I decide to log in after who knows how long, and see Kruz having one hell of a time. Your experience is why I hate letting anyone touch my vehicles. I do not mount my own tires, so this the exception.

As I am now back in Texas, and actually nearby in Greenville. At what shop did this happen? Want to make sure I avoid them!!

That is correct, Freedom Powersports McKinney part of Ride Now Corporation, they are all over the Dallas/Fortworth area. The final settlement, I received a $770 discount on the carbon OEM wheel their technician broke, my final cost just under $3700 with all parts and assembly labor included at my local BMW dealer. The bike is back together now and I'm loving it but still owe VISA a butt load of money. I am not going to bash Freedom Powersports/Ride Now on this forum but I am hearing from others in the DFW area who have had similar experiences with them, so I'm not alone and I don't recommend using them.

* Last updated by: Kruz on 3/14/2024 @ 9:59 AM *

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I get shit happens, but they should have made it right.

I will not be giving them any of my business.

BTW, after this experience I do not want anyone touching my motorcycles ever again but it's not just motorcycle mechanics, it seems like everything is coming unraveled these days. I had surgery done on my upper left arm on Monday morning by a dermatologist with 31 years experience. The procedure was a wide area excision around a biopsy site that had turned out to be malignant melanoma, i.e. aggressive skin cancer. The dermatologist told me because of the large area of tissue that had to be removed, he would use a plastic surgeon to close the wound site. Bottomline is the dermatologist decided to save the expense and do it himself, it is the worst suturing job I have ever seen, a first year medical student would have done far better, hell, Hub would have done a better job! I'll post pics once I get the sutures removed next week, looks like I am going to be permanently disfigured now.

* Last updated by: Kruz on 3/14/2024 @ 10:19 AM *

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I get shit happens, but they should have made it right.

I will not be giving them any of my business.

Good call, the service manager there turned out to be a real dirt bag when things went sideways. I had been going to them for tire changes since 2015 and they had changed about 80 to 90 tires for me. I still can't understand how an experienced tire tech had never heard of a TPMS sensor and the precautions to observe when working with them.

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Decisions, decisions Hubster, pulled into the local liquor store tonight and the owner recognized me as he's a Harley owner and has seen me out and about on my sportbikes. We got to chatting about bikes and I told him I was on my way tomorrow to see the RS660 Tribute at the Aprilia dealer and maybe pick one up and he said "wait a minute, my son has a 2022 Stars and Stripes Limited Edition Aprilia RS660, only 1500 total sold World Wide with only 610 miles on it and 5 months left on the factory warranty and he's selling it. We exchanged information and the son called me this evening and sent over pictures, bike looks like new but he wants the loan payoff which is $12,000. That's full MSRP for that year and about $500 over a 2024 RS 660 Tribute MSRP with a full 2 year factory warranty. Pluses, very exclusive machine only a few hundred sold in the US and I'll come out about $1000 ahead as I'll have to pay sales tax and title only, no shipping, dealer prep etc. Minuses, two year old machine with only five months of warranty left. I think this might just be the best looking RS660 and commemorates the Aprilia RS660 that Kaleb De Keyrel rode to a championship in Moto America Twins Cup. What sayest the Hub?

* Last updated by: Kruz on 3/14/2024 @ 10:13 PM *

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KruZ, kid probably does not know break-in procedure is the guess. For a 1000 dollar difference, 5 months left, I'd pass. It's more like next year is an improvement/upgrade of the production run. Not saying you can see the difference, it's just the way the industry works.

A $1000 is not a deal. 3 or 4 grand is a deal. Something that new is a crapshoot, meaning, break in is paramount. You have control with a new bike. Being dealer level, I would beat every bike I road tested, new or first service. Having that junk science of breaking in 4 14's, I can tell any rpm over that first 600 miles makes a difference.

Hell, even if he broke it in correctly, the loan is way to high of a price if you looked around for a used one. I'd look at the K as extended warranty with the new bike. You haven't sat down with the dealer and do better than suggested list.

