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Hi guys, I finally had a shot of another falco and I was amazed at how smooth running it was compared to mine, even though it had 30k on it and mine has 18k.
My bike, year 2000
Gabro chip, akropovics "open" and renegade air kit, chip set to 2nd map for the renegade
His bike, year 2005
Forza chip, blue flames "open" and standard airbox with k+n

So I decided to give mine a good going over to see if I could improve mine. First thing I did was check the valves, they were all in spec. But I plugged in the diagnostic wire to find my TPS at a reading of -1
So I checked the fast idle and set the appropriate gap as the manual states. I set the throttle stop until the TPS zeroed and rechecked the fast idle gap, set to 1.6mm, now the worm drive idle adjuster doesn't touch the throttle stop and she idles about 1800-1900rpm

So I checked the throttle bodies for sync with my carbtune gauges and they were bang on. A web site I looked at for adjusting the TPS etc said that you could lower the throttle stop and zero the TPS by moving the actual sensor but this was an unusual method.

So do you think I need to adjust the idle by adjusting the air screws in the bodies and then rebalance or adjust the TPS itself, I'm slightly reluctant to adjust the throttle bodies as the spark plugs have a lovely nice tan brown colour and give the impression of good fuelling at the moment. I wouldn't want to lean her too much. It's bit of a minefield.

I've spent a day fiddling with different fast idle gaps etc but nothing brings the idle down unless I were to lower the throttle stop but that puts the TPS out again.
I've posted this too on The other aprilia forum so hopefully get a good few suggestions
Thanks for any suggestions guys :)

Found a how 2 by Gabro on idle tuning, kinda answers what I needed to know. But if anyone else has any tips on TPS that would be appreciated. Particularly in if anybody has a rough idea what there bleed screws were set at as a rough guide where to set mine, in comparison to Gabros settings.
Cheers

Hi Woody

It's a while since I've done it but I think the workshop manual covers it fairly well.
Yes, firstly get the TPS right (though they don't tend to go that far off). You have to wind off the throttle stop as the manual specifies and if the TPS then does not read zero you need to slacken the TPS mounting screws and move the TPS until the diag does read zero.
Ideally you would have the Aprilia CO tester and could then balance the CO of the cylinders via the trim pots. In reality, we don't have the tool so that is often omitted as it tends to be regarded as a "dealer job"
Then the TBs can be balanced with a carbtune or vacuum gauges.

I think you are going wrong by trying to zero the TPS with the Throttle Stop.

Aha, thanks D-Rider :) in that case, that gives me something to try tomorrow. I wasn't sure if I should attempt to disturb the original TPS sensor. I'll put a decent mark on it so I can re-align if need be, but I'll get the idle down and then reset the TPS like you said then double check my TB balance.
Thanks buddy :)

Hi, I was looking at my tbs and because I have the early version mine does not have the extra vacuum port on the front body on the right hand side, so to balance mine I need to disconnect the vacuum lines and sensor on the left.

Looking at the front tb you can see where the port would be but its never been drilled out. I wonder if it's worthwhile in the future, next time the tbs are off, to drill this out and tap it to suit the carbtune gauge screw. Then when not in use pop in a Suitable set screw with a fibre washer or equivalent. Would save disconnecting the sensor for future balancing.

TBH, it's probably easier to find a set of TBs from a later bike that come pre-equipped.

I do have a few spare sets - one is certainly like the one you have already but I think I've also got one like you would need

The sensor should be disconnected and the two tiny vacuum lines should be blocked when balancing the throttle bodies.

Even if balancing from the large ports on the right hand side of the bike.

D-Rider wrote:TBH, it's probably easier to find a set of TBs from a later bike that come pre-equipped.

I do have a few spare sets - one is certainly like the one you have already but I think I've also got one like you would need

Ooh, could be a possibility
Well I backed off the throttle screw, Until it wasn't touching the stop, then wound it in a fraction till it was basically up against the stop but not pushing it, the manual says screw it in a little. The revs dropped back to 1300-1400 ish. I reset the fast idle gap. Then I marked the sensor and tried a turn on it, I was expecting a decent amount of travel between -1 to +1 but it's a ball hair, Infact when it read 0 and I tightened it up again my original marks still lined up. Once I had done that I put the gauges back on and this time they were a little out. Trying to synchro them seems a dark art as without a gas analyser I don't know if leaning out or going too rich, because the plugs in the front cylinder were a lovely tan brown I assume that mixture is in the ball park, the rear spark plugs were slightly whitish looking. My settings on the tbs were

2.2 turns out front and about 1.7 for the rear. I thought the smaller amount of turns out would be going richer but it's strange for the last few years this is where the tbs have been set, yet the front plugs look better than the rears.

