Chance to Buy an NSR or RS! Which one should I get?

[Disco]

Hi There,

I wonder if anyone can help me.

Basically I went to look at a V reg RS 125 last night and it was in quite poor cosmetic condition for the year, apparently due to being knocked over during a storm.

Mechanically I'm not too sure, the bike hadden't been ridden for a couple of months and when I arrived there the bloke selling it was still taking it for a spin to try and warm it up, which made me slightly suspicious. When you let go of the throttle the bike stalled time after time even after I'd taken it out for a thrash it still was doing this. The other thing I'm slightly wary of is that the bike has done 8k km which I know is quite low but I also know that if RS have been thrashed then the engine might need to be rebuilt. The bike is only £1k but I don't want to fork out that and then have the engine blowup on me a couple of months/weeks down the line so I've been looking at other options.

I spoke to a Honda dealer and they said that they've got some NSR 125 Italian Imports and he would sell one to me unregistered for £1150 and then all I'd have to do is pay to register it with DVLA, which I think costs about £50 but not sure. The other thing is I'm not sure what sort of import this would be classed as Grey or parrallel and if it would effect the insurance. If someone could help with all of my queries above that would be great also then advise which one I'd be better going for.

Many Thanks

Danny
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[mr jamez]

Well if the RS has problems engine problems and has done 8km then it will probably need a rebuild soon. Also you said it has been dropped, possibly thrashed so I would just leave it well alone. The nsr sounds better, as long as it is in condtion, lots of NSR's are imports and I am not aware of any insurance problems whatsoever, and all the parts fit between the british and import built models.

However I am not sure if you are going to be able to register that bike as it is a 2 stroke, obviously, if it has never been registered before but I am not totaly sure on the rules regarding this!

Oh and their is a thread in the sumbmissions forum about what to look for when you are thinking of a buying a second hand bike

[Disco]

Cheers for the quick response.

As I was looking at your response I also got another call from someone selling a L-reg RS125 for £425. Don't know if it has MoT or not but it is only round the corner from where I work so I thought I'd give it a look any how. the bloke said it needs a new alternator and rear tyre but apart from that he said it's mechanically sound the only other thing he mentioned was that the right hand fairing is scratched but other than that sound. Do you think that on this information that the amount of work needed to be done to it would be worth spending £400 to get the bike?

Thanks Again
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[McJamweasel]

That is VERY cheap.
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[Disco]

Is that very cheap in a good way or very cheap in a bad way?

How much would the work mentioned, Alternator, Rear tyre & MoT cost, Roughly?
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[McJamweasel]

Put it this way - if it costs you £800 to fix (which it won't - not by a long way) then its still a good buy.

I'm not sure how much the alternator would cost, but I would guess around £200 to get it back on the road, assuming theres nothing else wrong.
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[Disco]

[Kickstart]

Hi

£425 is very cheap. Rear tyre will be around £100. Depending on which bit/s of the alternator have gone then that is a bit more . The rotor is around £120, as is the stator, but it is normally the rotor that starts to break up. Getting a good 2nd hand rotor is difficult. An MOT is around £15.

The RS engine is perfectly reliable if treated well. Thrash them from cold and you will blow them up.

I have an early model RS like that one. I have managed an indicated 115mph out of it, which is probably a true 100~105mph. Fuel consumption is around 55mpg.

Bits to check are the rear suspension links for play, look for any signs of rust or pitting on the chromed parts of the forks, check around the side stand mount (they have been known to crack the frame, probably from people sitting on the bikes with the stand down) and check the front brake pads (they don't last long).

With the RS Aprilia recommend checking the piston rings at 8000km. To check them properly you have to strip the top end of the engine so having done that much work you may as well just put new ones in. A set of piston rings is around £35, and the only real gasket you need to replace is the base gasket at around £1.50 (the head gaskets are rubber O rings and can be reused a few times). If the rings do fail then they stand a good chance of damaging the barrel which will add several hundred pounds to the repair bill.

For Aprilia engine spares speak to Peter Knight on 0176 141 4106. He is a Rotax engine specialist (the early RS125 uses a Rotax 123 model engine, the later RS used a Rotax 122).

All the best

Keith
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[LorryDriver71]