Did I make a mistake buying a GSXR?

I was riding pretty quick around Kinglake on the weekend, on my 750 gixxer,
well I thought it was pretty quick, and this guy on an RGV rounded me up
like I was standing still. I thought I'd still be able to see him after 2 or
3 corners but nope he was gone. Maybe he'd come off and down the side??
Nope, I get to Kinglake and here he is having a drink.....
How fast are these 2 strokes??? Unreal.
Anyone had experience on an RGV? Wouldn't mind having a ride on one to try
out. I heard the Aprilia RS250 is the same bike nearly,,,same engine and
box.
Any recommendations?

 

Remember: Anyone slower than you is an doddering imbecile, anyone
quicker than you is a dangerous madman. If all else fails, blame your
tyres.

-----sharks

 

This is why they fit telemetry to top-flight racebikes. It's
objective. If you say you were going quick, but you were really
carrying 6,000rpm in 2nd midcorner, then ya weren't really tryin',
son.

Of course, it was all bike; the rider couldn't possibly have had
anything to do with getting speed out of a 160kg bike which makes a
fair wedge less than the 60hp it made when it was new, six top-end and
three bottom-end rebuilds ago...

....waits for stampede of replies along the lines of, "Fantastic bike!
I have four. The trackbike just needs reeds, pistons and rings... oh,
and the cylinders are off in the US, getting replated. The registered
one needs a bottom end, but I'm pretty sure I can use the crank and
rods out of one of the other two, which are under a tarp up against
the back fence."

Not even that; the RS250 is powered by an Aprilia-tweaked version of
the engine out of the RGV250 VJ23, which had an oval headlight, a
frame which went on to be lubed and stretched until it could fit
around the TL1000R motor, and which was never sold here.

....the newest RGV you could possibly happen across today is an even
ten years old, and most are over 15 years old. Chances are it will
have done a stint in 250 production racing, been through a half-dozen
n00bs and spent a couple of years in a shed, serving as a perch for
roosting chickens, its entrails hanging out.

 

Yes 2 strokes are very fast on a road that suits them (and around the
back end of the race track before you get to the straight). They don't
have the top end speed of a litre bike, but they sure can carry corner
speed. The tighter the road the better.

Have a look at the laptimes for the 250cc class as against the motogp
800's with 50 times the budget - there's not a lot in it (in fact
between an Aprilia factory 250 and a Kawasaki motogp bike in the dry
it'd probably be even stevens)

The Aprilia RS250 has ~10 years worth of development(1) on the RGV,
it's a considerably better bike in a similar way that the current
model GSXR750 is streets ahead of a 10yr old one. Although for totally
different reasons.

An RS puts out a little more HP than an RGV (10% ish) but has
considerably better running gear brakes and etc. Lighter, stiffer
frame, better suspension etc

If you want a two stroke, buy an RS over the RGV if money is no
object. The plus of an RGV or KR1S is they will be considerably
cheaper, you'll need to be regularly rebuilding whichever one of them
you get and they suck badly in city traffic too btw

JL
1 Noting they went out of production a couple of years ago (3-5 I
think)

 

buy a V-strom... mine was faster that alot of the GSXR600/750/1000
R6/1 CBR600/1000RR out there

or learn how to ride

HTHs

mh

 

Stop talking about getting overtaken by elderly bikes with less than
half your horsepower, before the Competency Police arrive to
confiscate your bike.


BTH

 

was? Did I miss something Marty?

Moike

 

My recommendation? Don't worry about it. Try and RGV if you want. But
I reckon a 750 gixxer is a better balance of power and cornering
speed. It's up to you from there.

I remember a few years back going for a ride with Limbot down around
the tight twisty corners around the Huon here in Tas and there was a
workmate of Limbo's on his new GSXR750 who was starting to get annoyed
that I was following him through all the twisty stuff on a VTX1800
cruiser that I had borrowed off a mate. I'd never ridden it before. I
don't claim to be a great rider by a long way. But usually the speed
through corners comes from the rider, not the bike. I reckon you'd get
annoyed with two stroke power after a while. (Maybe not. I know I did
after going back from a litre bike to an NSR400).

But I agree with other posters. Small light bikes are going to hold
better corner speed given equivalent riders. Soon as there is a
straight it's "bye bye" and they have a lot of catching up to do.

But the road is not a place to test those limits either. I couldn't
give a **** if someone wants to ride faster than me on the road.
Except for occasionally, but it is rare.

 

How fast are these 2 strokes???
Faster than 750's everytime round a corner with equal riders...

While your on the brakes into a corner, they are grabbing 6th gear
still tucked in..

Had fun with Daz in the feature races at Oran park, him on his ZXR, I
was on the KR1S.. Down the straight, anyone can go fast (he got me)
We came to the corner at end of straight, and I'd go round him,
flogged him to the start of straight, and do it all again. (if only I
could have beat Lockwoods RC30 Superbike JUST once).. Pissed him off
no end, until he tried to follow my line, and went bush.

Good bike for track bike, shit bike for commuter, tourer... I rode one
at Stars of Tomorrow at the Island after the KR1S dropped a ring at
Winton .TO me they have a sort of a flat feeling in power, but
hey look at all the lap records, cant be all bad.

$1500-2000 you should be able to buy one.

No, not the same really.. RGV's are dime a dozen, and great for
humiliating people on $10,000 - 20,000 bikes round your fav corners.
There was a formula 2 kit for these, but never saw anyone with one.

