Aprilia SRV850

[Tmaximus]

Hi Guys ... its been a while since I was last on here, glad to see the site is still going strong ! After 12 years of TMax's I bought a Honda X-ADV last year that I am very pleased with, but last week I also added a very low mileage SRV850 to the "fleet" and just wondered if anyone has owned one, and if so if you have any thoughts or comments on this machine ?

Thanks

Dougie

[Ferret]

Hi Guys ... its been a while since I was last on here, glad to see the site is still going strong ! After 12 years of TMax's I bought a Honda X-ADV last year that I am very pleased with, but last week I also added a very low mileage SRV850 to the "fleet" and just wondered if anyone has owned one, and if so if you have any thoughts or comments on this machine ?

Thanks

Dougie

Hi Dougie I have had an srv for 6 years now and used it 24/7/365 all wethers etc . They are very underestimated imho . They are great for 2 up with luggage on a long tour or even great fun on a track day .I use mine with the lads on there sports bikes etc and even they are often surprised that how well the srv goes .The standard Pirelli diablo tyres are ok but crap in the wet but the new diablo rosso tyres have proved very good indeed and that's from someone who does not normally rate Pirelli.Personal tyre choice the Michelin pilot road 4 work brilliantly especially in the wet . Best brake pads S33 .Bad bits fasteners go rusty every year on the black body panels ,under seat compartment is a little small for some helmets and also gets hot in there so no good for keeping your chocolate in but great for keeping the take away warm .Belt change can be awkward needing someone else to assist especially if you don't have the special tools . Belt life is supposed to be changed at 12k in one book 16k in another , I have 18k on the currant belt all appears fine . Belt cost between £78 -145 depending where you go . Do not buy malossi Kevlar belt expensive and lasts no longer than the original. Frame paint is a little thin .Do not be tempted to fit j costa variator as shown to have caused expensive issues due to out of balance drum .Great place for info gp800/srv forum run by Garby or gp1 (Italy) has a fb page also .He also makes parts and produces a 1000cc conversion kit . Parts supply can be a bit crap and expensive so I normally get mine from Italy but AJ Sutton have been good in the past . Centre stand can ground out with spirited riding and many find it needs a bit of a knack to get it on/off the centre stand . Always use the hand brake . Let me know if you need anyone info .


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[Tmaximus]

Hi Ferret

Thanks very much for your detailed reply ... its all very useful ! Mine needs tyres, and as most of my road bikes are on Pilot Road 4's I wanted to go with the same again, but I could not find a 16 inch front, can you tell me where you got yours ? I have gone with Dunlop Scootsmart this time ... not sure how they will be as they are a new tyre to me.

I bought mine because I always wanted one, this one came up at good money, and with only 4000km on the clock so I took the plunge ! It is my intention to use it mainly for 2 up touring, so i have a Givi screen and rack on order .... if i had not done this right away I could have been tempted to go down the sporty route !! ( I really like my Honda X-ADV, but like a TMax it can be a bit slow at over taking with the wife on the back and all her makeup & clutter weighing the bike down !!! ..... so the SRV should make a much better machine for long distances two up, and it has a decent fuel range as well )

A local bike mechanic had one in a few weeks ago and I had a good look round it, one area of concern was the link pipe that connects the 2 petrol tank halves, if you look at the back plastic mudguard, it has a join just ahead of the rear wheel, this seems to let all the road crap in, and this rots the link pipe ..... worth looking at yours, if you have not had your plastic boot liner out yet ?

Thanks for the AJ Sutton contact I will use them if I need anything for it.

Thanks again for your detailed reply ... much appreciated !

Cheers

Dougie

PS ... have you taken the front fairing off yours, and is there much to it ?

[Ferret]

Hi Ferret

Thanks very much for your detailed reply ... its all very useful ! Mine needs tyres, and as most of my road bikes are on Pilot Road 4's I wanted to go with the same again, but I could not find a 16 inch front, can you tell me where you got yours ? I have gone with Dunlop Scootsmart this time ... not sure how they will be as they are a new tyre to me.

