People say Aprilias are unreliable !!!!!!!

[Timpo]

Bolllocks....I own 2 Aprilias and I,ve rode the capo more in the wet than dry, esp one day in torrential rain 400+mile for 10 hours in France...

Of course you have sunshine, and that's no different to what I can do on my GSA.
But this thread reads that the Aprilia moto is the end of unreliable European motorcycling spearheaded by BMW GSs, but a look on their Aprilia forum tells different, with, as I expected being Italian moto, electrical problems high on the issue listing. There are a few token fuel injection and engine management problems, and even the odd strange noise and handling probs too........ sounds familiar don't it.
It's Euro manufactured biking for you, and once you've been spoilt by the Jap performance, which is not 100% fault free, we buy Euro bikes looking for some exclusivity and shy away from 'mass' produced bikes, but the price (in fate, not Euros/£) can sometimes cost failure.

Unfortunately, the internet is now a fantastic tool, that information on how 'good' something is can soon be parried by information of faiure and let down. It would be foolish to cast out stories of 100% joy at how toys are the best. A little delving soon has the truth floating to the surface.......
Hooray for the internet.......

For example only:-
http://www.apriliaforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=15&order=desc&page=3

Timpo.

PS. Bollocks only has 2 'l's in.
For information:- http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bollocks

 

[rudiemoto]

now then the word banter comes to mind
timpo chill son ...........we all ride bikes /tractors
i ride a duc999s and a bmw so that makes me a ewan wanabe troy bayliss lookalike



when r u going to come out wid us ewans for a bit of green lanes

 

[rudiemoto]

now then the word banter comes to mind
timpo chill son ...........we all ride bikes /tractors
i ride a duc999s and a bmw so that makes me a ewan wanabe troy bayliss lookalike
View attachment 107619


when r u going to come out wid us ewans for a bit of green lanes

 

[its all poo]

Thanks for that research Timpo as all the terrible probs you found. However they are not quite the same as Brake failure, engine destruction, failing drive shafts, clutches, FPC, Rings ect and they costs far far less.

 

[Neil W]

I love that way that every time someone comes on this site and has the temerity to criticise BMW regarding any manufacturing faults, design faults or early parts failures they immediately come under attack .
As owners a great number of us seem totally blinkered to the faults which seem to follow the introduction of any new BMW model (early 1200's final drives, fuel pumps, valve failures etc or how about the handling problems of the first telelevers, 1100's gearboxes, 1150's final drive bearings etc, even new 800's snapping chains to name a few).
I'm not saying any other manufacturer is any better , I know of a certain organisation that had 6 brand new out of the crate Pan Europeans crushed due to their dangerous handling and no it wasn't he case of bad riders. having witnessed the riding abilities of some of the riders they will without doubt be better than 99.9% of all other riders in the UK.
Some of us seem to be willing to follow BMW whatever the cost , never to criticise them regarding their faux pas in the hope that if you don't say anything it could not have happened and therefore it will not happen to my bike.
Don't get me wrong I love my 1150, its perfect for what i use it for and i will probably end up with a 1200 BUT I'm not blinkered to their faults .

 

[GSTourer]

+1 to that

 

[Neil W]

P.S getting back on track half a dozen of may mates have had or own aprillias, milles x3, falco x1 , futura x1 and Caponord x1, apart from a couple of starter relay faults they have all done quite high mileages and been paragons of reliability. Spares back up has been quite poor mind !

 

[Rushy]

In March 03 I soooo nearly bought a mint Aprilia RST I saw sat in a dealers. I thought it looked fab but in the end I bought a 9mth old 1150GS becuase I thought it would more pillion friendly ( couldn't quite stretch to the recently released GSA that I fell in love with at the NEC 6mths earlier).

I would have loved to have owned the RST for while though.

I can only speak as I find but the GS performed faultlessly for 40k and six years of ownership and apart from pads and oil the only thing it cost me was 1 fuse, a sidelight bulb and the 'trunnion bearings' (is that right ) in the shafty which cost about £75 inc labour, less than a chain & sprocket kit .

Then again so did all my Hondas (about 7), my Kawasaki, one Yamaha, a Suzuki and a BMW K1. Although TBH I dont think I covered much more than 10k on any of them.

 

[Packer]

I love the way a thread lies fallow for almost a year and then someone comes along to inject new life.

 

[SPL]

I've owned an RSV Factory, and currently have an early (03) Tuono in the garage alongside my GS.

I love my Aprilias and have lots of good mates from the RSV forum who feel the same about them, plus I'd take an RSV4 over the S1000RR any day.

The issue with Aprilia is that if they go wrong, the dealer backup and parts delivery can be shocking - leaving you high and dry for weeks on end waiting for a fix.

BMW's advantage is that dealers seem to be able to get approval to sort problems, and obtain the parts, much much faster.

So, the quality of the dealer who looks after you and your bike is a more pertinient comparison that the initial build quality of the bikes themselves.
That's where BMW beats Aprilia hands down (unless you're lucky enough to be near one of the few good Aprilia shops).

My personal experience was that I had a few niggles with the Factory (which was one of the first of a brand new model) but nothing I couldn't handle. However, when the dealer lost their best mechanic, I saw an immediate down turn in my ownership pleasure.
Nobody likes to have to take a bike back after service work because it is worse than before it went in!!!

