Discussion
Anyone on here got a RS 660?
I’m thinking about trying to snap up a winter bargain and buy a 2022 model as there are still a few around.
My nearest dealer is 30 miles away so, apart from the usual run in service messing about, am I mad to assume the early teething issues have been fixed?
Italian style or Italian hassle?
I’m thinking about trying to snap up a winter bargain and buy a 2022 model as there are still a few around.
My nearest dealer is 30 miles away so, apart from the usual run in service messing about, am I mad to assume the early teething issues have been fixed?
Italian style or Italian hassle?
We have a Tuono 660, which for all intents and purposes is the same bike as the RS.
I absolutely love the thing. It’s such a sweet little bike to ride, the only shortfall being the slightly cheap suspension, but that wouldn’t put me off one.
I’m actually fancying an RS myself to go alongside my V4.
If you would consider a low mileage used one, Teasdale’s at Thirsk have a couple in stock, and at least 1 of them has the Akra system on it.
I absolutely love the thing. It’s such a sweet little bike to ride, the only shortfall being the slightly cheap suspension, but that wouldn’t put me off one.
I’m actually fancying an RS myself to go alongside my V4.
If you would consider a low mileage used one, Teasdale’s at Thirsk have a couple in stock, and at least 1 of them has the Akra system on it.
I bought an RS660 back in March of this year. Similarly, my nearest Aprilia dealer is about 30 miles away too.
Thankfully I've only had to go the once so far, for its first service/run in service. A fairly pricy ~£230 at 400 miles.
~1600 total miles done now throughout the year, all trouble-free. Brilliant bike, really pleased with it.
There's quite a lot on the owners forums about various oil leak issues with the 660 model line, but mostly from what I've seen the overwhelming majority of these seem to have came from questionable Aprilia dealerships dotted around the US that probably didn't go through great pre-delivery inspections. It could simply be many more have been sold in the US that elsewhere, but it's the general trend I've noticed. Typically the newer 2022 model year bikes onwards appear more reliable, issues with things like the quickshifter slipping off the spine etc. appear resolved.
For me, it's my only bike and I don't rely on it for daily commuting or anything like that, it's just a bit of fair weather fun so I wont be putting big miles on, and it wont be the end of the world if its ends up back at the dealer under warranty for a few weeks due to some unexpected issue. Like most owner forums, I believe the issues are largely blown out of proportion and the owners with problems always shout the loudest. I will be extending the Warranty for an extra 2 years when the time comes, with recent costs for that at circa £400 for peace of mind.
Thankfully I've only had to go the once so far, for its first service/run in service. A fairly pricy ~£230 at 400 miles.
~1600 total miles done now throughout the year, all trouble-free. Brilliant bike, really pleased with it.
There's quite a lot on the owners forums about various oil leak issues with the 660 model line, but mostly from what I've seen the overwhelming majority of these seem to have came from questionable Aprilia dealerships dotted around the US that probably didn't go through great pre-delivery inspections. It could simply be many more have been sold in the US that elsewhere, but it's the general trend I've noticed. Typically the newer 2022 model year bikes onwards appear more reliable, issues with things like the quickshifter slipping off the spine etc. appear resolved.
For me, it's my only bike and I don't rely on it for daily commuting or anything like that, it's just a bit of fair weather fun so I wont be putting big miles on, and it wont be the end of the world if its ends up back at the dealer under warranty for a few weeks due to some unexpected issue. Like most owner forums, I believe the issues are largely blown out of proportion and the owners with problems always shout the loudest. I will be extending the Warranty for an extra 2 years when the time comes, with recent costs for that at circa £400 for peace of mind.
I bought a 2022 stars and stripes RS660 back in July. I've got almost 2000 mile on it now and the only issue I had was the shifter came off the splined shaft (as mentioned above) after only 100 miles. Aprilia have recognised this fault and replaced the shifter lever.
I haven't had any oil leaks and as a matter of course I tightened all of the engine cover bolts to 12Nm as per the specification, as some owners claim that these are only around 6Nm when leaving the factory.