I bought mine because I always wanted one, this one came up at good money, and with only 4000km on the clock so I took the plunge ! It is my intention to use it mainly for 2 up touring, so i have a Givi screen and rack on order .... if i had not done this right away I could have been tempted to go down the sporty route !! ( I really like my Honda X-ADV, but like a TMax it can be a bit slow at over taking with the wife on the back and all her makeup & clutter weighing the bike down !!! ..... so the SRV should make a much better machine for long distances two up, and it has a decent fuel range as well )

A local bike mechanic had one in a few weeks ago and I had a good look round it, one area of concern was the link pipe that connects the 2 petrol tank halves, if you look at the back plastic mudguard, it has a join just ahead of the rear wheel, this seems to let all the road crap in, and this rots the link pipe ..... worth looking at yours, if you have not had your plastic boot liner out yet ?

Thanks for the AJ Sutton contact I will use them if I need anything for it.

Thanks again for your detailed reply ... much appreciated !

Cheers

Dougie

PS ... have you taken the front fairing off yours, and is there much to it ?

Firstly the scoot smarts are good tyres the new version 3 are even better . Regarding the pilot road 4s rears are no problem and 5k before squaring off ,the fronts are a problem Michelin said initially they would produce a 16" front then they did not so I was in desperate need of a front and had to fit a city grip ,gotta say it worked great but it is not speed rated for the srv so I now run the new diablo rosso pirelli which have performed great so far .with regards to carrying a pillion and overtaking it's no problem on the srv just as cruising at 100mph 2 up if you wish .I have however when I fitted new chain and sprockets fitted a 49 tooth rear which just makes acceleration and overtaking a little better .Regarding the fuel link pipe I removed mine and painted it with hammertoe and greased the whole pipe on refitting. I do have a hugger which really reduces the crap that gets in .I would also suggest drilling some drainage holes in the tray area where the pipe fits as it does trap water .I also fitted progressive fork springs which greatly improves control and dive upon heavy braking .I also fitted a lithium battery when the original failed which reduced the let's call it heavy feeling at the bars by 4kg .
Oh I nearly forgot a good tyre is the Bridgestone bt16 pro for the front .


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[Ferret]

Hi Ferret

Thanks very much for your detailed reply ... its all very useful ! Mine needs tyres, and as most of my road bikes are on Pilot Road 4's I wanted to go with the same again, but I could not find a 16 inch front, can you tell me where you got yours ? I have gone with Dunlop Scootsmart this time ... not sure how they will be as they are a new tyre to me.

I bought mine because I always wanted one, this one came up at good money, and with only 4000km on the clock so I took the plunge ! It is my intention to use it mainly for 2 up touring, so i have a Givi screen and rack on order .... if i had not done this right away I could have been tempted to go down the sporty route !! ( I really like my Honda X-ADV, but like a TMax it can be a bit slow at over taking with the wife on the back and all her makeup & clutter weighing the bike down !!! ..... so the SRV should make a much better machine for long distances two up, and it has a decent fuel range as well )

A local bike mechanic had one in a few weeks ago and I had a good look round it, one area of concern was the link pipe that connects the 2 petrol tank halves, if you look at the back plastic mudguard, it has a join just ahead of the rear wheel, this seems to let all the road crap in, and this rots the link pipe ..... worth looking at yours, if you have not had your plastic boot liner out yet ?

Thanks for the AJ Sutton contact I will use them if I need anything for it.

Thanks again for your detailed reply ... much appreciated !

Cheers

Dougie

PS ... have you taken the front fairing off yours, and is there much to it ?

