Project SMX [Pic Heavy]
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@Calum I agree with ya, you do get a lot of kit for your hard earned cash, but considering that the SX was £3,099 brand new back in 2010, a 3K asking price today for an eight year old bike is pricey. The RX (Enduro) and SX (Supermoto) which were produced from 2008-2011 had either the 122 or 123, dependent on engine stocks. I think that the SX's had mostly 122's in them, but heavily restricted and obviously some RX's were converted into SX's. The SX is also 7Kg heavier than the MX, not a huge amount but still it's a bit of a disadvantage.
http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/aprilia/aprilia_sx_125 09.htm
The new model released in this year now has a 4 stroke engine in them, it's the same lump from the RS4 and costs £3,399. It's made in China and not Italy, so whether that improves the overall quality of the bikes I'm not sure? It's also 12Kg heavier than the MX, so the newest model is getting to be a bit of a porker in 125 terms.
https://www.bikez.com/motorcycles/aprilia_sx_125_2018.php
The swing arm is definitely steel as a lot of owners swap it for the MX's ali version. The forks have softer springs and although I'm not 100% sure I think that the MX has a steeper head angle, which makes the steering sharper and gives it a more racier, twitchy feeling.
http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/aprilia/aprilia_mx_125 04.htm
I know that no single review can ever give a straight back to back comparison, as all reviews can be subjective and an element of personal opinion does come into it from the reviewer. But if you compare these two reviews then there's a lot of like_for_like comparisons to weigh up;
https://www.motorcyclenews.com/bike-reviews/aprilia/mx125/2003/
https://www.motorcyclenews.com/bike-reviews/aprilia/sx125/2008/
And OK I accept that one bike is more restricted than the other, so it's not a direct like_for_like comparison, but at least you get to see both's bikes pro's and con's.
Interestingly the bike advertised does not state it's mileage, but it does say that it has been rebuilt from the ground up. Which raises the question of why has it been rebuilt? And yes a Zeeltronic would release it from it's shackles for-sure, couple that with an aftermarket exhaust and a few engine tweaks and you'll have her pulling super hard. So yeah I would agree she would be a sweet little ride for-sure!!! :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: :face_with_stuck-out_tongue_winking_eye: :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:
SEDUCED BY THE DARK SIDE!!!
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Thanks to the good weather I took advantage & cleaned, stripped down and resprayed a bunch of fiddly little parts today.
I also cleaned the 2 rear shocks I have in between coats of paint, I just need to give the mounts a quick respray and then pick the best one already for re-fitting. My fuel tank was in a pretty sorry state and my OCD also kicked in, so I decided to respray it. The original is just untreated plastic and although you don't really see a lot of it as it's underneath the radiator shrouds and seat. But hey-hoo I still know it's there and it looked tatty as bare plastic and also has some paint stains on her, so after several attempts and much rubbing down and respraying I finally got a decent finish on her!!! :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:
Before;
Rubbed down;
After;
Not easy things to respray at home, I kept getting one side mint and the other side not so good. I guess I was getting too much over-spray which caused some problems, plus it was a very hot day so the paint dried super quick, it's like spraying a pyramid in reality. She's not perfect but will do for now and a vast improvement on the original for-sure. I'll let the paint cure for a week and then give her the final treatment of some petrol resistant lacquer to finish her off with, which should help protect her from any mishaps. :smiling_face_with_open_mouth:
SEDUCED BY THE DARK SIDE!!!
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A small update, I managed to get in a few hours this afty and cleaned the forks up, polished the stanchions as best I could and resprayed the dropouts. The stanchions have some marks on them, which would not come out sadly, plus they are ribbed so that made it even harder to get a decent finish on em. So their as good as they will get, but most of these marks are not really seen which is handy.
I then slid the yokes back on to test fit it all;
i didn't realise that the forks are Marzocchi units;
SEDUCED BY THE DARK SIDE!!!
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@declan said in Project SMX:
@NINJA it’s always harder to work with when it’s ribbed
Are we talking bike parts or condoms here??? :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: :smiling_face_with_open_mouth_closed_eyes: :smiling_face_with_open_mouth_cold_sweat: :face_with_tears_of_joy:
SEDUCED BY THE DARK SIDE!!!
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@declan said in Project SMX:
@NINJA how very dare you!!
Yes, this is getting a little off topic now...
@declan was quite clearly talking about the bike parts.
@NINJA Let me know if you want me to tidy up the thread.P.S. I was messing about the off topic. But do let me know if you want me to clean up the thread.
Always Originate, Never Pirate!
