515 real life questions??

[JRDoz]

Originally Posted by GMP

From what I've been reading, I'd stay away from the Ape 450s/550s, they seem to have a lot of issues in addition to the fact that they are hard core racers with associated maintanence requirements. Aprilia does not have the best reputation for parts supply either, at least up until now. The boards are full of major horror stories.

A 515 SM would be awesome. I just wonder how far/how often you could ride it at hwy speeds and have it survive. Vibration is a factor too. PM Matt, he has an '07 SM610 and loves it.

Well considering that the 450 comes in motard. I wouldn't see it as a concern..

[GMP]

Depends on the design and if its competition focused or dual sport focused. Also how long you expect it to last. Thats one of the problems with the Aprilia SXVs. They come street legal and people buy them with the wrong idea that they are daily riders like a Mille or Tuono. A few thousand miles later they go bang. A racer with lights is still a racer.

[Cruiser]

Well,, the aprilla is more dealer set-up than anything.. The dealers were to send techs to a special school on how to set those bikes up,, They only had one class as 6 dealers sent techs.. These bikes are sold as a DS(the aprilla) and came with a 1 year warranty.. The only dealer in our area that had a tech at that school was Martins,,

[GMP]

Steve,

Martins is where I plan to get my Hyper. Really nice people on the phone, would talk all day. They also have the new Aprilia 750 Shiver and Triumph Street Triple, which I may do if the Hyper doesn't fit the bill. I have to take a ride out there soon and talk a deal. How far from you are they?

Aprilia SXVs have many issues with assembly, wrong case sealant causing oil/coolant mixing, and lack of parts. In the course of researching the Shiver I ran into a lot of this info. Now the '08s have new cases and other fixes, but the bikes have a bad rep for reliability. Really good SM bikes though.

[MattR]

Originally Posted by Cruiser

I like the 07 and older 610's but the new 08's at $8k+ since the fi and now no comp adj. on the front zokes I'm not real happy about that one.

I bought my '07 SM610 in March this year. It was a leftover that Hall's tracked down and got shipped to them. I bought the '07 for just those reasons. I have been loving it since day one and have no regrets. Highly recommended if you are considering a larger dualsport bike.

If you are looking at any freeway miles (65+ mph) then the 610 is the right choice. The 510 is more for around town and trail duty. I have rode my SM610 on dirt roads and small gravel and it is no problem... very comfortable cruising along at 45 mph. The medium/large gravel gets a bit nervous since it feels like marbles under the smoother SM tires. I plan to mount some Avon Distancias 17" tires when these stock Pirelli Diablos wear out. The Avon's are great dualsport tires for the 17" SM wheels.

[Cruiser]

Hey Matt,,
I was thinking of the 610,, just wont go to the 08's,, too many issues.. I dont like the non adj fork they went with for 08. I wasnt planning any large amount of highway but,, I'm real curious in how the 610 with regular wheels would like the trails I usually ride. I dont expect to go as fast as I do on my 250 but would like to still be able to get down them..
Thanks,,
Steve

[Cruiser]

Glenn,,
Martins is about 30 minutes from me,, I forgot I didn't post that last night,, I was in the middle of typing and we lost power.. That is the only duc dealer in our area that sent techs to the school. Apparently most of the issues the sxv's had were supposed to be fixed before they were sold. But many dealers didn't do any of the fix's that ducati told them to do.. Thus major issues down the road.. I've talked to guys who got them from Martins and had no issues and others that bought elsewhere and couldn't keep them out of the shops.. The 08 is supposed to be better and the 09 even better.. They just look too expensive to drop in the rocks,,

[MattR]

Originally Posted by Cruiser

Hey Matt,,
I was thinking of the 610,, just wont go to the 08's,, too many issues.. I dont like the non adj fork they went with for 08. I wasnt planning any large amount of highway but,, I'm real curious in how the 610 with regular wheels would like the trails I usually ride. I dont expect to go as fast as I do on my 250 but would like to still be able to get down them..
Thanks,,
Steve

Since you are planning to do trail riding, then I would go with the TE610 and pickup up some SM wheels if you decide to commute a lot. Check out the ADV Rider forum regarding the trail-worthiness of the TE610. There are lots of happy folks. In my case, I will be 90% street riding so I chose the SM610. The only offroading will be doubletrack/jeep trails and the SM wheels will be fine on these.

[Cruiser]

I'm on adv rider alot,, lots of happy people with 07 and older 610's and the not so happy 08 owners.. I'd need to run one off road to tell if it be ok,, thats still a big bike.. I found one local to me a few years old with hardly any time on it for uder $3k.. If I find one like that when I'm ready I'll pick it up..
Thanks,

[GMP]

FWIW, all new road legal bikes that meet Euro 3 emmisions suck as far an low end fueling goes. None run at their potential. You can count on having to deal with this in one way or another if you want the bike to run right. Plus, the cats make stupid heat, especially if they are integrated in a high mounted can(s). A $250 Techlusion and an O2 eliminator fixes this if no software or non-compliant map is available for download by the dealer. The can you would probably do anyway so thats a wash. EFI is here to stay, might as well get started early on how to beat the system!

I wasn't aware that the '08s had non adjustable forks, whats up with that? Cost savings? How much shorter is the SM suspension vs the TE? If your worried about height that may be good, get the SM and a set of off road wheels.

From what I hear about the Aprillia is it makes crazy power thats too much off road but great on the SM track.