Firstly the scoot smarts are good tyres the new version 3 are even better . Regarding the pilot road 4s rears are no problem and 5k before squaring off ,the fronts are a problem Michelin said initially they would produce a 16" front then they did not so I was in desperate need of a front and had to fit a city grip ,gotta say it worked great but it is not speed rated for the srv so I now run the new diablo rosso pirelli which have performed great so far .with regards to carrying a pillion and overtaking it's no problem on the srv just as cruising at 100mph 2 up if you wish .I have however when I fitted new chain and sprockets fitted a 49 tooth rear which just makes acceleration and overtaking a little better .Regarding the fuel link pipe I removed mine and painted it with hammertoe and greased the whole pipe on refitting. I do have a hugger which really reduces the crap that gets in .I would also suggest drilling some drainage holes in the tray area where the pipe fits as it does trap water .I also fitted progressive fork springs which greatly improves control and dive upon heavy braking .I also fitted a lithium battery when the original failed which reduced the let's call it heavy feeling at the bars by 4kg .
Oh I nearly forgot a good tyre is the Bridgestone bt16 pro for the front .


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I have had my fairings off many times ,trust me it's not a 5 minute job .Tip if you want to remove the fairings or other body panels ,either leave the bike out in the sun or if it's in the garage put the heating on for a while .I replaced a lot of horse shoe clips on the plastics due to corrosion and just general failure.I also replaced the screw fixings as they are made of chocolate and round off easily with Philips or stainless Allen keys where appropriate.
To remove front fairings
1: remove mirrors & remove fairing fixing under the mirror
2:remove screen screws and gently remove screen
3:in screw inner black panel under screen and remove
4: unscrew and remove the 2 panels on the inside of the leg shield ( remove rubber off handbrake) makes it easier.
5:remove the screws you see in that panel area .1 right on the corner set back must be removed to allow you to pull off the 2 side panels that are sat on press in lugs .
6:under the head lights remove the small black panel 3 screws then there is 2screws down the sides that hold the lower fairing to the top ( these must be removed to allow the top to slide apart )
7: now hack to the sides remove the small false vents by removing screws.
8: in the internal dash area there are several recessed screws to remove .
9: now there is a bigger screw head shoulder bolt on either side mid way along the panel remove these and the panels can now be pulled gently forward ( clips will fall off ) when shuffling about to release top fairings.
10 : once forward unplug the light harness and pull top fairings away.
Refitting is the reverse with a lot of swearing. All the electronics are in the front .Remember to reassemble loosely to allow panels to be manipulated in final assembly. I know it sounds a lot but once you get the knack it's not too bad .
Hope that helps



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[Tmaximus]

Thanks again for the great advice & tips, much appreciated ! ..... it saves me trying to 'reinvent the wheel" and make all the usual mistakes along the way !!! My Givi touring screen arrived today and the rack should be here next week, it will be a shame to make it look more bulky, but for the time being it will be our touring scoot, so makes sense to make it suit that job. The front does feel soft, but also feels quite well matched to the rear, so I wont rush into changing the fork springs unless the bike gets a bit loose when riding it hard. The one that I seen in bits last week had Hyperpro progressive springs fitted, and again this seemed like a bit of a job, apparently the fork legs dont drop out of the yoke individually as on a normal bike as they have a collar above the yoke, so instead the pair of fork legs come out with the single yoke and steering stem attached, and this involves some dashboard strip down.

The hugger seems like a great idea, who makes these ? I will also drill some drain holes as you suggest.

I am not the best with computers, in addition I have forgotten my password to this site and my old email address for recovery no longer exists ! .... if you give me your email address i will send a photo of a fantastic french exhaust system to suit the RSV .... If I was not going down the touring route for the time being, this would be on my shopping list !