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Hub, I noticed besides only 610 miles in 19 months of ownership he was a beginner and never took the ride mode out of "Commute" so I'm guessing a very easy break in. Where do you come down on break in protocol, easy peasy or ride it like you stole it? I checked the 'asking list" prices of this model, year and trim level on Motohunt and Cycle Trader and they're all asking about the same as he is but with way more miles on average, about 10,000. I thought it was worth driving over there tomorrow to take a quick look-see. I already told him I wouldn't go over $11,000. He's obviously upside down on the loan and unless he can get someone to fork over full MSRP is going to have to make up the pay off out of his own pocket. On the plus side, I like the way this bike looks, the red white and purple Tribute ones came in today at the dealer and to be honest, I wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be, the Stars and Stripes is definitely sharper. Factory upgrades at this trim level are lithium-ion battery, higher racing windscreen, the special paint, red wheel set and GP shift option through the ECU, no linkage swapover necessary.

* Last updated by: Kruz on 3/15/2024 @ 7:32 PM *

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https://www.onanymoto.com/New-Inventory-2022-Aprilia-Motorcycle-Scooter-RS-660-Limited-Edition-On-Any-Moto-14777017?ref=list&utm_source=motohunt.com

https://motohunt.com/l/7411033/2022-Aprilia-RS-660-Stars-Stripes-Limited-Edition

https://motohunt.com/l/6078206/2022-Aprilia-RS-660-Limited-Edition

https://www.cycletrader.com/listing/2022-Aprilia-RS+660+Limited+Edition-5030830330

https://www.cycletrader.com/listing/2022-Aprilia-RS+660+Stars+%26+Stripes+Limited+Edition-5030211474

* Last updated by: Kruz on 3/15/2024 @ 7:53 PM *

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Where do you come down on break in protocol, easy peasy or ride it like you stole it?

Straight out book rpm levels, not stole it. I hot broke it in way past the first initial limit of 4k rpm for the first 600 miles. Those burned oil excessively. The book bikes were ridden thru the canyons so I'd get both lift and excel in one shot. Never took it on the freeway during the first 1000 miles or so. Oil level window never showed a drop below before the 3k oil change interval.

Buddy was selling his old race bikes. I'd get them ready to start, he'd start them and I would film the exhaust pipe before startup. Sitting for years, not a puff of smoke out of them. I was impressed. I'd be in the engine room checking for ring end gap. Started out with .009" then teardown showed .012" ring gap. New rings to freshened the engine back up. Bore and pistons were perfect. Dyno was the break-in. But that kind of work is way past 4k but it's a race engine for a specific job. Low hours, but hard abuse.

I checked the 'asking list" prices of this model, year and trim level on Motohunt and Cycle Trader and they're all asking about the same as he is but with way more miles on average, about 10,000.

So his is a 2022? I'd say the 11k is a reasonable offer. Have to remember also that kbb/nada are dealer level prices factored in that the private seller is using a dealer level price. Dealer means overhead/pay the tech to 'get ready,' loan on the bike to buy, etc. So 10k is the more private seller price to be fair. That's how I'd buy that used bike.

So it's not your fault he's under the bus for the loan. You're bailing him out. Can get it for 10-10,500k at the max, I'd jump on it.

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On looks, I can't pick between the stars and stripes and the red, silver and blue (purple?) .

For only a thousand bucks more, I'd go with the 2024.

I'm glad you're well and keep up on that skin. My x's father has had moles removed routinely through the years. When one pops up and it's malignant, he gets it removed.

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In person there was no contest between the Blue/Purple/Red/Black Tribute and the Stars and Stripes Limited Edition, so I bought the Stars and Stripes. To Hub's point, it would have been better if I could have gotten this bike for $10,000 but I don't think the poor guy could have come up with the loan pay off difference. So in the end it would have been a non-starter. I ended up paying $11,000 and he's on the hook for just over $1000 to buy his way out of the $12K loan payoff but I got the bike I wanted and if I had purchased it from a stealer, it would have been closer to $12,000 based on current internet prices. Mine is #585 out of 1500 world wide, so kind of exclusive.

