Aprilia suspension setup?

[v twin]

Hi guys, i have a rsvr aprilia 03 and have been trying to sort out the suspension settings but just cant get it together. I had an rsv before and had a guy set it up for me and was pretty good for me then. Do u know anyone in the hamilton area that would have the know how/experience to help me out with this. I have tried the specs on sportsbike web page but way to soggy for me and the stadard setup is worse still

[Sensei]

Check out NTB Racing they are the Aprilia agents in Hamilton , he should be able to set it up your bike or there may be some local guys that can help out .... If you lived here I would do it for you , shave done all my other RSV Mille customers bikes for them ...

[v twin]

thanks for that, i'll get on to them soon....

[Pussy]

The stock internals of the OEM Ohlins forks on your model Aprilia are fairly agricultural. You won't be able to do much with the external adjusters. Not wanting to piss on your parade. They were built to a price.

[v twin]

The stock internals of the OEM Ohlins forks on your model Aprilia are fairly agricultural. You won't be able to do much with the external adjusters. Not wanting to piss on your parade. They were built to a price.

yeh i here that mate and if i wanted to slip round corners with no dramas and smooth power i would have bought a 996duke but i like the feel of the rsv putting it big boots down, keeps me grinning anyways....

[Pussy]

yeh i here that mate and if i wanted to slip round corners with no dramas and smooth power i would have bought a 996duke but i like the feel of the rsv putting it big boots down, keeps me grinning anyways....

The fork internals can be modified with better compression pistons, and better rebound pistons with bending shimstack midvalves. Makes them perform a whole lot better. The stock pistons in them are quite restrictive... and look as though they are made out of cast iron.
Definitely not bagging your bike! It's just a shame they dropped the ball a bit when the factory gave Ohlins the spec they wanted.
Give Robert Taylor a call at Kiwi Suspension Solutions (06 751 2100). He has modded several of them. From memory, it's not too expensive.

[F5 Dave]

. . . I have tried the specs on sportsbike web page but way to soggy for me and the stadard setup is worse still

For a starting point it's an 03' & it feels soggy. you will need a rebuild at the min, forget the clickers for the mean time. +1 for above. Expense is forgotted & benifit every time you ride.

[v twin]

thanks for the help, was gona put up some quotes butdont know how.....bottom line is gonna try some settings from sensei ,thanks very cool mate! as msg yeah sounds like i may need shocks service

[Pussy]

thanks for the help, was gona put up some quotes butdont know how.....bottom line is gonna try some settings from sensei ,thanks very cool mate! as msg yeah sounds like i may need shocks service

If it's under sprung for your weight, no amount of "adjusting" will do anything. The OEM springs are quite light in them. Similarly, the forks will probably need servicing with some new oil at least. I would use 15 or 19 cst Ohlins oil.
By all means give it a go. Just don't expect to achieve optimum.

[Robert Taylor]

Pussy is right, such forks built exclusively for oem supply ( not aftermarket ) are built to a price and are in fact a lower spec level than the aftermarket Ohlins offerings. Bike manufacturers are pretty ruthless at demanding ''a line in the sand'' cost wise when subcontracting component suppliers and being the Ohlins distributor we have a real insight into this in ''cross referencing'' the oem supply and aftermarket supply products we see. Realistically, if there was the very best of everything in oem forks the bikes would be unaffordable to most people.
Also, the primary markets for such bikes ( Northern Europe and North America ) have a much higher ratio of relatively smooth roads that they ride on for a much higher ratio of the time. Here in the shaky isles we are a polar opposite with the state of our roads and that is why we are so attentive to the need for decent ride compliance, but also control.
Brutally, THERE IS NO WAY THAT ALL MANNER OF MESSING AROUND WITH THE EXTERNAL ADJUSTERS AND SPRING PRELOAD ON THIS BIKE WILL EFFECT A SATISFACTORY OUTCOME.

FRONT END: The low friction properties and rigidity of these forks against such things as brake deflection are excellent. When they do deflect ( as all forks do ) there is much less bind compared to many other forks. The stock pistons are sintered steel alloy type and port sizes are okay. The big problem is the stock valving stacks are VERY RIGID with a late opening point and low deflection. The Italians are at fault here in demanding such rigidity and seemingly everyone in that country wants to be Max Biaggi! This stack wont open early enough and far enough to flow enough oil when ridden over abrupt bumps that we have in abundance. If you open out the clickers further in a vain attempt to gain some compliance it makes the initial action very sloppy ( as you have attested to ) but also because there is now so much bypass bleed it actually delays the point at which the shim stacks will open because you have lowered the pressure behind them!
Frankly, magazine testers are not suspension engineers nor should everything they scribe be taken as gospel! They are mindful of not alienating bike manufactuers and losing valuable advertising revenue. If anyone tells you they can sort this bike out by external adjustments they are ( frankly ) deluding you and themselves
We in fact oveer the years have now revalved 100s of these forks and have a very specific revalve spec for the standard pistons that we use that we have refined even further over time. It provides a night and day improvement at a highly affordable cost. The forks will now absorb nasty bumps and have even better dynamic ride height control.
Further to that we can indeed fit different pistons with ''bending shim stack midvalves'' that yields an even further improvement but the cost is significantly higher and it sounds like you may not want to go that far. If the forks also need springs we can only determine that once we know your height and your weight.
We are so confident with this spec we offer a 100% money back gurantee if it doesnt provide the big improvement we say it will

REAR END: The problem here, partly, is that it may be undersprung for you if your height and weight statistics are ''generous''. BUT, 70% or more of the issue is that the internal main piston low speed compression shimming ( as a polar opposite to the forks ) opens too early and too far causing the bike to squat excessively under power off the tightest turns, causing understeer. This is most evident if you are doing a trackday or riding briskly on a twisty road. Also, because the rear end initially ''blows through its stroke'' too readily it ''arrives'' at the accelerative part of the link curve too early and that causes harshness.
Again, winding in the compression clicker to try and control this is futile, and creates other undesirable side affects. The compression clicker on such single tube shock designs is arranged in a flow path that is only responsible for controlling 12% of total damping force so there is no way that such an external adjuster is a magic fix. The solution is to go inside the shock and make an incremental change to the low speed compression shimming that provides much improved squat and ride height control. When this is done the bike carves a tighter line, the front end feels more positive. the bike is better balanced, and it also feels more compilant because in part it allows the compression clicker to be in a sensible place that allows responsive flow over smaller irregularities.
And again we have a well developed revalve spec for this model shock that sorts this issue out at reasonable cost.

Recently we installed a sophisticated suspension dyno that can do both shocks and forks. This is unique in the NZ motorcycle suspension industry as we can graphically show the changes, and whilst it doesnt completely substitute for seat of the pants testing it helps enormously. Whilst it might appear to be ''blowing our own trumpet'' this is a very substanial investment ( $35k ) and reinforces our committment to doing the job properly.

If you are interested send me an e-mail to robert@kss.net.nz and we will cost. We do need to know your height plus your weight in your everyday clothes