It all seems bit of a dark art tbh. Kinda limited to resources up here so just trying to figure it out as I go along.

My answer probably isn't the one you want to hear, but I think that getting the CO2 balanced by a dealer is what you need. We're very fortunate as we have Griff just down the road in Tamworth, but on Shetland your options are very limited. Griff did the CO2 on mine over the winter and said that the settings were a mile out. I haven't ridden it since, but am looking forward to doing so...

Basically if you change the exhaust then the CO2 settings need changing to suit. Inlet changes aren't as problematic, but as mine has a set of unbalanced pipes, a pair of Akrapovic cans, a Griff version of the Evo intake mod and a Forza Italia chip, it's a lot different from when the CO2 was last checked (at its 600 mile service...!)

I'd be trying to find a reputable Aprilia dealer that can do the CO2 balance before trying anything else. I realise that's a challenge with where you're based... Perhaps you could give Griff a ring at Aprilia Performance and explain your situation. He may be able to point you in the right direction, and may also be able to point you towards an affordable gas analyser.

Just a brief note .... it's Carbon Monoxide we're talking about - not Carbon Dioxide

Thanks for your input guys, much appreciated, I'll take a ride over to a local garage who are quite good with bike servicing etc I'll ask his advise on if there's anywhere up here that could set the co in the tbs, and I'll give griff a call although I hope I'm not going to be a pest phoning for advise when he's probably a busy man. I've not ridden her since zeroing the TPS but it was such a tiny amount "felt and looked like nothing" I'm not sure if will be any different, although a few mechanic pals have reckoned I'll see an odds with the TPS registering the right calibration.

On a different note I've ordered some motul 300v 15 50 fully synthetic to do another oil change, the silkoline 10 40 semi I used caused some really bad clutch slip.

Going to have to open her up again in the not too far future too, when I checked the valves they were in spec but pretty close to the limit.

2 front exhaust at 0.24 and 2 rear exh at 0.23
1 rear inlet at 0.12 and the other 3 at 0.13
Seems odd for them to be that close when a lot of higher mileage bikes seem fine, she's done 18,000 but has had regular oil changes.

D'uh... I meant CO, not CO2. So why did I blabber on about CO2...?

If you got clutch slip with Silkolene 10/40 semi, I think you might be making it worse with Motul 300V fully synth... 300V is some of the 'slipperiest' oil I've ever used. It's basically full race oil - I use it in my Ducati 888, but that has a dry clutch...

mangocrazy wrote:D'uh... I meant CO, not CO2. So why did I blabber on about CO2...?

If you got clutch slip with Silkolene 10/40 semi, I think you might be making it worse with Motul 300V fully synth... 300V is some of the 'slipperiest' oil I've ever used. It's basically full race oil - I use it in my Ducati 888, but that has a dry clutch...

Lol I can't win lol, oh well I'll give it a try and see what happens, fussy ole falco, you treat her to the best and she's still raises her nose.

Well if that slips now, I don't know what to put in her. Go back to the Mobil 1 :)

How old is your bike ?
my Y plate suffered from clutch slip when I gave it a big handful, oil viscosity made no difference, EBC friction plates made the matter worse, they work but you will have to leave on e friction plate out in order to achieve correct plate stack height.
Full synth oil is not recommdened anywhere by anyone ,dont do it

fatboy wrote:How old is your bike ?
my Y plate suffered from clutch slip when I gave it a big handful, oil viscosity made no difference, EBC friction plates made the matter worse, they work but you will have to leave on e friction plate out in order to achieve correct plate stack height.
Full synth oil is not recommdened anywhere by anyone ,dont do it

Oh mine is a X plate, 2000
I had already ordered the oil before and it's here now lol so I'm going to give if a go, strange thing is I always ran Mobil 1 fully synth before and never had any problems I only converted to the 10-40 semi because I couldn't get the Mobil up here off the shelf and I thought the 10-40 silkoline would be just as good. We'll see how it goes and I'll post up here what happens.

On the throttle body front, I called aprilia performance today and although I'm sure your all aware they are fantastic to deal with I'm going to mention it anyway.
Got my base settings, got my method and got a friend with a EGA hopefully coming over this weekend to set the CO levels.