Advice for beginner...please
 

Hi All,

Just found this forum which is making great reading. I'm completely new to biking and haven't even completed my test yet! That hasn't stopped me trying to decide on a first bike. One option in my local bike shop is a new Aprilia Pegaso 650 trail which is going cheap (£1500 off rrp) but I can't find anything on this site about this bike. Anyone got any expericence - good or bad?

many thanks

Rob

The Pegaso is supposed to be OK from what I know, but what do you want th ebike for, and where do you want to go??

I got a Cagiva Elefant 750 LE just after doing my DAS because it was cheap and looked like a PD bike! Strangely enough I did run into a lot of problems outside of europe getting hold of parts. To be fair I have problems in europe too!

Whatever your first bike is you will love it, get something that you want rather than what you think you should have. Otherwise you might end up on a BMW!!

That happened to me, used my head and not my heart :( and now after four years it has finally developed a fault on the way back from teh diesel bike rally in Germany.. speedo stopped working ( probably cable )

These diesel bikes could solve lots of problema for long distance riders, everything from 200mpg singles to V twins that cruise at 80mph at 120mpg.

diesel bike! which one, you haven't managed to get hold of the DLR have you??

Aprilia uses the xt660r engine and gears but different injection.
it's italian so it's a bike for people with a heart :thumbup1:

and a multimeter:D

If you're interested my R1200GS is up for sale - fully kitted for long haul rides. Got abs, heated grips, touratech panniers, tank and tail bags, stuff sacks, gps etc.

Could be yours for £6500?

The DLR is a myth, only 22 were ordered and have ever been built as a test exercise to see if it could be viable. That is it. For real bikes visit
DieselBike.net The Original Diesel Motorcycle website.

Incidentally 9hp will allow you to cruise at 50-60mph on the flat at 180mpg at that speed (following the diesel) my 1985 R80RT does 57+mpg (at the same engine revs, 3500rpm)

hope that helps.

I have reason to believe that the DLR might become a viable production bike. I am not sure what information is in the public domain at the moment, but will let the overlanding community know in March 2008! Incremental developments on the engine are continuing , whilst the power is still considerably less than the 650 single petrol equivalent the torque gap is minimal. Should shut up now, careless torque costs lives and all that!

Thanks for the info guys. Nomadic1 - much as I would love a 1200GS I can't afford one. Probaly too big as well - I'm vertically challenged at 5'5".

I mainly want the bike for weekend camping trips and day to day commuting. Not intending on any RTW trips for the time being.

Hi Mooster,


:welcome: seems to be appropriate!

Your original question was about the Pegaso and no one seems to be discussing it with you, up to now anyway.

I haven't owned one I have to say, so there is no expertise on my part about the bike - I have talked with a few owners, the way you do when out and about, and they all seemed to like the Pegaso.
It used to have a Rotax engine, like the 650GS BMW, and I reckon that engine is a good one and very reliable (it goes well on my wife's bike!), especially in it's later versions with fuel injection - recent models are being fitted with the Yam 660cc engine I learnt a short time ago from another thread in here. You may want to look closely at that new bike and see how new it really is - some Aprilia models have not sold well and you can get, say, a two year old one very cheap because it has been in the crate that long. Nothing wrong with that as such, but it is worth being aware of why a bargain price may be offered.

As for the price, it is a good time of year, say over the next month or so, to be haggling over the price of bikes; it will be a buyers market now that the new registration number has been issued in the UK and it slows down anyway, heading into winter.
If YOU like the bike then don't worry too much what anyone else thinks on the subject but it is interesting to glean information and opinion (which I guess is why some of us read these posts!).

For Aprilia in general, you can do a search on keywords, such as "aprilia", in here (search facility on the left of your screen) and you will find lots more postings that may interest you.

Hope this is of some assistance,

Oh yes, I suggest you have a read of the Kawasaki KLE threads; tremendous enthusiasm in there for a very simple, reliable and very good value bike that may not be around much longer in the 500cc form.

The other thing about the Pegaso is many of the parts are compatible with the equivalent model BMW F650 (those one that have the Rotax engine that is) and here's the kicker... mostly the BMW sourced parts are cheaper! In NZ, the mirrors are exactly the same but NZ$30 less from BMW.

Regards

Nigel in NZ

Walkabout & Nigel,

Thanks for this - sounds like the peggaso could be a good choice. Just need to pass my test now...I have the theory part tomorrow morning so fingers crossed.

Ah, you'll fly through that!! (but good luck!).

Here's a thread to read:-

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...ish-over-29182

See if you can get the A owner to tell you more about them.

Cheers,

Good choice
 

Mooster, i think you have picked a good first bike, i am a relative newbie and bought a XT660R and find it excelent for my needs. The pegaso has the same engine. I recently toured Iceland on mine and found it the perfect bike for the job, not too heavy, dual purpose, plenty of power fully loaded.