Aprilia Futura - buying used
Used prices for the Aprilia RST1000 Futura are on the way back up again
- in the UK at least - in 2008. But economic conditions mean it could
be a buyers' market.
At the time of writing a good Futura can be had for £3,000 on average,
with the later RS Touring two tone bikes going for a little more. Crash
damaged Cat D write-offs can be had for upwards of £1,500.
As with all bikes with short production runs that remained largely unchanged, you should buy purely on condition, rather than age. In any case, year of first registration can bear no relationship to build date.
For an idea of what you should be paying, have a look at the Parker's Price Guide (for the UK)
What to check:
Check to see whether it's a parallel import. Lift the seat and you'll see the spare parts ID sticker next to the battery. This will tell you year of build and the country it was originally intended for.
It
shows build year (between 01 and 03, despite what anyone says) and the
country the bike was intended for (this one's a German import). If the
punch is anywhere other than the UK mark, it's a parallel. Later models have only EU, UK or US (+ California) model designations.
If it is a parallel, make sure the headlight dips to the left. Replacement lights are bloody expensive and come up on ebay once in a while. A right dipping headlight can mean an MOT fail, though some testers will let you block it with a deflector sticker while others ignore it completely.
Another warning sign for a parallel is temp and fuel readouts on the clocks in metric rather than imperial measurements. That said, the headlight is the only issue with parallels and if it dips to the left, you're fine.
If the bike is low miles, check the age of the tyres. If they are more
than 5 years old they should be binned - it's a bargaining point.
Likewise, ask the owner (or check for yourself) if the two most important mods have been done: The Wiring Mod and the fuel quick disconnect. They are easily done if they haven't been dealt with, but it's another bargaining point.
Other than that it's mainly the stuff you'd check for any other bike. The motors are bullet proof so there's nothing special to look out for here. In any case, breakers are full of unsold Futura motors.
And if you're new to the bike, you'll do well to take a look at the page about setting the dash.
