My Baby is a non-starter!

[falcomunky]

Thought I'd better curtail my hijack of SkinnyPinny's thread as it was getting a little confusing, (sorry fella; Ive edited out my posts in your thread! )...
From the top; I last rode her home on Thursday, (7th Feb), from work and tucked her in fer the night as normal.
Didnt get out on her over the weekend; never even opened the shed door tbh!
Get up on Monday mornin and go out to the shed to get the bike warmed-up fer the ride to work and she wont fire.
Power appears to be there, (battery, horn, lights etc. all check-out), and the starter is spinning as it should. The fuel pump primes when the key is turned but it seems as though there is no spark, (shoulda checked with a plug out against bare metal but havnt yet fer some reason ).
I get a '0' with the diagnostic wires connected and it stays that way even when trying to start her in diag. mode, so I assume the many sensors/black boxes are in the clear.
Ive cleaned and checked the battery terminals/wiring fer any obvious damage, but still no go.
So Im left thinking plugs, leads, coils or caps, (or all of the above!).
Checked em all out and one cap, (upper-rear cylinder), was EXTREMELY hard to remove, (and I mean it had been malleted on!), while another, (lower-rear cylinder; Coincidentally?), had decided to leave the internal, tubular 'clip' that grips the plug nipple when you push the cap home back on the plug!
It has broken down, (which, now Ive looked into it, appears a not too uncommon problem with the Italian thous; Due to em having flexible outers, they can be bent when pulling em off the plugs, meaning the resistor inside can break! Doh!)
There is a more solid, NGK replacement: Part number 'VD05F', (as opposed to the OE 'VD05E'; 'E' refers to it being rubber, 'VD' refer to angle and length, while '05' is the k-ohm rating, if I remember right).
So.
I need to replace the caps, (dont trust my DIY repair on the broken cap), and possibly the leads as well to be on the safe side, (anyone have a part number or know the lead-type thats on the Falco, or can point me somewhere that sells em?).
However, Im left wondering why she still wont try to fire on the remaining plugs and why I didnt get any bad-running warnings prior to her refusing to start!
Yes I need to replace the plug caps but Im fairly certain she still wont fire when I do!
Any ideas???

[Viking]

It's not bad fuel, is it?

I had a case where I filled up and rode home OK, but the bike would not start the next morning. Had to drain a full tank of fuel then fill it with good stuff.

[Falcopops]

Whe you say the starter is spinning, is it turning the motor over?

Thinking along the lines of the sprag clutch issue - hopefully incorrectly.

If the motor isn't turning you won't feel any pressure from the zorsts.

[Okamoto]

Think I'd check the sidestand and kill switch ...easy to get to and bridge out, seems funny to just cut out like that with no pre-symptoms so to speak.

[Gio]

I like that (other spark plugs)

Maybe its had enough of being ridden in shite weather

[falcomunky]

Well, had her to bits again to check on whether the plugs are sparking, (they are; Brightest Ive seen actually!), and whether there is compression, (there is judging by the end cans trying to blow my hand off!), so now Im really stumped.
Im fairly certain that the starter wouldnt even engage if any of the sensors/switches were bolloxed; I had a sidestand cutout switch fail on my old zx7r, but it was the equivalent of having the kill-switch pushed in, ie nothing at the starter button. I assume the Prila is the same.
Im gonna try dumping the fuel tomorrow and put fresh in just in case; I did run so low last Wednesday that the Missus had to go out n get me a Jerry Can-full so I could get to work on Thursday, (tho she did put a tenners worth in her car as well with no apparent probs)...
Hmmm
Im gonna at least get new plugs and caps as at least one has failed and the others are prolly on their way, (she has done 27k+).
Will let yall know, n Viking; I owe you a crate o yer favourite if it does turn out to be shite fuel!

[fastasfcuk]

if you've got a spark are the plugs getting wet with fuel.

[Firestarter]

Fuel filter, no fuel getting through? Any crap in the jerry can that your missus brought out to you, maybe got through and blocked a filter or something?

[Falcopops]

Fuel filter, no fuel getting through? Any crap in the jerry can that your missus brought out to you, maybe got through and blocked a filter or something?

Good Call esp. since it was run so empty, there is prolly a load of crap in the filter.

