I've had a mare with the superdream.

[Carvel]

Rolled the 400 out of the garage earlier to go for a spin, but I didn't get very far.

Fired her up as normal but after literally about a second the cam-chain rattled quite badly and it just cut out. When I tried to fire her up again the starter motor just span, didn't turn the engine over (this is the bit that confused me). At first I thought the cam-chain had snapped as has been quite noisy at times but I whipped the rocker cover off and all looked well, and I turned the engine over by hand and it seemed fine. I left it for a while, and when I came back to it the starter motor was now turning the engine over again. Absolutely no idea what happened there. So I fired her up again and she was really lumpy and sounded rough so I turned her off.

At a guess i'd say the timing chain has skipped a tooth, does this sound like the case? Also does anyone have any ideas on the starter motor front? Bit weird why it wouldnt turn the engine over.

Cheers

Ollie.
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2002 Aprilia RSV1000R, Cbr600Fs, Mk1 B12, Vfr400 NC30...

Matt B: I can deal with crushed nuts to beat Ollie.

[jjdugen]

Starter clutch roller berings can jam in the 'off' position. This lets the starter motor just spin around doing nothing.
Check that cam timing ASAP.

[Carvel]

Ok i've checked the timing and it appears to be spot on which is good news. I took the plugs out and the left pot is running really rich so I was thinking it had just fouled the plug up and was only running on the right cylinder, but I tried a new plug and it was still running cack. So i'm still none the wiser really.
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2002 Aprilia RSV1000R, Cbr600Fs, Mk1 B12, Vfr400 NC30...

Matt B: I can deal with crushed nuts to beat Ollie.

[LongJohn22]

First of all, if your timing chain jumps a tooth(very unlikely), you will instantly have a head full of bent valve. Start with the basics, check for a spark both sides, check compression using your kick start and a thumb over the plug hole, and check that fuel is reaching the combustion chamber. That will give you an idea of where to look.

[Carvel]

[cb1rocket]

Tried new plugs? Working on the outside doesn't mean working on the inside. They do sound rough as hell when only firing on 1 cylinder and you say it fouled up quite easily so the plug has got to be naffed.

[Carvel]

Yep two fresh plugs in it and still the same.

What's annoying me is it has been running spot on for over well over 1000 miles now over the past month or so and I go to fire it up one morning and it just went with no warning. Thats why I suspected a cam-chain problem, but that side of things is all ok. So I really dont know.
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2002 Aprilia RSV1000R, Cbr600Fs, Mk1 B12, Vfr400 NC30...

Matt B: I can deal with crushed nuts to beat Ollie.

[Nexus Icon]

That's quite odd. If you have compression, fuel and a spark and the spark is arriving at the right time there's not much else to stop it firing up short of a potato up the exhausts!

No chance the fuel is contaminated? Although I'd still expect some sort of reaction.
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Greetings from Shitsville!

[Carvel]

Ok I just went out and cranked it over on full throttle and she eventually started spluttering but kept dyeing, tried it a few more times and eventually it picked up so there must have been shite in the jets or something.
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2002 Aprilia RSV1000R, Cbr600Fs, Mk1 B12, Vfr400 NC30...

Matt B: I can deal with crushed nuts to beat Ollie.

[Nexus Icon]

Is the tank rusting from the inside out?
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Greetings from Shitsville!

[Carvel]

No the inside of the tank is immaculate. I did run it out of petrol recently but it's done probably 100 or so miles since so I cant see it being that.

I'll have to get an in-line filter or something.
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2002 Aprilia RSV1000R, Cbr600Fs, Mk1 B12, Vfr400 NC30...

Matt B: I can deal with crushed nuts to beat Ollie.

[LongJohn22]

Interesting about the left cylinder running rich. It is just possible that you stirred up a bit of sediment when you ran out of fuel, and that some of this crap has found its way into the left carb, affecting the float valve on that side. If the cylinder receives too much fuel it won't atomize and consequently won't fire. I would be very tempted to remove the carbs, clean out the float chambers and blow through the airways to ensure they're clear. Hope that helps.

[MickC]

When you ran out of petrol, you may of dragged a load of shit out of the tank into the carbs, might be worth removing the float bowls to check.
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[Carvel]

Yeah I'll whip the float bowls off today and have a look.

Cheers
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2002 Aprilia RSV1000R, Cbr600Fs, Mk1 B12, Vfr400 NC30...

Matt B: I can deal with crushed nuts to beat Ollie.

[Nexus Icon]

[Carvel]

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2002 Aprilia RSV1000R, Cbr600Fs, Mk1 B12, Vfr400 NC30...

Matt B: I can deal with crushed nuts to beat Ollie.