Help! Aprilia owners

**ardomus** · 3rd June 2007, 13:23

hi there i have an 02 rsv in imac condition...owned it 3 months and love it, has alwys started well until a few weeks ago ..went to start one cold morn it fired and i gave a squit on throttle and it died tryed again and again until batt flat, left it for a week and tried again and bingo fired up first time!! have ridden it since and again fires up good as gold...until this week went to start yesterday and fired and died again no go flattened batt

left it overnight tried this morn same thing inital fire then nothing,, it like its flooding and if you dont start it on the first fire its all over? had plugs out and they were wet, dried and cleaned them and try again, nothing, could it be crook Fuel? when plugs were out i turned over and check for spark and thats all good, i am lost as with what else to try???? and help much appreciated

**flame** · 3rd June 2007, 16:57

Originally Posted by ardomus

hi there i have an 02 rsv in imac condition...owned it 3 months and love it, has alwys started well until a few weeks ago ..went to start one cold morn it fired and i gave a squit on throttle and it died tryed again and again until batt flat, left it for a week and tried again and bingo fired up first time!! have ridden it since and again fires up good as gold...until this week went to start yesterday and fired and died again no go flattened batt

left it overnight tried this morn same thing inital fire then nothing,, it like its flooding and if you dont start it on the first fire its all over? had plugs out and they were wet, dried and cleaned them and try again, nothing, could it be crook Fuel? when plugs were out i turned over and check for spark and thats all good, i am lost as with what else to try???? and help much appreciated

It could just be that your battery isn't holding enough charge to turn her over. Might just need a new one.
I have the same problem with both of mine becoz the batteries are both pretty stuffed. They have high compression so need quite a bit of guts to fire up.
Also....you shouldn't need to give any throttle to start it, the fast idle lever is all you need, though they are a little touchy, I find I have to have the lever in the exact same place every time to get a 'first time' start. To the point where I make sure it's in that 'exact' spot every time.....always works unless my battery is less than 100% charged. Using the throttle to try and start usually results in me getting a flat battery and swearing a lot

.

And holy hell they are a bitch to try and crash start! even 3rd gear locks up the rear bigtime.

**flame** · 3rd June 2007, 17:00

also.......has your bike got aftermarket pipe? I find with the standard pipe they are easier to start, not sure if it's to do with the mapping. Just a thought.

**ardomus** · 3rd June 2007, 17:24

yes it has atandard pipe, and yes batt is %100 its a new one and have kept it chargerd. i turns over with lots of omph but unless you get that first fire forget it and walkaway

maybe plus could be crook???

**flame** · 3rd June 2007, 17:55

Originally Posted by ardomus

yes it has atandard pipe, and yes batt is %100 its a new one and have kept it chargerd. i turns over with lots of omph but unless you get that first fire forget it and walkaway

maybe plus could be crook???

I would change the plugs, then perhaps check the mapping( tho that would be costly with a dyno

), it could be running too rich/lean, is the engine still standard? ie....standard injectors etc? wow.....that gets all too technical for me lol. Also which fuel do you use....Ive noticed mine starts up much better on a full tank of 98 octane, whereas if its on 95/96 i seem to have more of a prob.

How does the bike run when it's going? any misfiring/flat spots.....holes....could mean that the fuel rail pressure may be too high??? just another thought

Have you checked/replaced the air cleaner??

Another thought....pressure regulator could be faulty?? if its jammed closed it could cause excessive pressure in the throttle bodies, though if fuel is getting to the plugs then yer....dunno.

**ardomus** · 3rd June 2007, 18:07

yes fuel crossed my mind.... where you get 98 octane??? bike is total standard,,runs like a dream when you can get it going, no flat spots or anything like that... hmm it has s digital rreading of batt voltage on speedo ,,,what does yours say before you start it??

**MVnut** · 3rd June 2007, 18:10

I had bad fuel (water) in my Porsche RS and it ran like a pig till I drained the tank etc

**flame** · 3rd June 2007, 18:21

Originally Posted by ardomus

yes fuel crossed my mind.... where you get 98 octane??? bike is total standard,,runs like a dream when you can get it going, no flat spots or anything like that... hmm it has s digital rreading of batt voltage on speedo ,,,what does yours say before you start it??

Yea, when mine does it, it seems like a fueling prob. I wonder if it's to do with the injectors, apparently when people are following me they can smell fuel pretty strongly. Maybe it's just running too rich, and Im to meezly to hand over pingers for a dyno testing

the mobil purple handles (I think), and BP have 98 from memory.

Re: the Batt voltage readout....I'll go have a look.....and try and start the beastie while im at it.

**flame** · 3rd June 2007, 18:26

Batt volt readout is 10.9, I think it should be 12. but still fires up o.k at that reading.

**ardomus** · 3rd June 2007, 18:31

my batt voltage is 12.1, too scarded to try now will wait till tmorrow,,the longer i leave it the better chance of a fire,,, its sounding like fuel....hmmm will investigate 98 sounds worth a try and new plugs .. thanks for your help will keep you posted on progresssss