Questions about buying a 2000 RS

[steventhechef]

The clip ons were one of the reasons that I bought the RS. I was looking for a sports oriented bike at the start and was looking at Ducati 900SS at the time.

A few friends with Triumphs (S3's Sprint ST, Bonnie's) said how good and reliable they were. I rode an RS and fell in lust with them.

The quality, flexibility and rideability is fantastic.

They tour (quite) well, are great for two up and are excellent in the twisties (especially with stickier tyres). If they still have BT020's (the standard issue) on them, IMO dump them. There are much better tyres around - right DaveM?

I have the gen 2 955i and at this stage would like an S3 (for the more power factor) but appreciate the wind protection of the half fairing.

The RS has always been the poor country cousin to the ST and the price is reflected in that. They are normally, therefore proportional cheaper than the ST's..

[frider]

Well I'm pretty old, 48 this year, and have done as much as 2k in two days..........in the pouring rain, bike was faultless, and the bars didn't give me too much grief!!!
I have the Givi Aero flip screen, and it did a pretty good job!!

[steventhechef]

Originally Posted by frider

and the bars didn't give me too much grief!!!

I really think that the comfort level comes down to fitness and size (height) of the rider.

I'm 49 y.o., 6'2" & 85kg and find the fit perfect for my frame. I find that my wrist get tired ONLY when I am not supporting my weight with my trunk.

The most I have done in a day is about 600 kilometres so haven't really done any "serious" touring..

[johnO]

have an '00 rs and love it.think you should shop around for one with less miles.i purchased mine w/2,200 miles on it 2 years ago paid $3,500.00. ck. out cycletrader and have PATIENCE.

[DaveM]

He is right about the OEM Bridgstone BT 020's dump them quickly.

I have a second gen 955 Sprint ST, I am 48 and am 5'10" and 220lbs and the ST fits me like a glove.

In fact out of all the bikes I've had in 32 years this one I just sort of wear.

DaveM

[thefly]

Originally Posted by KitNYC

IMHO, there's nothing that sounds quite as good as one of the original 885s & nothing that pulls quite as nicely as a G2 955, but that could be my personal bias.
Cheers, HTH,
-Kit

i don't know about that, i have owned both an G2 955 and 1050, my '03 didn't scare me that much. but on a couple of occasion when i try to open up her up from a stop each the 1050 will really want to come off the ground. she reminds me that she is the boss i am not, never got that feeling from my '03.

[Calliway]

Well I have only ridden the G2 955 on a 2003 Sprint and it was really nice but that was a few years ago. It felt like a real gentlemens bike and engine. It went like nuts but always stayed refined. I feel that with my 1050 in my 05 but it always seems like its just on the verge of going from gentlemen to bad boy. The front tire comes off the ground at the flick of a wrist and maybe that is just the ergonomics of the 05 but I love feeling like it is just on the verge of losing control.

[pitbull]

I have an 01 RS and have a love/hate relationship with it so far.

I love the triple engine, love the reliability, love the look of the bike and love the touring capability, but I hate the stock front suspension and top heaviness of the bike.

Hopefully once I get the suspension sorted out it will inspire a little more confidence in the twisties.

[kludge]

If the two were identical in terms of condition I'd take an '02 or '03 against the earlier RS. The later motor is slightly better in terms of noise, valve train reliability and power. It's also slightly lighter I think.
But, if the older bike were in better shape I'd pick that in a heartbeat.
What the others say about tires in bang on. This bike deserves sticky rubber.

I own a 2000 RS myself, one of the faster orange ones. It had 20-something thousand km on it when I bought it. I had the valves adjusted at 28k, and the front calipers cleaned up. The one issue with this bike you always hear complaints about are the pistons in the front calipers sticking. They need to be cleaned often. If you get bored with that, you can fit 6-pot Tokico calipers from various popular Japanese sport bikes. The other issue you sometimes hear about is soft valve seats. In affected motors the valves tighten very quickly in service as the seats get hammered. It's not easy to know if the bike you are looking at has this problem until you ride it for a while. If you're unlucky with this, replacing the engine from a crashed bike is cheaper than fixing the problem. Very few are affected however. It seems like it was a little QC glitch. The 2002 and up models don't seem to suffer from this problem.

Welcome to the madhouse btw.

[bsanorton]

Originally Posted by johnO

have an '00 rs and love it.think you should shop around for one with less miles.i purchased mine w/2,200 miles on it 2 years ago paid $3,500.00. ck. out cycletrader and have PATIENCE.

You are right John, patience! It's hard when you are looking for a new ride. Since there is nothing newer in my stable then a 99' (I love the old stuff especially Tridents and Nortons), and after reviewing everyones great input here, I think I'm going to look for a 2002-2004 RS or ST with the 2nd generation motor. Don't think my budget can afford a 2005 or newer & personally I like the more rounded look of the older models. One thing I'm confused about, is the 955 motor in these models the same as in the Daytona 955? If so, can they be tuned to reap the additional HP output? Thanks again for everyones help! Rich