any good ?

[snipper]

ello peeps

had a storm and SP1 ............... whats the rsv like ?

possibly looking at an 02 mille

[balls]

I to am thinking of getting one ,As far as I can see they seem to suffer from some electrical issues sprag clutch on the starter can fail (expensive ) Battery reg rec fail , starter solenoid etc but apart from that not bad. funny how the storm has battery and reg problems as well .

[Stormin Ben]

Haha, can I answer this question in an unbiased fashion?

I bought an 01 RSV-R (the tarty one with extra carbon, Ohlins suspension and Oz wheels) three years ago coz I'd always liked the look and the venerable old VTR was needing money spending on it
Since then I've done about 200 miles on it!!!
Turned out to be complete pup and my quick strip to fix ended up becoming a major project

HOWEVER
It still makes me smile when I work on it and it WILL be spectacular when its finished!!

As for problems you mentioned:
Sprag clutch is a bit weak but only a problem if the bike backfires when starting (due to cranking over slowly)
Best solution -always keep the battery charged and consider replacing the stock 12VA one with a 14VA

Rectifier -not an issue with it but one of the connectors is prone to crap connections which causes overhead
Best solution -keep them clean or replace with better connector

Starter solenoid has a few reports
Best solution -fit a Yamaha uprated one

Overall I'd say if you get a decent one its an involving bike :-)
But very different from the Storm!!

[benny hedges]

sprag clutch will fail on any bike, particularly big vee or single if you try to start with half a charge.
usually caused by having an alarm fitted and not using the bike enough.
the storm has the same problem but afaik the ape's sprag clutch is all one part and will set you back like £400+

vicious bike though, very buzzy motor compared to the storm. some prefer the older ones as theyre a bit more manageable on the road!

[Stormin Ben]

afaik the ape's sprag clutch is all one part and will set you back like £400+

Yeh but its the same part as the BMW one which is £120!! :-)

vicious bike though, very buzzy motor compared to the storm. some prefer the older ones as theyre a bit more manageable on the road!

I was really unimpressed with the newer shape RSV's motor. Sure it makes more power but its gutless
Older one has a much meatier curve

[benny hedges]

I was really unimpressed with the newer shape RSV's motor. Sure it makes more power but its gutless
Older one has a much meatier curve

yeh heard a few people say the same... tell you what though, i wouldnt mind a play with a rsv4
just for the noise they make!