Hi folks. I posted last week to say I was going to look at a KLE 500 to replace my Xt600 3AJ. Well, I didnt get the KLE, I picked up an 03 plate Pegaso for a great price, I took it for an hours test drive, and by the end of the ride, I wasnt buying anything else! I didnt bother looking at the KLE after that, Ive found a nice modern single that is a good height for me, (the Tenere was a bit tall for me to be honest) feels great and has full givi luggage and a higher Givi screen already fitted. Ive still to pick it up and get it home due to circumstances beyond my control, but I have to say, I cant wait!

Thanks to all for the advice on the KLE, but after owning the Tenere and a DR600 before that, I have to say that I prefer to stay with the singles.

Heres to travels in 2008!

Pete

Pete,

Congrats, you got a "new" bike! That's always a great feeling.

You'll have to do some posts on that 'cos there is not too much reported about them, recently anyway - that will have the Rotax engine as per the Beemer 650 rather than the Yam 660 that is currently fitted.

Good riding,

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Dave

I've got one - paid £970 for a very good condition 97 bike with the 22L tank. For my budget less than £1000 it was the best bike by far - people seem to overlook them. They are basically a BMW for 1/2 the price a better engine (more powerful 5 valve rotax) better electrics I'm told and a part alloy frame.

Mine is rough below 3000rpm - something i'm trying to sort out (same with the older beamers I believe) yours should be smooth - efi helps I think.

Brakes seem nice - quite powerful on the front - twin headlamp even on mine seems years ahead of the beamers and 200mm suspension travel is good for a dual pupose bike and works well on rough roads - I've not taken it off road yet but the one report I have my friend could not keep up off road (in the UK) while he was following one on his CCM 400 enduro bike which should have been much faster and reports the tail was going sideways a lot i.e. the Pegaso pilot was giving it lots of throttle for lots of sideways fun!

Oh yes - upside down forks also seem many years ahead of their time even on my 97 bike though sadly the rear shock only seems average to poor for off road use though (due to reliability) I don't think many bikes of this type (except the single minded off road KTM's which include the 625/640's ) have rear shocks which can truly take a hammering and the Pegaso's cannot be rebuilt (i've heard)

Anyway congrats on your purchase I'm sure you've got a bargain there!

where are you going with a plastic bashplate???? and behind the plastic bashplate - at the front, on the left handside - there is the cooling liquid tank asking for a bash....

I saw one of these opened up and my impression was that it was cheaply built, it was a 2002 model though.
Impressive is the fuel tap: you cannot miss it...

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... and Nelly The Elephant packed the trunk and said goodbye to the circus...

Thanks for the feedback guys, 2 grown up replies out of 3 aint bad, I'll keep you posted on life with a rotax ie Pegaso.

Alex, If I was you I'd be more worried about chocolate cams and journals and chocolate 5th gears than my plastic bashplate. I also own a Tenere, got the t shirt......and the repair bills. You know what they say about folks in glass houses.

Pete

It just struck me that there could be increased interest in the Aprilia Pegaso now that the single cyl F650GS is no longer available new; for anyone who does not want to go down the route of twins?

The BMW Rotax engine differs (twin spark and whatever), so I am informed, by having a BMW head designed by their car "M3" designers - I think this was in the bumpf that advertised the bike.

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Dave

Whatever about the tenere, it's not about who has the best bike, Basspete, we have serviced many Pegaso here in Italy and I have to say that with Pegaso Aprilia let us down... it's not about the engine, it's about how the bike is made. Another thing to watch out for is the starter electric rotor, it has the habit of pulverize as it is made of cheap alloy.

The Pegaso plastic bashplate has always been a joke: like supplying the police with marzipan bulletproof vests, indication that the company wants to save on this and what else?
My comment on the fuel tap was a bit too much, I admit it, I wish mine was standing out so clearly like on the Pegaso when I run out of petrol while riding it's a challenge to find it before the XTZ dies....

keep riding, if you have to buy Italian buy Parmesan....!

best regards

alex

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... and Nelly The Elephant packed the trunk and said goodbye to the circus...

Parmesan? I'll stick to a large cheese pizza without mate!

Pete

I have ridden a few Pegs and still ride one. Mine is essentially an F650 with Italian styling and 2/3 the price. I've carried spares halfway around the world in preparation of the classic problems (head gasket, regulator) but never had these problems materialise.

Done plenty of off-road kms in plenty of countries without a problem (aside from a few crashes - indicators, hand guards etc, the usual). Although I have lost a front sprocket due to the lightweight circlip giving way. I wouldn't take mine on tracks that need a metal bashplate - it's not really that kind of bike. It's a bit heavy and front wheel is a bit wide and small in diameter for this kind of stuff. It is also difficult to stand on the pegs as the angles are all a bit wrong. Long trips off-road are fine, but a scrub-basher it is not. (This is not counting the newer, trail Pegs.)

But for what I want to do it's perfect. I'm happy to keep the merits quiet - it'll help keep the price down. Have fun on yours.

I have just stripped my '98 Peg down to the bone and rebuilt it, and all I can say is that theres nothing 'cheap' about it compared to the many other more expensive bikes I have also worked on. We all need to remember that the Peg mk3, until the new one came along recently, was first built in 1997. At that time this was a seriously modern looking machine. But essentially they have been unchanged over the years so now its old technology.

