Aprilia reliability

[hatred]

ever since my Daytona 600 got stolen a month ago, i've been looking for a new bike. on a whim, i stopped into the local ghetto bike shop (which also happens to have Aprilia's tucked away in the corner). anyway, they have some left over '02, '03 and '04s drastically reduced (9000, 9500 and 12000 respectively... all plain old Mille's). my question is this: how maintenance heavy are Aprilia's? i ride about 15,000 to 20,000 miles a year, so i'm always tempted to get a Japanese bike, but i've heard Aprilia's fall into this category. hopefully you guys can share some realistic experience in this area.

[falco]

There was a guy named scott on here that last i heard I think he had over 40,000 miles on his, loves it, no real problems.

I have 9000 on mine Checked valves at 600 miles, in spec, checked over the winter at 8000 miles in spec, I've read a few people with 30,000- 40,000 miles and valves never needed to be adjusted. The suggested check time is every 9500 miles. Its a rotax... I think I'll keep checking mine, but comeon, everything I hear says this thing is bulletproof(not literally)

[Nooj]

The general opinion is that they're built like a brick sh1t house, with the big bikes the plan was to build something as sexy as a Ducati, but as reliable as a Honda, which I think they have done.

[AV8OR]

very good bikes...i luv my mille!!! def a good buy

[chsnprodigy]

ive got 15000 on mine, and the only thing going on it is the clutch....and the chain is going out on it also. This bike is the best of both worlds, keeps running like a jap bike, but handels like a italian dream machine.

[rsvrick]

20K miles on my Mille, with a handful of track days included. It has never needed a valve adjustment (just had it checked this week.) Only problem I've ever had (at about 4-5K miles) was the clutch crapped out on me. Since then only routine stuff (tires, chain, sprockets, etc.) Bought mine new as the "standard", but its an "R" now!

[Murf99]

I have done, at last count, 37 trackdays on my '03 Mille R... 11,000 miles

I have had no problems. Two of the valves were out of spec at the 10k service. I also needed to replace the clutch (the 03 is better than previous, but I use the slipper clutch ALL the time!). Aside from a healthy appetite for tires and brakes, and frequent oil changes (see 37 track days) it has been dead reliable!

Of note, the dealer service tends to cost about twice what it does on Japanise bikes... and the aprilia parts network sucks, especially here in the states.

The Mille R was the best bike I could have bought for the $$$. IMO, the '01-'03 Mille R is the bestperformance bike buy on the market today. I have never regretted the purchase, and it took getting my 05 CBR 600RR to remind me how GOOD the aprilia is (2.2 sec per lap at Blackhawk farms)

[MilleR Time]

same story here, 12,000 miles on my Mille and not a single problem.