Doh! ..... drip drip drip

Message

D-Rider · #1 Post by **D-Rider** » Fri Jul 11, 2014 6:32 pm

Home from work, just parking the Falco and my son says "what's all that coming from your bike?"

Ah, that'll be a coolant leak then.

Typically happens when I've only just filled brim full of fuel - so even lifting the tank will be just that bit more of a pain as it'll need draining a bit first.

Think I know what the weekends tasks will include ......

Doh !

Ah well it'll be much much better than being at work.

HowardQ · #2 Post by **HowardQ** » Fri Jul 11, 2014 7:03 pm

Here's hoping you find the leak quickly and all goes well.

Dalemac · #3 Post by **Dalemac** » Fri Jul 11, 2014 7:11 pm

Never nice to see them bleeding, is it :(

D-Rider · #4 Post by **D-Rider** » Fri Jul 11, 2014 9:18 pm

I think it's either the 3-way manifold or one of the hoses that connects to it.
Pulled the plastics off tonight to save a bit of time tomorrow and having a quick squint again does suggest it's from that area.

D-Rider · #5 Post by **D-Rider** » Sat Jul 12, 2014 12:10 pm

Yep it's the 3-way manifold - leaking once the thermostat opens.

Now to search to see whether I've got one squirrelled away .....

Then the fun begins squeezing in to replace it behind the frame rail and the thickest bit of wiring harness on the bike

TwinkietheKid · #6 Post by **TwinkietheKid** » Sat Jul 12, 2014 12:46 pm

D-Rider wrote:Yep it's the 3-way manifold - leaking once the thermostat opens.

Now to search to see whether I've got one squirrelled away .....

Then the fun begins squeezing in to replace it behind the frame rail and the thickest bit of wiring harness on the bike

Been there, done that.

Patience and skinny fingers are your friend!

D-Rider · #7 Post by **D-Rider** » Sat Jul 12, 2014 1:21 pm

TwinkietheKid wrote:
D-Rider wrote:Yep it's the 3-way manifold - leaking once the thermostat opens.

Now to search to see whether I've got one squirrelled away .....

Then the fun begins squeezing in to replace it behind the frame rail and the thickest bit of wiring harness on the bike
Been there, done that.

Patience and skinny fingers are your friend!

Well I don't have a spare so I can use the time in waiting for one to arrive from ebay to let my fingers slim down a bit!

UPDATE:
Fingers may have a long time to slim down as ebay seems to only have them for GenII RSVRs/Tuonos. They are a different part number so don't really want to risk it and find myself back to square 1.

If anyone has a spare one (for a Falco, Futura, GenI Mille or Tuono) that they would be willing to flog me then please let me know ..... I want the bike back on the road!

It's part number 4 in the pic

FURTHER UPDATE:

All Sorted

With just one further poke about I found that one of the hose clamps (those ones that Aprilia use instead of jubilee clips - the ones that don't come undone easily) - number 5 in the picture above - was really loose !

Using greater dexterity than a gynaecologist getting into that really tight space, I managed to remove the clamp and replace it with a real jubilee clip.

Ran it up to temp, a couple of cycles of the fans, no more leaks. Job sorted.

While the bike's apart I'll do a few more jobs .... have already removed the PCIII which has just sat disconnected since fitting the Gabro chip.

TwinkietheKid · #8 Post by **TwinkietheKid** » Sun Jul 13, 2014 12:58 am

D-Rider wrote:
TwinkietheKid wrote:
D-Rider wrote:Yep it's the 3-way manifold - leaking once the thermostat opens.

Now to search to see whether I've got one squirrelled away .....

Then the fun begins squeezing in to replace it behind the frame rail and the thickest bit of wiring harness on the bike
Been there, done that.

Patience and skinny fingers are your friend!
Well I don't have a spare so I can use the time in waiting for one to arrive from ebay to let my fingers slim down a bit!