As for the bike itself, I think it's fantastic. 100BHP is more than enough for making good progress on the roads and seems the sweet spot (for me anyway) as to not be over / under powered. The brakes have loads of feel, the riding position is relatively comfortable for a sports bike (did 900 mile in 3 days up Scotland with no aches), the weight of the bike isn't excessive and makes for good handling. I personally find the suspension ok, but some owners have changed the rear shock to improve the handling. Fuel economy is good (averaging 65mpg) and servicing schedule isn't too bad with only being a parallel twin. Exhaust is quiet at start, but the engine and exhaust make a lovely sound reminiscent to the V4 when opened up.
My only complaint so far is the paint seems thin as I already have a load of stone chips on the fairings, and the paint finish on the swingarm isn't too pretty. Also, I still have the rear brake "squeal" (look it up) but these are being picky.
I haven't had any oil leaks and as a matter of course I tightened all of the engine cover bolts to 12Nm as per the specification, as some owners claim that these are only around 6Nm when leaving the factory.
As for the bike itself, I think it's fantastic. 100BHP is more than enough for making good progress on the roads and seems the sweet spot (for me anyway) as to not be over / under powered. The brakes have loads of feel, the riding position is relatively comfortable for a sports bike (did 900 mile in 3 days up Scotland with no aches), the weight of the bike isn't excessive and makes for good handling. I personally find the suspension ok, but some owners have changed the rear shock to improve the handling. Fuel economy is good (averaging 65mpg) and servicing schedule isn't too bad with only being a parallel twin. Exhaust is quiet at start, but the engine and exhaust make a lovely sound reminiscent to the V4 when opened up.
My only complaint so far is the paint seems thin as I already have a load of stone chips on the fairings, and the paint finish on the swingarm isn't too pretty. Also, I still have the rear brake "squeal" (look it up) but these are being picky.
STe_rsv4 said:
the only issue I had was the shifter came off the splined shaft (as mentioned above) after only 100 miles. Aprilia have recognised this fault and replaced the shifter lever.
They may have replaced the shifter leaver but they most certainly have not recognised the problem. I've seen on PH and elsewhere the same thing happening to V4s for a long time. On the V4s it can gouge the frame and Aprilia seem willing to provide a new frame under warranty. Given the cost of that its incredible to still hear it happening.I've been following a Canadian with a new 660 and the last issue I saw was the oil filter adapter being loose. Not sure if that's the right description but its the bit that mounts to the engine that the oil filter screws into. The retaining nut was finger tight. That wouldn't be picked up in any dealer pdi, its a pretty serious issue with QC at the factory.
trickywoo said:
I've seen on PH and elsewhere the same thing happening to V4s for a long time. On the V4s it can gouge the frame and Aprilia seem willing to provide a new frame under warranty. Given the cost of that its incredible to still hear it happening.
That will have been me.It was the bolt that holds the QS on to the shift lever that had backed itself out and pushed the QS body towards the frame which resulted in some relatively minor gouging.
To be fair to Aprilia and the supplying dealer they dealt with it great. Aprilia had shipped a brand new frame to the dealer within 4 or 5 days of the claim being made. I didn’t have that new frame fitted to the bike, but that was my choice and I received another form of compensation from the supplying dealer in lieu of it.
Just in case anyone else sees this. I would recommend taking that bolt out, applying a little thread lock to it before refitting.
airsafari87 said:
trickywoo said:
I've seen on PH and elsewhere the same thing happening to V4s for a long time. On the V4s it can gouge the frame and Aprilia seem willing to provide a new frame under warranty. Given the cost of that its incredible to still hear it happening.
That will have been me.It was the bolt that holds the QS on to the shift lever that had backed itself out and pushed the QS body towards the frame which resulted in some relatively minor gouging.
To be fair to Aprilia and the supplying dealer they dealt with it great. Aprilia had shipped a brand new frame to the dealer within 4 or 5 days of the claim being made. I didn’t have that new frame fitted to the bike, but that was my choice and I received another form of compensation from the supplying dealer in lieu of it.
Just in case anyone else sees this. I would recommend taking that bolt out, applying a little thread lock to it before refitting.
The hole position was drilled too low therefore the bolt was not locking into the U groove in the splined shaft which would prevent it sliding off even in the event the pinch bolt became loose.
