Well took a rush of blood to the head and picked up a very old very neglected Aprilia.

Its an early 2001 SL1000 Falco.

Bought as non runner spares or repair with known sprag clutch failure apparently.

Bit of a dog clearly been left outside lots of corrosion.

Some bodywork but not all and was held together with zip ties.

Owner said had sit for 5 years not run as needed sprag clutch etc.

What I have found so far-

bodywork off frame is cloudy corroded mess 

rear brake caliper been swapped for non Brembo, brake line too short not connected

speed sensor wiring chewed up

forks a mess dust seals rotted through and fork tubes badly corroded turning to powder 

Fuel lines kinked and worn through

Fuel pump failed

battery failed

wheels badly corroded

clutch really heavy and seems to not work

What i have done so far -

Replaced the battery with a much bigger unit 270 CCA (just fits under the seat)

Replaced the fuel pump, filter and all internal and external hoses with SAE J30 R6.

Managed to get it to start and run.

Still to do -

fit new spark plugs

change oil and filter

fit new pipercross air filter

bleed clutch 

bleed brakes (front)

need a little help with a few points, 

Rear brake where should the lines run not clear on mine as not the correct caliper or brake line, also the speedo sensor wire has been damaged presume this is routed the same way.

Rear shock - the owner said it had a replacement shock its a blue spring non adjustable Sachs looks second hand to me. Its soft the back end feels much softer than the front. I read up and came to conclusion the oem shock is not good so got what was meant to be a Sachs shock from an RSV said fits 1998 -2003 but now seems its the 2001 variant- yellow spring gold body with thumb knob adjustment for rebound and compression and locknut at base to adjust height. From what I have read this will not work with my Falco dogbone and triangles, went to look for 2001-2003 RSV dog bones wow £100 plus £100 for bearings then £50 for triangles, even used want more than £100 with shagged bearings! I was going to get the shock rebuilt can I not fit a heavier spring or the original blue spring from the Falco or get a custom spring for my weight this be cheaper than trying to get dogbones and triangles. 

Am i better just getting a decent aftermarket unit as will be about the same costs now?

Front Forks - not had them off yet but they are a mess they look to be the black Showa type the dust seals are swollen and blown but not leaking oil from main seals or not badly at least. The big concern is huge amount of oxidation on the black fork tubes above the mudguard is like white powder and flaking off in chunks! Won't know until they are off and stripped, but they look bad. Is this a common flaw any known fixes? Don't want to spend money on them if the tubes are beyond repair, had a look the price of RSV or Falco forks used is more than the bike is worth tbh. Any known replacements from other models that would fit to save a few quid?

Charging issues -  only getting 12.5v at idle - had a look yep brown connector from reg/rec is cracked and joint looks crappy, will look to remake or just solder it together, seen another video for the RSV that mentions running new wires to the reg reg to ensure it gets a dedicated live and neutral, due to the positioning on the Falco at the rear next the battery is this needed? 

Bodywork - no idea at present what is missing apart from a mirror and a cracked screen its in bits and until i fix all the other woes not sure if bodywork will be needed!

was going to scrap it such is poor condition, but when i got power on and the dash back to miles its done less than 8k, surely has life in it yet?

The exhausts don't look right seme to point inwards to each other and gather any pipes or single pipe conversion is four figures, not an option for a scrap bike tbh.

Been able to get it starting and running feels a bit rough but then the fuel in the lines and throttle bodies was toxic, I read that injector o rings were not available or that gaskets for throttle bodies were om the expensive side, so when replacing the hoses I left off the return and primes the pump without starting util i got clean fuel back out took about a ltr of fuel! obvious this has not fully cleaned the injectors but its running and will add some cleaner to the tank and run it up see if that helps.

Oddly when I started it with booster pack turned over great no noise from the sprag clutch and started fairly quickly, even when from the new battery starts quick, looks like ir has a replacement cables and solenoid so that might explain how i can use the full battery power. I beginning to wonder if the fuel pump went or a duff battery not getting fully charged was in fact the issue?

Open to any thoughts on what I can or can't do with old girl or should i cut my losses ?

thanks

Hi there, I hope it was cheap. 

