[b16h22]

Originally Posted by SR1602

A friend of mine did some investigation about this. The stock pads are the ultra-budget brembo variants and there's a more premium variant that costs around 8.5k at a store in Bengaluru. I'll of course go for a fluid change before considering expensive pad options to see if it provides the fix for any problems that should arise. No complaints thus far on the brakes, they are doing a very good job I'd say

Why not try the EBC HH sintered pads? From my person experience, these are all the pads you need for road and even track riding. They don't fade and keeps their vicious bite even after a long day of riding. They also cost lesser than the Brembo pads you are talking about. They've saved me from many a dogs and human beings on the road.

[extinctdodo99]

Hey buddy, is there a specific suggested fuel to be used as per the manual? Like is 91 octane sufficient or does the manual recommend 95 octane?

[SR1602]

Originally Posted by extinctdodo99

Hey buddy, is there a specific suggested fuel to be used as per the manual? Like is 91 octane sufficient or does the manual recommend 95 octane?

There's no recommended octane rating in the manual, it just says E20 fuel. The compression ratio is 10.5:1 so it should run perfectly fine on normal petrol. I did try a tank full of XP95 and didn't notice anything different. Switched to standard petrol after that.

[extinctdodo99]

Hey, just a quick question. I also got my RS457 delivered today and i only got an owner's manual (120pgs with three free service coupons) ; when i enquired about a service manual, they said it only comes with the owner's manual. Was this the case with you too?

[b16h22]

Originally Posted by extinctdodo99

Hey, just a quick question. I also got my RS457 delivered today and i only got an owner's manual (120pgs with three free service coupons) ; when i enquired about a service manual, they said it only comes with the owner's manual. Was this the case with you too?

Pretty much 99% of modern motorcycles don't come with a service manual. You will be lucky if you get an owner's manual as a lot of manufacturers are moving onto online based manuals. Some owner's manuals are more detailed than others with minor DIY checks and procedures.

[VijayAnand1]

Potential Issue
-----------------
Came across this informative First Service by MaxxPace where some bikes seem to have been afflicted by battery draining even with ignition off, caused by faulty TFT display and per the video it seems replacement units are already being installed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLkeCAOW1i4

Cheers!
VJ

[maverick029]

Originally Posted by SR1602

P.S. Apologies for all the dirt trapped in some of the pictures. It's been raining on and off here in Chennai and I'll be giving her a proper cleaning once the clouds have entirely vanished.

1. How is the space on the pillion seat? Is it satisfactory enough to take someone on long rides?
2. Does it kick up mud towards the pillion seat in the rain?
3. How was the service experience for you?

[VijayAnand1]

Came across an interesting Dyno. Probably the first independent guy to do so for the 457. Exceptionally contained transmission losses when we talk about actual power output. Though torque is down a little bit, the actual fat torque curve makes up for it. In short, for a stock motor, damn this thing has punch and panache!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdB1GJQY0TA

Cheers!
VJ

[SR1602]

Originally Posted by maverick029

1. How is the space on the pillion seat? Is it satisfactory enough to take someone on long rides?
2. Does it kick up mud towards the pillion seat in the rain?
3. How was the service experience for you?

1. It's as bad as any sportsbike so won't recommend doing that.
2. YES! It kicks up a lot of mud. It's all over the rear seat every time I am home from a rainy ride.
3. Covered below.

Hey everyone, sorry for the absence. My new office is 33km away from home, so I am still adapting to the new routine. I'll try to put periodic updates here as much as I can.

First service done at 1000 km-

To reiterate again, the service experience was a significant concern in my head long before I even got the bike and the google reviews for my showroom were only making things worse. However, the actual service experience turned out to be pretty good. I dropped the bike off around 1:30 in the afternoon and it was ready the next day by 4 in the evening.



The 457s get a dedicated service bay as expected which are more well-equipped than the ones for the scooties.





The total bill came to 4070, which I think is decent. This is a free service so I expect the bill to go up to 6000 with the labour charges included. I know this is an expensive bike and all but that oil filter price legitimately made me gasp when the receptionist handed me the bill

The bike felt like a whole new beast after the service. Much smoother, much more eager to lunge forward and just feels better on the whole. I still have to restrict the RPM to 9k till I complete 2000 km but the last 1500 RPM barely have any more juice left.

Purchased a few accessories-

I purchased the rear seat cowl a week before the first service itself. I was initially surprised that it was so cheap at just 1500 rupees and soon I understood the reason why. It feels decently well built but the surface finish quality is just downright poor. It has a rough matte surface that is an absolute scratch magnet. I am planning to get it carbon-dipped or just cover it with vinyl because it looks really bad when you see it up close.





I do like its silhouette though and despite not being body coloured as is the case with seat cowls normally, I think it goes well with the overall design.

Now for the accessory that I had been really eager to try out, the quickshifter. My original plan was to get it fixed with the first service itself so I placed the order when the bike had done about 800 km with the information from the SVC side that it'll be here max to max in 2 weeks. But Aprilia decided to pull off an Aprilia yet again. Despite placing the order with an advance payment of 15000 a good 10 days before the service, I didn't get it by the time the service was done.