UPDATE:
Fingers may have a long time to slim down as ebay seems to only have them for GenII RSVRs/Tuonos. They are a different part number so don't really want to risk it and find myself back to square 1.

If anyone has a spare one (for a Falco, Futura, GenI Mille or Tuono) that they would be willing to flog me then please let me know ..... I want the bike back on the road!

It's part number 4 in the pic

FURTHER UPDATE:

All Sorted

With just one further poke about I found that one of the hose clamps (those ones that Aprilia use instead of jubilee clips - the ones that don't come undone easily) - number 5 in the picture above - was really loose !

Using greater dexterity than a gynaecologist getting into that really tight space, I managed to remove the clamp and replace it with a real jubilee clip.

Ran it up to temp, a couple of cycles of the fans, no more leaks. Job sorted.

While the bike's apart I'll do a few more jobs .... have already removed the PCIII which has just sat disconnected since fitting the Gabro chip.

Oh no! That is the easy 3-way! I was thinking it was part #1 in the picture. That one I've had crack. It's a blast to replace!

D-Rider · #9 Post by **D-Rider** » Sun Jul 13, 2014 9:07 am

OK ..... well I hope I don't have a problem with that one then!

HowardQ · #10 Post by **HowardQ** » Sun Jul 13, 2014 2:48 pm

Glad it's sorted!

Viking · #11 Post by **Viking** » Mon Jul 14, 2014 2:16 am

TwinkietheKid wrote:Oh no! That is the easy 3-way! I was thinking it was part #1 in the picture. That one I've had crack. It's a blast to replace!

Been there, done that. And yes,it's a bastard to get to.

D-Rider · #12 Post by **D-Rider** » Mon Jul 14, 2014 10:06 am

HowardQ wrote:Glad it's sorted!

..... and I wish it was .....

Came to start it this morning. It ran as rough as a badgers arse for a moment and stopped.

I'm wondering whether I trapped a fuel line in the fight to get the swollen tank back in place, whether there is a bit of a wiredness with the sidestand switch (was a bit dodgy and I've been looking for a replacement) or whether the tip over switch was a bit "confused" after I'd popped it bak in place after fighting the tank back in place.

.... I'll have to start exploring .... though a lot of other jobs to do in the evenings this week ...

MartDude · #13 Post by **MartDude** » Mon Jul 14, 2014 5:01 pm

Threads like this make me so glad I've gone back to an air-cooled engine. Not only do they look and sound nicer, there isn't this unnecessary complication to worry about.

Aladinsaneuk · #14 Post by **Aladinsaneuk** » Mon Jul 14, 2014 5:03 pm

we thought it was because you like wearing a patch and leather chaps.....

D-Rider · #15 Post by **D-Rider** » Mon Jul 14, 2014 5:48 pm

D-Rider wrote:
HowardQ wrote:Glad it's sorted!
..... and I wish it was .....

Came to start it this morning. It ran as rough as a badgers arse for a moment and stopped.

I'm wondering whether I trapped a fuel line in the fight to get the swollen tank back in place, whether there is a bit of a weirdness with the sidestand switch (was a bit dodgy and I've been looking for a replacement) or whether the tip over switch was a bit "confused" after I'd popped it bak in place after fighting the tank back in place.

.... I'll have to start exploring .... though a lot of other jobs to do in the evenings this week ...

Well this is an odd one.
Came home tonight (via the car

) and thought I'd drag the bike out of the garage so I could make a good start on it after tea.
Thumbed the starter to see whether there were any signs of life ..... and to begin with there was nothing. Then it grumbled into life ... making some funny sounds before deciding it would run as a 500cc single attached to a 500cc compressor.
After a while the other pot chimed in and it started warming up nicely ..... and after a short while was running as sweet as a nut.
Left it running for quite a while and it just ran really nicely - picking up really well on the throttle.

Tomorrow's commute will confirm whether it's really OK but it seems to have self-healed !

Odd - but far better than having to rip it apart and start diagnosing ..... hopefully !