The Tuono I have now is excellent, and the build quality and durability is (IMHO) superior to my GS.
There is no corrosion on the Arpilia at all, and the paint finish is far better than the BMW.

My GS (which has not had a particularly hard life) has had to have a new engine casing and shaft drive to fix corrosion, a new fork leg seal to stop a leak, plus it's also had the FPC and key antenna done too.

Not good at all for a supposed "rugged" bike of less than 2 years old.

Don't get me wrong, I think my GS is great, but if it wasn't for the excellent service from my local dealer, I'd have chopped it in for something else long ago.

Aprilia being unreliable, and BMW being super reliable (or holding their value), are urban myths propogated by those who won't take a step back and look at the ownership experience objectively.

I would say they are a par with each other, but both a long way behind the Japanese

 

[Rushy]

I love the way a thread lies fallow for almost a year and then someone comes along to inject new life.

Doh ....missed that

 

[Pugsley]

I can honestly say that having My Caponord for over 2yrs and 28k road by me. It has let me down once ( fuel pump wiring ). The Aprilia dealer (Rockets of Blackburn) informed me that it would take 3 weeks to get the wiring from Italy. DOH !!!So I came home and did a internet search and found the the wiring at a Aprilia dealer in Leistershire.!!! Posted next day. Took said wiring to Rockets only to be told they need a O-Ring ( Vitron) which would take at least ten days. so off home again & another internet search. Found one in London At another Aprilia dealers posted next day direct to Rockets. cost of £1.07. Bike then fixed. Took a total of four days. So If you are going to breakdown and need your bike back on the road very quick best get a bike with A GOOD back up. With a dealership that gives a shit about the customer.

The bike it self is A very good bike for the money. Its just a shame its let down by the dealer backup.

45 mpg, 25ltr tank, 140mph. will tour no probs, will go scratch in ya mates R1 etc. will go off road same as the GS..very comfy seat. you just have to replace the chain & Sprockets every so often. Spoke fasteners go rusty. some slight wiring changes need to sort the bike out. otherwise a very competent bike.

 

[rudiemoto]

here here

 

[Borderraider]

Mine was 100% reliable...considering buying another now my licence is a bit more healthy

 

[DrFarkoff]

I'm a BMW fan thru and thru BUT the 1200's leave me cold, Really Really Cold

1150's had good build quality and durability and were functional

1200's have been made lighter and prettier So much lighter that there is now structural duress something like the BAOC Comets???

I have sorted my 4 friends 1200's over the last 3 ~ 4 years and have been dismayed at the levels of corrosion from cheap fasteners and bad paint finish again all a cost and weight cutting exercise

What finally nailed the coffin shut on 1200s for me was a friend Pete's 11960 mile 1200GS that is in my backyard, Pete has a bad form of sleep apnoiea and isn't fit to do his own stuff, so I said I would clean the casing and get it painted change the fasteners and give it a wee fettle!

A few weeks ago I moved her and decided to toodle over to my folks house
She fired up fine settled into that 1200 "beat" and off we went
I went to brake at my folks lane and felt the brake to be dull I reckoned it was glazed from lying out so decided to ride a half mile up the road and back to deglaze it

At that time there were a load of leaves about so I had to be light on the throttle

I was just MARVELLING at how capable and well balanced the bike was and then I made my turn to head home and as I pulled away there was a horrible chattering sound and the bike cut out

Yes the bike had become another victim of right hand valve failure!

I had to get My dad to come up and tow me the half mile back instead of digging out the bike trailer

Circa 5K of 2005 bike now needing another £300 ~ 500 spent on it

Now I am sorry as I said I am an out and out BM fan but these failures despite, in reality being small in comparison to the numbers produced are still way too many! Whats worse a lot of them are dangerous failures!

BM should be standing over these and they aren't


P.S. If you are a 1200 owner and have good miles on it then happy days and the best of luck to you

BUT admit it you regulalrly prostrate yourself before the blue and white emblem begging that it gets ya home don't ya??
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[turnipbmw]

its well documented that the internet has been used to exaggerate the faults on all things - even my new VFR800 would appear to be the most unrelaible nail in the world according to some owner sites.
(although I notice it has twocomputer fans on the regulator !)

I always fancied an Aprilia but, having ridden to the Nurburgring with 3 of them many times over the last 4 years, I could not justify the awful tank range/fuel consumption and rock solid suspension for a bike that gets in the way of my GS on the track.

not heard of any reliabilty issues though

 

[its all poo]

Jaythro well put. Too many of the probs with BMW have no pre warning they just happen. and leave you stranded atr the least. Most of these problems have nothing to do with servicing. Surley known issues that can be fixed realitivly cheaply before they happen are much better. ABS failure, shaft failures ect can not be fixed before they happen as some people experience repeated failures of the same replaced part.

 

[ianboydsnr]

The spragg clutch on the 650's are weak, cheapest place to buy a new one is motoworks

 

[its all poo]

oh er your right was a shock when my mates went !!!!!!!!!!!

 

[chad]

about 10 aprillias sold to about 750000 BMWs sold thre statistics are not in BMWs favour