I was a little dejected because I was eager to try it out during the ride that I would go on 2 days after the service was done but no problem. I checked again before the next weekend started hoping I'd be able to test it out this time but nope again. The service centre guys had no update from Baramati regarding the dispatch. Now I was losing patience and sent an email escalation to Aprilia that it's been 3 weeks since I paid the advance for my part and they still haven't sent it. They didn't even bother to respond to that mail for 4 days straight. Then I call them and despite clicking the number that's meant for "superbikes", the guy picks up and says the people taking care of the RS457 are different and that they'll call me back within 24 hours. That entire week I was the only one who kept calling them every day but never got a call back despite highlighting every time that I am being told the same thing but not getting a call back. On Friday, the 5th of July, I got a call from the showroom manager himself who I am on good terms with that the quickshifter had reached the showroom and that I can get it installed whenever I want. I still didn't get any call back from the customer care team.



It took a total of 2 hours to install and is now cheaper by 8k. I paid just a little over 21,000 including labour charges. Coming to the actual usage, it only works smoothly beyond 4k and doesn't work when you are upshifting from 1st to 2nd. I did try to shift from 1st to 2nd without the clutch to see what happens and although it does seamlessly shift, it gets stuck when you are trying to go from 2nd to 3rd and forces you to use the clutch and make that shift so I am guessing it doesn't slot in properly. If you clutchless shift without the throttle open or under 4k, it gives you a little jerk but does shift.

I have never ridden a bike with a quickshifter before but I expected it to be clutchless everywhere and expected it to be a little more seamless in lower RPMs based on all the Youtube videos I have seen. When I am going full gas, boy does it feel exhilarating but this lower RPM behaviour and the fact that you can't use it from 1st to 2nd kinda left me wanting more. Please do correct me if I am having wrong expectations.

More than the quickshifter itself, I am unexpectedly in love with the auto-blipper. Never did I imagine banging down the gears without having to use the clutch to carefully modulate the engine braking would feel so good. Of course, I do like to use the clutch sometimes, but I let the unit do the job most of the time now.



And the last minor accessory I got was this nifty bike cover by BykeIt. There's no way I was spending 18k for the OEM cover and this came out as a viable option. It's good quality and also has condensation vents next to the handlebar which I believe is going to come in very handy when the Chennai monsoons start.

A few pictures I took over the last month -





Ride to Mahabalipuram with some friends which was the first non-solo excursion I had on the bike.





Random construction site on ECR on a solo ride again to Mahabs.



Outside the entrance to Tada-Ubbalamadugu falls. This was a very relaxed and chill ride where I saw the best mileage figure of 28.6 kmpl through the ride.



At the office parking. I made it a habit to take the bike to work at least once a week so that I get more used to it and it's a good workout as well



This bike hates the rain! Mud and silt get trapped everywhere if you take it out during downpours but damn it looks good all drenched and wet!

[b16h22]

Originally Posted by SR1602

The total bill came to 4070, which I think is decent. This is a free service so I expect the bill to go up to 6000 with the labour charges included. I know this is an expensive bike and all but that oil filter price legitimately made me gasp when the receptionist handed me the bill

Looks like Aprilia decided to recover the profits lost by not pricing the bike for a premium, through the service route . 1000 bucks for an oil filter of a bike that's made in India? 350 for the chain lube? did they use a whole can of lube on that chain. I hope their service experience at least makes up for the premium cost of ownership..

[Ratan Prabhu]

Originally Posted by b16h22

Looks like Aprilia decided to recover the profits lost by not pricing the bike for a premium, through the service route . 1000 bucks for an oil filter of a bike that's made in India? 350 for the chain lube?

I personally think the overall prices are ok considering the engine oil + oil filter change interval is once a year or 12,000 kms (compulsory in 1st service ofcourse).

So even if you would like to change oil sooner, the oil filter can be changed once a year. And chain clean and lube usually costs 200-250 rupees for regular single cylinder bikes at ASC so 350 by Aprilia isn't too bad but can be avoided by telling them not to do it as most of us have paddock stands and can do it ourself once every month / every 1000 kms or sooner.

I'm curious how much the paid labour charges would be after the first 3 free services. Maybe Rs. 3000. But for a 5+ lacs on road costing bike, it is expected.

On a seperate note - Came across this 2nd service video (6000 kms service). Total cost was 5k including air filter change :

https://youtu.be/vGf8o8LTgYk?si=jKuyzxxODsab7rwZ

[b16h22]

Got a chance to ride a friend's RS457 for a short distance and it is fair to say that I'm smitten That powerplant alone is worth it. I hope they plonk this 457 motor in a naked and an ADV as well. The powerband, response, exhaust note and intake growl is addictive. Honestly, this is all you need in India. With throttle response in sport mode, it almost felt a bit scary to ride in a highway with decent traffic. Gearbox was a bit clunky but I found the stock gear lever position too tall and this meant longer throws and foot movement. Should help if it is adjusted to a lower position.

Also got a chance to check out the Thrissur Aprilia/Vespa showroom which afaik is the sole distributor right now in the middle region of Kerala. A small showroom honestly and didn't instill confidence. But they are shifting to Mannuthi, near the Highway so at least there is some activity from their side to cater to the premium customers.