My bike, powder coating

As part of the freshen up I decided to powder coat the swingarm and rear sub frame. The swing arm is highly visible so desperately needed doing, where the subframe could of been rattle canned on the parts you can see, however it was a bit rusty in the parts you couldn't see so I wanted that addressed also.

I use a local powder coater to my work and I have used them before and been pleased with the results, check out http://www.plasticoat.co.uk/ if you are in the Portsmouth/ Gosport area. A good powder coater will mask all holes and bearing surfaces all you need to do is remove everything including bearings.

The colour I chose isn't the same as the original Aprilia colour, the original is more of a grey which over time looks quite drab especially next to the brilliance of the main frame and footrests. I went for a silver with a little sparkle like a Honda swing arm, I hope this will lift the bike a little and give it a slightly more premium look... I hope I am right about this!

Swing Arm

before

After

After

After

Subframe

Before

After

After

Join the new Facebook Aprilia AF1 group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/apriliaaf1

My bike, chain sliders

The rubber chain sliders that fit to the upper and lower swingarm are no longer available, part numbers 8120491 (upper, 15) and 8120492 (lower, 16). My upper is salvageable but the lower is falling apart and they are essential for the finish of any restoration or if you intend on riding. Fortunately they are being reproduced in Italy via 3d printing and are readily available via ebay.

Ebay link

I'll update this post when I have some feedback on fit and finish. 

Join the new Facebook Aprilia AF1 group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/apriliaaf1

my bike, decal kit

My decal kit arrived from Italy today from Decalmoto.com First impressions are that it looks fairly decent for the money, I'll give an update when I start to install it.

Note: The green looks more green in the flesh, maybe my camera/ office/ monitor makes it look more blue than it is? 

Join the new Facebook Aprilia AF1 group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/apriliaaf1

AF1 Futura - Max Biaggi

Max Biaggi, the Roman Emperor needs no introduction but for those who need a refresher he is a 4 x 250cc Grand Prix World champion, 3 x Aprilia, 1 x Honda and 2 x World Super Bike Champion both on an Aprilia.  Max is most famous for his black Chesterfield Aprilia 250 but what people maybe don't realise is that Max cut his teeth in the ultra competitive Italian 125cc Sport Production championship and won it in 1990 on board an AF1 Futura.

At the recent Aprilia All Stars event at the Misano race track Biaggi stopped by the Duo Tempi Bei Tempi club stand to pose with and sign their Futura bike.

RSV250 Grand Prix bike

Biaggi on board the Futura

Biaggi's Af1 Futura

The Emperor 

Join the new Facebook Aprilia AF1 group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/apriliaaf1

My bike, parts pull down and paint prep

In order to move this project on I have taken the nuclear option and applied to take the AF1 to Stafford in October as there is nothing like a deadline to create motivation!

First thing was to get the rear subframe and swingarm off and get them to the powder coaters. I hit a small hurdle in the fact I don't have the swing arm main pivot lock ring tool, but a screwdriver and hammer moved that. I removed the rear hub, rear shock then main swing arm pivot and then finally the swing arm.

With the swingarm off the chain sliders were removed and the lower one has broken, so replacements will need to be sourced, and the bearings removed for painting. 

Taking the back end off and seeing the wheels also confirmed I need to look at getting these painted also.

Other progress: I ordered the decal kit of e-bay and started to clean a lot of the loose parts.

a few chips on the rim, meaning these need paining 

rear subframe ready for painting

swingarm ready for painting

cleaning up the rear of the engine case and frame mount

rear shock and alloy rocker cleaned

Join the new Facebook Aprilia AF1 group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/apriliaaf1

Pre-production Project 108 AF1 Replica

Here is a great picture from the 1987 Milan motorcycle show showing the Replica version of the AF1 Project 108. As you can see the bike has slightly different colours with red on the tank and more green on the side panel and a green number spot on the tail, but the biggest change is that it also features a single headlight. 

It is common for manufacturers to display non-production ready machines or display machines in differing colours to test the market, or maybe the headlight fairing just wasn't ready in time for the show? I have also heard that twin headlights only became legal in Italy in 88, so maybe aprilia updated the bike to take advantage of this, but that needs fact checking. Either way its another piece of the model time-line.

image 1987 Milan Motorcycle Show

production version of the AF1 Replica

Magazine - Motorcycle Mechanics Jan 2025

Motorcycle Mechanics magazine have a feature called 'Bay-watch' where they look out for projects on platforms such as eBay hence the Baywatch pun! This month they spotted a 88 Sintesi AF1 project priced at an extremely cheap price of £425, but with a catch as the bike is located in France. I have have checked the website Leboncoin which is where I suspect the bike was but it has gone. For those not familiar with Leboncoin here are all the AF1 related bikes currently for sale. Anyway here is the feature.