[DorianRed]

Hi Volks!

I’m in trouble...

I’ve a 998 and use 90/10 Road/track. (track just free driving - no races). This bike was my childhood dream - it came true and I thought this love would last forever - never planed to sell my queen....

BUT I also want(ed) a Aprilia RS 250 so bad... meanwhile the voices in my head telling me more and more to get an RS 250 before the prices go more insane!! (sadly i've passed some good priced ones in the past) (The same happened before as i got a Monster 900ie and thought of a 996/998.....)

I had some troubles with my 998 in the past.... two broken coolant fluid tanks, problems with misfire, water in the gaso-tank and so.... all fixed run great now but I’m tired of fixing things. And then the maintenance (belts etc.)

I think if i get a RS I would be more on track and less on road as with the 998

I know this is a Ducati-Forum and 99% of you will that I’m just sick and I should stay with my 998.
I also know 2 Stroke is a also a very maintenance intensive bike but ITS A 2 STROKE.

(Former) RS 200 (or RGV250 or NSR 250 etc.) Users: PLEASE tell me that I’m totally wrong!!!

Sadly I’ve not the money (nor the permission from the boss... yeah I know to own both.

Thanks
your mad and sick DR

 

[xracer]

Tired of changing belts. Wait till you have to do powervalves on a regular basis.

 

[Monster4Lee]

So, some dope dealer gave you a taste of 2 stroke Ape? :laugh:
Sorry, no cure start saving money. >

 

[Namor]

This is a regular internal struggle for me and either way your decision will be a good outcome. For me, I don't need to sell The Time Machine. It makes that much easier for me for when I find a battered RS.

What I want is the RS bike, then I place the KTM 300 2-stroke into it. Ride one, the 300. It's wild. Toque from the bottom to the top. One power band. Wrong gear? No matter, flog it. You want go you 4 feet strait up a wall? Down shift, pop the clutch and pin the throttle. You'll jump over the wall. Give me that on the track, not the wall or whatever, but the easy easy power on something that ways about as much as twin engine. (exaggeration, but you get the idea)

 

[Erics75218]

Your totally crazy to go after an RS250 after being frustrated dealing with the Ducati. I bought an RSV Factory to test out the Ape...never worked with a damn but I'm good at replacing the fuel pumps now. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

That being said, of course you should buy one. They are one of my dream bikes, but you really gotta be able to work on them yourself I recon.

 

[2004 999s]

keep both,

till you try out the rs,it may not be your cup of tea. this the one?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-RS250-gp/323832674857?hash=item4b65ee7a29:g:34EAAOSwJ3ddAR64

 

[Zaph]

I think if i get a RS I would be more on track and less on road as with the 998

Is that RS250 actually street legal? Never was in the US unless it was some gray market setup.

I've been yearning for a 2 stroke every since I sold my RZ350 30 years ago. That was the last street legal 2 stroke in the US.

 

[nine16]

I'm assuming the OP mean an Aprilia RS250 (street legal-ish) and not the Honda RS250 which is a pure racebike (NSR250 is the street version).

If you have canyons/great roads around you, definitely go for the two stroke. It will easily be the the most fun bike you've ever owned. You'll be able to find another 998 much easier later on when you are able to afford a second machine.

However, if your only twisties come on the track, I would think twice. These 250s are small (though the Aprilia is more comfortable than my NSR) and you will spend a lot of time endlessly shifting gears while having big bikes blow your doors off down the straights.


Ok...that said, time for eye candy.

 

[Lelebebbel]

I happen to own an RS125 and a 998.

The 998 is more complicated to work on, but you are kidding yourself if you think the Ape will be less maintenance. It's maybe less time to do each job, bit you'll be working on it far more frequently. These motors are very high strung, and the time between something going wrong on average is short. On top of that, the "routine" stuff like top end rebuilds.

For a track bike, I've found original fairings to be unobtanium even for my 125, which was at least sold in greater numbers in Europe. The 250 is rarer than hens teeth, so that is a consideration if planning to use it as a track vehicle. Although I can understand the "collector/track bike" concept.

All that said I would not pass up an opportunity to buy an RS250.

 

[herveyw]

Is that RS250 actually street legal? Never was in the US unless it was some gray market setup.



I've been yearning for a 2 stroke every since I sold my RZ350 30 years ago. That was the last street legal 2 stroke in the US.

Yeah, I had to have one, dreams of a misspent youth.

Old 2 strokes are still street legal, mine has a clean Washington title and matching frame/engine numbers; plenty of the less exotic Yamaha RD are still around for $3 - $3.5k in very good shape. Obviously, you’ll pay more for an RZ350 (it seems RD350LC never made it to the US) and even more for a good H1 or H2, and the GT750 “water bottles” seem really hard to find.

My RD 400 was several boxes of bits for $1k but is slowly coming together. Plenty of smaller parts available from the U.K. (yambits.co.uk) at reasonable prices but some parts are really hard to find. There are still a few people around in the US who can do rebores and crank rebuilds, seemingly more in the U.K.

Hopefully I can fire it up soon, I don’t think it has run since around 1986. As you can see, it’s tiny compared with modern bikes.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ZADSS]

YES! You are sick in the head, and a RS250 will fug you in the head proper, you will never be the same man after.

