MOT and 1st ride out

[Falco9]

At long last the Falco went for its MOT today. All OK apart from an advisory for the bottom bush on the shock, I thought it was past it to be honest, but hopefully I have another shock en-route to me very soon.

I then had a good ride out to bed the bike in and do all those little checks etc..that are needed after a big rebuild

Plus points. She pulls like a train, runs super smooth, all the gears, clutch, brakes etc.. were super. She wheelies everywhere and I had a grin on my face like a large smug cheshire cat

Bad points ........ Speedo failed after just 5 miles (probably the sender unit) and I hit a bump with surprsing consequences. The bike cut out a couple of times very quickly and then immediately recovered but the right hand part of the dash stopped working with just "DIAG" lit. The rev counter was fine as were all the other electrics

The bike continued to run perfectly all the way home and after turing the ignition off & on again the dash now appears to be fine with all the info working

The Hook airkit sounds fantastic as do the Carbon Cans, and I am a very happy camper at the moment

So does anyone have a spare speedo sender unit?? I think they'll be a few on Fleabay I'm sure

Any ideas on the engine cut out would be good to hear. I have checked all the connectors I can get to since being home, and I've found nothing amiss so far

F9

[D-Rider]

Diag means that the diagnostic connector is .... er .... connected - maybe it's loosely together or there is a bit of a wiring problem.

Similar with the cutting out following a bump?


As for a speed sensor - I think I've caught mine behaving a bit odd occasionally - I'm probably after one too!

[Samray]

As for a speed sensor - I think I've caught mine behaving a bit odd occasionally - I'm probably after one too!

Nah, you really were going that slowly.

[D-Rider]

As for a speed sensor - I think I've caught mine behaving a bit odd occasionally - I'm probably after one too!

Nah, you really were going that slowly.

It was the occasional rate of change of speed when there wasn't much actual change of speed that was more of a concern .... and yes, on urban roads I wasn't traveling quickly.

TBH not 100% sure - only caught it out of the corner of my eye and it seems OK most of the time .... but I thought I saw it a few days ago too.

[Kwackerz]

Perfect excuse for a Futura rear end conversion...

[D-Rider]

Perfect excuse for a Futura rear end conversion...

I did think about that once but (out of earshot of the Futura riders) ..... I don't like the look of the Futura rear wheel ..... and besides any wheel made from metal is so "last year"

[Willopotomas]

Certainly sounds like an intermittent fault.. The worst kind! Seems you've checked the obvious.. Maybe wait until it happens again and see if you can spot anything. I'm wondering if water has got in to the ECU?

[Kwackerz]

I'll have 50p on it being an earth somewhere that's loose or not very well grounded.

[D-Rider]

So does anyone have a spare speedo sender unit?? I think they'll be a few on Fleabay I'm sure

Just had a look - not many on there at present ..... and some of the used ones are on Buy It Nows at a higher price than you can buy a brand new one (see ultimate parts for new price guide - other dealers available - some of which offer discount to Club Aprilia members)

Not inclined to pay those sort of prices myself (if it does pack up I'll use my nav system as a speedo until I can get a sensor at a good price)

[Hishy]

yup you do have a shock on the way a little late due to having to work away (work can be so damn inconsiderate at times :( )

And the fut fut isn't a damn donor bike , it's a piece of 2 wheel awesomeness that just makes you falco guys jealous (i know i used to have one :p )

Glad it passed though m8 and apologies for the hold ups, life can kinda suck at times i'm only 39 and i'm falling apart at the seams, diabetes is an ass, 2-3 years before my shoulder is going to work properly, and now deaf in one ear (perfect hearing to deaf in 3 hrs yay), although i can hear low frequencies now.......hmmm staintunes for the fut fut i think :)....... just dont tell the wife

Anyway enough whinging for now.....

[Aladinsaneuk]

for assorted reasons i am after a rear wheel for a futura atm....

(And i would check the large connector in the ecu ....)

[Falco9]

Thanks for all the replies and advice. So far I checked everything you guys have suggested with no obvious problems. All the connections seem fine but the speedo is definately dead! so another sender unit needs to be sourced

Thanks for the update on the shock Hishy, much appreciated

Nothing worse than an "intermittent" fault is there?

Lovely day for another run so I'm going out again and just hope if it does happen again I'm going to stop and see if I can spot anything

F9

[Falco9]

So the saga continues..............went out for a ride today and within a couple of miles once again I lost the right hand side of the dash display again with "diag 1" now showing. But once again the bike ran fine and the next set of lights I turned the ignition off & on and it reset to normal

10 miles into my ride and the bikes dies completely. She started up again after turning the ignition off & on but a couple of miles later it dies again and would not re-start.

Wayne's quick release tank pins were a boon here!! got the seat off and the tank up at the side of the road and started to check everything I could see and and waggling every connector I could find. Now the dash is fine and the bike turns over but still won't start.....more waggling and she starts. Got home and stripped off all the fairing & bodywork and systematically checked every connector from front to back with nothing loose or dodgy found. I removed all three earths to the engine cleaned them and refitted them (they were tight & clean though) double checked the battery connectors and even checked the ECU connectors and inside the ECU to make sure all was well visually

Now she starts right on the button and all works as it should. But I'm no closer to what or where the problem actually is or more importantly being able to trust her not to do this again when out for a decent run. I didn't buy her just to ride around within 10 miles of my house!

Are there any other earths other than the 3 that fasten to the engine? I couldn't find any more when I looked

Or any other ideas as to what the problem might be ?

F9

[Hishy]

hmm, sure i've read somewhere that faulty eproms can cause this, are the wires that are cut when derestricting (presuming your bike is derestricted) insulated as if not they can touch to earth and kill the engine.

Could try taking out the plugs to the ecu give them a spray with some wd40 or contact cleaner and try reseating, Diag - 1 isnt a fault code its the throttle position sensor, it should read 0 but only when the diagnostic leads are connected together, it looks like your throttle is out slightly but that wont stop the bike running.

I'm guessing theres something going kinda screwy with your ECU/Loom, cant remeber much more as i not had the falco now for a couple of years.

HTH

[Falco9]

hmm, sure i've read somewhere that faulty eproms can cause this, are the wires that are cut when derestricting (presuming your bike is derestricted) insulated as if not they can touch to earth and kill the engine.

Could try taking out the plugs to the ecu give them a spray with some wd40 or contact cleaner and try reseating, Diag - 1 isnt a fault code its the throttle position sensor, it should read 0 but only when the diagnostic leads are connected together, it looks like your throttle is out slightly but that wont stop the bike running.

I'm guessing theres something going kinda screwy with your ECU/Loom, cant remeber much more as i not had the falco now for a couple of years.

HTH

I'll go out and check the cut wires in the next few minutes. I did check the ECU connector blocks and SL Chip in the ECU (visually) they were all clean & dry and well seated. I did put a smear of dielectric grease on them (the connector blocks) as well just to be on the safe side.

Theres nothing amiss with the bike when she's running. She pulls like a train and is a smooth as silk. I'm 100% certain this is a connector / broken wire / dodgy earth issue somewhere in the loom. Its just finding the damn thing

Thanks for the heads up though

F9