Priller
Well-known member
Moved here over the winter from BC, and after spending the early summer coming to the dour realisation that Hamilton is a terrible location for decent twisty roads, I then spent the late summer cramming in as many track days as I could. I ride a 2018 Tuono with K-Tech suspension (cartridges and shock), which I dearly love, but have so far been unable to find any insurance that covers track days. It's awesome at the track, but I absolutely do not want to be chucking my baby away, and so I found myself being more conservative than I otherwise might be...
This led to the hunt for a track hack, something cheap and cheerful but with room for improvement. Straight line speed is less important to me than cornering ability, but I also wanted something with more grunt than a typical 2000's 600. I started by looking for an SV650, but prices were all over the map, and many were absolute dogs. I then upped stakes dramatically and started hunting for a 2nd gen Aprilia RSV1000R, but there was nothing local, and parts availability from Piaggio was a bit of a question mark. I ended up splitting the difference with was a dogged out 2001 RC51 (SP-1) that only cost marginally more than a dogged out SV would have.
The bad: It's been down on both sides, has (cracked) cheapo eBay fairings, has an eBay left side radiator, has eBay faux-Pazzo levers, and shows signs of having some seriously amateur wrenching done (damaged fasteners, chipped rims, poorly rerouted wires and lines, hacksaw rear fender removal, lots of electrical tape, etc.).
The good: it was cheap, the motor seems to run well enough (down about 3 psi front cylinder and 9 psi rear cylinder from 176 psi spec on a compression test), and the transmission shifts with precision. Comes with a set of (lightly damaged and in need of repacking) Jardine RT-One slip-ons to really max out the early 2000's AMA vibes. Also, saving an unloved pig is more fun than ruining something nice for the track.
Let the fun begin:
Of course, I'm now spending way more on bits than I did on the bike, including:
- used SP-2 swingarm (lighter and longer)
- used SP-2 wheels (lighter, SP-1 wheels will get rain tires)
- Power Commander 5
- fork rebuild, K-Tech piston kit, new springs (to be done at Accelerated Technologies)
- used Penske 8987 rear shock (to be rebuilt and resprung at Accelerated Technologies)
- Flexi-Glass track fairings
- new braided lines front and rear
- used Oberon clutch slave cylinder
- used Scotts steering stabilizer
- used VFR shifter for GP shift
I'm trying to stop the spending until I actually ride the thing at the track, but I've got my eye on the usual track mods, including clip-ons, rearsets and slipper clutch. More likely this winter will be Brembo brake discs (possibly the Serie Oro) and Brembo 19x18 radial master cylinder. If I really want to push the boat out for brakes, I'll get some radial brake adapter brackets and throw on a set of M4's or M50's.
Any tips or advice from anyone who's done a similar conversion are more than welcome, especially from anyone who knows the bike. I'm not fussed about peak hp at this point, so engine mods are low on the list.
This led to the hunt for a track hack, something cheap and cheerful but with room for improvement. Straight line speed is less important to me than cornering ability, but I also wanted something with more grunt than a typical 2000's 600. I started by looking for an SV650, but prices were all over the map, and many were absolute dogs. I then upped stakes dramatically and started hunting for a 2nd gen Aprilia RSV1000R, but there was nothing local, and parts availability from Piaggio was a bit of a question mark. I ended up splitting the difference with was a dogged out 2001 RC51 (SP-1) that only cost marginally more than a dogged out SV would have.
The bad: It's been down on both sides, has (cracked) cheapo eBay fairings, has an eBay left side radiator, has eBay faux-Pazzo levers, and shows signs of having some seriously amateur wrenching done (damaged fasteners, chipped rims, poorly rerouted wires and lines, hacksaw rear fender removal, lots of electrical tape, etc.).
The good: it was cheap, the motor seems to run well enough (down about 3 psi front cylinder and 9 psi rear cylinder from 176 psi spec on a compression test), and the transmission shifts with precision. Comes with a set of (lightly damaged and in need of repacking) Jardine RT-One slip-ons to really max out the early 2000's AMA vibes. Also, saving an unloved pig is more fun than ruining something nice for the track.
Let the fun begin:
Of course, I'm now spending way more on bits than I did on the bike, including:
- used SP-2 swingarm (lighter and longer)
- used SP-2 wheels (lighter, SP-1 wheels will get rain tires)
- Power Commander 5
- fork rebuild, K-Tech piston kit, new springs (to be done at Accelerated Technologies)
- used Penske 8987 rear shock (to be rebuilt and resprung at Accelerated Technologies)
- Flexi-Glass track fairings
- new braided lines front and rear
- used Oberon clutch slave cylinder
- used Scotts steering stabilizer
- used VFR shifter for GP shift
I'm trying to stop the spending until I actually ride the thing at the track, but I've got my eye on the usual track mods, including clip-ons, rearsets and slipper clutch. More likely this winter will be Brembo brake discs (possibly the Serie Oro) and Brembo 19x18 radial master cylinder. If I really want to push the boat out for brakes, I'll get some radial brake adapter brackets and throw on a set of M4's or M50's.
Any tips or advice from anyone who's done a similar conversion are more than welcome, especially from anyone who knows the bike. I'm not fussed about peak hp at this point, so engine mods are low on the list.
