And your right, maybe I did slate the dude off a tad too much. apologies to all around for that one, OK
I still cant understand though...... 3Bhp more on the Peg than the Beemer and the service interval is 10,000 as opposed to 6,000.
doesnt make sense really does it?

also if they are made in the same factory why do the Peg exhausts rot so fast and the Beemer ones dont? I think the answer MUST lie in the quality of the components, components that 'look' similar yet perform quite differently.

I have seen 'fake' Billet 6 pot caliper brakes that look exactly like the real thing yet when fitted to a bike actually performed WORSE than the standard brakes did. the packaging the everything looked right. they were not right though. Maybe it is the same with some of the components on the peg?

as for Italian Electrics..Please no, otherwise we are gonna open up a whole can of worms . ( I remember spending 6 freezing cold nights in my friend Charlies Garage trying to fault find on a T3? Californian Guzzi.. Nightmare!!!)

Martyn

Yeah I must say I have yet to find much info on the exhausts of the two. The Beamer used a totally stainless system whilst Aprilia went for a crappy steel system. It may be that the exhausts were infact not put on the Beamer by Aprilia but rather by another factory afterwards, but thats only speculation. The BMW was a more expensive bike new so I guess they could afford to have a better exhaust.

The SI may also be because BMW were trying to invent a 'new' class of bike with this Funduro, marketed as an 'adventure tourer' to basically make a road legal Dakar Rally type bike powered by a single, which implies reliability to the max. So they perhaps felt if they had an SI anything less than 10 000 it would put potential buyers off, once again speculation. Obviously they were not really inventing a new class, as the Peg and a few other bikes were made long before the F650, they were merely doing what BMW do best, sell vehicles. As far as the engine though, They were Rotax engines delivered to Aprilia already built with the two variants.

The only things that were significantly different were the front forks, the frame was steel on the BMW but alloy on the Peg and the rear subframe was different but only slightly. and then the plastics. Swingarm was the same. But as regards to 'fake' parts, none were used on either. they had single piston Brembo brakes, and a flip through Ebay will show you their pads are identical too. The wheels and hubs were identical as well as bearings and the entire electrical system from the regulators to the sender units was identical. the engines were also identical and once you take the clutch cover where it says the brand off, behind they both had 'made in austria' printed in the same places (ie. Rotax). It all boils down to BMW using Aprilias expertise to manufacture a bike for them under license, as they had already established a name in big single trail bikes with the Peg Mk1 and 2. Bmw obviously kept this quiet though although a lot of the parts like the mirrors clearly had 'made in Italy' on them as well as the instrument guages.

Yeah Electrics are something the Italians have never got good at unfortunately. They always seem to forget the basic and try make things complicated where they dont need to. I have on many occassions whilst on a dead flat road in the middle of no where, having turned the bike off to rest or get fuel, thought that as soon as I got home I would rip out the electrics and install a modified Honda system, as she just refused to send power to the starter motor!

__________________
Moto Guzzi California 1100i
Honda XR650R 2003

'Nothing is neither right nor wrong, but what thinking makes it so'

'Where is a desert when you need one?'

Charlie ended up doing a COMPLETE rewire of the bike using a Honda CB250N Rectifier and Honda CB250N Switchgear! I basically had enough after 6 days of being frozen, and in the summer he decided to rewire.....funny thing is it now runs better than ever, no misfires in the wet, starts first time, every time, the battery actually charges, and has for the last i think 8 or 9 years with not one electrical fault.

Martyn

hmmmm, you make it sound an even more attractive proposition to rewire the beast, maybe one day. Italian bikes are like italian women: fun, attractive and full of energy......but unreliable and moody! But im the kind of guy who defends it to the hills and resist changing over to japanese adventure tourers like the plague......although I secretly admit the Hondas I have had before were quietly fantastic!

__________________
Moto Guzzi California 1100i
Honda XR650R 2003

'Nothing is neither right nor wrong, but what thinking makes it so'

'Where is a desert when you need one?'

C'mon..... APART from the Crap Electrics... your Happy with it. Right?

Then rewire..... You Know it makes sense!

Martyn

PS..... and I wont tell anyone if you don't!

Gotta say I agree with pretty much everything LostSaffa said. I've owned both bikes of various vintages and they are essentially the same thing with different styling. But the style over substance point is important - as LostSaffa pointed out, tearing off the bloody fairing to fill the radiator or check a spark plug, or fill the battery is annoying (and it wears out the fairing mounts and bolts). The cans issue is a fact; Aprilia's are prettier but rust out.

In terms of electrics I've solved most issues through two fixes: the spark plug lead and the regulator. The spark plug set-up is dumb and the Peg loses power through the resistor if not in top condition. Big BMWs and Harleys have the same kind of thing but much more robust. Replace it and you'll find starting and high-speed electrical woes are decreased. Replace the regulator with an after-market bit made for an F650 (it's always just too hard to explain the peg thing to parts dealers) and many power flow problems will be solved. I've always been able to run heaps of gear on my pegs (gps, heated gear, driving lights, cig lighter etc) without a drama. I reckon the electricals are essentially sound except for a few bits. I installed an extra fusebox but have never needed to replace a fuse.

