[kam1996]

Hey guys,

I have decided to return to club racing. I cant afford to (and dont have the heart to) race the 998 so I am looking into a used RS250 to race in LW class.
I raced the RS250 in WERA and CCS from 1997-1999 and had loads of fun. That said, back then I didnt have to "deal" with SV650s.
I have asked around and I am getting contradicting feedback. Almost half the people I have spoken to say that in Novice class, a decent rider on the Aprilia RS250 shoudl be able to hang and fight with the SV (other than the tracks with long starights), a few other have said that most SV guys aren't as "stock" as they should be (in Supersport) or that there isn't much that can be done to the RS so hanging with the SVs with a decent rider will be very tough.
To me, on paper it seems like what the SV would gain in the torque and hp category it shoudl give up in the weight difference to the Aprilia.


What do you guys think?

 

[CrimsonCloak]

My buddy tried it. He had fun, but even the tighter tracks gave the SV guys quite a horsepower advantage.

 

[duckdawg]

the torque of the SV will dominate...

 

[RAZR51]

If the riders were equal the 250 would have a hard time keeping up. If the track was extremely tight the small bike would do much better. The small bike will carry more corner speed, but the SV has about 20-25 more horsepower and about 70 lbs more...on average. That little bike might be more fun to ride though. I was racing at Grattan last year and a 14 year old kid named Emerson Conner was racing a Honda 250, not sure what class, maybe clubman, but he was smoking everybody in all his races. The kid was very fast.

 

[twowheelcossack]

Not wanting to take anything away from the venerable SV650 but,

RS250= engineered and built to be a race bike

SV650= engineered and built to teach your girlfriend how to ride

 

[oljackboy]

The Aprilia RS250 won't stand much of a chance. A real 250 like a Honda RS250 or a Yamaha TZ250 would smoke through the novices like Sherman through Atlanta. The trouble with riding one of those is that they make everything else feel like overweight streetbikes. Also much more expensive than an SV.

 

[webman]

RS250= engineered and built to be a race bike

It was not engineered to be a racebike. It was a street legal SPORTBIKE for Europe in the late ninities that Aprilia USA brought over to sell because Aprilia SPA were already making them. Since a 250 could not pass EPA regs in US, it was brought in as a track bike. Aprilia payed for a specific race series in order to sell more of them. They make 50-60 hp in a tight rev range(Suzuki engine). A real race 250 makes 85-100hp.

 

[kam1996]

It was not engineered to be a racebike. It was a street legal SPORTBIKE for Europe in the late ninities that Aprilia USA brought over to sell because Aprilia SPA were already making them. Since a 250 could not pass EPA regs in US, it was brought in as a track bike. Aprilia payed for a specific race series in order to sell more of them. They make 50-60 hp in a tight rev range(Suzuki engine). A real race 250 makes 85-100hp.

Yes you are right. It is not to be confused with the Aorilia RS250 GP bike that makes 90-110 hp.

The Aprilia RS250 Street bike had the Suzuki RGV engine, Apriia claimed that the cup bike had 5 more hp than the street version. My 1996 stock with street stock pipes (not cup bike) was Dynod at 64 hp at Fast Lane cycles in Chantilly.
With the right gearing for a specific track, the RS was very potent, and although it was a street bike, the upside down forks and rear stock shock were more than ample for a fast Novice.
Agaion, I never got to run the RS against the SV, but on paper, if the RS is making 55-62 hp and is geared correctly, it should hang with the SV everywhere except very tight/very slow turns and long straights.

 

[Kyalami]

Let me check some lap times at Infineon for you. My gut tells me that they would run pretty similar laps on a course that is more suited to the small bikes. I've had my ass kicked on the track by decent racers on both bikes, but it's hard to tell who handed it to me worse

 

[cyclist]

Emerson Conner is on an 848 this year. You should have seen him at Grattan two weekends ago! A convincing 4th in his first race on the bike against 1000's and a 750. Dad's a pleasant fellow as well and damn proud of his son. I look forward to seeing him in AMA.

 

[Red Enough]

Well I'll go against the grain and choose the RS250.

It's a lighter bike with more rpms and more adjustability including pre-load, compression and rebound adjustments front and rear. The SV only has pre-load and rebound (well ours do)

Here in Australia both bikes can race together as separate classes and usually the SV is outgunned.

 

[ate51]

I would think it would be pretty even against a SS SV and I think it would largely come down to the rider. Any hp disadvantage would be balanced by lighter weight and handling. Much higher cornerspeed. Will matter more on one what you weigh compared to an SV . Out here at Willow Springs, which is known as a hp track, a well ridden rs250 can turn times that would be mid pack or better if the SV's were stock. We don't have a SS Sv class at wsmc and some sv's make some good hp. I had one and loved it and currently race an nsr250 and these street based 2 strokes are huge fun and relatively low maintenance compared to their gp counterparts.

 

[nedragr]

Being into 2 strokes I'm a bit bias'd.

The 650 should have the advantage being twice the displacement. :banghead

The 250 will teach you how to be a better rider....braking, corner speed and alike.

Bottom line......
4 strokes are for lawn mowers
2 strokes are for racing.........

What ever you decide, good on ya for getting back on.

 

[Kyalami]

It seems that I'm mistaken (just.)

The faster SV's are running 1:49's at Infineon and the GP 250's are running 1:50's. (At least for ONE race weekend: I haven't looked at other races from last year.)

There's not much in it though. I'll look through the results from last year when I have time just to confirm.