Yes the bike is a bastard to work on as everything needs to be removed to do even the simplest bit of work, but it is not cheaply made at all. Lets also remember that it has always been very well priced in the market. If you think the starter gear on the Peg is bad try working on any of the new sports bikes!

After riding my bike through most off-road obstacles I have not even once asked myself why the bashguard is plastic, at the end of the day its not a Dakar rally bike, its a adventure tourer. If its so important why did Honda never put one on the like-minded Transalp??

but like BrettUAE, Im not gonna say too much.....I just feel sorry for those F650 riders when they find out they are actually riding a Pegaso with a less attractive body and engine, especially because they paid more for it than the Peg..........

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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?'

Hi Pete.....lets have a report after you take it up to Glencoe for a camping weekend! It certainly looks like a tasty bike...

There's a fantastic long straight coming up from Loch Tulla, up over Rannoch moor, and then the long swoopy bends going down through the glen itself. There's a nice run going past Kinlochleven, and, if it's still there, a bunkhouse if you need one. Also McColls bunkhouse at Leacantium in the 'Coe. Or the Squirrel campsite, tho' it's always soggy in winter. Or, near the Clachaig, you can camp beside the River Coe.

Just because you dont like someone else's opinion is no reason to belittle them! If your going to belittle them do it because they Deserve it, not to satisfy an inflated ego.
Alex had a valid point. OK, he may have chosen to make that point in a more abrasive way than what you like, but that is what makes us Individuals.... the fact that we are Different.
His point was why put a plastic bashplate on a bike? it serves no purpose other than cosmetic. I agree.... its a crap Idea....and if you think you have a Bike that is "nearly" a BMW but at half the price..... think again.
You have not.
and as for your repair bills on your XT? learn to ride it and service it properly and it may not let you down as badly!

Martyn

Martyn I dont deny your reasoning above except the last bit. You obviously know very little about the Peg vs BMW Funduro, as they are both made by Aprilia in the same production line so YES it is almost a BMW, or should I say the BMW is almost an Aprilia but twice the price.....

And What makes you think this chap with the XT doesnt know how to ride properly? He too was entitled to his opinion so infact you just completely contradicted yourself. Next time do your homework before posting!

__________________
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?'

Yeah, Ok I contradicted myself on the opinion. point taken

Just because the bikes are made on the same production line in the same factory doesnt mean the Components are the same. Frame, forks, brakes, wheel rims, quality of the general parts etc... and in fact I do know something about them...
I used to live next door to a chap that owned one! ( Hiya Duncan if your reading this ) ,,,,,, the aprilia after sales and warranty is next to zero in comparison with BMW! many visits to the dealers and months in total without the Aprilia to sort out faults including..... 1. a front sprocket that came off as she was riding it ( the circlip fell off) and the replacement took a week to arrive,

2. the ignition switch failed twice,

3. he exhaust snapped,

4. the front brake switch failed,

5. it leaked Oil

6. the headgasket blew twice, cured by new studs i believe, all this on a BRAND NEW BIKE.

The BMW in its first year needed just a new rear brake light switch and a front fork oil seal. Done THE SAME DAY. Wollaston BMW in Northampton

The service Intervals for the BMW are 10,000 but the Aprilla are 6,000.... if they are the same engine WHY?

as for the XT reliability, sorry Dude, but if DONT labour them in high gears and change the oil regularly, keep the valves adjusted correctly they really wont ever break down much. there are many many XTs with over 100,000kms on em with NO rebuilds or big bills required.

Martyn

Fair enough, I agree with most of what you have said. The XT is World renowned for being reliable, always has been. some people are unlucky and have loads of things go wrong with their chosen bikes, no matter how reliable it is. I dont know this chap with the XT and neither do you, his experience may be the unlucky type, who knows.....Thats why I wouldnt comment in the way you did, just a thought.

just in direct reply to BMW vs Pegaso, the BM also had the same issues with the front sprocket with the same setup of a stupid circlip, until Aprilia made both of them with a retainer nut instead. the brakes were identical Brembo's, so were the Rims and Hubs. Mine is a '98 model and has never leaked a drop, although some had head gasket issues, likewise the BMW. The only difference in the engine was that Rotax did the 5 valve head for the Aprilia, and the four valve for the BMW, which meant the Aprilia leant towards the peformance side whilst BMW went for reliability, with the 5-valve chucking out 3 more horsepower it made a difference. Aprilia were trying this out as it was a relatively new type of single, thus the service intervals being different.

The exhausts were rubbish on the Peg, agreed as they rusted inside like you can't believe! The wiring looms were identical, despite slightly different lights etc. But at the end of the day both are italian bikes with Austrian engines. The Italians are notorious for their crap electrics. Luckily if most people knew, they could have taken their Peg to the BMW dealer and got 80% of the work done there instead. I have used two BMW dealerships along the way. Or even better get it serviced whilst touring in Italy.

Its six of one and half a dozen of the other, But they are so alike that anybody who says they are the same bike with a different body in my view is talking sense. Bmw did a better job advertising as they always do, thus the reason for the BMW being dearer now if you want one. Thats all gone out the window since BMW opened a factory purpose built for the newer F650 GS.

__________________
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?'