RSV4 Engine Stalling

[amauri]

It appears they're not adjusted for optimium at the factory.

You are correct in everything you said.

But how did you come to the conclusion that "It appears they're not adjusted for optimum at the factory" Do you have the tools for measuring them yourself?

Trust me, those adjustments were the first steps taken in each of the cases I've dealt with stalling issues (two of my customers). In both cases the adj was not off enough to make a difference (less than half a turn). The adjustment is very sensitive.

They are indeed adj very accurately at the factory, the slight adj I made only compensated for engine break in wear of the rings/valves after a few thousand miles.

Not saying it should not be checked, just don’t assume they are not set correctly at the factory, they are.

[Don]

But how did you come to the conclusion that "It appears they're not adjusted for optimum at the factory" Do you have the tools for measuring them yourself?

I suppose it was the inference I drew from the manuals words:

"Motorcycles are factory set with screws 1 and 2 turned by half a turn and screws 3 and 4 closed."

It seems to say that's how they leave the factory?
Also, the experience with my Falco's rotax where the TBs were miles out of balance from the factory.


Another interesting thing in the manuals words:

" In order for the procedure to start:
· the engine must have a water temperature above 80 °C (176 °F);"

That's fair enough, but:

"As soon as the fans are activated (approx. 101°C - 214°F), the procedure is aborted and cannot be
carried out."

I wonder why that is, given the stalling issues appear to be heat and fan running related?

[marksj99]

I guess I'll get in on this as well as I've experienced quite a few of these things since getting my 2010 Factory in July.

Right out of the gate, I have seen the overpressured tank. The first time I went to fill it up after riding for a few hours I ended up with a spray of gas to the eyes because I wasn't expecting the vacuum when I went to fill up. Now I'm just careful how quickly I open the tank.

More to the present forum though, I've had many problems with engine stalls. It occured during the first couple hundred miles and when I took it in for the first service they couldn't explain or replicate it.

One thing they did do during the service was to slightly up the idle and change the mappings which helped initially. Instead of stalling in the lower gears (1 & 2) it occured more at the higher (4 & 5) although much less frequently all together. Since that service though it's begun to occur back at those lower gears. For me the temp when it occurs is always 210+, and mostly happens when I'm in slow/stop-and-go traffic. Up until this last weekend I never got any errors.

Last Sunday after riding down the backside of Independence Pass into Aspen, CO it really started to go wrong. We got caught in traffic and I had repeated stalls. Sad as it is, I've gotten so used to them that I know what to look for when it happens and have gotten really good at hitting the start button to get it fired back up. Anyway, after repeated stalls we got into town and I went to park in a spot on the side of the road. While still clutched and in first, the throttle went spastic (by design according to the maunal in order to regulate the idle RPMs) so I instinctively hit the kill switch. I got the URGENT SERVICE indicator. Not sure what to do at that point I let it sit while we walked around town, giving it a chance to cool. After about 3 hrs, I went back and it started right up like nothing was wrong. I had a few stalls on the way home but no more URGENT SERVICE indicators. Now I've got an appointment on Saturday to drop the bike off at the dealer to see what the error code will be.

I've seen a bunch of theories thus far on the forum. For me, the initial thought was I was doing something wrong with this bike (different than the Jap bikes I've owned previously). I've tried the throttle blip occasionally and had that work. Lately I've tried keeping the RPMs up a bit as I clutch. I've tried gas at all different kinds of stations only to have the same thing occur (although all in CO have the ethonol additives). My own personal theory almost seems like a vapor-lock type situation with the heat. For me when it stalls you can quickly almost hear the engine starve before it dies. Combining that with the overpressured tank, who knows? The cooling fan is always on (until the engine quits, then the fan turns off). I almost wonder if the ECU is simply overheating? Anyway, I think the heat is the cuprit, just not sure which system it's effecting.

Even with the stalling I love the bike. I've ridden the S1000RR a friend of mine has and found it a little boring (because it was so quiet and came with all the bells & whistles like shift assist). Hopefully the error code will yield some clues. At least it's good to know that others are experienceing the same exact thing and I'm not crazy or it's not something I'm doing. I'll post again after the dealer trip to let everybody know what we find.

2010 Aprilia RSV4 Factory
Post-recall engine
3100 miles driven so far

Just an update on where the service stands for what I saw... There apparently weren't any codes in the ECU to say what the 'URGENT SERVICE' indicator was for. Over the past week they have had an Aprilia tech in town to ride it, they've purposely gotten the engine over temp to the point the warning light came on, ridden it in downtown traffic, and taken it up to the mountains and have been unable to replicate the stall again at the dealer thus far. I told them to keep trying for another week, after which I'll come pick it up. My next thought is to figure out a camera mount somehow so I can show them the exact temps/RPMs and road conditions that the stall occurs.

