aprilia lost another customer

[stews mille]

i too am done with aprilia! i took my bike to get work done at the dealership where i bought my bike. it kept shutting off after i rode it for a half hour. it seemed like there was something wrong with the air fuel lines so i had it checked.after the service dept. had it starting again it was revving high so they took it apart again and found out the check off valve going to the throttle bodies was not functioning right. it was replaced and reassembled again and started up and idled normal. while fine tuning it theres a metal clanking noise coming from inside the engine, which i found out was an alien metal object had fallen inside my engine. i was called and told about the situation and was made to believe it was my fault. after talking to Ken Zeller at EVO and Bill Himmelsbach at blackmans it was concluded that if i had gotten metal in the engine it would have been come to light . so i called Cory at Aprilia who dropped the work onto a guy named Richard whom i spoke with and his response was that since the bike was no longer undre warranty and since so many hands were in my engine there is no way they can help me . based on the mods i had done they say they cant pinpoint who fouled it up or where the metal came from. they say the metal could have come in from the air ducts through the air filter then into the throttle bodies and into my engine, then just sat there until the mechanic worked on it for three days dismantled it twice and then finally fell into the engine. he also discredited Ken and Bill and said they arent authorized Aprilia techs and that the parts i bought from Ken could have caused it. IE the hi po race kit. he also said that Bill who works on the race engines is a LOCAL tuner who does his own work on his race bikes and that it is not through aprilia. Richard is a real DICK. thank GOD my dealer is working with me to resolve this problem. the tech said mistakes can happen and he is a good man . its a shame that aprilia the company isnt as supportive as the LOCAL aprilia dealers. maybe the local guys are enthusiasts and the corporate head honchoes are just money hungry. either way thank God my ealer also sells Honda, hurry up with the 1000 rr please.APRILIA has a good bike but like many other companies they start on the right path see the dollar signs and forget what the initial prize was. now instead of setting out to create a wonderful bike the only want to create revenue. a company must support its product and stand by its patrons or if they keep ignoring and misusing them they'll loose them. like i said they just lost me now to figure what to do with the downpayment i was going to make on the 2004

[Smoke Eater 41]

Aren't rants fun to read. You have some valid arguments but I wouldn't give up on the bikes.

[stews mille]

i really love my bike. ihave alot of money into it and want to ride it. i was so ready to buy the 2004 as soon as it came out but i believe in customer support. ive owned my own business and have always gone out of my way to ensure the total satisfaction of my customers no matter if they were spending a little or a lot.i want my customers to be happy. richard couldn't have given a hoot about my problem. all he did was find ways to place fault on me and the after market tuners items. if aprilia fires DICK and gets more involved in its customer support then granted i will surely stay but ifs never count for anything.

[Bill in OKC]

There are a lot of scarey dealerships out there. I know I would be sick if the same thing happened to me. Can you identify the offending screw? If you could do that it might shed some light on the issue.

[97sb6]

I have a complete engine and a dissasembled engine if you need parts.


John westernhook@uswest.net

[King Atlas]

Unfortunately, I've heard very similar complaints from customers of most makes...even Honda. It's a business for all of them. It's always about the buck. Don't be too hard on Aprilia.

[rsvmiller1]

I too have given up on repairing or servicing my bike with dealers.

When I bought my Mille R, it was used and had approximately 10K miles on it. When I asked the salesguy (Ed, now with Motorcycles UnLTD, and rumor has it he will be buying a BMW dealership too), if the major service at 9300 miles was done, he said yes. When I asked about the forks being serviced he said yes. When I asked if the bike was ever raced, he said no.

I road the bike for a bit and felt the suspension was not right. So when I took it to DesMoto, they said the internals of the forks were almost black, chunky chocolate milk and smelled really bad. Lie #1. I found out one of my friends knew the previous owner and the bike was used as a track bike for almost 2 years. Lie #2 I also changed the plugs when doing the mods from EVO and found 4 charred plugs, meaning the major service was not done. Lie #3.

Ken thought I was a crazy fool for driving almost 400 miles to drop it off at his shop for servicing my bike (and almost 400 miles back home). I may be a fool, but I trust Ken's work and will have the confidence of knowing that my bike's work was done right.

I'm going to get my bike this weekend. Can't wait.

Don't lose the bike. Aprilia, the company may suck, but the bikes are awesome.

My story and I'm sticking to it.

[splatgirl]

Someone mentioned something a while ago about being careful when removing the airbox (the whole thing, not just the top) because there are some metal screw inserts or spacers or something that can easily fall out of the holes and into the stacks/intake. It happened to their bike....and it sounds a lot like what might have happened to yours....? A possibility to consider if you're looking for cause/fault.

