Tank Slap - Motorcycle Forum

There is a long thread on AF1 Aprilia forum at the moment where someones Tuono V4 has gone pop and Aprilia are refusing a warranty claim as his bike has fitted the OEM - supplied by Aprilia Race ECU and Aprilia are stating that fitting this voids the warranty.

The thread has now been closed as it seems its all about to get legal in court. Bizarre that you could sell something to improve the bike that voids the warranty but is sold by the manufacturer.

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Fancy buying a bike like that and then putting a gazebo on the back of it.

Well fwiw I think Aprilia have a valid point.: The bike is clearly capable of offering ample performance in it's std factory spec'. ( & judging from the picture in the OP then it was being used conventionally).
However if it were to be intended for race use, then the greatest possible performance is sought, at the sacrifice of efficiency & longevity.
If the owner wanted to use it as a conventional road bike, then it shouldn't have been supplied with the race ECU.
If he wanted it as a race bike, then (sadly) race bike engines tend to have a predisposition to fail & the fact that it happened when it was being used on the road does not alter that fact IMHO.

From memory I don't think they're the only company to void a warranty if you fit race parts.

I would assume April is have it written down that fitting the race ecu voids the warranty. Seems a fairly standard type of thing. I also think it's fairly safe to assume that the race ecu wasn't the only modification he made to the bike. How could April is have any control of maps and engine fuel settings etc the owner then made when tuning the bike? Imo it's just as likely whoever tuned the bike caused the engine failure as a fault with the engine.

Hmm. I think I would have changed any non OEM or race stuff back to standard if I'd have had the chance. Given aprilias amazing reputation for service and quality I'm not suprised what's happening.

Not sure of the laws over there but in the uk the sales of goods act can be used for warranty type claims, way after a manufacturers warranty has ended too.

It just means even less people will buy an aprilia so they will lose out long term. Sad the owner loses now.

Common sense tells us the brighter you burn a light the shorter it's life, the race ecu is expected to be used with race maintenance schedules and rebuilds, if the owner expects anything different I think he's going to be disappointed.

The race ECU is what comes with the aftermarket Akra race can that Aprilia sell.

duke63 wrote:The race ECU is what comes with the aftermarket Akra race can that Aprilia sell.

If it is automatically supplied & fitted along with an aftermarket Akrapovic for road or race (road legal approved) then that would make Aprilia liable.
However if it is supplied & fitted with a race exhaust, and then he uses it on the road, my original view remains unchanged.

I'm unsure on the OP.. are you saying he bought the bike brand new and it had the Race ECU fitted unknowingly - or - are you saying he requested the Race ECU and had it fitted straight out the showroom?

If the latter has happened then if they have the written garbage stating that it voids warrenty then he doesn't have a case IMO

If my first question/statement is true then it is solely Aprilia's fault (or the dealership) and either one of those should foot the bill

I dont think ive read a single good thing online about Aprillia service and dealer back up,thats probably why they dont sell many bikes in the UK

A dealership near me tends to only sell Aprilia scooters. They won't let people test ride Aprilia RSV4s or Tuonos unless they have the full value in their hand - that's confidence right there !!

the local kwak dealer near us told me and kwacky they let a guy test ride a zx10r ,it came back with the frame cracked at the weld ,he said he only touched sombodys rear bumper

The mechanic showed me the photo of the bike after the crash. The rider must have been doing at least 100 when the accident happened.

Bmw dealer told me if you put their offical accessory akrapovic race exhaust on you invalidate the warranty.

I think Triumph did the same with the full system they sold on the 1050 speed triple.

Its ridiculous, if you ask me, if you can buy a bike from the factory and it's warranty is invalidated with 0 miles. Then again, what do I know?! Haa

So are bikes with ecu reflashes and power commanders fitted void of warranty ?

I believe you are correct Blade

The ECU amendments alone will void your warranty.