Thanks again for all your help

Dougie

[Ferret]

Thanks again for the great advice & tips, much appreciated ! ..... it saves me trying to 'reinvent the wheel" and make all the usual mistakes along the way !!! My Givi touring screen arrived today and the rack should be here next week, it will be a shame to make it look more bulky, but for the time being it will be our touring scoot, so makes sense to make it suit that job. The front does feel soft, but also feels quite well matched to the rear, so I wont rush into changing the fork springs unless the bike gets a bit loose when riding it hard. The one that I seen in bits last week had Hyperpro progressive springs fitted, and again this seemed like a bit of a job, apparently the fork legs dont drop out of the yoke individually as on a normal bike as they have a collar above the yoke, so instead the pair of fork legs come out with the single yoke and steering stem attached, and this involves some dashboard strip down.

The hugger seems like a great idea, who makes these ? I will also drill some drain holes as you suggest.

I am not the best with computers, in addition I have forgotten my password to this site and my old email address for recovery no longer exists ! .... if you give me your email address i will send a photo of a fantastic french exhaust system to suit the RSV .... If I was not going down the touring route for the time being, this would be on my shopping list !

Thanks again for all your help

Dougie

No problem Dougie ,yes you have to drop the lot out the front to take the forks out ,I do it once a year due to the fact the fork oil takes a hammering and offers no damping at all at it turns into water as the viscosity gets broken down . Email keithayris@hotmail.co.uk
I will send you a pic of the exhaust I had fitted to mine ,I also run a decat .


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[Tmaximus]

Hi there

sent you an email with a photo of the double exhaust that I like the look of .... also interested to see what you have done with yours !?

I bought the manual for the SRV on CD and had a look at it last night, looks like most things are pretty straight forward, just time consuming.

What mileage has your done now ? The one that I have bought has only done 2600 miles and is like new so hopefully no big work needed for a few years yet !

Cheers

Dougie

[Ferret]

Hi there

sent you an email with a photo of the double exhaust that I like the look of .... also interested to see what you have done with yours !?

I bought the manual for the SRV on CD and had a look at it last night, looks like most things are pretty straight forward, just time consuming.

What mileage has your done now ? The one that I have bought has only done 2600 miles and is like new so hopefully no big work needed for a few years yet !

Cheers

Dougie

Hi Dougie. ,firstly thank you for your email and pics ,yes the pipes look trick but a lot of money that's not going to give you a massive gain in performance. My srv has 30000 miles . The valves have not gone out of spec in that time ,I have just stuck to regular oil changes including filter .I have however left the belt change this time just to see when it really starts to slip and performance starts to suffer ,well 19000 miles and it's still operating well ,however I do intend to change it soon . The engine itself is great bit is a bit heavy . It is the same motor as fitted in the aprilia mana motorcycle except the mana has a servo operated variator to simulate gear changing on buttons or pretend gear lever . People I know have had well over a 100000 miles on these motors . Clutches appear to last up to 60000 miles but can need de glazing before that depends on how it's been treated .There is a performance modification that can be done to the front and rear pulleys where the angle is changed slightly.This change really improves acceleration. Mines not like new but rides great and still makes me smile .I have been seriously considering an xadv and loved the demo I had but when my Mrs and I tried one 2 up I certainly found it wanting So still sat on the fence so to speak on that at the moment .If I keep the srv I will modify it some more just to suit our needs and to increase the riding enjoyment. I will email a pick to you soon


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[Tmaximus]

Hi there

Great that you have done 30,000 miles and still love the machine .... such a difference from "Adventure" bikes riders that do 1500 miles per year, and I know a few of them !!!! The X-ADV is fantastic, I think of it a bit like a supermoto, amazing on the Jock B roads and pretty much uncatchable by anything, me and my chum both raced bikes and in addition he was Scottish touring car champion, we are very closely matched when I ride my 1200GS and he is on his 1200R, but I can run away from him on our local B roads, all down to the scoot. But as you say, 2 up and loaded the X-ADV does not have great passing power, hence getting the SRV.

It sounds like i will have no worries about racking up a few miles on the SRV over the next few years, but thanks again for the few maintenance tips.

Off to look at your photos now !

Cheers

Dougie