Sprag clutch bolts.

[Thunderaceni]

Went out on Sunday for a run and things were going great until about 7 miles from home on a country road I stopped at a junction and the bike faltered and died on me.

No life from the starter just a clicking and the clocks had reset themselves so I put it down to a batery issue and cursed and swore all the way home in the back of a friends van.

New battery sourced yesterday and when fully charged fitted, but still no life, plenty of power just nothing from the engine.

Bike onto Abba stand, removed a plug from each sylider and tried to turn the engine over in a high gear, nothing totally solid, and one seriously hacked off Mille fan.

Anyway after a number of calls to the "technical helpline (thanks Jus and Rich) came down to draining the oil and removing the stator cover on the bike to have a look in there. Oil came out showing metal slivers (not a good sign it was only changed last Tuesday) and when the cover eventually came off I found the devastation you can see below.

<img src="http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0RwBzMi0VffDtddLAR4BYKTkHWkaTpU*5Q!YEwoUbfWoJ5M89h NMgoPj0bNnpvM8PXXRDztOuFFdDRIA*ZmLVYOoiVjecbtUk*ju xknyk9Io/Stator%20003.jpg" style="border:0;"/>

<img src="http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0RwDHAi4Vt*DtddLAR4BYKYtVtvoUwOAS*sNsUjbm0e0lotgRr wZ21RwZP!WeNmS*LncCK3hIaTcSrzhfkGjhKfTrlQvgW0ngAvF iJg8SpKw/Stator%20004.jpg" style="border:0;"/>

Looks like one of the bolts had sheared and the other had come loose altogether.

Stator is now nothing but an interesting paperweight, but at least the engine is free and turning.

<img src="http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0RwDSAiwVRPDtddLAR4BYKTZGt0hLzD1tN3xzFYME4HJrxWWRq myh5e5!r2OvzzH9bFlIWSwqUcmhDnPu66fHLMw7HmetIwnNfSc ZytctIxY/Stator%20011.jpg" style="border:0;"/>

I've spent the day trying to source the necessary components from a breakers as the cost of all the parts froman Aprilia dealer are just unbelievable, but since I've mentioned this to people on the UK boards I've found 4 other people who have had exactly the same thing happen with their bikes. Alos 2 Aprilia specialists I spoke to said that this and wear of the sprag clutch comes from the kickback exhibited when a battery is down on power.

I'm interested in seeing if any one on this forum has had a similar experience, and also pointing out that checking your sprag clutch mounting bolts every other oil change could be a worthwhile excercise.

Any thoughts people?

[scissors2kil]

HOLY SMOKES!!! Thats wild..Sounds like it might be good advice to check that occationally. I have a friend who's been having mild issues, but I've mostly put it down to his R having a smaller battery and not doiing enough milage between starts..

[rhansen162]

the R's battery is same specs and size as standard battery. There are 2 different part numbers, however I've had both standard battery (from totaled bike) and R battery (Current bike) side by side and except for cosmetic differences, are identical. Parts manual lists them as same specs as well.

just an FYI

-Rhansen162

[Thunderaceni]

The battery is a different size and ampage for model years instead of beteen the R and the RSV.

Bikes earlier than 2001 (I think this is the year) use a YTX14 battery and those after a YTX12.

The 14 is slightly taller than the 12.

[r100gs]

Looks nasty! I want to check mine. Is there a gasket behind that cover? What is the torque? I want pull mine and loctite and retorque for peace of mine.

[Thunderaceni]

Yes there is a gasket behind the cover, but it's quite a tough one and I think withsome Hylamar should be able to be used again.

The bolts torque is showing as 30 nm or 21ftlb in the engine manual.

I will definetly be checking mine every other oil change.

[r100gs]

Thanks for the reply Thunder.

[JMB22]

The bike in question, is it a '00 or older model. There was a tech bulletin about these bolts which servicing dealers should have rectified. The bolts need to be replaced with a higher tensile bolt and loctited in place. All the later models had the upgraded bolts from the factory, though I would urge anyone with an older bike to fit new bolts if it has not already been done.

Dave.

[exdukenut]

Hey Dave, should this have happened for all Australian pre '01models at dealers? If so was it covered under warranty?

Hear from you soon.

[Thunderaceni]

My bike was one of the first produced in 98 an original tri-colour.