Aprilia Serves Legal Notice To RS457 Owner Who Made Videos About Engine Issues
Aprilia hasn't lately been having a good time in the Indian market. The trouble began after the newly launched RS457 started developing issues. Several owners took to social media explaining how they are dealing with the serious issues of the RS 457's powertrain. Several motorcycles reportedly suffered from sudden power drops, engine seizures and complete blow-outs. Among the unhappy owners was Farhan Khan, who did in-depth videos on YouTube, explaining his grievances. In his latest video, Farhan reveals that the company served him a legal notice for making videos on RS457 issues.
In the video, Farhan explains that Aprilia has sued him for defamation. He explains that he has no intention to defame the brand, as he himself is a fan of it. In fact, he even owns a couple of Aprilia scooters.
He had to take things to social media so that people stay aware of the issues that are there on the RS457, and wants the brand to listen to the customers, get the issue sorted and work on improving the bike's reliability. He also accuses the RS457's brakes to be 'dangerous'.
Aprilia, in the notice, has blamed Farhan of producing a forged letter to willfully defame the brand and show the motorcycle as troublesome. The Youtuber, however, dismisses this a hoax and reaffirms that the letter was 100 percent original.
The brand also mentions in the notice that Farhan had used 'an unauthorized device called 'Fuel-X Pro' and the same could have caused the issue. The notice also blames him for using the motorcycle for aggressive riding and reckless, illegal racing.
In their official statement around the RS457 issues, Aprilia had put the blame on modifications and poor service practices. Interestingly, most of the affected bikes were kept stock, and this questions the sheer credibility of this explanation!
Farhan Khan's RS457 Issues: More Details
Farhan says that he has had a really tough time with the RS457. He allegedly had to struggle to get the service staff convinced that his motorcycle had developed a massive power drop. He explains it in the video.
His motorcycle developed a power drop when he was out on a ride. To get this conveyed to the technicians, he apparently had to take the motorcycle to the highway and ride it alongside the demo bike from the dealership.
He also says that the fuel efficiency dropped to single-digit numbers, and he had to spend much on fuel during the test runs. Plus, he also had to take it to the highway for testing performance. Farhan says that he had to pay hefty speed ticket penalties as well- all to just get the issue sorted. He allegedly had to spend over Rs 10,000.
The YouTuber then says that his motorcycle sat in the garage for about two months, waiting for parts. He says that the dealership asked him to get the (second) service done, when he reported the issue for the first time. He agreed and got the service done. Furthermore, he even got the engine head replaced, ECU updated and even got the oil and consumables replaced completely. He accuses that even the engine replacement got delayed a lot and he was kept waiting.
Once the engine was replaced, he even made a video thanking the dealer for their efforts. However, the story did not end there. The motorcycle soon started developing issues soon. Soon it was plagued with weird tensioner sound. This time, the dealer allegedly refused to accept the vehicle had developed fresh issues. Farhan say he got the tensioner replaced somehow and sold the bike off, due to Aprilia's poor service support.
Bottomline
It is indeed scary to find so many issues surfacing on a motorcycle as sweet as the RS457. It is high time that Aprilia, as a brand, started addressing the grievances of these owners the right way, and more importantly, improve the 457 lineup's quality and reliability levels.