Fast Eddie's Aprilia RS250 rebuild & restore

[Ollie.T]

Manual states:

"The shock absorber can be neither recharged nor repaired. If it breaks or is rundown, it must be replaced with a new one complete with tank.

WARNING:
-Do not force or try to open the shock absorber and tank"

Best person to ask would be Robert Taylor from Kiwi Suspension Solutions, chances are though, all he could do to it is replace the spring or supply a new shock.

[Fast Eddie]

I don't think Tim has an RS

haha, yea manual states "The shock absorber can be neither recharged nor repaired, If it breaks or is rundown, it must be replaced with a new one complete with tank"

Tank being remote reservoir I assume..

chur, however. I emailed that kiwi suspension specialist or CKT I dunno what they call themselves these days, and he recon'd he could rebuild the suspension. dunno if his rear suspension upgrades included rebuilding the stock item or just replacing the shock all together.. but it was going to cost around the 2.5k mark for front and rear upgrades.

anyway, manual says no can do on recharge..

[eelracing]

I don't think Tim has an RS

haha, yea manual states "The shock absorber can be neither recharged nor repaired, If it breaks or is rundown, it must be replaced with a new one complete with tank"

anyway, manual says no can do on recharge..

My apologies,I meant OllieT

Yours and Ollies manual should be taken with a pinch of salt and a little less pasta.

Anyway whats been going on it's been a little quiet of late?Do you two need some inspiration?kick up the rear?..i'm hoping to have her all together and run in by sunday.

[Fast Eddie]

haha, bloody italian manuals eh.

do you recon the rear shock is rebuildable?

Nah I'v been tinkering away slowly, I bought a racing sidecar to race club level so I've been too broke to buy the last things I need before reassembly/run in..

shes ready for it though, got most of the bits, pistons gaskets etc.. everythings been cleaned and tidied up. Still need to buy 2 new clip ons, old ones are bent n shit. some new hardware to replace rusted/broken shit. and still need the 2 water spigots to replace rusted out ones in cylinder.

yours is looking miiint! I got 4 weeks left to pay off the sidecar then should be back into it and done in a few weeks from then. lets call it a month im hoping to be smelling 2 stroke in the shed.

[eelracing]

haha, bloody italian manuals eh.

do you recon the rear shock is rebuildable?

Definately and don't let anyone try to convince you otherwise.

I bought a racing sidecar to race club level so I've been too broke to buy the last things I need before reassembly/run in..

Haha if your racing then better get used to it.

lets call it a month im hoping to be smelling 2 stroke in the shed.

Good man...........

[Fast Eddie]

finally. at the end of paying off my new sidecar for racing so the cash flow should improve! have ordered some new water spigots finally from TTW and some screws and and bits and pieces for the powervalves.

Its nearing reassembly time.

any quick suggestions for oils and greases, lubes and maybe even loctites to use and where during reassembly? mainly to make conversation but I might listen to yas too haha

everythings ready to go, new pistons look good, cylinders and ports are as clean as I will get them, have been working on the cylinder ports a little bit with emery paper and abrasives.. was hard to make progress so hopefully i wasn't too messy. but I don't know much yet its a big learning curve and im following a 2 stroke tuning manual thing.. I havent taken much meat off but just smoothed the edges a but here and there.

everythings looking pretty clean, power valves are still soaking to try and get the last of the carbon build up off the tips. its proving tough, someone suggested oven cleaner? might try that next as steel-os and kero don't seem to cut it.



anyway still got to trim up the gaskets and make sure everything fits and doesnt overlap or block any ports or openings etc.. and theeeeen going to give the whole squish clearance thing a go.. fingers crossed eh.

oh I did want to know if its ok to just take the clutch cover off, paint it, then put it back on. or will I have to do a bit of disassembly n shit. I always seem to be taking the stator covers off but havent done clutch yet.

I had another question but can't remember now... I'll be back..

[eelracing]

Whatever 2 stroke oil you are using will be fine and a dab of grease will help to hold the thrust washers in place when connecting piston.Also a light threadlocker is fine on the PV bolts and actuating arm/wheel bracket bolts as I have lost one of those suckers before.[/COLOR]


everythings looking pretty clean, power valves are still soaking to try and get the last of the carbon build up off the tips. its proving tough, someone suggested oven cleaner? might try that next as steel-os and kero don't seem to cut it.

If it's hard-baked on I just scraped it off with a blunt screwdriver and finished with a fine grit sandpaper.


and theeeeen going to give the whole squish clearance thing a go.. fingers crossed eh.

More info needed eddie as all you may require is the SP head gaskets and it could save you a hell of a lot of grief.



oh I did want to know if its ok to just take the clutch cover off, paint it, then put it back on. or will I have to do a bit of disassembly n shit.

No disassembly but you might dislodge the kickstart mechanism from its recess but it's fairly straightforward putting it back in place.

[Fast Eddie]

Hey Eel - cheers bro.

Sweet will follow those tips hadn't picked out a brand of 2 stroke oil yet.. will do some reading I guess and I have a selection of greases already they should be ok and a bit of threadlocker

Did you want more info on the squish clearance? in what way? (I have no idea what the squish is atm on my engine) I'm guessing I have to wait until I have assembled it and then check the squish clearance it has with the gaskets I have already bought.. and then go from there by using a thinner and thinner base gasket? to reduce the clearance. I have a book here somewhere on 2 stroke tuning was just readin that really.