Don't let the Ducatisti over here confuse your mind and prevent you from making a rational decision with all their maintenance talk you hear, desmo-valves and power-valves are not the same thing.

Maintenance on a 2-stroke means using a good quality premix (YAMALUBE because there is no such thing as Aprilialube), otherwise, when the chain starts slipping you replace the sprockets, when it still slips you replace the clutch, when it fails to stop... for the 3rd time... on the same day... you replace the pads, and when it dies suddenly without any logical reason or explanation you rebuild.

*RD/RZ350's RZ500 many many YZ250's TZR250 2MA 3MA 3XV

 

[ray916mn]

As an RS250 owner, I'd have to say there are a bunch of tradeoffs to consider.

While RS250s handle brilliantly if you don't have a tight track or road to ride they can get a bit boring. They simply make cornering too easy. On the street, this means you can get bored in turns unless you ride them at imprudent speeds. On a track, while you can exploit the handling better, the lack of top end punch or ability to easily light up the rear can be less fun, if you're inclined to hooliganism. They are momentum bikes which are incapable of point and lunge.

They are getting old and parts are becoming an issue. Interestingly, most of the Aprilia parts are not too hard to get, the Suzuki engine and carb parts are getting tough to get. Remember these motors came out of the early 90s. I horde float valves as they are NLA and cost over $100 per each valve set. Crank rebuilds are expensive and hard to get.

While plating them in my state is easy, in most states it is hard to do. Converting a Challenge cup bike to street is fairly expensive if you do it with Aprilia parts.

Even though, this year, I hauled my RS250 along with my dirtbike to Austin for my season opening riding (~500 miles of street riding and 2 days of dirt riding) and the MotoGP, I'd be hard pressed to imagine life where my only bike was an RS250. I'm on the page of keeping your 998 and adding an RS250. They are a great compliment to a Ducati superbike.

 

[ProphetPVD]

Other than the '02 748R, there were three other bikes that I have spent an unhealthy amount of time lusting after over the years. One is, for all intents and purposes, unobtainable, so let's get that out of the way first... The Bimota Tesi 1DES, which I believe was only produced for a single model year in '94.

There is absolutely nothing about this machine which does not appeal to me...

The other two are actually doable, more so now that I work in the UK where they seem to be plentiful. The first is a two stroke 250 that I have had a thing for since John Kocinski rode the wheels off them from '88 thru '90, the YZR/TZR 250.

Finally, the RC45's little brother, the NC35. While there are some things about it that I find odd, e.g., the exhaust layout seems to be something of an afterthought, overall, the tech always appealed to me. The V4 with gear driven cams, the overbuilt chassis... this thing with it's clothes off is sexy AF.

As I said, I've been working in the UK for a couple of years now, and these things pop up for sale on a pretty regular basis. It's probably just a matter of time before I am no longer able to resist the temptation...

 

[davy.j]

Lust away guys >

It's Tamburini designed too.

 

[ProphetPVD]

Lust away guys >

It's Tamburini designed too.

I knew it was just a matter of time before someone went there...

 

[DorianRed]

Hi!

Wow thats a response - guess I hit a nerve here haha

Yes I mean the Aprilia RS 250. It’s street legal here. Also thought on a Suzuki RGV or Honda NSR 250 but this bikes actually not available her.... or if they are they are much more (twice or third of an Aprilia) - I don’t want so spend over 10k for such a bike....

And I know very well how maintenance intensive an ape will be - but I’m not afraid on this. Also my father is very experienced in repairing Cars and motorcycles. He also was (still is) a biker and also loves 2 Strokes.

He’s is also guilty my blue smoke infection. I had once a 4t scooter for the city and I was totally satisfied with it but he always said that he’s searching for a 2 Stroke scooter. So I learned about this stuff and got me this:

It’s a Piaggio SKR - a bit modified and it’s Killer weapon in the City (besides: I hate riding a motobike in the city) -> and with this a traffic jam does not exist..... and I lost almost never lost a ”traffic lights duels” - haha i loved to watch the dumblookin faces of the burned Vespa 300 Riders and so on.....I love this thing so much - and with it started my 2 Stroke sickness.

And yes here are some good curvy roads near my home - not really canyons - but the also exists just a a little bit more far away. So I think the RS would be some great fun to drive with.... and for a few times in the year on track.

But there’s also one problem:
With friends I made every August every year a 4 days trip to the higher mountains for a tour. So I think the RS would be a problem here with the carbs in mountain air. So I would borrow my fathers bike for this trip or maybe when the financial times are better to get a second bike like a S2R or something.... Also my friends would be bugged with me because the RS with the tank stops and it’s screaming engine and the blue smoke

Oh... and maybe I’m going to see a RS tomorrow :smile2:

bye
DR

 

[davy.j]

On a two smoke non of your riding mates will sit behind you :wink2:

 

[nine16]

In case you want to keep the 998 and can't afford the 250, you can always split the baby--I have a 75cc Derbi GPR that I'm about to sell. Nowhere near the power, but nowhere near the price either, and still fun on the tight stuff. It's even painted to mimic the Cagiva era 916.

 

[Redcoat]

Hervey, I hope you can share milestone pictures as it develops!! I will drool proportionately!

 

[2004 999s]

why not do a 500 2stroker? https://www.eurocyclelasvegas.com/inventory/1984-yamaha-rz500-las-vegas-nv-89146-2669796i