My Aprilia dealer had to replace this part under Warranty. When I showed him the various other users on FB that were having this same issue he pulled out a letter acknowledging this problem and the recall for it.
STe_rsv4 said:
My Aprilia dealer had to replace this part under Warranty. When I showed him the various other users on FB that were having this same issue he pulled out a letter acknowledging this problem and the recall for it.
Slightly off-topic, but still kinda relevant -I don't suppose you know if these "recalls" are published anywhere do you?
I've had my Aprilia, from a main dealer, from new, so they have all things like my Postal and Email address that I'd expect to receive communication on. I frequently see on the owner groups various bits and pieces for recall work (though again, it's far more regularly US customers than UK). I haven't even come across a portal I could pop the bikes VIN into to check.
Does the bike world just operate differently, and recalls aren't really recalls, or aren't communicated directly to owners (and instead maybe just go to service centres to check for people during routine maintenance)?
In the car world, Mercedes for example, would send me a postal letter if there was a recall item or something they had to check so I could book in with their service centre. They also have the MercedesMe site where such things can be checked.
CallorFold said:
I don't suppose you know if these "recalls" are published anywhere do you?
There's an online service which covers "official" recalls:https://www.check-vehicle-recalls.service.gov.uk/r...
There's no requirement for manufacturers to use that service if it's not a safety issue though. You could also find that they're just being a bit slow to publish and contact owners.
Best bet is just ring the dealer if you're worried
I've found this website very useful
https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls
I know its US based but they seem more likely to issue recalls than the UK sometimes
Not only does it show recalls but also complaints, service bulletin's and dealer communication.
You can view and download the relevant service bulletin's.
5 results show up for the 660 range, didn't go through them all but there is one for the shift lever and you can check the service bulletin, looks like the modified lever has a longer slot to clamp better.
Quick snapshot, not sure how to attach the .pdf
https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls
I know its US based but they seem more likely to issue recalls than the UK sometimes
Not only does it show recalls but also complaints, service bulletin's and dealer communication.
You can view and download the relevant service bulletin's.
5 results show up for the 660 range, didn't go through them all but there is one for the shift lever and you can check the service bulletin, looks like the modified lever has a longer slot to clamp better.
Quick snapshot, not sure how to attach the .pdf
CallorFold said:
STe_rsv4 said:
My Aprilia dealer had to replace this part under Warranty. When I showed him the various other users on FB that were having this same issue he pulled out a letter acknowledging this problem and the recall for it.
Slightly off-topic, but still kinda relevant -I don't suppose you know if these "recalls" are published anywhere do you?
I've had my Aprilia, from a main dealer, from new, so they have all things like my Postal and Email address that I'd expect to receive communication on. I frequently see on the owner groups various bits and pieces for recall work (though again, it's far more regularly US customers than UK). I haven't even come across a portal I could pop the bikes VIN into to check.
Does the bike world just operate differently, and recalls aren't really recalls, or aren't communicated directly to owners (and instead maybe just go to service centres to check for people during routine maintenance)?
In the car world, Mercedes for example, would send me a postal letter if there was a recall item or something they had to check so I could book in with their service centre. They also have the MercedesMe site where such things can be checked.
http://static.piaggio.com/recall/form-aprilia_en.h...
tinhead said:
I've found this website very useful
https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls
I know its US based but they seem more likely to issue recalls than the UK sometimes
Not only does it show recalls but also complaints, service bulletin's and dealer communication.
You can view and download the relevant service bulletin's.
5 results show up for the 660 range, didn't go through them all but there is one for the shift lever and you can check the service bulletin, looks like the modified lever has a longer slot to clamp better.
Quick snapshot, not sure how to attach the .pdf
Ah that's really useful, thanks!https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls
I know its US based but they seem more likely to issue recalls than the UK sometimes
Not only does it show recalls but also complaints, service bulletin's and dealer communication.
You can view and download the relevant service bulletin's.
5 results show up for the 660 range, didn't go through them all but there is one for the shift lever and you can check the service bulletin, looks like the modified lever has a longer slot to clamp better.
Quick snapshot, not sure how to attach the .pdf
Gassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff