Before you start
Frame, swingarm and bodywork
- Do not polish a crack out of the frame.
- Check the headstock, the mounts and the swingarm pivot.
- Match the brackets to the body. Do not drill the panel.
How many steps: 7
Guide 02 · All generations
Frame, swingarm and bodywork
How the frame was finished, where to look for cracks, and why fairing brackets do not swap between generations.
Step 1 of 7
See if the frame is painted or polished.
Do not strip a sound silver frame for the later look.
The Extrema frame was painted silver until about 1995, then polished, with a 1994 Telaio Lucido. The compound is To verify. Stay off the edges of welds. Four-stroke frame finish is To verify.
Step 2 of 7
Sight the headstock, mounts and swingarm pivot.
A crack in the spar needs a frame welder.
This page is not a welding procedure. The brief gives no alignment tolerance. To verify in the manual. A measured twist is a reason to ask a frame specialist.
Step 3 of 7
Check footpeg hangers and lock stops.
Leave a bent stop as evidence. Do not bend it back.
Step 4 of 7
Treat a 2006 bike as an MP frame.
New body, new fork, radial brakes, same MP frame. The RS4 and the current bike are a different frame. To verify. The brief does not describe those spars.
Step 5 of 7
Fit the bracket that matches this body.
Do not drill the panel to make a hole line up.
The rectangular-headlight GS, the round-light bike, the bee-tail, the twin-headlight body and the four-strokes do not share a panel set.
Step 6 of 7
Test a fairing repair on a scrap tab first.
The brief does not name a rod or a glue. To verify on a scrap before the nose cone. A stitched crack will show through paint.
Step 7 of 7
Check swingarm bearings with the wheel out.
You'll need: The shock disconnected.
Otherwise you are feeling the shock. Bearing numbers are not in the brief. Grease is To verify. The headstock is in the suspension guide.
Finished!
This guide is done. Your place stays on this device.
Tools
- Bright daylight, or a lamp you can move. A single glare spot hides cracks in polished aluminium
- A straight edge for the swingarm and the fork legs
- Thread locker only after the manual names the grade. The grade is To verify
- Masking tape and a marker for crack checks you want to re-find
- Fairing stands or a soft bench. Panels crack on concrete
- The parts catalogue for the bodywork year, not a catalogue from a different generation
Parts
- Fairing brackets and fasteners for this generation only. See the parts directory.
- Decals come later, in the paint guide. Do not sticker a panel you have not fitted.
- Bearing kits for the swingarm pivot. Sizes are To verify.
Slots for these parts, with empty OEM numbers and empty prices, are in theparts directory.
| Item | Figure | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Frame finish, Extrema / GS | Painted silver until about 1995, then polished. A 1994 Telaio Lucido edition was polished as well. | Sourced Generation record in the research brief |
| 2006 frame | The RSV-style body is new. The frame is the same as the MP. | Sourced Generation record in the research brief |
| Swingarm pivot torque | Not in the brief. | To verify Workshop manual for this VIN |
| Paint code | Not in the brief, for any year. | To verify The colour chart or a dealer microfiche for that model year |
The frame is the part you cannot cheaply un-damage, and on these bikes it is also the part people polish until a crack disappears into the shine. This guide is the inspection and the rules for the body that hangs on it. It is not a welding procedure. If you find a crack in the spar, stop and take it to someone who welds aluminium motorcycle frames. A how-to for that repair is not in the brief, and a bad one is worse than the crack.
Painted or polished
On the Extrema / GS the brief says the frame was painted silver until about 1995 and polished afterwards, with a separate 1994 polished-frame edition called Telaio Lucido. Do not strip a sound silver frame because the internet prefers the later look. If you do polish, stay off the edges of any weld and stop when you are through the surface damage. The brief does not name a compound. To verify anything harsher than a polish meant for bare aluminium. Cutting pastes for clear-coated paint will haze a spar and load the corners with residue.
Later frames are polished alloy as a rule of the model. Confirm on the bike. The four-stroke frame finish is To verify. The brief does not describe it.
Where to look
Headstock, steering stops, engine mounts, and the swingarm pivot. Then the footpeg hangers and the lock stops named in the strip-down guide. A bent stop is evidence, not a part to bend back in the vice and forget. Sight along the swingarm. The brief does not give an alignment tolerance. To verify in the manual, and if you cannot find a figure, a measured twist is a reason to ask a frame specialist rather than a reason to invent a millimetre.
The 2006 RSV-style bike is the trap. New body, new fork, radial brakes, same MP frame. Crash damage is assessed as an MP frame even though the fairing looks unrelated. The Euro 3 bike keeps that body. The RS4 and the current RS 125 do not. Their frames are a different conversation, and the brief does not describe the spars. To verify.
Fairings
Brackets differ by generation. The rectangular-headlight GS, the round-light bike, the bee-tail with its right-hand duct, the twin-headlight RSV shape, and the RSV4-styled four-strokes do not share a panel set. If a hole does not line up, you have the wrong bracket or a repaired tab. Do not drill the panel to win the argument.
Cracked ABS can sometimes be plastic-welded. The brief lists fairing repair as part of this guide and does not specify a rod or a glue. To verify the method on a scrap tab before you touch a nose cone. A stitched crack in a painted panel will show. Budget the paint, or leave the crack visible and honest.
Swingarm
Check the pivot bearings for notchiness with the wheel out and the shock disconnected, so you are not feeling the shock. Bearing numbers are not in the brief. Grease type is To verify. A dry pivot and a notchy headstock feel similar from the saddle and are different jobs. The headstock is in the suspension guide.
When the body goes back on, use the photos from guide 1. The right-hand bee-tail duct is easy to swap left-to-right in your head and impossible to swap on the bike.
Common mistakes
- Polishing a painted silver GS frame because a later bike is polished.
- Using a cutting compound meant for lacquer on a bare aluminium spar.
- Drilling a fairing to make the wrong bracket fit.
- Assuming the 2006 bike’s new body means a new frame. The brief says the frame is still the MP frame.
- Painting over a crack at the headstock and calling it finished.
Sources
- Modellübersicht RS 125 2T (opens in a new tab) — Hartrusion
- Storia e modelli (opens in a new tab) — rs125.it
- RS 125 2006–2010 parts catalogue (PDF) (opens in a new tab) — Aprilia Superstore
Research brief dated 24 October 2026. Where this page says “the brief”, that is the sourced master plan behind the first edition.