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Hello and Help!!!

T

Tigger

Joined Dec 2009
4 Posts | 0+
Hi all,

My first time on the forums so forgive any mistakes!

Have a problem with my 2003 RSV Mille not wanting to start.

After years of wanting an Aprilla RSV i finally purchased my pride and joy last year. Decided at the end of October to tuck up the bike for the great British winter and as the bike has an alarm on it, thought i'd do everything correctly and bought myself an Optimate which was duly attached. All was well and started my bike a month ago and let it run on the side stand until the rad fans cut in.

Decided to keep starting it, to keep everything in working condition, however it has decided not to play ball this time, so need some help please!!

1) Every week I took the Optimate off for a few days to let the battery drain naturally, reinstaing after this.
4) The Optimate indicates that the battery is in good condition.
5) When i turn on the ignition the rev counter swings round to six and then back to zero. (can't remember if if used to go to round to twelve and back to zero when i was using it durning the summer)
6) I had EFI flash on the dash, but has gone now!
7) I can hear the fuel pump wirring under the tank.
8) After trying to start the bike it stinks of fuel.(leave for hour and try again)
9) The dash lights go dim/bright (which i though indicated a poor battery?).

Have heard horror stories about drained batterys causing huge problems with starter motors being overwelmed and damage caused, so have left it alone and on charge. Any help, or advice would be gratefully recieved.

Tigger
 
The rev counter needle sweeps up to around 6k when you switch on the ignition as that is where the shift light is set as standard (sweeps to wherever you have adjusted it to if so) keep the optimate on there all the time dude, thats what they're for! Make sure you switch on AFTER you have connected it too. Does your engine turn over ok? Sounds like a battery fault (dead cell?) or starter relay problem.
 
As with Twintorque, i would say it sounds as if your battery has probably cried enough so my advice would be to buy a new battery such as this

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VARTA-YTZ14S-...mQQptZUK_Motorcycle_Parts?hash=item53db9cac82.

Just because the Optimate shows it's green light it doesn't mean the battery is fine. Read the Optimate instructions.

You also might want to think about upgrading your starter solenoid with either an uprated Yamaha one, part number 4KD81940-00 or speak to Fusebox aka Griff at Aprilia Performance who has some uprated ones. This should cure your starting problems
 
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What does the clocks say your voltage is? does it turn over ok, or is a little sticky?
the rev counter needle winding to 6 is the default after a battery disconnect or battery was discharged.

If everything seems ok with the battery on the optimate and you have a good reading on the clocks then I would have a quick bash at trying the full throttle start procedure. No fast idle, Hold the throttle open and crank the starter button, as soon as it fires up get off the throttle. worked for me after I flooded mine once.

If when pressing the starter button it seems to stick or go slow and the battery is good, then I would look at the starter relay. I had a problem like this changed it for a Yammy one and since then its been tops.

where abiout in the land are you fella?
 
Hi all,

Thanks for the advice and tips, am going to try the bike again tomorrow, if it still won't go i'll get a new battery.

Anyone explain about upgrading the starter solenoid - have been used to a Honda CBR for the past 5 years that was bullet proof, so this is all new to me. Whats the common view, are RSV's high maintanance or ok as long as you keep on top of them?

One more thing, because of the alarm i've have to start the bike in the following way;

1) turn on ignition.
2) Press button inset in key - wait for beep.
3) Rev counter goes up to six and back again.
4) fuel pump starts to wurr
5) then i press kill/start kill/start - then it starts or not at the moment.......

Again Honda - turn key - hit starter and go....... anyone else got a more complex starting process!!!

In response to Garvey 2003, i'm in Suffolk near Bury St. Edmunds.

Thank you in advance.

Tigger
 
These bikes are fine as long as you know how to look after em and do a few simple mods. (battery, relay, solenoid, sidestand etc) They are italian after all so are bound to throw a little latin tantrum every now and then :biggrin not sure what you mean by step 5... do you mean you have to toggle the kill switch back and forth? Your problem could be the contacts in the switch if so. The worst bike ive ever had to start was a pre world war 2 Rudge 500 circa 19..? A kickstart on a 5 with decompression lever, choke and more... Needed an almighty kick on the starter as well as doing about 3 other things at the same time!
 
Hey buddy, the , Yamaha Starter solenoid I brought is part number 4KD81940-00. Any Yamaha dealer should sell you one for around £30, or have a browse on the net. its a straight swap no mucking about dude.

the way I start my bike is as follows.
1: Alarm off
2: Turn key
3: Fast idle on (if cold)
4: Press start button (NO THROTTLE!!!!)
5: it fires
6: lower fast idle until warm then rip down the street :)

One other thing I will say is that once I washed the bike quick before I was due out for some fun and the bike wouldnt start! After 30 minutes or so with the hair dryer on all the wires and plugs taken out and cleaned it fired up. Might be worth checking for damp in the wires and clean the spark plugs.
 
Tigger these bike are extremely reliable, more so than some Jap bikes, if looked after correctly. Most problems occur from poor maintenance and from bikes that are kept outside open to the elements causing problems with electrical connections and kill switch contacts

The most common fault however is a poor or low state of charge in the battery. It is an absolute must to have the battery in tip top condition and kept correctly on an Optimate 4 battery conditioner due to the high cranking amps needed to turn over a big v twin engine, especially if an alarm is fitted. Problems occur when owners try to repeatidly start the bike with a low battery and over time this will damage the sprag clutch.