Splat

[stews mille]

they cant tell what it was a screw or a bolt or what but there is nothing missing from my engine. all the pieces are there and no bolts screws or nuts are missing. this is why i think something fell into the engine while it was apart, or one of the younger staff was playing some silly game and dropped something in it.

[redrsv]

I agree!! They su-k real bad!
They "Aprilia" put the best dealership I've ever seen in 20+yrs of riding out of business cause of there dumb ass scooters. Were talking about a real bunch of morons here! They make great bikes but eveything else is second class. I have 5,000. miles on my bike and no problems so far. This is they best sport bike for me!
Personally I woun't let anyone touch my bike unless its something I can't handle myself. I have a great Duck dealer that works on my bike if needed.
You can always get a new bike but, it I were you, I would make so much noice they will fix your bike to shut you up.
Evo. stuff is top notch stuff, they have alot of balls to tell you that stuff.
Steve L
01 Mille, (Sofia)
03 Road King (Bertha)

[HotRSVR]

Stews mille,

Who did the modifications to your bike? And when was the "alien metal object" found? Was it after a repair? Perhaps the mechanic is who is at fault. What were you expecting Aprilia to do? Clean up someone's f@#$ up? I had a similar incident happen on my modified Triumph, and Triumph told me it was between me and the dealer. Not what I wanted to hear, but a fact nonetheless. I had a lawyer contact the dealer and you know what? They corrected their mistake.
How can you blame Aprilia for what is either your mistake or the mechanic's? Duh...think before you rant!

[cornerspeed]

Someone give stews mille a tissue!!
Kudos to you, splatgirl and HotRSVR....everyone wants something for free.
Does anyone smell that? It smells like SQUID!
:rollin:

You want to play, you gotta pay

[Bill in OKC]

If this was my bike I would tear the thing down myself (can't hurt it now right? ) or find an impartial mechanic and find whatever piece is in there that shouldn't be. Nothing like that could get through the air filter without a sized hole in it. If it is not in the cylinder then it might still be in the exhaust system.

[RSVFAN]

Sounds like a rant until it happens to you. I know, it happened to me. And it is happening more and more. Do you really think you have a warranty? If you have a good dealer that will fight for you then maybe you will get things fixed under the warranty. If not, you will be SOL! I have accepted the fact that if something fails it is coming out of my pocket. I wouldn't waste my time talking to Aprilia.

The bike is good, but Aprilia the company sucks! Richard is a dick and deserves to be quartered (using Aprilia bikes instead of horses, of course).

There, I feel better now. :lol:

[mhensell]

Not to start an argument but there are risks involved when you begin to change the way a bike was sold from the manufacture. Nearly every modification, though performance increasing, comprimises the integrity of the machine to some degree. Compound that with the fact that you have more hands on her than a French red light district whore. Of course you're pissed. I would be too. But you can't expect Aprilia or their dealers to give everyone the benefit of the doubt because more often than not, it usually is, at least partly, our own faults.

[JMB22]

The warranty applied to the bikes from Aprilia covers manufacturing and/or defective parts replacement. Some items are considered to be a wearing or service replacement item determined by age or mileage. This is outlined in the owners warranty book supplied with every bike from new. All quite fair and reasonable to my way of understanding.
The issue of dealer servicing is where it gets messy, the distributor cannot give directives to the dealer as it is an independent business, therefore liable to fix its own f***ups. If they dont or cant the distributor is looked at to be at fault because it is their appointed retail outlet. If the dealer slags off about the distributor every one says Aprilia sucks, if Aprilia says the dealer sucks they are undermining their own dealer network.
Good dealers are very hard to come by for both customers and distributors to properly service their bikes and brand in general. I think if you have a good local dealer then let everyone know (including Aprilia) so that the business will reap the rewards of its good work rather than the only reports being of crappy dealers/distributors etc. being posted mostly.
Aprilia as a brand seems to be quite good compared with other distributors that I have dealt with in the past, but one thing to remember is that if some one goes to them with all guns blazing the response will not be the one you want generally.

Thankyou for the opportunity to express my opinion.
Dave.

[45 degrees south]

I would have to agree with JMB22. Its the mechanics at the dealership you have to worry about.How would you like to have a Haga replica go in for a 1st service and 'the dumb bunny' cut the breather hoses instead of pushing them through the little holes in the belly pan and they were floating next to the exhaust pipe???!!!!Throwing tantrums does not a problem solve!
How come your bike was out of warranty? Time factor?
The 'alien' object-I would like to see proof of it-did it get munched up? Where is it? Can't produce it-well...... I would be asking SERIOUS questions of peoples and sticky hands where you had the bike stripped. To err is human, to forgive divine, to forget takes a lotta time. Does the dealership have mechanical public liability insurance? Best advice I can give is to focus upon a solution, not the problem.mmmmm, that leads to procrastination! Stick with a bike you love, just be picky and choosey on the rest.

