FJ09 4- year anniversary

[Salish900]

So great to read a thread like this of people loving their bike and doing cool things. Given our proximity, I'm going to have to see @betoney on the road sometime! I'm still new on my Tracer having just passed 1,000 miles but I'll add that one of favorite things about the bike is that it is a PLATFORM I can do so much with. With the engine as a solid and wonderful base, and the frame geometry fitting me so well, I can then modify and farkle and tweak like @betoney has done to my hearts content. 

Having just moved away from my Aprilia and back to a Yamaha, the whole part of never being left on the side of the road is more important than you may realize if it hasn't happened to you! Yikes. 

 

 

[lospsi]

1 hour ago, Salish900 said:

So great to read a thread like this of people loving their bike and doing cool things. Given our proximity, I'm going to have to see @betoney on the road sometime! I'm still new on my Tracer having just passed 1,000 miles but I'll add that one of favorite things about the bike is that it is a PLATFORM I can do so much with. With the engine as a solid and wonderful base, and the frame geometry fitting me so well, I can then modify and farkle and tweak like @betoney has done to my hearts content. 

Having just moved away from my Aprilia and back to a Yamaha, the whole part of never being left on the side of the road is more important than you may realize if it hasn't happened to you! Yikes. 

 

 

Hey, did you write at Apriliaforum?

I had 4 Aprilias, really good bikes, excellent value and mostly reliable. They need some attention though and a dedicated mechanic.

[Salish900]

10 minutes ago, lospsi said:

Hey, did you write at Apriliaforum?

I had 4 Aprilias, really good bikes, excellent value and mostly reliable. They need some attention though and a dedicated mechanic.

Well, that wasn't my experience. Yes, I was on that forum. My bike was great when it worked, but as you may know there is only one certified Aprilia mechanic in all of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. And he did work on my bike that left me stranded on the side of the road. And took FOREVER. 6 months forever. Because he's the only mechanic in the whole PNW. So if you live somewhere like CA or TX, you may be fine. I also found their engineering to be beautiful but less oriented to reliability. 

I wouldn't agree on value, except in the used market. My take away is owning an Aprilia is not an option in the PNW for reasons of no mechanics and far more difficult DIY procedures. And because so few own them, it is harder to find parts and videos of people doing the things you need to do. My official repair manual was the worst I'd ever seen as well. Left out a lot of needed detail. 

Glad you had good experiences, but mine weren't! 

[lospsi]

 

US owners have problems due to limited experienced mechanics and long distances between them.

I live in Athens, Greece so I had a few mechanics to choose from. You are right, by value I meant in the used market, I generally don't buy new bikes (except once, the Aprilia Caponord 1000 back in 2002).