S.o.s

Fcukin Bike,

Hasnt started for around a week or so, tried to start it yesterday ...what a bloody effort , seemed to turn over okay but would not start on the choke like normal. Not sure how I got it to start bit of choke and a lot of throttle (I think).
Now today it wont start at all , turns over with lots of strange noises but wont start.


Think i've done the sprag .......

I want my R1 back ...this is ****, very very unhappy chappy.
Cant afford to fix it, piece of Italian crap, at least the japs dont build things as fragile as this .........now i've the wife on the case for me buying a pig, problem is I think she's right.

Bad luck that Kiwi, however, all is not lost .......... yet! It could just be that your battery is feeling the advent of winter and not holding it's charge. Can you get it charged up then try again. If it starts OK then at least a battery is cheaper than replacing the sprag.

Wonder if I can use a car battery as a slave ?

Bummer

Firstly though there is no choke. It's a fast idle and it does nothing more than open the throttle a little. starting mixture is purely ecu controlled.

If you have an alarm an optimate is a must even for short periods between starts. Alarms destroy batts. I refuse to fit them and would rather pay higher premiums.

Thirdly don't touch the throttle on normal starts. Just fast idle and turn it over. It floods easily.

Lastly the Sprag is 99.9% damaged by something else. It rarely wears out.
Usually duff batt (see crap alarms) , duff starter solenoid, owner starting abuse.

A weak battery can make the sprag clang even before anything gets damaged so it doesn't 100% indicate it's duff. DON'T try it again till you are sure the batt is fine or it will get wrecked. Buy a Yam stater solenoid anyway cos it's cheap and loads better, then try again.

Consider trying iridium plugs. 75% less power required for normal spark than a conventional plug and much lower self cleaning temp. all makes for better starting if your bike is prone to less than 100% batt charge. £5.95 each on fleabay.

The fact the starting has not been a problem for your Jap machines is because Il4's don't have the compression so will start on a less than 100% batt quite easily. It's not a reflection on the Italians or the bike just the nature of a twin. Try bumping your rsv and then an r6 and you'll see what i mean.

frustrating though problems like this are there are many owners that have never had a starting problem including me for all the above reasons.
My original batt is 5 years old and going strong.= No alarm

I reiterate what Spoonz suggest, buy an Optimate battery conditioner and keep it hooked up. It's the RSV's one failing on the reliability front in that the battery needs to be in tip top condition. If not it will result in poor starting like you are experiencing and hamfisted repeated attempts to start the bike will kill the sprag clutch. Also fit the Yamaha starter relay as it has a higher amp rating.

How many second hand RSV's are for sale with knackered sprag clutches. It seems to be an increasingly unfortunate trend. Generally if an RSV doesn't start within a couple of seconds of hitting the starter then something is wrong, i.e low battery or starter solenoid so stop and investigate.

Likewise with Spoonz, i have never had a single starting issue.

Do a search on "battery" and " starter solenoid" and you'll find all you need to know.

It lives on an Optimate, has a Yam solenoid ........battery is a YTX-14BS.

I know what you are saying , BUT there must be something wrong because when I was using it every other day/every day it was fine. Leave it a week/10 days and it doesnt start anymore (although it is on the Optimate).

I'm sorry to say that I thought that these starting problems where hype, but now I know they are not, what I have is 3k worth of scrap metal sitting in my garage.

I dont have the resources/finances to do anymore diagnostics than what I have already done.....

Thanks for your help and comments folks

Might be worth some plugs Kiwi. You may just have a knacked or fouled one. or give them a clean

Batt could still be shot even with the optimate. Most places will check them for free.

In my experience nearly every Rsv that has had starting/Batt probs that are ongoing has or had an alarm. Did i mention i hate them.

Hi mate the sprag is not that hard to do and it,s probably not all of it just the spring mine went last sunday it took me 2 hours to fix if you start the bike on the throttle it can stretch the spring that holds the sprag together you can cut a bit off the spring or get one off a lip seal and dont cost as much as all new sprag

Kiwi,

I imagine that you have tried this but...make sure the fast idle is actually working. If it comes loose it will do nothing and your bike won't start when cold. At least, that's what happened with mine.

Good luck

sergi75 said:

Kiwi,

I imagine that you have tried this but...make sure the fast idle is actually working. If it comes loose it will do nothing and your bike won't start when cold. At least, that's what happened with mine.

Good luck

Click to expand...

Sergi75 is spot on mate, these bikes have a habit of vibrating loose all those nuts, bolts and screws.

Mine did the same about 3 weeks after I bought it, luckily I saw the screw had fell out when I was fitting my PC3.

PS. My offer of help still stands on the other thread, PM me if you want a hand to get your RSV sorted.

spoonz said:

Might be worth some plugs Kiwi. You may just have a knacked or fouled one. or give them a clean

Batt could still be shot even with the optimate. Most places will check them for free.

In my experience nearly every Rsv that has had starting/Batt probs that are ongoing has or had an alarm. Did i mention i hate them.

Click to expand...

I can definately vouch for the NGK Iridium plugs Kiwi ( DCPR9EIX )..they are the best starting/ clean burn plugs i have ever used. Worth a try for their cost mate. ( DENSO equivelants 27UIX )
Sorry to hear you are having so many problems...i have never had a starting problem on my RSV to date. I do not have alarm fitted, nor the Yam starter, but have the same battery as yours by Yuasa, it does live on my Battery Fighter when not riding..but not continously..i cycle it every couple of days. When i fitted the NGK plugs it starts crisp everytime on just a little fast throttle.
What fuel chip is fitted to your ECU? Where are your TB bypass screws sitting at the moment?