[falcomunky]

Plugs are wet and the end cans stink of fuel after Ive tried starting her a couple of times, (flooded I presume), so there is fuel and sparks.
Bad fuel would also help explain why the other 'good' plugs/caps arent trying to fire.
Gonna try n get out today, (day-off work but with no transport; Daaad!...), n get some more fuel and hopefully new plug caps and leads.
If that doesnt solve it then Im really stumped!
Cheers fer the help so far chaps!

[HowardQ]

Crap fuel is a problem these days, ordinary unleaded starts to turn to gunge in a few weeks. I always make sure I've a least got around 1/2 a tank of super unleaded in any bike that is off the road for a while.
Had major problems with my old CBR1000F winter hack back in summer 2006 when I forget it for a few months with ordinary unleaded in the tank.
Took me weeks playing around before I got it firing clean on all four, still not perfect even now, so probably needs yet another strip down.

[Samray]

I think crap fuel has always been a problem, probably even more so in the past.
The difference these days is that todays more advanced/complicated/tuned engines are more susceptible.

[falcomunky]

Well, managed to get a bit o time free this afternoon to go hunting fer the rocking-horse-shit plug-caps that arent even listed on NGKs part finder! Reason prolly being, Ive since been told, is that NGK will have made em specifically fer Prila and the code is more a Prila part number than NGK!...
Anyhoo.
Found a some at a local bike shop, (Millers in Darlington), that should hopefully be close enough matches, but with a solid outer rather than the flexible OE efforts.
Part numbers fer the replacement caps; if you ever need em, are;
The top-most/longest cap is NGK XB05F.
The lower-most/shorter cap is NGK VD05F.
From what Ive gleaned online Ive deffo got the right replacement fer the short cap as others have had the same problem of the internals breaking down due to the sideways movement allowed by the flexible, OE outer when fitting or removing em from the plugs.
Their angle and length are identical, the only differences being the solid outer, colour, (red/brown), removable, (possibly unusable), rubber weather seals, and slightly annoying fact that the internal 'clip' is designed to fit onto the smaller, threaded 'head' of the plug rather than the larger 'adapter' that the OE NGK DCPR9E plugs have. In fact, they dont even have adapters, at least not removable ones! I only found this out when I tried to unscrew one from one of the old plugs and sheared the internal 'rod' that runs from plug-tip to tip!
Main annoyance is I bought a set of OE replacement plugs off Ebay dead cheap n they arrived today but now Ive realised they wont fit the new caps, (anyone need a set btw?)!
Doh!!!
The longer cap replacement has a question mark hanging over it til I can fit it. Its got a 90' neck rather than the 120', (or whatever it is), neck of the OE cap. Ive had a look and it seems as though it should be okay but I will prolly need new, slightly longer HT leads, (I take it they are screwed or pushed into the coils and so removable/replaceable? )
So Im gonna have to find another set of plugs with the smaller heads but with the same ratings, (anyone help on that), and then hopefully get em tomorrow from Halfords or wherever.
Will report back when I get new plugs, switch the fuel out fer some fresh, hopefully combustable stuff n get her fired up again.
God Ive missed her!

[falcomunky]

Now Im REALLY hacked off...
Bin working on the bike all day.
Had the airbox, air filter n all ancillary hoses, etc. off n cleaned. Ive put new fuel, plugs and caps in, had the fuel pump unit outta the tank and the strainer n filter checked but they were clean, (the filter is a sealed, unit bar the in/out pipes, but I could blow fuel through from either direction so I assume its clear; That n the wet plugs n awful stink o petrol fumes coming outta the end-cans whenever Ive tried to start her make me think it isnt a fueling prob.).
Ive even had the ECU out just to see if I could spot any chipboard melting or broken circuitry but it appears ok.
If any of the various sensors/switches fail, they should not even allow the starter to spin, let alone the engine, so I am assuming, (yes, I know 'Assumption is the Mother of all F-Ups'! ), that they are all ok; Especially as there is no fault code when I attempt to fire her with the diagnostic wires connected.
WTF!?!?
Ive a feeling shes gonna have to go to my nearest Prila dealer, M&S in Newcastle, to get, (expensively), checked-out as I have run out of ideas.
Unless anyone else has any?...

[Samray]

I know you said it's spinning ok, but have you checked out the battery if you're reduced to clutching at staws.
It would seem to be ok if you haven't flattened it by now tho.