Does anybody have any experiences of buying/owning parallel imported motorbikes? I am looking at purchasing a brand new Aprilia RS125 motorbike and have the choice of loads of independant dealers offering parallel imports for around £3100 or official dealers offering UK bikes for around £3800. Different people are giving conflicting advice on the subject, but the main differences between the imports and UK bikes are firstly the warranty, the UK bike has a 2 year Aprilia warranty whereas the import has only a 1 year warranty backed by the independant dealer. Secondly the bike is likely to have a headlamp that aims the wrong way, but this is only usually aparent when it goes for its first MOT when it is three years old. Finally it is important to check from where the bike is imported as bikes aimed for different countries are restricted to different power outputs. But on the plus side I can save around £700 which is over 20% of the UK cost.
Any opinions or thoughts are welcome.
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Firstly, uk.rec.motorcycles is an excellent source of information on biking issues. The folks there may well recomend specific importers. Don't expect the same high level of contributions as you get here. (Seriously)
Secondly, don't forget you can buy UK spec imports.
Thirdly. My father has an (old) grey imported NV400. (Basically a VT500 with a 400cc mill) Many dealers used to refuse to service it. This is much less the case now, and since your Aprilla will be model available in the uk I see no major problems with maintainance.
Fifthly, what happened to fourthly?
Fourthly, Ahhhh, there it is.
Sixthly, are you buying it for one year 'till you're old enough for a full license? If so, you really should think about a used GS125 or CG125. I love RS125's - I've watched them race in the superteens - none the less you don't want to buy new for a bike you will only own for a year. Also it's madness to have a stroker and restrict it when a nice 4 stroke is available.
Seventhly, this is getting silly.
Eighthly, the fact that's it's an import may make a difference to residuals.
So to sum up:
1) Ask on UKRM.
2) Buy a second hand 4 stroke 125.
3) If you must have the new RS, buy UK spec import.
4) Erm, can I have a go? I won't thrash it. Really...
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Parp, Parp!
Note: All Toad posts come with an implied smiley.
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As well as the shorter warranty and the illegal headlight, which on it's own will knock the second hand value of the bike down a fair bit, the import will also have a KPH speedo. If it has a digital speedo you would need to purchase an electronic converter to show speed in MPH. On an analogue clock you can get a stick on mph decal for the face of the clock, but these are usless at night. Aprilia's are hot enough on performance for an accurate speedo to be essential if you want to keep your licence intact.
You need to find out the cost of any of these mods, plus whether the bike needs de-restricting before you decide if it's worthwhile. I owned a grey import a few years back, and I found dealers reluctant to help with any problems that arose. Not surprisingly, they are not keen on anything which bypasses the official import network.
One final thought on the warranty, Aprilias are comparatively fragile with expensive spares, so the two - year cover might prove worth a bit of extra expense.
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Oh dear! Why do people continue to peddle such import myths?
If the import is to UK spec it will have correctly aligned headlamp beam, an MPH speedo. The warranty can generally be extended with the manufacturer or a third party.
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Not always the case, Watcher. In amongst the honest parallel importers there are still a few cowboys who will pick up a batch of bikes on the continent and make a quick buck over here without doing anything to comply with UK requirements. This is more likely to happen at the learner end of the market, where the buyers will often not be aware of any differences in spec.
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OK I know what you mean and agree with the point you make but, my point is IF the bike or car is to UK spec, then it wont be any different.
In the case of cars, imports are generally better equipped by the time you have spec'd then up to UK specifications as European markets have different options as standard.
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Thanks for the replies, the speedo issue doesn't really occur with this particular bike because the official UK bike has exactly the same speedo as the imports, that is the speedo predominantly reads in KPH but has the MPH as the smaller scale on the clock. And both bikes clock the mileage in kilometers as well.
Toad of Toad Hall, the link that you posted for what I assume is another website, can you give me the full URL to make it work?
Regards
Simon.
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I think Toad is referring you to Google Gwoups.
Try:
groups.google.com/groups?hl=xx-elmer&lr=&ie=UTF-8&...s.
Feewing Wucky?
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Oops, that doesn't open exactly the right page. So click Advanced Gwoups, then type RS125 where the cursor is already flashing and hit Enter. (Or Enfield Bullet if you've changed your mind.)
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Sorry, that just brings up lots of American messages. Just type in uk.rec.motorcycles on the front page of Google. Sorry about the confusion, uh-hah-hah-hah.
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Hi Simon.
uk.rec.motorcycles is a *newsgroup*.
You can access it via outlook express (news) or post via google by going to:
groups.google.com/groups?q=uk.rec.motorcycles&hl=e...s
I probably didn't make myself clear on satururday. Buying a foreign spec imort is madness unless it seriously cheap. Buying a UK spec import is as good as buying a bike from a main dealer - after all it's the same machine.
--
Parp, Parp!
Note: All Toad posts come with an implied smiley.
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