Then there was the NSR250, which came out and destroyed all RGV's in
its path.. Nice bike, would love to have had one... Again, theres a
factory race kit for them too!
http://pride-u-bike.com/catalog/honda/Honda-NSR-250R-SP-(MC28)-1996.jpg

Then theres also the Late model TZRs which you can fit TZ gear to from
GP bikes... Much nicer lookin, but never rode one. Yamaha had a
factory race kit available for these...
http://www.rd500ypvs.co.uk/Paul_Wilshaw__TZR_250_R_edited.jpg

 

http://www.kr-1s.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1831
this would have been nice. - Look at the pics!!!! NICE!

As the title I am selling the bike and a couple of cars and throwing
everything into trying to get my hands on a Cagiva 500 GP bike or a
genuine RGV500.............................. Whatever happens I am not
going to e-bay it.

There is lots of information on the RGV site about the bike but a
brief spec is:

Fresh 570cc Terry Shep motor, cranks re-built by Chris Appleby
Harry Barlow one off Pipes with Arrow carbon/titanium cans
Brand new GHN gearbox
New Rotary valves and covers
New complete clutch
Carbon fibre ram air scoops and air-boxes
£5k on engine in all.

Brand new loom, CDI, AEC controller, coils, servo motor.

Chassis is re-engineered RGV with 1" added to the depth, bracing added
everywhere, one off suspension and engine mounts, all done by Spondon
engineering.
Front forks are Ohlins from the Ducati World Superbike Team (not
copies or built to the same spec) and are re-built by K-tech to suit
the bike.
Rear shock is the same story and has Ohlins racing splashed all over
it, multi adjustable and completly unobtainable.
Brakes are from the same bike, the front rotors have carbon fibre
carriers (Ducati P4 pads and discs fit so no problem with spares),
Brembo radial cylinder squeezes the front and a GP thumb brake
operates the rear through stainless hosing. You can stand the bike on
its nose with one finger.
Wheels are brand new (circa 500 miles) Marchesini magnesium wheels
currently wearing Micheline Pilot intermediates.

Swinging arem is a heavily modded Yamaha R7 item with a carbon fibre
hugger. Tripple clamps are Spondon adjustable and an absolute work of
art, most fastners are titanium. The bike was built by a guy who makes
carbon fibre parts for F1 cars!

Bodywork wise the fairing was sourced direct from the h*nda GP team
and is carbon fibre, linked to a ram air intake from the same source.
The seat unit comes in two halves the hump being removable to access
the two stroke tank, the front section being self supporting and does
not require (and does not have) any form of subframe. The tank is
carbon fibre and has a solid carbon fibre tank cap, the seat and tank
are mounted on two one off milled frame sections as per the original
bike.

Other items:

Digital instruments, one of top fairing frame in aluminium, brand new
wiring loom, carbon fibre/ali adjustable rearsets, Spondon clip-ons,
dream machine paint, one off high capacity curved radiator, billet
shift support section, and just far far too much to
list............................ It is like a GP bike on the throttle,
on the brakes, and in the corners.

Own probably the finest two stroke Grand Prix replica in the UK for
less than you might imagine, serious enquiries only to
or PM me. P.s. also comes with One off
aluminium padock stand, spare CDI, spare renthal grips, and anything
else RG500 related that I have.

 

besides it being on its side twice on the WE and snapping a gear lever
and foot peg bracket in the process, killing a bird with the mirror,
nothing, it still bet a CBR1000RR, Super Duke and a SV1000 through
Reefton Spur, the GIXXER 600 streetfighter got away... boy he got
away!!! (he races, that's my excuse anyway)

I love my Strom... playing boy racer on the spur in the morning and
then playing in the dirt in the afternoon.

but, lined up next to CBR1000RR, Super Duke and a fully faired Black
SV1000.... **** they are EXTRA ugly

the "was" is just part of my wonderful grammer

mh

 

When brand-new, and when the 750 is a 230kg ZXR with a fuel tank the
size of a kick-drum.

A current GSX-R750 is 25kg rather than 75kg heavier than an RGV, makes
80 rather than 50hp more, and because wheel and brake disc production
have moved on since the fall of the Soviet Union, has something of the
order of 30% less unsprung weight... the only chance the RGV guy
should have against that is to try to go back in time and change
history so two-stroke development doesn't end with the RGV250 VJ23 and
the NSR250 MC28, and when he returns to 2008, he finds that he has
something other than a shagged-out refugee from the early 90's to
challenge with...

KTM are supposed to be coming out with an 690 RC4... their 654cc four-
valve single in the same spine-trellis frame as used on the 690 Duke
and the 690 SM, dropped lower to the ground via shorter forklegs and a
shorter shock, with 1190 RC8-style plastics. They'd be stupid not to,
frankly. That'll have the same-size tyres as a 90's two-stroke race-
rep, it'll weigh about the same at ~160kg wet, make about the same
power at a shade over 60hp at the wheel (pretty much all of it in the
top half of the rev range, too), but it'll have modern WP suspension
and light wheels... and it'll probably still get its arse handed to it
by a more conventional sportsbike unless its rider adopts the midset
of a Panzer commander who's trying to keep the Russians out of Berlin.

 

<grin> Yeah all true - comparing same eras Biggus' comment is correct,
but unfortunately when Japan changed their capacity limit rules it
spelled the death knell for 250cc 2 strokes and 400cc 4 strokes - they
were the only market large enough to warrant the Japs making them (in
production runs).

Yeah it sounds like fun - I put myself down for the Mito 500 single
when Cagiva proposed it (but then they sold Husky and the motor they
were going to use went by-bys). I'm seriously tempted by one of the
KTM supermonos, although I'll probably end up just spending some money
on the KR1 for some lighter wheels and better suspension

JL

 

but its not as much fun

mh

 

Next time don't let him get away.

Nev..
'07 XB12X