[marksj99]

Just an update on where the service stands for what I saw... There apparently weren't any codes in the ECU to say what the 'URGENT SERVICE' indicator was for. Over the past week they have had an Aprilia tech in town to ride it, they've purposely gotten the engine over temp to the point the warning light came on, ridden it in downtown traffic, and taken it up to the mountains and have been unable to replicate the stall again at the dealer thus far. I told them to keep trying for another week, after which I'll come pick it up. My next thought is to figure out a camera mount somehow so I can show them the exact temps/RPMs and road conditions that the stall occurs.

Well, after 2 weeks at Erico Motorsports in Denver I picked up my Factory... They tested everything under the sun, did a dyno run, overheated it, ran through checklists from Piaggio and Aprilia, brought in Aprilia techs to town, and reviewed the ECU for codes. In the end, they still weren't able to find anything out of spec or replicate the stalls. What they did end up doing was updating the maps again. I haven't had a chance to get it out yet for any longer rides, but my first take with the new maps is positive. Thus far it seems stronger, and doesn't seem to bog the engine immediately after clutch application. Fingers crossed the problem is fixed, but I'm not holding my breath. Next step is to camera record the stalls as they occur... Big thanks to Tristan and the service guys at Erico. Whether they think it's something I'm doing or something with the bike, they worked like crazy to try to eliminate all the possible causes.

[Mor]

At saturday I was riding with my wife (she on her rsv4). While she was downshifting form 2 to 1, the bike stalled and the rear wheel stopped. I saw a lot of blue smoke in my mirror, but everything went ok. Now I don't have any idea what is wrong with that bike, but I done a little test. I connected a laptop to Bazzaz unit with working engine. When the bike was idling, I opened the throttle to 1%. RPM incrased for a moment but then they drops to 1400-1500 (still 1% throttle open on laptop screen). When I closed the throttle, engine stalled. It was happening all the time I tried.

[Chris_Mag]

Mine stalled w/ the updated US map, and the behavior seems to be consistent with behavior pre-map update.

On occasions where it stalls, it appears to always happen after pulling in the clutch, typically when I'm driving stoplight to stoplight in downtown Portland. The idle on closed throttle will hunt or swing a bit, and then stabilize, or it will stall. When it happened this morning, the idle became normal after a restart (without turning the ignition off) and stopped its "hunting" behavior stopped. Coolant temp was typical at the time this occurred - maybe high 190s F or low 200s.

Understand, this is not an idle oscillation - it's an idle speed variance which seems to occur after deceleration on a closed throttle and when the clutch is pulled in right before a stop.

To date, this hasn't caused be any real issues - it has never occurred while riding back roads or on a highway - only in stop/go traffic.

Has there been any confirmation if this problem exists with the race mapping?

[DuctTape]

Since the one night it was stalling I've not had any more issues, weird.

[super8neon]

Back when mine was stalling.... when it stalled three times on three different occasions... the code that was kicked was for the Exhaust Valve Calibration.

When it did stall those three times, it was always cruising up to a stoplight, and I grabbed a fistful of clutch, the idle would act erratic and sputter, then shutdown and kick the Red Lights and Service Words.

The dealer manually and electronically adjusted the Exhaust Valve and I haven't had any issues to date.



Now ambient temps have dropped with Autumn... I see the engine stuck at 167 F in the morning ride to work.

[Chris_Mag]

Had the bike stall twice in the distance of one city block while riding into work this morning. This happened with the V2 Akra map/Leo slip-on. Prior to the stalls, the idle was "swinging" when I would pull in the clutch.

My dealer has yet to replace the crank sensor. When I previously asked the service manager about it, he indicated that the service bulletin was for the Factory models, and that he would inquire with Aprilia if that was an oversight.

[mirkvid]

Sorry to bump an old thread, but has there been any news on this? My 2010 Factory has been stalling pretty badly. I did read the whole thread, but it doesn't look like the cause had been discovered.

2010 - Engine has been replaced due to recall.

[Trinity666]

mine has rattled like all the rest since new but the last 100km of its 9400km its much worse, but runs great.
its coming from the left of the front head and almost sounds like a sticky lifter or maybe a header leak. i change oil evey 1700-2000km and its had full synthetic since break in. i do have a bad addiction to the roll on of this bike and im on my 4th tire, (streched a valve maybe?). out of desperation ill take my headers off and reset them to ensure true fit. my honda backs plugs out and sounds like this thru the moisture drip out the head. any ideas? the timing chain is front left right?

[Chris_Mag]

There are cam chains on both sides of the engine. Each side has a separate hydraulic tensioner.

[mirkvid]

Updated ECU map fixed this for me. It has not stalled since. I was running with stock 2010 map and full AR system.

[Trinity666]

There are cam chains on both sides of the engine. Each side has a separate hydraulic tensioner.

could the tensioners be slacking and still run like a top? any concerns to note or ways to be sure?

[aprilia_rsv4]

well my bike did stalled twice while down shifting and when i clutch in, it died.. was able to start immediately with no codes or urgent service on dash.. first time with stock ecu and stock exhos.. second time with race ecu and aft market exhos.. Any idea what the fault is? mileage is only 2000km.