Should I buy one?

[mikeodial]

Well with all the noise on this forum, I am getting nervous about an impending Aprilia purchase. Is the parts situation really as bad as it seems? What with new technology on the horizon, a change in ownership and a fractured dealer network, what do you advise? The Tuono is the machine in question, which I love.

[vito]

i don't have a crystal ball, but i bought a tuono two years ago and haven't really needed parts. my bike has been great and essentially trouble-free.

[JoeKher]

Buy the bike.

The current problems will get resolved. The only parts you will "need" are oil filters and spark plugs which aren't hard to find!

[ZeroTwoRSV]

If you really want it, buy it. There could be nothing worse than riding around on a bike you don't really love. I don't think parts will be an issue once all the changes to the company are started. There are also enough Tuonos out there that will provide used parts on EBay and the like for a while.

What would you choose instead? Makes that Tuono look good, no ;)

[RFM]

I've had many good bikes from domestic and exotic manufacturers. With the Aprilia I still look back at the bike before I shut the garage door. The others got replaced- this one won't.

[Ricky J]

Mike, if what you're buying is the new 2006 Tuono then you have another couple months before it shows up, right? Hopefully during that wait Aprilia will complete their NYC re-organization, "The Manhattan Project".

[vsgofast]

Despite the problems Aprilia is having, I still love my RSVR anything else is watered down motocrack.

[Kemuri]

Just purchased an '03 RSVR and can't get enough of it. Definitely something about these bikes that just makes them feel different in a wonderful way. I'm a bit sketch on the parts too but on the flip side the bikes have a great rep so provided you don't crash and preform regular service, all should be good. Comes down to your comfort level I guess, risk for headache of Italian or the peace of mind from something like Honda, trade off being somewhere in the joy.

Yeah, I'm sure that helped your thought process. . .


:cheers:

[dbl_aitch]

Buy it. Don't crash it. That's the only reason you'll need parts. Probably...

[evandewan]

Luke; trust your feelings: carving roads on an Aprilia is almost as cool as having a light sabre!
Buy the bike, you'll smile more and look good while doing it!

[olie]

Buy it, just use the current environment as bargaining tool to get a better price.;)

[mikeodial]

Thank you all for the responses. I am back on board.

[RSV_Ecosse]

Get one.

Best thing I ever did, buying into this big Aprilia family.

I just keep asking myself why I didn't do it sooner!!.

The bikes are fantastic, the riders/owners feel passionately about their bikes and this community is unbeatable.

You wont regret it!! :)

[duc slayer]

The biggest thing you need to know about the decline in some aprilia dealerships is that the only one's closing are the shitty one's. These dealers sucked anyway so wouldn't want to deal with them for parts or service. Personally I've got one dealership that's about 35 mi away, it takes a little over an hour to get there because I've got to cross lake champlain on a damn ferry, anywho they suck balls so I "choose" to take an all day excursion and go to a dealership that dosen't have their ass sitting on their shoulders. Long story short ask around about your dealer before you purchase, when you find a good one stick with them and everything will be roses. :cheers:

[RSV_Ecosse]

Good advice, duc slayer, definately.

The guy that services my Mille, isn't a dealer at all. He's a one man operation in a small industrial unit in my local town who knows Aprilia's inside out.

I trust him implicitly with my bike and I like knowing its getting worked on by someone who knows what they are doing, rather than some guy who services bikes in a "generic" manner with a workshop manual in front of him to keep himself right.

Find a good mechanic who you trust, ask around your area about who uses who and how they are, and you should have no trouble at all.

I'm not sure how it works in the USA, but over here in the UK, even if you buy from "Dealer A", you have no obligation to have it serviced under the warranty by them if they turn out to be shite at aftermarket support and servicing. You can have it looked after anywhere you want and it's warranty will still be intact, even if its not being done by the guy you purchased from.:)

[(diet)DrThunder]

Just to give you a frame of reference...cannondale was a much smaller manufacturer of bikes than Aprilia...like by a factor of 20 or so (I made up that number...it's alot). cannondale made some super cool dirt bikes, got over their heads financially, and went tit's-up after only a couple of years.

My point? Even in this "oops I just bought one of those, now what the hell am I gonna do" nightmare scenario, it is no problem at all to get parts for these bikes. The moral or the story is this: if you can get parts for one of those, you have nothing to worry about re: getting enough parts to keep your Mille going, IMHO.

[Dug206]

Buy it! In the very worst case scenario, (Aprilia goes under) which isn't going to happen, you'll have the satisfaction of having owned one of the best bikes ever produced and will be remembered as such. As others have said, the parts situation will work itself out. I'm on my second RSV Mille, raced and track dayed both. I've yet to have a mechanical problem.

You also have a great mechanic and great guy not too far from you. Aaron Clark up in N.H. at Seacoast Cycle. He's on here, you may have talked with already.