[100Kmphormore]

Originally Posted by GTO

Trust the Italians . In India, the most modified cars have historically been Thars, Swifts, Citys, VAGs (VWs, Skodas), BMWs...never once heard the manufacturer officially blaming reliability issues on aftermarket accessories.
Huh? A 1-year old used Aprilia has no warranty coverage for the 2nd owner?

Yes. Same is the case with RE and TVS I think. I sold my RE last year and still get calls for service with the warranty lapse threat because the next owner never bothered to get his details updated. Bajaj, Hero is friendlier on that front.

RE have been a classic example with the Himalayan 450, a frame collapse attributed to aftermarket guards fitment. During the launch year of the BS3 and BS4 Himalayan 411s, "the alternator coils giving out to excess electrical load by aux lights".

[splendor blende]

The YouTuber who posted the viral video of the RS457's engine 'blowing up' while testing it has posted another video where Aprilia has sent a legal notice for defaming the brand.


Attaching the video link below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31O2..._TvnJQ&index=3

[Samarth 619]

Originally Posted by 100Kmphormore

Though not a user of FuelX or technically sound on the details, how can a device which alters air-fuel mixture damage an engine is beyond me. They are becoming even worse than RE at this stage.

There're few ways how such an enhancement can affect the engine.

An excessively rich mixture can result in soot deposits all over the internals of the engine, and an excessively lean mixture can cause excessively high temperatures on the engine.
High temperature within a range by itself is not a cause of short term concern, but temperatures immediately rising in one part of the engine, and the other staying relatively cool, will cause expansion in the hot part of the engine (because metal expands in higher temperature). This may cause minor cracks or other damages. Now, a modern engine is reliable, but physics is physics, ain't no working around it.

An aftermarket exhaust which is of low quality, may burn the exhaust valve of the engine, and disable or interfere with the stock condition electronic sensors on the exhaust.

High flow Air filter upgrades may make the mixture lean, unless the Fi system has a O2 sensor in the exhaust, plus it can compensate to a big extent, which most stock Fi systems don't.
Today's engines are also lot more complicated in terms of electronics, which may also be a center/cause of engine failures.

So, a lot can go wrong. On my Duke 390, all I did was weight reductions. On my Pulsar 208 (it was 180cc when it was stock), I literally modified everything that existed on it, but those times are long gone..

All this reminds me of the statement, Japanese prepare their products so that nothing could go wrong, while Europeans prepare them such that nothing could go wrong... in the course of normal operation.

-----
My advice to Aprilia: If you're seeing stock motorcycles in double digit figures facing problems, then you're the problem, accept it or not. If they're around 5-6, then again there's a high chance.

But it does NOT make you a son of the devil. Life goes on. Things go wrong, even when perfectly planned. You're not the first corporate to have a product problem on their hands. For example, Samsung once kept an exploding phone, The infamous "Galaxy Note 7", in the hands of millions of their customers worldwide and called it back, and in a few months, spotted the problem which was not easily detectable.

Take my advice: call back the bikes, let factory mechanics work on them and spot the problem, issue alternative engine parts, get them factory fitted, and there you go.
In a few years, trust will be retained in the brand, business will go on and people will forget this episode, just like no one remembers Note 7.
But don't compromise on ethics, even if it proves to be expensive. All the Best.

[sab3r2th]

Originally Posted by 100Kmphormore

while MotorInc stopped short of calling them outright unreliable.

That video sure did a number on my impression of them. Didn't expect such a half-informed, lily-livered response from a so-called beacon of automotive journalism. The only reason Aprilia has the guts to try such bs in India is weak consumer protection laws and their enforcement. They would not be pulling this in their actual target market in Europe (where warranty cannot be denied for unrelated mods). But yeah, sure, it's the mods. It was a damn tail tidy that caused the engine issues.

[Trigger636]

I went to the Aprilia Showroom about 6 months after the bike launched. The staff seemed completely clueless about any specs or features of the bike. They did not have a ready answer on absolutely any question I asked them. Then I headed over to their service center and it was a tiny place barely large enough to fit one RS457. It looked more like a personal garage than an official service center. Even there talking to the service executives further deteriorated what little confidence I had left in the brand's ability to handle and maintain the machine. I had hoped it would improve with time. Alas it seems it was not to be.

In the end I got a Yamaha R3 to be the city/touring bike to complement my 2019 ZX6R and I couldn't be happier. I got it at the discounted rate luckily as the initial purchase price was a bit to ambitious by Yamaha in my opinion. Overall I'd rather have a hardy reliable low tech bike anyday over a sophisticated machine that suffers such issues.

To me the problems with the bike itself are not disheartening. New platforms go through such issues. The original Duke's did aswell. That in and of itself is no crisis. But the response from the company has been to solely focus on blaming the customer and washing their hands off their own product is saddening. A video I watched from YouTuber Farhan Khan titled, "Received LEGAL NOTICE from Motorcycle brand for speaking the TRUTH!" furthered my belief that the brand if just focusing on playing the blame game rather than fixing the issue.

[ds.raikkonen]

I've owned the RS457 since Oct'24, have enjoyed every bit of it, the offer on quick-shifter at a discounted price sealed the deal for me.

I have clocked nearly 5000 kms now (mostly city and some highway), primarily solo weekend rides. Service was late by nearly 1000 km as the centre is not exactly nearby and I could not find the time over weekends due to family commitments.

I was already wary of expected initial issues due to this being a highly strung new product by an Italian manufacturer so kept the bike in stock condition and observed the YouTubers going for performance mods, some even for genuinely high end mods like Arrow Pista/SC Project full system exhaust. Also, always went for RON95 fuel and always made sure engine is in optimal operating temperature range before setting off. Service experience was great and Aprilia recommended oil/consumables were already from good brands so did not go for any alternative.

Apart from a few instances where the engine died without any reason (something which happened on my Himalayan 452 as well), the bike has been running without any issues.

My advice to current and prospective RS457 owners is to keep it stock and perhaps get a quick-shifter in case not already installed. The bike is pretty good, even with the stock exhaust. There is nothing in this segment which is quite like it.

[chiefpk]

I am very close to getting the RS457 (has my eyes drooling over it since it launched) and this concerns me a bit. I hope Aprilia resorts to a more professional and peaceful way of settling the claims.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Looks like Aprilia has been paying attention to comments on the warranty:

RS457 and Tuono 457 now comes with an extended service warranty that brings up the commitment to 4 years, 48000kms warranty. Transferrable!

[Axe77]

Great response from Aprilia on both fronts. I am so keen to see Aprilia really build and do well in the entire mass market segment.

They’ve got a brilliant product - if it throws up Italian tantrums, they should back it up with top notch support. A slightly longer warranty and transferability (which honestly should be par for course but anyway) bodes well as to their direction of thinking and should hopefully re-instil some customer confidence too.