Aprillia factory tour.

[Rosco61]

There is some awesome stuff in here.
Enjoy.
http://www.armyofdarkness.com/index....a-factory-tour

[oVTo]

Nice! Thanks for the link.

[yasure]

Thanks for sharing! Very jealous! My 01 RSV lasted 72000 trouble free miles.

[R7]

Thanks for sharing! Very jealous! My 01 RSV lasted 72000 trouble free miles.

They must have had some serious budget cuts in the last 10 years, because that article is far from true from my dealings being an Aprilia owner for a little over a year. My RSV4 started giving me troubles at a close number to yours minus a few 0's..think it was before 720 miles.

[Rosco61]

I had minimal trouble with my Tuono. My friend owns it now and it continues to produce smiles. Maybe you had the one.....

[Falko]

That factory is more advanced than I thought it would be. Very interesting.

It appears to me that the older Rotax powered bikes were much more reliable than the newer Aprilia powered machines. They've really grown a bad rep with that new V4 from what I've heard. My Rotax in the Falco was awesome. The bike needed a couple of wiring upgrades, but it was always bullet proof.

[R7]

Wirelessly posted

I had minimal trouble with my Tuono. My friend owns it now and it continues to produce smiles. Maybe you had the one.....

By reading the af1 forum, there are a lot of people with "the one"

[Rosco61]

Wirelessly posted



By reading the af1 forum, there are a lot of people with "the one"

I hear you.
I'm not defending them in any way.
Owners forums are 90 % about issues and how to resolve them.

[drinkingmymilk]

They must have had some serious budget cuts in the last 10 years, because that article is far from true from my dealings being an Aprilia owner for a little over a year. My RSV4 started giving me troubles at a close number to yours minus a few 0's..think it was before 720 miles.

Why have you not pursued lemon law yet?

[R7]

Wirelessly posted

They must have had some serious budget cuts in the last 10 years, because that article is far from true from my dealings being an Aprilia owner for a little over a year. My RSV4 started giving me troubles at a close number to yours minus a few 0's..think it was before 720 miles.

Why have you not pursued lemon law yet?

While it does qualify, I'm trying to be somewhat reasonable. Anymore problems prior to the warranty expires, then I won't be so reasonable. Because they don't update any parts and just toss the same defective parts at the bike in hopes of making the customer happy, I'm confident I will have another season of bike troubles ahead.
Sad thing is, when the bike runs, I actually like it

[yasure]

Sorry to hear about the rsv4.... I worked on my Aprilia almost daily while it was a daily driver in Phoenix AZ. They are quirky for sure. I guess for me the benefits of the bike outweighed the negative's.

[jcbell1007]

Wirelessly posted
While it does qualify, I'm trying to be somewhat reasonable. Anymore problems prior to the warranty expires, then I won't be so reasonable. Because they don't update any parts and just toss the same defective parts at the bike in hopes of making the customer happy, I'm confident I will have another season of bike troubles ahead.
Sad thing is, when the bike runs, I actually like it

The sound and power was awesome. I loved the way it looked but I was in your same position. Funny thing is, I don't regret owning it but I also don't regret getting rid of it.

[soofle616]

Don't yet own a V4 but my apes have all been pretty good to me once I got past the relatively short list of common faults that needed to be corrected. Iirc the Shiver was actually the first bike they made with an in house motor and it was a disaster when it launched. That was followed up by the R and SXV's which also had major engine problems. Followed by the V4 which continued to have engine problems. It's not really all that surprising though. Granted, piaggio is a big company with a lot of resources but Aprilia is a niche brand still with relatively low production numbers compared to the other names out there. Going from engines designed by companies with tons of engine experience to engines designed in house on what I have to assume is a fairly small budget given the divisions size, it's not really surprising that these problems would happen. Prior models ran rotax, suzuki, and minarelli motors, all of which had a nice long run to correct any flaws.

[Falko]

I think the Rotax continued on in the Can Am thingies, but not sure if that is still true. Very reliable motor, imo, and it came in a nice package with the Aprilia. I don't know why they decided to move in a different direction than let Rotax or another supplier provide an engine. But they've definitely hurt themselves recently.

[R7]

Don't yet own a V4 but my apes have all been pretty good to me once I got past the relatively short list of common faults that needed to be corrected. Iirc the Shiver was actually the first bike they made with an in house motor and it was a disaster when it launched. That was followed up by the R and SXV's which also had major engine problems. Followed by the V4 which continued to have engine problems. It's not really all that surprising though. Granted, piaggio is a big company with a lot of resources but Aprilia is a niche brand still with relatively low production numbers compared to the other names out there. Going from engines designed by companies with tons of engine experience to engines designed in house on what I have to assume is a fairly small budget given the divisions size, it's not really surprising that these problems would happen. Prior models ran rotax, suzuki, and minarelli motors, all of which had a nice long run to correct any flaws.

I've always liked the Aprilia based on looks alone. I figured waiting 2 1/2 years after the introduction of the RSV4, I was pretty safe that most of the kinks were worked out of the bike. In all honestly, it's my fault for not researching more about the bike prior to me buying it.
I've been riding for 20+ years, and this is the first bike in all those years that has left me stranded on the side of the road. And to think when it broke down, it was my first ride after returning from an 1100 mile trip up into Canada.
What pisses me off most with Aprilia, there's no effort at all to update any of the parts that are faulty. Examples...

1. Coolant manifold, yes it's plastic. Aprilia is calling the replacement an updated part for 2012 bikes, but the truth is, it's the same spec part as 2010-2011 that they had "fewer" failures from. How such a part can fail so often (and when it fails, EVERYTHING is covered with coolant including both tires) and not cause a full on recall is something I'll never understand.
2. Cam chain tensioner, it's quiet for the first 2000 miles, after that, it sounds like complete shit. No solution, no updated part, they won't fix it because "it's just going to happen again in 2k miles" How something can make this much noise and NOT cause damage is beyond me. My 09 R1 had the same issue, Yamaha updated the part, replaced it for free and I never heard the noise again.
3. The expanding fuel tank! Sure, they replaced my tank that was growing tumors from the fuel or some BS, but it's not updated and the same exact thing is going to happen again. It was suggested that at the time of replacement, I pay ($350) to have the inside of the tank coated with some epoxy to prevent it. You would think Aprilia would offer to pay that seeing they will likely end up replacing the tank again at $950 + labor.

I could go on, but the list is to long

[snowborder]

As with most Italian products, engineered with "Design" to blow your mind, but also tend to blow up. I love Ducati's and Aprilias but have always decided against a purchase due to the lack of parts and or maintenance involved in keeping them running.

[Paul_E_D]

Funny thing is, Ducatis are pretty much dead reliable. Their issues were largely primadonna owners (other than the flaking rockers).

[SprintPoser]

Hey Mark, can I try making an aluminum coolant manifold for your bike once it's out of warranty? I'd have to see what it looks like to know if I could machine one out of solid aluminum (hate the term "billet", btw.)

[R7]

Hey Mark, can I try making an aluminum coolant manifold for your bike once it's out of warranty? I'd have to see what it looks like to know if I could machine one out of solid aluminum (hate the term "billet", btw.)

I have to be honest, I have no intentions of keeping it past the warranty. If for some reason I do, you're welcomed to try providing I can take it off without any special tools

[SprintPoser]

I'd be very happy to do this for you. If you had a failed one for me that's all I'd need to duplicate it in a sturdier material.