Sweet as about removing clutch cover will give it a go, I wondered about the clutch arm that sticks up out of the top of the case.. wondered if that had to come out first or something.. im sure I'll see when I give it a go haha!.

thanks man!

[Fast Eddie]

Slowly getting back into it, starting to reassemble engine. have smoothed out the ports and cleaned up everything pretty nicely.

Just mucked about with the new pistons today, they were about .5 grams different from each other so I shaved a little bit off til they were both 136.5 grams on the dot. close as I will get them to each other in the old shed eh!

Noticed that my new pistons are only 136 grams while the old ones that came out of the engine were 146 grams plus there were missing a considerable portion of their skirting.. so they were prob more like 150grams or more.
figured thats a pretty big diff, 150 - 136... all the more reason to take it past red line now eh haha



out with the old in with the new.. next is putting the new water spigots into the cylinders.. Do these have to be taken somewhere to press in or am I ok to use a soft face hammer? obv can't push them in far enough at the moment..

then will trim the gaskets a bit so they don't overlap obstruct any of the air/fuel/gas flow, which they do at the moment.. - then its just setting the squish clearance then engine will be finished and ready to go back into the frame.

then its front forks (which I'm confused on how to disassemble..) i've only done normal forks from my blade and old ninja.. have not done USD yet and certainly not strange ones like aprilia were the 2 front forks are completely diff from each other.. again italian manual sucks. anyway once they are apart they are off to be anodized gold.

theeen its just buy some new clip ons as the old ones are shite, obv broken before then rewelded n shit.. crap stuff so new ones it is.. then I'm fairly sure thats it! will be firing her up soon.

gotta finish polishing the wheels and I think one of the exhaust pipes may need a repair where it bolts onto the cyl head, one is loose and the other one is not so guessing it should be tacked/welded solid (the actual mount/collar that u bolt on the cyl head studs.)

gettin there. removing carbon from the exhaust port and powervalves has been a mission! power valves are fully decarboned now but I dunno how to get the shit out of the exhaust ports aye.. they have soaked for weeks in kerosene and still won't come off with steelos n shit - always open to other tips n tricks.

[eelracing]

Noticed that my new pistons are only 136 grams while the old ones that came out of the engine were 146 grams plus there were missing a considerable portion of their skirting.. so they were prob more like 150grams or more.
figured thats a pretty big diff, 150 - 136... all the more reason to take it past red line now eh haha

There's an interesting thread on the UK RGV website covering the diff piston makers and weights,worth a gander.


out with the old in with the new.. next is putting the new water spigots into the cylinders.. Do these have to be taken somewhere to press in or am I ok to use a soft face hammer? obv can't push them in far enough at the moment..

They should just push in and a light tapping with a rubber mallet/block of wood.If still having trouble try freezing spigot and then a light oiling should see her home.



I think one of the exhaust pipes may need a repair where it bolts onto the cyl head, one is loose and the other one is not so guessing it should be tacked/welded solid (the actual mount/collar that u bolt on the cyl head studs.)

This doesnt sound right at all are you sure your not missing one of the exhaust gaskets?If it's any thing like the std RGV there should be a couple for each cylinder.

but I dunno how to get the shit out of the exhaust ports aye.. they have soaked for weeks in kerosene and still won't come off with steelos n shit - always open to other tips n tricks.

If it's caked on then scrape that shit out with a blunt instrument and a liberal dose of elbow grease.

[tigertim20]

out with the old in with the new.. next is putting the new water spigots into the cylinders.. Do these have to be taken somewhere to press in or am I ok to use a soft face hammer? obv can't push them in far enough at the moment..

.

cant you sweat them in? freeze spigots, heat area with torch, then a (rubber?) hammer and a bit of wood should see you right

[theflyingkiwi]

Hi, does any one know someone selling race parts for a rgv/rs got my kit pipes about to gets some race valves and other bits n pieces from TTW, really want a close ratio box and dry clutch. thanks

[Fast Eddie]

Hi, does any one know someone selling race parts for a rgv/rs got my kit pipes about to gets some race valves and other bits n pieces from TTW, really want a close ratio box and dry clutch. thanks

no idea bro, someone might come along that knows..

I would say give Sean an email at TTW, he's been very helpful with my bike and getting random bits for it - he has access to a lot more than whats on the TTW website, he can probably source the box and clutch from the sp models or whatever had them.. maybe the whole engine unit. overseas shipping probably dear tho.

good luck, might be harder to find local.. if there are any that float through here I might snap it up.. why not eh.

[Fast Eddie]

If it's caked on then scrape that shit out with a blunt instrument and a liberal dose of elbow grease.

haha, cheers bro - got to study for exams then on holiday, should finish up the aprilia next week and fire it up (I hope)

will give the exhaust port decarboning another go, I'm worried about gouging the metal eh.. but can definitely scrape it with bluntish tools or bits and pieces I find lying around.. fine line between blunt and not getting ef all off and too sharp and making a mess.

chur chur, can't wait to fire it up.. still think exhaust needs a weld - will try get a photo later.. its like the collar that bolts onto the cyl head around the start of the expansion chamber, one is fixed in place/doesn't move the other one does move so I think its broken its weld or whatever was holding it on. probably doesnt make sense i'll take photos or something.

[theflyingkiwi]

yea might do its for my rgv race bike, just got a gsxr600 shock and zx636 forks done by KSS, getting spacers for the forks done now, iv got the hole zeeltronic ingnition doing a rebuild now gona get heads, valves with kit pipes should hopfully make 70hp so it should be competive.