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Bike was immaculate, showroom condition, tires still had the mold titties, only thing I didn't like was he removed the Aprilia Racing decals and the red/blue bar decals from the fuel tank, he said he didn't care for them but I actually like them, so it's $40 to AF1 RAcing for a replacement set.

* Last updated by: Kruz on 3/16/2024 @ 1:59 PM *

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* Last updated by: Kruz on 3/16/2024 @ 2:05 PM *

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Very nice Kruz!

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Congrats, Kruz. That tank needs the decals back. When are you going to open a used bike store? See how fast 18yrs few by just on the 14 alone? Someone is going to have a pristine used bike once you begin to rotate the fleet. You'll be eyeing another bike soon.

When you go to DMV, can you hear them whisper, 'Oh no, not him again."

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LMAO Hub, Texas DMV probably has me on speed dial!

Hoo boy Hubster, this deal is turning into a nightmare, long story short I am really keen on adding this Aprilia RS660 to my fleet.

The 2022 RS660 Stars and Stripes Limited Edition is #585 out of 1500 with only 610 miles on the odometer and 5 months of remaining factory warranty as mentioned previously.

I viewed the bike yesterday, confirmed the mileage and condition, it is immaculate; and made a handshake gentleman's agreement to purchase the bike for $11,000, pricey but in line with what these machines are trading for in this condition and mileage. As a Limited Edition item, these machines hold their value better than average.

Now the problem, the owner financed the bike new in 2022 through powersports lender Road Runner Financial and is upside down on the loan.

I saw the paperwork and he rolled purchase price of the bike, sales tax, title fee, registration, dealer prep, etc. into a high interest note with zero down so he's underwater and will have to cough up a little over $1000 out of pocket in addition to the $11,000 I agreed to pay for the bike to satisfy the loan and release the title.

So simply stated, he does not own the bike and does not have the title, Road Runner Financial as lien holder, holds the title until the loan is satisfied.

So this is a very complicated deal with a lot of moving parts in motion.

I am going to have to transfer my $11,000 purchase price to Road Runner and the owner will have to simultaneously pay off the loan balance so that the title can be released to me along with the motorcycle. All this needs to take place seamlessly and at the same time.

I don't know the seller other than meeting him yesterday and have no knowledge of Road Runner Financial and their integrity and there is no local Road Runner Finance brick and mortar establishment locally where I can sit down face to face with a loan officer, it will all have to be done over the phone or by email, fax etc.

Despite really wanting this machine, my instincts are shouting "run not walk away from this deal" and buy a 2024 RS660 from my local Aprilia dealer, even if it's not what I wanted.

Hubster, what sayest the sage of all things motorcycle related?

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Again, I'm not Hub but it's pretty clear. Withdraw your offer and make a substantially lower offer. If they don't take it, leave them with the headache and buy yourself a brand new bike. That's what other people who look at this bike are going to do. The 2024 is a better deal. Buy a lithium battery and a race tail for it. Buying used is never a plus even at low miles. How long has this bike bike been on the market? If it's been a while, it's not that hot of an item compared to a brand new one. You need some motivation like they accept a low offer. They both look equally good. Who cares if you need special linkage for GP shifting? If you want to GP shift without linkage so badly, I'll bet you could flash that. Kruz, they're driving a hard bargain for something that is hard to sell. You can easily go out and buy a brand new bike with no hassles.

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Good luck whatever you do. You don't need another bike. There's no rush to buy this one. You could find something even better in a few months. You could spend your money on that one. You're the one in control, not the seller.

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Well darn Kruz, it's just a matter if time to pay the loan off. That means stabilizer in the gas tank, battery on charge until the title is in your possession. Dad should cough up the difference and have the son pay his dad back. Kid will only pay more interest if he stalls paying, if not the bank repossess the bike, and/or you pay the rest of loan off.

The good, bad, ugly story is the good being, it's going to hold it's value, you're happy with it than the new on. The bad is waiting for the title. The ugly is that gas tank is missing a piece of clothing.

Doubt you could work a deal with the loan department about paying the loan off, get the title and have them cut you a check once the kid pays it all of. Eventually he's got to pay it off and the odds are credit rating goes in the toilet. Not a nice situation starting out young.