Honestly it sounds like a financial write off. That’s not to say you shouldn’t fix it, just that doing so will far outweigh its financial worth if you want it half decent. Falco parts are rare so that adds a premium although there is some crossover with the Rsv as you know. 

 just get a secondhand shock and forks for a couple of hundred quid or less and ride it 

Not ready to give up on the old girl yet played about with the wiring from the reg rec the melted brown connector, removed the spade connectors from the connecter polished with emery paper and contact cleaner remade the joints check for resistance, seemed ok wrapped in insulating tape.

now getting 13.05v at tick over at the battery still a bit low might try a direct feed from the reg rec but little or no heat from the 3 wires so some progress being the older set up the over generation does not seem to be the issue just poor high resistance connections.

Regards forks does the Tuono use the same Showa ie could I get a set of them and drop in?

So If they have axial brakes it’s a straight fit

The 99-00 Rsv shock is a straight fit to a falco as they have the same dog bone and triangles 

I do have a near new falco shock here somewhere if you wanted to have a straight swap shock d

Could not get to 4k Rpm to test its running like a bag of nails, have ordered a replacement set of of throttle bodies I think my injectors are dirty and this was cheapest option I will look at my throttle bodies in slower time.

The back brake has a new replacement non Brembo caliper was never plumbed in the hose was too short! 

Got a longer hose rerouted under the swing arm in the carrier followed the route of the speed sensor (more about that in a minute) connected up filled the tiny reservoir unbolted the caliper as the bleed nipple was on the bottom joy of under slung eh. As lines were empty used a syringe to slowly reverse bleed, all seemed ok filled up fine, no pedal or movement in the caliper. used the syringe to pull a vacuum got the usual bleed round the hose and nipple but did draw some air out. Still no pedal slight movement on the caliper but air could compress the pistons back too easy. Tried a few times then cracked banjo ay the master cylinder, yep got fluid 1st pump then nothing its like it did not want to refill. 

Took master cylinder off  as well as brake pedal and foot ped the brake lever had become seized on the foot peg, took a lot of heat and force to free but now moves freely still not sure the foot peg is right though as there are 2 slots in the bracket that look to align the peg but nothing there to align? Think something has been bodged in the past maybe?

Master cylinder looks oem Brembo side outlet rather than the end of the RSV, took ot apart looks ok seal seems fine nothing obviously wrong, put back together scratching my head.

Today searched for replacement ok can get one for £80 but also read that the black fill elbow and reservoir can be an issue and drilling them out to 4.5mm and fitting a banjo bleed fitting was the OEM fix at one point? Well ordered a banjo bleeder will not go wrong. Pulled off the black fill elbow it was tiny and hard to blow air through, so drilled out to 4.5mm and have done the same with the reservoir, will wait until banjo bleeder arrives and try again.

I know the rear brakes are an issue but could not understand this, generally a reverse bleed then couple of normal bleeds works, but not on the relic (pet name for th Falco).

The speedo sensor was a mess had been damaged next the caliper no idea how then left out and had melted on the exhaust, had to chop out damaged parts see if it works or need to extend the wiring when I refit it.

Whilst down there also noticed a big dent or flat spot on the exhaust where it goes the left pipe (looking form behind or as sit on not front on) looks like it been jacked on no way it bottomed out but never know, not  show stopper but will be a bit of a restriction.

RSV/Tuono shock turned up it seems a lot better then I expected took the spring off and plenty of gas pressure, both compression and rebound seem to work, in 2 minds if i should send for rebuild (i don't have access to nitrogen to refill it) or just fit it and see? Might look at heaver rear spring as I am no lightweight, the front feels pretty stiff already but the back seems soft  plus the Falco is a bit more upright and heaver than the RSV is it not?

That all the progress so far reluctant to make it immobile until I am happy the engine is running well then will get it up and get the forks off and rear shock and linkages off,(need to one end at time or get hold of a decent stand) also got an old fireblade side stand to try as not got a lot of faith in the oem one!

Once throttle bodies arrive will change the plugs and fir the pipercross air filter, oil looks clean but holding off changing until I do the sprag clutch, not sure it needs it but better safe if this far in, heard the KTM spag is slighter stronger?

Thanks for the advice 

Replacement throttle bodies arrived they look very clean will flush some carb cleaner through and check the injector spay ok, also this one has the idle adjust thumbscrew, one on the bike seems to be missing.

Waiting on a few other bits and bobs want to get this rear brake bled its bugging me!

You will not believe this one think I figured out the poor running as it will not fire at all now, i think i used up the small amount of fuel getting it up to temperature! I only put a small amount in to check the tank was ok after the pump had been out oops forgot to top it up!

