Aprilia 550 RXV ?

Does anyone have one? If so, how is it in the woods? And how is the reliability and maintenance as compared to KTMs. I have been looking to buy a KTM 450 EXC-R to use as a dual purpose bike. But I saw an Aprilia 550 RXV yesterday that I kinda like too.

 

They are truly hand grenades......do NOT buy one unless you have a streak of masochism in you. I know of not a single 550 that hasn't had a serious problem with the engine....not one. I HAVE A 450 AND IT HAS BEEN RELIABLE FOR THE FIRST 750 MILES I HAVE TO DATE ON IT, BUT THE 550'S WERE JUST WRAPPED TOO TIGHT AND ENGINE FAILURES TRULY ARE THE NORM.

I can provide you with countless references if you don't believe me, but any reputable Aprilia dealer will steer you clear of buying one....mine did. He knew me and what a power junky I was and warned me by saying that he would sell me one but it would be the biggest bummer of my life when it came back blown up. And he guaranteed it would blow up before 1500 miles....They have had customers on their third blown engine.....and even the new, improved ones are still going bang.

BTW, you will find that both the Aprilia 450 and 550 vibrate much more than the KTM and many find themselves with numb hands after only a few minutes....I ride an EXC 450 KTM on both the dirt and as a supermotard, and it is the weapon of choice in that displacement IMO. The Aprilia revs quickly unloaded, but cannot match the KTM for torque....the KTM is just faster, IMO as well as the many riders that have ridden them back to back, in dirt and on the pavement/track.

 

I found that same thing about the poor reliability of the Aprilia in my 'due diligence' research. I'm going with the KTM and plan to stop by the dealer again next week and finalize a deal...

 

If you hunt around in some more backwoods areas, you may really find a good deal on the KTM....esp on an 08' or earlier NOS. The older ones were not street legal, though, so excercise caution if that is important. There were some multi line dealers that carried KTM's in places like south Texas that just could not sell theirs.....and so they finally wake up and start marking them down to good prices....I would spend some time trying to find simularly distressed areas to shop if saving a few hundred dollars is important to you. I bought my EXC for about $2K under MSRP like that.....