I'd think about the congenital fixes before replacing the loom. I've never heard of a peg owner having to do this, and I am dubious as to whether this will fix a problem on this bike. Pegs are born with a few problems but this doesn't seem to be one of them.

cheers
Brett

BrettUAE I find it interesting to hear about the regulator making a difference because although having heard many people say the regulators gave problems, nobody was ever able to tell me they had infact changed it and noticed a difference. (like a lot of people they read it in a mag by some over paid test rider who has about thirty minutes to form an opinion on a bike, and believe it word for word). To me a regulator is a very simple bit of kit and it is the last thing I think that would go, but then again I am using only practical knowledge and not a degree in electrical so and so.

My Peg has no other electrical faults, just the one I mentioned when she just fails to even tick or make a buzz, and then two days later suddenly she works and starts first time again. I have stripped all the connections and cleaned all the exposed ends, but still she occassionally does it. I tend to think electrical problems are a process of elimination. but I have since given up on this issue with no where else to look but the regulator I suppose.

__________________
Moto Guzzi California 1100i
Honda XR650R 2003

'Nothing is neither right nor wrong, but what thinking makes it so'

'Where is a desert when you need one?'

Apologies for my poor explanation, but i didn't really mean changing the original regulator will fix general perfomance. You wouldn't change it unless it was tested faulty and/or directly affecting performance. When mine was faulty it gave me issues with intermittently not charging the battery properly when riding (ie battery would run flat, not start the bike when warm, but then work again after a day of building some charge, assuming the battery was in good condition); and it would also give me problems under load (ie too much power being used or running at high revs). So changing it fixed some problems but I don't think changing a good one for aftermarket will improve performance (but then I don't really know).

I carry a spare anyway (only cost me about $30 a year or two ago). You could replace it to see if it helped. If it doesn't, no harm in carrying a spare. If you talk to the peg community you will understand the regulator issue is not contrived. The regulator, the head gasket, and the steering head bearings are all widely acknowledged faults - and all can be rectified.

Just a thought but another problem I've had over the years has been the fuse box and the integrity of the contact points. Make sure they are VERY clean at both ends and making good contact. This issue has had me sitting on the side of the road a few times going bananas. An area Aprilia under-engineered I reckon. Especially as the rear wheel is not adequately guarded and fine dust finds its way into the rear storage area and fuse box. Also problems with the earth lead.

cheers
Brett

Thanks for that, I have had a few issues with the Earth lead before, another one of their bad designs with it crossing over from the main harness to fix onto the seat lock device. I will take a small file to all the connections on the fuses before I reassemble the last few bits on my PEG. I have just stripped her down and rebuilt correcting a few things and doing a major service before the summer arrives here, when Europe becomes attractive to ride towards.

My Peg has the added irritation of an alarm system that has been wired into the loom and sometimes creates issues with the starting of the bike. I want to eventually remove it, but in London these days its essential to have if you like your bike.

None of the issues you mentioned with the regulator have yet to appear on mine, just the issue I mentioned earlier on about sometimes not sending any power at all to the starter.

I was aware of the regulator being an issue, and realise what I said in my last post was a bit extreme saying no one ever actually trys these things for real, but rather that sometimes people say they make a difference and others say not, so its hard to know if its a good idea to follow suite.

Trav

__________________
Moto Guzzi California 1100i
Honda XR650R 2003

'Nothing is neither right nor wrong, but what thinking makes it so'

'Where is a desert when you need one?'

Trav, all you have to do is print out a few of these threads outlining faults on the Peg, laminate them and attach the to the bars of your Peg with some string.... any self respecting tealeaf after seeing the fault list will leave well alone...... assuming they can read!


Martyn

hmmmmmm....dont know how to take that

Well it obviously put the Insurance companies off as the Peg is level9 insurance here, and that in fact brings me to another thing. The BMW is level 11 for - as explained, the same bike. Shows what a BMW badge can do ey.

__________________
Moto Guzzi California 1100i
Honda XR650R 2003

'Nothing is neither right nor wrong, but what thinking makes it so'

'Where is a desert when you need one?'

imagine it said with a grin and a twinkle in the eye!

Your right though....... 2 insuranse groups higher for a Badge?

Now, when are they gonna re-badge the Ducati 999 as a Jawa?

All I was saying at the start of this thread was that I had bought an Aprilia. I wasnt slagging off anyone or their bike, so when someone posted a cheeky reply about my bike I responded to it in a cheeky way. And I certainly wasnt slagging of Tenere's, I was pointing out that they are not without their faults. I know full well about not labouring them in high gears, and always changed the oil at 1000 miles. It was the top end that gave up on mine, the gearbox has given me no trouble, but as you well know, plenty do. Anyway, I came here to talk about my new bike, not to get slagged off for the bike I chose to buy.

Anyway, I'm just starting to look at how I will be spending the summer on my Peg, planning a few trips away. And waiting for the damn ice and salt to be gone from the roads! The joys of sunny Scotland! Glencoe is right up there on the to do list, as are Applecross, Mull and Skye. I'm also looking forward to a bit of trail riding on it, I'm under no illusions that it will be as capable off road as my XT, but, I will get my feet down a bit quicker!

Pete

I've had my Peg for a few years now and have done many a hard KM on it on mostly dirt and have had very few problems.I still love packing her up and hitting the road.






Added some bits and pieces,bars,single pipe,crashbars etc.


Cheers
A2

Andrew2 your peg looks good.
What pipe did you use for your single conversion. is it the f650 or fabricated ???
Also where did you get those engine bars ????
Sorry for all the questions but is your bike an Australian model or imported as mine has the same decals but I'm in the UK ???

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OOOHHH feel the Vibes !!!!!