Changed the plugs old ones 3 were black and sign of over fueling only one had a touch of brown on the tip. Starts but bogging down and not taking throttle, seems to clear on higher revs.

My gut feeling is the injectors are just dumping fuel not misting.

Front cylinder seems to be getting hotter quicker than rear going by the exhausts 

I have a replacement throttle body plan is to try and clean the injectors with bodged diy solutions, if they look ok then swap the throttle body.

Also notice the throttle cable is broken at the elbow at the bars.

If still not playing then think it time to cut my losses.

when i did have it running the charge voltage to the battery was all over the place 13v, as revs rise drops to 12,5v then back at idle jumped from 12v to 19v and everything in between. Looks like the reg reg is failing, given this is a Falco and gen 1 engine it should not have the over voltage issue at stator that plagues the gen 2. 

Is this DIY or proper stuff as the value of the bike is not worth an hour of workshop time if am honest 

Got there after lots of filing working pushrod.

Could not get brakes to bleed previously so added a banjo bleeder to the master cylinder that definitely was helping but still not right. 

By chance noticed the caliper as i pumped the lever it was bulging at the joint and weeping fluid. This was meant to be a new caliper sold with the bike clearly not fitted as no brake line connected. Bolts were tight, yes its a cheap fake replacement but still wtf! Took it apart one of the bolts was cross threaded and not going fully home. Ran a tap down the thread seemed to clean up put a new bolt in and seemed to torque up ok. Had to replace the joint seal as it was no longer flat with the caliper opening at one end it had become like a wedge.

Finally got it all back together adjusted the play out the linkage and a good firm pedal without a silly long throw.

While on a roll swapped the throttle bodies, with yet more fuel (tank seems bottomless) starts and runs way better not going to say smooth well its a v twin after all but idles and takes throttle and revs clean now.

Still need to set the mixture been looking would one of the AFR gauges work for this as long as a wide band sensor should be able to adjust the ecu trim pots or air bleed screws to check the air fuel ratio. I know these gauges are meant to be a permanent fit in a car mostly, but given the Falco has oxygen sensor bungs in the downpipes could i use this to check each cylinder? only issue I can see if the diameter of the bung on the bike seems to be 12mm where as sensors can go up to 18mm?

On a tangent and excuse my ignorance here I get how fuel injected systems work when they have narrow band oxygen sensors, simply reduce or add fueling as per the sensor value. What I don't fully understand is how the system on the Ape works if it does not have an oxygen sensor how does the ecu adjust fueling or is simply a preset map hence the choke (simply applies throttle opening does it not) is needed until the engine warms up.

Then just to bring me back down it starts leaking oil. hope its just the seal at the filter, was holding off changing oil until I do the sprag clutch. Any other obvious place to leak oil had been fine until I started to get the engine back into life, now its doing this in protest lol.

Bobbins just turned up for the abba stand so at least can get it sitting upright when i get the time.

Falco exhaust is dented from new on the stand side 

slowly gaining knowledge thanks to this great community, it would seem that 2 straight pipes is better than 1?(i know collector mods regain losses)  So for the Falco if i wanted to tune it I have a Pipercross air filter, I ruled out the open airbox as underside of my tank is mess with the foam peeling off and do not want that getting sucked into a filter!

Exhausts are standard , I do like the look of the high level twin can but cost is more than than the bike! unless i can form a DIY bodge some how, but no facility to weld stainless at home. Failing that what about some shorter cans Black Widow offer some ok stuff at reasonable prices, but heard the v twin does not like short pipes? 

It currently has the oem EPROM holding off changing just now in case i do alter the exhausts or would this make no difference?

Much happier with the new throttle bodies and now injector seals and filter baskets have arrived can ensure no vacuum leaks from the injectors at least! 

It starts fine now bar the sprag clutch and seems run much better still some fettling to do tho just finding the time.

Regards the oil leak it on the stator, oil filter and tank side. Hard to pin point as its a slow leak but looks to be in the area of the filter housing, is it common for the o-rings to fail and leak? I have a new o-ring for filter housing and filter. Will be replacing the stator cover gasket when I do the sprag clutch and have seals for the clutch slave cylinder to change also, other seal I seen listed is the gear lever seal the bike has low miles but been left out in the elements and rubber of that era does not take kindly to it.

any advice or experience greatly received 

Just now been having fun getting the forks off