Falco owner in spirit

Message

spiderwheels · #1 Post by **spiderwheels** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 10:21 am

I collect my Falco on Saturday. Bought from a dealer off of Ebay and I haven't actually seen it in the flesh yet (yes I know.. I know..) but at the price I thought I can sort it all out later :) If it turns out to be a shed I can still walk away but it looks tidy and seems to have a decent service history.

I'm fairly well stocked with tools an mechanical know-how to tackle all but the most serious of issues.

I popped on to the AF1 forum and someone suggested I join here and bug the fellow owners around Cambridge :)

I'm sure I'll be back soon to help work out why the brown connector on the side stand has burnt out the starter sprag (or something like that..)

D-Rider · #2 Post by **D-Rider** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 10:32 am

Hi and welcome.

Many of us are on AF1 as well as Ridersite so you are in good company.

Enjoy your Falco when you get it - post up the details - there's a chance we may even know some of its history.

They are generally very well made, robust and reliable bikes so if you do have some niggles they can probably be sorted - hopefully that won't be necessary.

wayno · #3 Post by **wayno** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 12:02 pm

Welcome, and you will enjoy it.

Everyone will be able to tell you exactly why the brown connector burnt out the sprag clutch, one of the known flaws with the aprilias, although easy enough to stop the same fault arising in the future.

D-rider is right about someone possibly knowing the history, they are a bit incestuous on here :)

spiderwheels · #4 Post by **spiderwheels** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 12:20 pm

Hi guys. Thanks for the warm welcome :)

It's about two and a half hours away from me and I'm picking it up saturday. At the moment it's forecast for rain so should give me an interesting journey and plenty of time to get to know it. (Does the engine management have a rain setting?)

I'll post plenty of pics and history when it's safely tucked in the garage. Like you say it's probably well known!

D-Rider · #5 Post by **D-Rider** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 12:46 pm

spiderwheels wrote:(Does the engine management have a rain setting?)

LOL No - it's a bit more old-school in terms of engine management.

Slippery roundabouts in the wet can be a bit of a handful as the low-down torque is significant and comes in quickly.

All fixable though - good balancing of the throttle bodies and correct chain tension help a lot.

Getting the fuelling sorted makes a huge difference - far moreso than I thought it could. during 2013 I bought a Gabro chip (he's an Italian member of the worldwide Aprilia community and makes wonderful chips for these bikes - tailored to the setup you have). Other than the downsides of getting a bit wet, my bike is a pleasure to ride in the wet now as throttle response is so controlable (and it gives more grunt when you open it up too ... along with better fuel economy)

Anyway don't be worried but if it does feel a bit of a handful it can be tamed.

Shetland Woody · #6 Post by **Shetland Woody** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 6:36 pm

The only rain setting is...it won't like it lol, you'll probably get efi flashing at you

don't worry about it. Hope you enjoy your new bike dude.

Aladinsaneuk · #7 Post by **Aladinsaneuk** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 6:47 pm

Another successful grooming

I live just south of norwich - drop me a pm if you want to meet or just chat etc

fatboy · #8 Post by **fatboy** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 6:55 pm

Helloo, congrats on your choice of bike !
Im sure you will enjoy once you get to know each other.
Be warned, when the weather allows your face will ache from the lunatic grin that comes with a bracing ride

Now wrap your credit card up in cotton wool, its sure to get a hammering when you become smitten

blinkey501 · #9 Post by **blinkey501** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 7:03 pm

wayno wrote: why the brown connector burnt out the sprag clutch,

blinkey501 · #10 Post by **blinkey501** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 7:04 pm

spiderwheels wrote:Hi guys. Thanks for the warm welcome :)

It's about two and a half hours away from me and I'm picking it up saturday. At the moment it's forecast for rain so should give me an interesting journey and plenty of time to get to know it. (Does the engine management have a rain setting?)

I'll post plenty of pics and history when it's safely tucked in the garage. Like you say it's probably well known!

Lincoln?

HisNibbs · #11 Post by **HisNibbs** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 7:50 pm

Hi,

I'm an hour from Cambridge, less on the Falco.... grew up there and in Cambridge often as my daughter is at the Uni. So if you want to get in touch just let me know.

DavShill · #12 Post by **DavShill** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 8:15 pm

Welcome - hope the deal goes through. Let us know how you get on.

GregD-UK · #13 Post by **GregD-UK** » Wed Jan 15, 2014 9:04 pm

Hi all.

Welcome and you will enjoy your new ride

Be careful on the way home, if you haven't rode a twin before. Can be jerky below 3000revs, if a mode hasn't been done. Then all hell breaks loose above that. Nust be gentle on the way home, till you get use to it...

spiderwheels · #14 Post by **spiderwheels** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 11:13 am

Hi everyone.

Yeah it would be nice to go out riding with anyone isn't too far away!

No the bike isn't from Lincoln :)

My V-strom is a twin but it's much more well mannered. I doubt the Falco can be any worse getting round wet roundabouts than an old knackered LC I used to have with a power-curve modelled on the white cliffs of Dover...

I bought the 'Strom as something sensible.. which means I'm obviously moving in to my mid-life crisis as the Falco is just love at first site!

The only thing that's bothering me really is the possibility it has an EU headlight being one of the bronze ones.. it does have history of MOT's so hopefully that means it's a legal UK lamp rather than a friendly MOT tester..

#15 Post by **mangocrazy** » Thu Jan 16, 2014 12:24 pm

spiderwheels wrote:The only thing that's bothering me really is the possibility it has an EU headlight being one of the bronze ones.. it does have history of MOT's so hopefully that means it's a legal UK lamp rather than a friendly MOT tester..

I wouldn't worry about that too much. Mine has an EU headlight and the MoT tester either doesn't notice it, or sticks a piece of black tape on it to make it pass. Just because it's a later model doesn't automatically mean it has an EU headlight.

There's a sticky in the Falco section (if you haven't already seen it) that tells you how to identify your headlight.