If you have any doubts about the battery replace it will either an AGM YTX-14BS or YTZ14S-BS which offers more cranking amps. Once you get the battery, before putting the battery on the bike, follow procedure and charge the battery on an optimate overnight. This will ensure the battery is at 100% charge.

Also as a preventative measure, upgrade the starter solenoid with the Yamaha one that Garvey has given details on as these become lazy over time. It's a straight plug and play swap and is a higher rated solenoid than the original Aprilia one.

Your bike should start instantly from cold. Cold start lever open fully, no throttle, press starter button. It should start virtually instantly. Any hesitation, lazy turning over of the engine, or a delay in initial cranking indicates a problem.
 
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Hi chaps, just thought I'd join in on this one, went to start bike yesterday and it wasn't happy, coughed a bit, turned over slowly but didn't start. Then thought I'd flooded it so tried the fast idle off and throttle wide open, fired up but then died as I hastily let go of the throttle. Now been back on the optimate, which indicates good battery charge, when starting follow usual procedure, can hear the everything priming as usual, but all I get is a click coming from the pillion underseat area. I'm guessing the relay has given up the ghost, as I know what the sprag clutch sticking noise sounds like as my last RSV had a knackered one. So, am I barking up the right tree?? any help gratefully appreciated.
 
Welcome to the zone tigger :thumbup

Good advise already given here about the battery/ relay/ starting etc :thumbup but to reset the redline threashold follow the instructions on here Dash settings

Scott... I recon your solenoids fcked :dunno

Some more info on this post clicky
 
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sprocker said:
sprocker said:
Scott... I recon your solenoids fcked :dunno



No worries mate, but wait till Mr Legs confirms that before you go buying another solenoid he's more cleverererer than I :biggrin
Click to expand...

I doubt that sprocks :biggrin, but anyway newboots, to check the solenoid bridge the terminals carefully with a screwdriver or similiar with ignition on. If she fires up then it's the solenoid that's fecked. If not then battery is goosed
Click to expand...
 
Hi all just a quick update on the bike....

Have taken the battery off the bike and have tested it to make sure it's ok and is fully charged, which it is. The battery i have is a Yuasa YTX 14- BS, is this one of the reccomended ones for having a good amount of cranking amps?

I have also bought a yamha starter solenoid as recommended, though I can't tell what ampage it is as there are no stickers or markings on it, what is it likely to be?

So all being well it should start..........

Time for the next problem, when i bought the bike the guy said that he had just bought new front discs and overhalled the brakes. I gave the brakes a visual inspection and all his statements looked to be correct.

I didn't notice it for the first month, but as i'd pull up to a junction i'd be like a 'nodding dog' as the brakes bit. This got worse over time to the point that a very sharp juddering through the handlebars is happening when hard braking is applied.

I have until now assumed that he or i have warped the discs but have recently read that because the discs are fully floating the bobbins at the ends of the rotor arms must be able to spin freely as if not this can give the same feeling as warped disc(s).

I have checked my bobbins, and they are quite stiff and don't spin freely. How can i establish if it is the disk(s) that are warped.......

Thank you all for your help.......

Tigger
 
I had the same problem on my 01R. Had a long history of warping discs on my zx9. that was down to crap calipers. anyways. Thought mine had gone on the 01R.

Front tyre was due a change so I took the wheel off as the weather has been crap and took it to get changed. Before I re-fitted the wheel I took the time to clean up the calipers and discs. I put a nut and bolt through the bobbins and applied WD40 and all the bobbins move nicely now. Mine didnt. My calipers again had picked up alot of road crap. so I gave them a quick clean. all moving freely.

All back together and tested and no nodding dog :) worht a clean first. oh and if you use WD40 to clean the descs, make sure you have some brake cleaner handy :)
 
Hi mate,

Sounds to me like while achieving a natural drain the alarm has totally sucked the battery out. The rev guage will have re-set back to the manufacturers safe zone ( ie run in ). You can reset this limit, well I say limit all that happens is the led will flash once revved beyond 6k rpm.

My advice is to let the battery cycle on the optimate for 24 hrs and upon the light saying maintain, unplug and fire her up. I'm pretty sure she'll fire, it's just in the cold with a volt sapping security system the 'old' battery takes a good punishing. You can easily reset the rev counter but do this when the battery is fully charged as it can only be done when the engine is not running, adjustments are made on the binnacle buttons in increments of 500 revs per press. On my old Mille I had it set at 10k.

Let me know how you get on. Oh and never try and fire her ip with the optimate still plugged in! What with Italian wiring, old battery and a securitygizmo you will only cause a glitch in the system.

The Davros
 
if it doesnt start dude gimme a call and i'll guide you through a few checks ...


cheers

griff

aprilia performance 01827 285500
 
Hi all,

Just a quick up date to say 'it's alive'!!!!! Went first go as well, new starter relay has made such a difference!!!

Thanks to all for the advice.

Tigger
 

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