I was in two minds as to whether to post this in this section or the rant thread since this is something of a rant over an issue that's been eating at me for some time.

You will see from the accompanying picture that I have an Aprilia Falco. I bought it new in 2004 and am currently enjoying (enduring?) a love hate relationship with it. I won't go into all the problems but the thing that has really wound me up was being disappointed with its performance where my 1200 S Bandit seemed to have more go. When I had it serviced by a genuine expert from Club Aprilia in Tamworth last year, he discovered that the damned thing was still restricted! He derestricted it which was easily achieved by removing a restrictor from the bottom of the air box and clipping a wire to the ECU to trigger a different map which made a considerable difference. The dealer from whom I bought it and who carried out the first three services should have done this at the first service since Falcos and the older RSVs all leave the factory with this restriction.

What bugs me about this whole business is that while the information can be found if you look for it on Aprilia forums, neither Aprilia nor the mainstream motorcycle press make any reference to it so if the dealer is lazy or negligent, you're treated to a bike that's bound to disappoint and doesn't do much for Aprilia's reputation such as it is. I read the usual articles in Ride and MCN before buying the Falco but there was nothing about the restriction with a reminder to make sure it had been done (buying used) or to make sure the dealer addresses it (buying new) on the first service. The MCN Bike Mart article only a few weeks ago on the Falco said nothing about it. I wonder just how many older Aprilias are still restricted and disappointing their owners.

I feel better for getting it off my chest and hope this information will be helpful to anyone with such a bike or who is thinking of getting one.

you were quite lucky. The restrictor was put on to cover EPA emisions on a few models. they made it easy to remove by including a second map on the ecu which gave the falco about 22 ponies extra. Unfortunatly the EPA found out and made them remove the second map on all but the later Falco post 2003.

Hi Cataraptor,

I have a Falco sitting in the garage that I bought last October, but as a repair project as it's had a drop and needs some TLC.  It's had the mod done which I've figured out from Apriliaforum info, though It'll need more TLC & fettling from me before it's roadworthy and I actually get to ride her.  From searching up on the Falco after I'd got her I did get the impression that Aprilia had a spell where many ppl were critical of the dealer support although I gather this has gotten better over the years.

I just scan read the RSV technical training course booklet to see if any notes on the mod were evident - nothing showing!  I must confess I'd not realised it applied to the RSV's too - my interpretation was that the restriction was another way that the Falco was set aprt from the RSV - along with frame / geometery / cycle parts changes and lower compression ratio to add more to mid range at expense of top.

As per bluesbiker's note if I read him correctly - I had thought that later EPROMS had two copies of the same map in rather than one with the higher output settings - so It might be that you are still not getting the best out - I suppose the PCIII route would be the ultimate way forward if you wanted to spend the money! I dare say some of the falco boys at apriliaforum could advise.

I can understand your frustration though - imagine buying a bike, riding for years then selling to upgrade only to find out it had more go for the sake of a clipped wire and a bit of plastic out of the airbox!

Happy riding!

Its not just Aprilia. My old ZZ-R1100 was restricted via the carb tops. My 2001 Falco had been de restricted then I had the airbox/tank mod........new eprom chip, zausts and geared the rear sprocket up because it wasn't a happy bunny at 70mph in top.   Transformed the bike and ended up out pulling Mille factory's no probs....would out corner blades, R1's etc thanks to V-twin traction and was 100% reliable. It was however rather uncomfortable.                                                                                                                                                                             

Just to put things into perspective, my complaint wasn't about the Falco being restricted per se but the fact that the restriction reduced the power from what was claimed by Aprilia and in road tests from 118 bhp to less than 100 bhp; dealers were being relied upon to derestrict the bikes at the first service which some clearly did not do and; there was no information on this in the mainstream motorcycle press or the manufacturer except on specialist forums. The Aprilia dealer from whom I had bought it claimed it was an official import but the headlight also dipped to the right which was changed free of charge when I discovered it. They're still in business too. There are a still some bad Aprilia dealers about. I can recommend Griff from Club Aprilia for looking after Aprilias. He's a former technical manager and now runs Aprilia Performance near Tamworth. It was he who dealt with the restriction issue.

The sort of restrictions on ZZRs, Hayabusas, etc are intended to prevent stratospheric speeds from being obtained by limiting the top end. The Aprilia restriction not only reduced top end performance but made the bike fussy to ride with limited power and torque throughout the rev range. I certainly didn't feel lucky about the situation this put me in and combined with other problems, it has had a negative effect on how I feel about the bike.        

The ZZ-R restriction did not limit the top speed at all. At the time all Manufacturers were getting jumpy about the then proposed 100bhp maximum....Triumph helped defeat that one by deliberately giving thier (then) new Daytona over 100bhp.   But anyway, regardless of what bikes are restricted for whatever reason......It is still a bit of a slap in the face for a customer. I was initially quite dissapointed with my Falco, I expected it to be very grunty and have quite a lazy, relaxed engine thanks to it being a V and its capacity. As you well know the Aprilia really needs thrashing and that gearbox takes a constant tap dance to keep it going well.   It's certainly not what I expected and mine had been de restricted. I already had a 916 at the time which was a lazier bike to ride and seemed to have way more grunt. I am a professional test rider by trade and I have found most bikes built in the last 10 years or so have slowly been sanitised and refined beyond belief.   There are only two V twins I have ridden that truly stuck in my mind. One was the Suzuki TL1000S ( and too a lesser extent its fully faired brother, the TL1000R) and a Harley Davidson V-Rod.   I can understand your dissapointment but you have a stunning bike, very underrated, brilliant build quality and a unique look. Compared to the gear thats about today I'd sooner ride your Aprilia 80% of the time.   Its probably why I like 80's bikes....you have to ride them and they look like nothing else about.   The best mod I did to my Aprilia is to fit a larger rear sprocket. This finally gave the engine and drivetrain the proper "feeling" torque for a big V-twin. I cannot remember exactly but I'm sure I went up to 44 teeth. You need to have a drive chain longer than standard to take up the extra size. I ordered everything from Renthal for about £140