2018 Aprilia RS4 50 Euro 4 Upgrade Project

[Berkeley]

So added a bit more farkle to the bike

No too impressed with the quality of these parts. Got them from http://www.ebaystores.com/brixiamoto for around 53.00 euros including postage.



Would have liked to had brought some proper carbon parts but this is all I can find online

The pump cover fitted perfectly, whilst the clutch cable receiver was a bit small and had a job getting it on.



The stater cover did not fit at all, there if a piece of machinery behind which is just catching so when you tighten it the shape deforms.. this is pretty bad so took it off.



Im thinking to spray the original black of red to get rid of the boring grey.

On another note I had to refit the exhaust last night, as the engine port was leaking gunk again. fixed it with some copper sealant and left over night. ( seems to be ok this morning). Will order some paste and some gaskets again. Need a 32mm O ring ( biggest.. maybe 30mm to fit comfortably??

[Berkeley]

So finally it came around to fitting it to the helmet, unfortunately the shape of the helmet is angled at the back and has a crease down the center line so it would not be of the best fit.

I also read online that the 3m tape is shite and the light has come off before whilst riding



First of all I tried this thermoplastic that would fill in the gap and hold the base to the helmet. This nearly worked but it cooled down way too fast and couldn't give the sides a nice finish, I ruined a base trying this.



So ordering another pack of two bases, I thought of doing a mechanical fixing , so a plastic screw in the base and the helmet to secure it . Unfortunately the magnet is just in the center, I nearly drilled all the way through but then the back came out and it was shot to bits.





Third time lucky,
I found some transparent adhesive gel, this filled in the back nicely, was strong and gave a decent curing time so the sides can be wiped and finished off a bit better.
The end result was ok.. id give it 90%

This was before I gave it a final clean



With fitting the light there is a bit of a gap at the sides but oh well

I thought it would be ok putting it the base of the helmet as the riding position is leaning forward and thus would level off a bit , Having it higher would have been better but the shape of the helmet is not ideal



will add some more testing it out

Here's the Light on the bike, The position looks to be good as the rider is lent forwards and its highly visible..so a good product for that. The only concern is turning it on sometimes.. you are meant to tap the sides as has no buttons and sometimes it doesn't work.. that part of it not too great.



This makes a huge difference in being seen.. well worth it!!

[toratora]

I've had good luck using layers of the 3M stickers. Kind of like making a wedge on the side to fill in the gap.

[Berkeley]

Purchased the rear sets from CNC on ebay for $94.00

I went for the RS4 125 4t 2016.. maybe I should had selected the earlier RS 125?? but what I thought would only be an hour fitting them turned into a most of the day!!!





First of all the exhaust bracket had to be modified





Then the reservoir was catching on the fashion plate, This was only out by a few mm. I tried everything to fix it, washers behind, bracket behind, different position, but what ever i did just made it worse and had knock on effects fitting it.




So in the end just took a hack saw to it, maybe a bit too much was removed (could have been a bit less) but kind of looks like it was meant to be 75% and think I've gotten away with it.



The finished right side!! -The only thing that was missing was the spring from the original.. but seems like its fine without it.



Then came the other side.

This needed and hole drilling and tapping for the belly panel bracket




Then I had to fashion an extension bracket.. having a lot of left over bits and pieces certainly helps



Part of the milling tool for the gear pinion was left inside.. took a bit of time to figure that out why it didnt fit. Also had to grind down an allen key to tighten up the bolt. The hole with the thread would be better on the other side, I did think of tapping it but this worked .

The finished left side.. Now just getting used to reversed gearing 1 up and 6 down

[Berkeley]

I got the mirrors from ebay for around 45.00 euros inc postage





Fitted well and ties the bike in with the front carbon hugger.. wish these were real carbon.. not just a wrap.

[Berkeley]

So whilst waiting for a certain person to send me some details for an ohlins shock , Amaya decided to crash again whilst a car was pulling out in the rain . The guy was very helpful and in doing so forgot to do the insurance paper work.. well you learn!!

So now re ordered the parts for a little sum of 500+ and hopefully will get it looking as good as new.

Unfortunately the sliders worked half as good as they bent , so now trying another technique of fixing them to the bike so they dont bend and do their job.

The cotton reels on the front worked like magic and all in all it was pretty good, the carbon lever protector was trashed and the brembo brake lever got grinded , the wing mirrors got scraped the pegs on the rear sets were bent up and ground out, and to top it off the headlight cracked again.. so maybe i can put the two headlights together for one complete one.

btw Amaya escaped with only some minor scapes and bruises so all good.





ordered some longer M5 bolts and some hollow steel tube so that there is no movement in the sliders.

[toratora]

Bikes can be repaired, glad she’s okay!!

[Berkeley]

Yes all good thanks..just a few bruises...again was a sliding crash and not hitting anything so all good in the scale of things .

I checked the lens for the headlight and it's fabricated in just one piece.. so will get another.. if only they came in 2 parts then you could just replace the side that's damaged. Cracked on the same place... quite annoying.
Some of the parts arrived yesterday but the majority will come over Christmas so will be fitting them once back from our ski trip in the new year.

[toratora]

The sliders are suppose to bend, rather than break. If you attach them directly to the frame they will mess up the frame, which is not what you want. So don't mount them to the frame.

In Spain and Italy they have riding academies for youngsters. There's probably something in France too. I remember watching videos with Zarko going and teaching the young French riders. Spending money sending Amaya to one of these schools would probably much better spent than replacing plastics, or various cosmetic changes like the mirrors, and such. Might also do her good to ride around on a rashed up bike, if only for a little while.

Cracks in the headlight can also be sealed up. Here in the States there are times when it's impossible to get replacement parts. I've had to do all sort of different kinds of repairs to keep the bikes on the road, because the option of ordering parts didn't exist. In the last decade, because of the net and e-commerce things have gotten much better. Still it can be really difficult, or impossible to get some parts. And for some bikes I keep the nice parts in the house, and run the less nice parts, because you never know when someone driving a Honda Civic is going to try and ruin your day.

[Berkeley]

Yeah they will be secured onto the sub frame so will be bend a bit.
My plan is to take her to some track days next year to improve her skills .. but saying that I've crashed multiple times and just think it's part of it. .. going too fast.. drinking and showing off,cars pulling out .icy roads .. you name it....stupidity when young and invincible its but all part of the learning process.. glad she's crashing at 30 mph and not 180 mph.. coz that's when you die.