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Aprilia RSV4 recall... NOT GOOD!


Dubguy85

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It's a connecting rod issue. From an outside supplier I believe. I'm happy to see they're just replacing whole motors. No way in hell I'm paying $21k for a bike that has a hand rebuild motor from a dealership.

I think it's good that Aprilia is stepping up to the plate and making sure this issue is fixed. It's definitely a big one.

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It's a connecting rod issue. From an outside supplier I believe. I'm happy to see they're just replacing whole motors. No way in hell I'm paying $21k for a bike that has a hand rebuild motor from a dealership.

I think it's good that Aprilia is stepping up to the plate and making sure this issue is fixed. It's definitely a big one.

+1! Good on them for making this right!

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Its just to bad that this keeps happening... Didn't this Just happen with their svx or whatever?

In house motors. The SXV was their first in house motor and it had oiling issues. (Aside from the fact that it's a damn race motor not meant for the street. Lol) The V4 in the RSV4 is their first in-house superbike motor. It's unfortunate that things like this are happening but that's the growing pains of developing and building your own motor for the first time.

I will be the first to say that Aprilia service, parts, etc outside of the bike itself is shit. Getting parts from Piaggio? Might as well just sell the bike now. So I'm very impressed that they are moving on this quickly and taking the necessary steps. They've got a lot riding on the RSV4.

Edited by RSVDon
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True that it blows, but I agree with RSVDon in that these are some of the "bugs" that I'd imagine come along with developing an engine for the first time. One could argue that extensive testing should have uncovered the problem, but in many cases, testing to that extent would annihilate the prod. schedule. That and they most likely didn't test many (if any) of the engines going in the US spec bikes.

Regarding Ape service/wait time on parts being some arse, that's the same thing that I was told by a major Ducati/Aprilia dealer in the Washington, DC area. As a result, they were getting out of carrying the line. It was that guy's honesty that kept me from buying an RSVr.

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Regarding Ape service/wait time on parts being some arse... It was that guy's honesty that kept me from buying an RSVr.

Yeah, I was worried about parts too. Luckily AF1 Racing has everything I could possibly need and now that these bikes are cheaper and the squids that are in-the-know are picking them up there's tons of parted out bikes :lol:

On a side note, all of the testing they have done probably wouldn't have caught this issue if it really is the conn rods. Aprilia doesn't cast their own rods. So they get the rods shipped in, they install bearings, and they build the engines. Now they are in "oh shit" quarantine mode, locking down the parts supplier, getting all the engines back to normal, and pulling bikes back in from owners. I can't even imagine how costly this will be.

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This is something that should have been caught.

Aprilia has had a bad rap for a long time now for being cool but unreliable. And when you pay ducati money to get it, it's pretty ridiculous. I would have thought after the SXV grenade motor debacle, they would have been at least a LITTLE MORE CAREFUL with a bike that will basically define the future of the company.

As a side note, anybody know how many motors the ape dakar bike went through to get to its second place finish?

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Dude. If what I've heard is correct, and the conn rods are the problem because they are cracking, YOU CANNOT DETECT THAT until one fails. If it's a bad casting of the rod it won't be detectable until the engine gets put under some good load. Like I said it's an undetectable supplier issue that only started popping up while in the field. As much as you can try to control that stuff, it happens.

How about Yamaha's spun bearings on the 06-07 R6s where they refused to admit the problem and just dealt with the failed bikes as they came in. Sometimes telling owners to pay for the labor.

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I'm not saying it would have been easy to detect this.

I do think this product was rushed to market. Aprilia has the ability to make some really awesome motorcycles, but if they can't build a bike for the real world, they're always gonna be second rate.

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What part of "it's not an Aprilia issue, it's a supplier issue" are you not getting?

but if they can't build a bike for the real world

Yes, second rate. That's why my bike has 35,xxx miles on it with no major issues and no rebuilds. Same with Coyote and RFM.

Edited by RSVDon
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What part of "it's not an Aprilia issue, it's a supplier issue" are you not getting?

Yes, second rate. That's why my bike has 35,xxx miles on it with no major issues and no rebuilds. Same with Coyote and RFM.

It doesn't matter if the supplier fooked up or not, it's still aprilia's liability. We also don't know if the reason the supplied rods are failing is due to inadequate engineering on aprilia's part.

Listen, I think apes are cool bikes and they've made some good examples. The reason I call them second rate is because they don't have a track record of reliability across the product line and their dealer network and parts supply is adequate at best.

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Not arguing with you on that fact. Compared to the Japanese' date=' they lack that sewing machine reliability. On the other hand, they also forgo that Japanese "run of the mill" lackluster. I'll take an RSV4 over a CBR any day of the week.[/quote']

I completely understand the appeal of boutique brands.

But if the extent of this problem is as big as it looks to be, that's a mistake that is downright unforgivable for a manufacturer these days. They lost a lot of credibility with the SXV when they tried to sell a street bike with a race motor.

The RSV4 was supposed to be the bike that put them out there NEXT to ducati as a viable alternative in price, value and performance. They failed to test this bike enough or control component quality and this will be a major hurdle.

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Let's see.

RSV4-R/Factory (apparently bad?)

Tuono

RSV-R

RSV Mille

Shiver 750

Mana 850

RS125

RS250

RS50

SXV 4.5

SXV 5.5 (bad)

SX50

SX125

ETV1000 Caponord

Pegaso 650

Aprilia Futura

Dorsoduro 750

RSV Tuono 1st gen

I've listed the so called "bad-apples". Yes, I see a distanct lack of a track record here. You're right. :rolleyes:

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