New (to me) V4

[R1 Dave]

Walter Sobchak said:

R1 Dave said:

It's a shame their quality control is poor as the bikes are fabulous. If I hadn't lost trust in mine I wouldn't have sold it, it was wonderful but I'm riding to the TT this year and just didn't fancy losing my ferry and accommodation money (and missing out) if the Ape broke down.

By comparison I've had Yamahas for over 10 years and the only issue I've ever had was an exup Valve which seized up and that was because I didn't touch it for 5 years, it was on a 28k mile bike so not unreasonable for it to seize.
The quality of the bikes is better too IMHO.

I agree, their quality control is poor, their parts supply and dealer network is poor, overall I've found their actual reliability good though, the trouble is if you do need anything for them it can be a wait and hassle to get.
I've had mostly Hondas and Yamahas before and you just didn't come across these issues, can't blame you for changing to the new R1 it's a brilliant bike!, I considered it myself and the new Fireblade, just have decided to wait and see if Ducati release this V4 next year and if so might move to that instead, as from what I've heard Ducati parts supply and quality control is far ahead of Aprilia, although not quite as good as the big 4.

Totally agree. I had a few minor issues with mine but it had been stood for over a year (previous owners son tragically died in a bike accident so he parked his up) so it wasn't much of a shock to have a few teething issues. It was a great bike, I just lost confidence and got 'the fear'. One of the main things that annoyed me, strange as it sounds, was the stty aluminium fasteners which constantly rounded off. If they couldn't even make those properly I didn't have much hope for the rest of it.

[R1 Dave]

Ho Lee Kau said:

R1 Dave said:

I'm not saying you're right or wrong and the reality is you don't know if you are either, that's why I find some of your posts a little bizarre. I may be wrong but you seem to trawl forums and then post what you find as if they were your own experiences.

I've never owned, e.g a Harley; if there were a thread about them on here I wouldn't spend hours researching them and then post as if I knew about them.

I just find it a bit strange. Maybe it's just me.

No, I never steal others' experiences, I always state that I've read something or heard or seen.
You are surely entitled to your opinion.
If you feel I am bizarre, well, some people here think I am a dikk, fair enough, that's their opinion.
I just said, as always, FOR ME, reading about all these problems on RSV4, I do not feel confident buying this amazing bike.
I've always research before purchase, I knew that for K6 I would need to work on the clutch, but that's simple and cheap. ¨
I did not buy 2006 Fireblade because I've read about generator problems that affect some of them, and my Honda mechanics warned me about this, 2500CHF to replace, I did not feel like chancing it.

See, I am not bizarre at all, just meticulous.

Edited by Ho Lee Kau on Monday 17th April 18:22

I've no intention of calling you a 'dikk' HLK. From reading some more of your posts would it be fair to say that English isn't your first language? I think possibly your writing style gives the impression that you're speaking from a position of knowledge when sometimes you aren't, though I accept that's probably not intentional.

Anyway, no offence and all the best.

[Ho Lee Kau]

R1 Dave said:

Ho Lee Kau said:

R1 Dave said:

I'm not saying you're right or wrong and the reality is you don't know if you are either, that's why I find some of your posts a little bizarre. I may be wrong but you seem to trawl forums and then post what you find as if they were your own experiences.

I've never owned, e.g a Harley; if there were a thread about them on here I wouldn't spend hours researching them and then post as if I knew about them.

I just find it a bit strange. Maybe it's just me.

No, I never steal others' experiences, I always state that I've read something or heard or seen.
You are surely entitled to your opinion.
If you feel I am bizarre, well, some people here think I am a dikk, fair enough, that's their opinion.
I just said, as always, FOR ME, reading about all these problems on RSV4, I do not feel confident buying this amazing bike.
I've always research before purchase, I knew that for K6 I would need to work on the clutch, but that's simple and cheap. ¨
I did not buy 2006 Fireblade because I've read about generator problems that affect some of them, and my Honda mechanics warned me about this, 2500CHF to replace, I did not feel like chancing it.

See, I am not bizarre at all, just meticulous.

Edited by Ho Lee Kau on Monday 17th April 18:22

I've no intention of calling you a 'dikk' HLK. From reading some more of your posts would it be fair to say that English isn't your first language? I think possibly your writing style gives the impression that you're speaking from a position of knowledge when sometimes you aren't, though I accept that's probably not intentional.

Anyway, no offence and all the best.

R1Dave, no problem, I can have a laugh myself.
I see there are some 954 jokes going around, somehow I feel I instigated these.
English is not my mother tongue, correct.
Everything can be interpreted any number of ways, especially online, I do not want to waste time "defending" myself.
I surely have less experience in the saddle than many of the people here, but I've had some experiences and I like to share them.
I like this forum.

[podman]

I was at my local dealer this morning who was working on a V4 at that moment which prompted me to mention your bike, he suggested the possibility that perhaps it was the rear valves that had closed up as the valves are a b'std to get at and check, as a result are often overlooked or not done correctly, even the specialist Aprilla tool for the job he showed me, which he said, was fine for use on the front bank but not quite so the rear, so he modified it to make the job more accurate/easier.

[Renn Sport]

m9rko said:

Mine got to 15k before stting itself

I think the problem is still relitively uncommon, in the grand scheme of things, but all you need to do is google 'RSV4 valve' to see how many bikes (from 2009 to 2016) have had valves go. Best thing you can do is look after it, ride and enjoy it... And hope you're not one of the unlucky ones

okay... I have taken a preventive course of action.



I have deleted RSV4 from my saved eBay searches. Probably going to focus on the new R1 for next year!


yikes!!

[Birky_41]

R1 Dave said:

It's a shame their quality control is poor as the bikes are fabulous. If I hadn't lost trust in mine I wouldn't have sold it, it was wonderful but I'm riding to the TT this year and just didn't fancy losing my ferry and accommodation money (and missing out) if the Ape broke down.

By comparison I've had Yamahas for over 10 years and the only issue I've ever had was an exup Valve which seized up and that was because I didn't touch it for 5 years, it was on a 28k mile bike so not unreasonable for it to seize.
The quality of the bikes is better too IMHO.

I rode to IOM last year on an MV Dragster RR...trust me the Aprilia is like a Honda in comparison! I did a good 1200 miles out there too and hope to do the same this year if I dont crash it at Nurburgring before (Which is another 1000 odd miles there and back I reckon with laps of the ring)

If you want unreliable...try doing the IOM on a Benelli Tornado Tre - damn thing near on blew up on me (still have the pictures)