engine when you get there - with common sense dictating NOT to touch it if it is hot )

If its hot, make chit chat for half an hour or so, talk about the bike, look it over for all the stuff people have mentioned.


Then when you're satisfied its cooled down enough (it should be literally cool to touch) get him to start it up

Listen for knocking, I assume you have previous experience of how a 2-stroke 125 roughly sounds?


When its warm properly, always nice to hear if it revs nice and high (okay, not compulsory as such, but if it wont rev high - something wrong aint there)

Check when it does start, that you get a nice normal amount of 2t smoke and have a good smell...aww, I wanna smell a 2t now!


EDIT: btw peeps, I think he said its at a dealer? (If i understood right, if not, fair) so he cant ask questions like "How long do you warm it up for, what oils have you used in the past (although they should know, at the minimum, whats in it right now - garage serviced if it is a dealer)
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"Oh....it looks like Average Joe's is forfeiting the match!" - "Yeah, its a risky strategy but lets see if it pays off for 'em Cotton."

[Nixon]

And if it either a dog or you want to see them squirm ask them if it has a power band fitted and if so what colour, referring to the one you saw on ebay



most things have been said already but just have a look over the chain and sprockets for looseness and tight spots etc , they may be due replacing .

Also run your finger around the inside of the exhaust silencer to try and get an idea of how clogged up it may be.

[McGee]

Remember RS stands for Really Slow.

Get a 1000 and stop being a pussy
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Its pronounced Jixxer!

[garth]

Rs is only slow once you move to the US of A and become so fat you need a thou' to carry your flabby ass around.

No offence, like.
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You ain't a has been if you never was

[EddyJones]

lmao at garth

you still on a CBT? OP

[The Tot]

To be honest, i'm tempted to get a really cheap stroker at some point just to hoon about the wooded roads on. Why? Because they are fun, rewarding, cheap to tax and insure and will be full of shits and giggles!

Sure, sarf east winnahs are all going on their trails, i'm gonna find something different and just as agonising and exciting.
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The Tot 2019 Z1000SX - 2007 R1
Never argue with autism

[Kickstart]

[pwntifex]

Ta for the helpful replies folks. Karma coming your way.
McGee, fancy giving me your bike then?

I'm still on my CBT, but not for much longer, so that's kind of a moot point. I just think it'd be neat to do the stroker thing before (a) the EU bans them and (b) I run out of excuses to do so --and I don't really need much more than what the RS offers.

Anyway, rambles over. Cheers again
Might post again once I've gone to see it.
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the warped one: This is a follow up from the thread 'my willy hurts'

[McGee]