And hell no, I wouldn't ride it being the odds (again), you happen to take it out and a drunk/drive on cell phone/keep adding the situations tags you and totals the bike, your beat up with extensive hospital bills, ect., just for that one joy ride.

* Last updated by: Hub on 3/17/2024 @ 4:23 PM *

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Just a comment on cycle service. A video about a S1000RR showed up in my feed, I forget the name but the guy lives in Florida. The bike is new, but having significant engine issues with 400 miles on it. This guy's confidence in dealer service is so low he literally drove the bike to Ohio (again, forget the name) to a dealer he trusts.

Yeah that's modern times. It's hard "these days" to not call rose-tinted glasses, but damn... can't we just get a fair exhange anywhere these days?

Good luck with your new bike. Hopefully the guy broke it in, well at least not motoman style. You probably won't have it the rest of your life anyway and as many in your fleet it's tough to believe you'd put more than a couple 1000 a year on it anyway.

I like the stars and stripes, but overall do like the (BWRP) 2024 better.

Congrats, Kruz. That tank needs the decals back. When are you going to open a used bike store? See how fast 18yrs few by just on the 14 alone? Someone is going to have a pristine used bike once you begin to rotate the fleet. You'll be eyeing another bike soon.

When you go to DMV, can you hear them whisper, 'Oh no, not him again."

Agreed, why would anyone peel the tank decals off a numbered, Limited Edition Model?

Luckily AF1 Racing has a replacement set for about $40.

A lot of moving pieces in play here Hub but my guess is we'll get this all sorted out with RoadRunner Financial in the next few days and close the deal.

If not, it's on to Plan B i.e. 2024 Tribute Model at the local Aprilia Dealership.

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Just a comment on cycle service. A video about a S1000RR showed up in my feed, I forget the name but the guy lives in Florida. The bike is new, but having significant engine issues with 400 miles on it. This guy's confidence in dealer service is so low he literally drove the bike to Ohio (again, forget the name) to a dealer he trusts.

Yeah that's modern times. It's hard "these days" to not call rose-tinted glasses, but damn... can't we just get a fair exhange anywhere these days?

Good luck with your new bike. Hopefully the guy broke it in, well at least not motoman style. You probably won't have it the rest of your life anyway and as many in your fleet it's tough to believe you'd put more than a couple 1000 a year on it anyway.

I like the stars and stripes, but overall do like the (BWRP) 2024 better.

Hi Vic, it was Motomillion and 650ib I believe and the bike was a brand new BMW M1000RR which spit out a main bearing at 400 miles. BMW refused to honor the warranty claiming they had removed the rpm restriction at 400 miles instead of 600 miles. That was all BS though and just a way for BMW to avoid a $15,000 payout for a new engine.

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My comment was more about dealer "service" and what we can expect these days for $100+ an hour, and how far out of the way people at least "feel" like they need to go to actually get what they're paying for. IE, a brand new bike that leaves service just like it came in, just fixed, not little nicks, scratches, stripped bolts, and broken body tabs (and probably some joy riding).

Agreed Vic, it is commonplace and widespread across all service sectors, people don't take pride in their work anymore. Better off doing it yourself if you are mechanically inclined.

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Well my update on the ongoing RS660 saga, the dude that was selling the Stars and Stripe RS660 I wanted was a no show on Friday morning. Didn't hear anything from him all week even though I texted him several times daily all week and finally he texted me back on Friday morning and said his brother was giving birth to a baby in Kansas (I'm assuming it was actually his brother's wife) and he had no cellphone service to call me and wouldn't be back to Dallas until Tuesday. Hub are you buying his story? My guess is his nephew that bought the bike doesn't want to cough up the $1200 to pay off the rest of the note and release the title lien.

Sooo, I have shifted to a much more expensive bike, a new 2024 RS660 Extrema which has a lot of features the run of the mill RS660s don't have, i.e. more track focused. The best deal I could negotiate with the local dealer was $15,700 drive out on their one Extrema so a lot more money.

Here's an official Aprilia video of the Extrema in action:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwjFfJN2MZ8

Hub/Rook what are you guy's thoughts? I do like the red wheels!

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