Oh not another newbie with problems....

[BCooper]

Fraid so guys, I bought the non-runner 2000MY Peg from ebay a couple of weeks ago. But as an ex-mechanic of 20 years and lifetime bike owner, I've got a fair idea of what I'm doing (famous last words there..)

It sounds like it wants to go - fuel, battery and compression all seem ok. Initially I could hear it 'duffing' from the exhausts when spinning over. So then pulled it all to pieces in order to get at everything.

With the plug out and a new one earthed, The first thing I've noticed is that the plug isn't quite sparking right - it's more of a fizz. It's certainly sparking more times than it should. I've done all the continuity tests from the manual and everything seems ok. All the earths are good and the coil, cdi and pick up seem ok. I took off the plug cap and tried a nail in the end too - same.... its something like a 'double spark'

Going deeper I took off the side cover and found the pickup had quite a lot of swarf around it - metallic bits across the contacts too. I've cleaned it up but I don't want to spin it over until I can get a new gasket and refill with oil etc. I'm hoping this might be the problem.

I'm looking for some guidance from the wealth of experience a forum like this can offer: Who's had experience of this before? Do the pick ups often fail? Could it still be a coil winding breaking down? Should I get a coil anyway? CDIs are about a million pounds so thats a last resort but do they go pop too?

As ever - all help is greatly appreciated

Thanks

[robg]

Welcome. Its Italian so its probably electrical!! I do recall a thread somewhere on here about the pick up and/or the flywheel having moved position, so that in effect the timing was out. Might be worth a check. Some people have had issues with coils, problem is that if its breaking down under load then substitution may be the only option. And its rare to hear of a CDI going, but not unknown. Most of the bits can be found cheap on ebay, with the proviso that your patient and don't pay what the average breaker is asking. E.G. I bought a set of forks a couple of weeks ago for 99p. Dismantled and I had to collect, but that's the deal.
I would be concerned about the swarf. And I dont remember there being a lot of oil in that side case. If you've cleaned it up, I would be tempted to give it another go and see what happens. I'm guessing you have had a trawl round the forum? The other issue that can cause problems starting are the tank drains. So have a read.
Keep us posted on what happens.

[BCooper]

Thanks Rob, I'll post back here when I find the problem...

[BCooper]

Well how much further down the line are we?

Despite the readings being within the tolerance, I replaced the pick up and coil with some secondhand items. Also finding that if you leave the gasket off the side case and use good quality instant goo, it jams the starter motor - the tolerance is that fine!
Anyway that didn't work - although it does seem to have a better spark now. I did notice that after quite a bit of cranking with the choke on/off/whatever , there wasn't much unburnt fuel on the plug, so tonight I took the carbs off for a good look. They both look fine so after a bit of tinkering they went back on and I tried again.
It did sound different as it was cranking but then an almighty clank that didn't sound good at all... a few cranks later and the same again... I took the plug out and the side cover back off and wound it over by hand with a socket...

Love me I'm thick but in my book, engines used to go suck, squeeze, bang, blow....i could swear that this one is doing something different... can anyone tell me what and where that decompressor is? and can anyone tell me if the ignition pick up exciter should be at or near TDC when it's under the pick up (because it isn't - it's about 30 degrees past it)

Tomorrow night - valve cover off I think....

[stisma]

Well how much further down the line are we?

... can anyone tell me what and where that decompressor is? ....

Auto-decompressor or Centrifugal Decompressor is a spring assisted device on the exhaust camshaft, that keeps one exhaust valve open untill the engine starts.
Has no function while engine is running. Rotax designed device.
That strange sound you hear while cranking the engine is it. (same is if the engine doesn't catch or diaes suddenly)
Sounds like everything is falling apart.

In case you don't have the engine manual....here it is.

[BCooper]

Thanks for the manual - I have the BMW and a basic Aprillia one but that's great. This is the trouble when you buy a non-runner, you have no idea of who's had a go at it and what's has been tried (or how it got to be a non runner in the first place). It's either gonna be electrical, fuel or mechanical. With that horrible clank, I'm looking at mechanical now, I wonder if its a valve or cam chain problem? Maybe the decompressor has stuck??

As ever, watch this space....

[BCooper]

..some time later...

like I said, you never know who's had a go at it when you buy a non runner...

There was no woodruff key in the flywheel/magneto and the magneto housing was bolted incorrectly about 30 degrees too far advanced (two bolt holes). The BMW Clymer manual doesn't even mention it but the Aprillia one does. So the whole thing was completely out of whack. The clank I heard must have been an explosion in the cylinder at many degrees btdc which may have kicked back on the crank and starter (?)

New key on order - keep watching this space...

[stisma]

Good work!!!

[robg]

Well done mate.

[BCooper]

June: Right then I can now round this thread off although its hardly likely to come up again as a 'fault'. The woodruff key eventually turned up and was naturally the wrong one (you just knew that was gonna happen didn't you?). undeterred I made my own with a big washer I found plus an angle grinder and a linisher. The gasket came from a £1 sheet of 0.4mm gasket paper (not a ridiculous £34 rip off) and the whole thing has gone back together beautifully. I started instantly and runs like a clock - I did notice that these engines like their plug gap to be right don't they? It seems to be fairly critical.

This being my first Aprillia, and the lowest CC bike I've owned in for many years (Ex-Triumph Tiger/FJ1200/BMW1000), I have to say they it's got lovely handling, bags of grunt and I really like the riding position. It'll need a pair of tires in a month or so, no doubt I'll be searching the forums for that topic. In the meantime what have I learned?
Trust in yourself
Do not jump to conclusions (it's not the CDI!)
Aprilia Parts are stupidly overpriced

Thanks for all the help - here's a picture of the old girl....

[SJL]

And now you can really start to enjoy using your bike instead of using it as a spanner rack!!!

Looking like a tidy example.

Ste

[VSU21]

Beautiful, just like mine. You will love it.

I just replaced tyres and swapped from Metzler Tourance to the cheaper Michelin Sirac, and I find the Sirac's handle better.

Food for thought.

Cherrs VSU21

[madoldbird]

so pleased you found the fault and got her sorted BC

the mention of 'wooodruff key' sent my memory back, to the era of old brits and panther outfits