Has my sprag clutch gone? 99 RSV

Morning all,
The other week the RSV wouldn't start after work. It was the first properly cold day we'd had round here. The starter motor was turning but the engine just wouldn't catch which gave the dreaded banging sound against the RSV's world famous weak sprag clutch. After trying to start the engine for a few minutes the battery died. I left it overnight and fitted another fully charged battery the next morning. It still struggled to start but kicked into life when giving it wide open throttle (at this point I was thinking it was flooded). I turn it off as it's dinner time.

Come home time it's being awkward, it starts after much protesting and idles fine with the fast idle on, but turn the fast idle off once it's up to temp and it dies. I leave it at work again and trailer it home the next day - Saturday.

Fast forward to this weekend, which was the first chance I've had to look at it, and it won't catch at all. The starter just spins without the engine catching at all with no throttle and full fast-idle. Give it WOT and you get a few 'puffs' out of the exhaust every now and again but that's it. It did kick back again when trying to start it which I think might have been the final nail in the coffin for the sprag.

Now, I've never had to replace a sprag on any of my bikes before so I wanted to make sure it was this and not something else before I started taking the left side of the engine apart. Has anyone with a Mille ever had the sprag go? Do these symptoms sound like the sprag? The morning that I rode the bike to work it was running fine, no misfires or anything.

If it is the sprag, does anyone know the tools (with correct sizes of threads/head sizes) that I need to buy to inspect the sprag. Guides online seem to suggest I'd need a flywheel puller and crank holding tool.

Cheers :thumbup

Hi, the starter is definitely working, but I don't know if the engine is. I'll stick my hand over the exhaust tonight whilst pressing the starter motor to see if the engine itself is turning over.

Right, well I get the ch-ch-chch ch-chch ch-chch sounds, rather than the weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee sounds you get when you pull a starter motor out and fire it up on a battery so I'm actually inclined to think the engine might be turning :|

Bah!

Ok, I've just checked it, it looks like the engine is turning over after all.

When I thumb the starter button you get air coming out of the exhaust. It actually feels more like a vaccum where it's sucking your hand in but I assume this is back pressure? So looks like I'll have to check for a spark etc.

I'm away from tomorrow morning with work so won't be able to have a proper look at the bike till Saturday now unfortunately. I do have a 2002 Mille R track bike though, so at least I can swap working parts between the two to try them out!