[stews mille]

i first want to address the thread pertaining to the tissue and gatting something for nothing. i've put about 5 grand into my bike over the winter and never blinked an eye. if the bike would have had this problem before it went to the shop or the first time they re-started it then i wouldn't have any problem whatsoever. i'd buy the stage 1 kit and move on. my gripe is that there was never a problem with the engine other than the red check off valve wasn't checking off. the alien object wasn't in my engine for more than a few revolutions of the motor as could be determined by the few rips in the top of the piston head. it also had to be a fairly large object because the initial contact smashed the front of the pistonseverly. all the physical evidence compounded by the description of what took place by the mechanic leads me to believe that this was in effect no fault of mine. there have been two sets of hands in my engine mine and the mechanics. the mods from EVO are fairly simple to install, and i did ride the bike a few times before it began giving me problems, with no engine noise. if anyone out there can force theirself to believe that a metal object found its way in my engine , stayed there two weeks while i worked on getting my front fairing support then another three or four days of me riding it then all of a sudden falls into the engine when its at the shop destroying the top end, well they must also believe in the tooth fairy. my gripe with Richard is that he continually attempted to beat around the bush and find all sort of excuses instead of being honest and conceeding that this was of no fault of my own. if he would have gave me that much and explained that it wasn't an aprilia issue but a dealer issue i would have no gripes with him.my gripe as i've stated is that as an aprilia customer i would like to be treated in a way where i know they care and are willing to assist their customers when issues arise. i offered to take the bike to blackmans and get a second unbiased opinion and if they said it was my fault then i would pay for it. if not then i would have expected aprilia to support me in an attempt to have the dealer correct the problem. ive put a custom paint job on my bike along with the evo hi po race package the ignition amp tigcraftsand a power commander is waiting to get put on once the bike is running right which at that point fast by ferracci will be paid to dyno tune everything in perfectly. so the money was never really the issue its the principal that if i didn't break it and it didn't break on its own then the person responsible should be the ones to fix it. atleast i'll end up with the stage 1 kit in the end either way cause it costs 2300 to fix or 2500 to get the stage one, kinda a no-brainer if you ask me. then again maybe someone out there cant understnd that either. dont need tissues for this issue maybe i just want to ride my bike.:rolleyes:

[stews mille]

i like to play and i paid alot to do so. maybe one day when all this is done and my bikes running we can get together and see if i can get a few of your dollars. like i said i like to play and maybe you wont mind paying to see just how well i do so. CAN ANYONE SMELL THAT ........ SMELLS A LITTLE LIKE PU$$Y.

[Drt Boy]

As service manager of a rather large Aprilia, Honda, Yamaha and Sea Doo dealership, IMHO it's the dealership that has the responsibility in this case. It would be helpful to know the service managers point of view. Aprilia has little control other than to remove their franchise.

Our service department will process more than 1000 work orders this month and the reality is that not every one of those jobs is going to get done correctly. When a dealership service department takes in a modifided bike (or a bike in rough condition) they are taking a chance. Quality of prievous workmanship <span style="text-decoration:underline">can</span> affect the work they do, and when something happens, the prievous mods make placing blame more difficult. As the largest dealership in the area, we look like "deep pockets" to some few folks, and we try to be very careful about what we work on.

Here is a example of what can happen to a dealer: We rarely work on Ducati's, but we took in a Monster for tires. The Monster has this really weird side stand system and one of the bolts was missing. This missing bolt wasn't noticable unless you were looking right at it. Because the bolt was missing, the side stand slipped off as the straps were being removed and the bike did a 180 off the lift onto the shop floor! Now, who's fault is it? The customer didn't know the bolt was gone either and the side stand was working just fine for him ('corse he wasn't changing tires). The Tech's fault? Dealership's fault? Ducati's fault? This has cost us about $3000 so far because we decided it was our fault. The Tech donated his time and we bought the parts. Speaking of Ducati parts, three month wait for the wrong tank, and that sidestand bolt; still on order! We had one machined.

Sounds to me like your dealer is doing right by you.

About dealers: Yes, they are in business to make money. That<em> is</em> what all businesses do. But, motorcycle dealership's aren't the easiesy way to make a buck! When our dealership was distroyed by fire a few years ago the owners could have taken the mulit-million insurance pay out, sold the prime real estate (or put up a strip mall) and eased into a comfortable retirement. But, 12 hours after the fire they had decided they couldn't see their 50 year old family business end like that. So, they re-built a state-of-the-art dealership and hocked everything to do so! Their passion for motorcycles is what keeps them in this business and you will find people like this in most successful motorcycle dealerships.

DB