andy

Haha yeah! Not the quietest bike around but when I was looking for a learner bike I wanted something bigger than the norm... The CGs etc are too small for me and this one was quite affordable (£460 on a 52 plate - no T&T but it only cost me a few quid for new fork seals which were all that were needed for the test). I was tempted to look for a quieter can for it though...

It's got the odd niggle... runs a little rough when cruising but I can live with that for now. Acceleration's fine but when sticking to the speed limit it sounds a bit iffy! New chain & sprockets are going on at the weekend - there's no adjustment left and the chain's way too loose for my liking

I suppose if I'd actually read the handbook properly I would have realised...but I assumed that by asking for "a plug / 2t oil suitable for an Aprilia Classic 125" I would have been given the right product On a positive note, I now know the carb etc is nice and clean, the compression is good and the ignition electrics are fine! I can also strip it down to its basics in a rather competitive time Now to carry on learning & practising and get my test taken early next year!

Ok, finally solved... It was unfortunately a combination of two things... 1) Wrong 2T oil (semi synth instead of fully synth) 2) 10EG plug instead of 9EG Each of the offending items were recommended to me by 2 different bike shops :/ Anyway... She's going like a good 'un now

New and fully charged. Or at least it was fully charged after the previous 'episode' as I flattened it trying to get the bike started

It's a weakish spark with a new plug and weaker with the fouled one (and presumably even weaker under compression). The new plug was bought from a bike shop (the guy there looked it up to see which one was needed) so I'm assuming it's the correct one - but I'll double check it. I've seen an Aprilia forum but it's nowhere near as busy as this one but I'll try putting my post there too and keep 'em crossed. Thanks again for your help though, it's really appreciated!

Ok, I'll arm myself with a head gasket before whipping the head off then - thanks. I didn't replace the 2T oil as there wasn't much left in it (around 500ml in a 2ltr tank)... maybe I should have done (fairly new to all this) I'm trying to borrow a compression tester (I'm working to a budget so can't afford to buy one) which should hopefully show up any sticking rings/scoring issues. I'm still concerned about the weak spark though...but I'll check the other bits first as it'll be a dear job to replace the CDI

That should keep me quiet over the weekend (weather permitting ) When I 'behead' the engine, will I need a new gasket or is it possible to re-use the existing one (as long as it survives the head removal)? I'll try cleaning the air-filter although it is in need of replacing... I seem to be able to get a K&N style filter for less than the stock foam one (due to excessive carriage charges!) are they much better? How would I check for sticky rings? (i.e. is it by removing the piston etc or is there an easier way?) Thanks for the input. Andy

I did consider the rings it appears to have decent power when it does run which makes me think that the compression is okay (although I'll see if I can find someone locally with a compression tester to verify it). It's a 2-stroke so valves aren't an issue. I must admit that I haven't cleaned the sponge air filter (although I did check it and it looked okay...) but I'll try that tonight.

Hi, A n00b biker here I have recently bought an Aprilia classic 125 which had been stood for quite some time apparently. After a basic service (carb cleaned, new plug, new gear oil, new fuel) it started and ran okay (even passed its mot!!). I took my CBT on it and used it to get to work a couple of times with no issues apart from what sounded like pre-ignition at half throttle when cruising but opening it up a little more stopped this. Next day when I went to work, after about 1/4 of a mile it started spluttering and missing and almost died but then appeared to sort itself out. Until I came to go home for lunch when it just refused to fire up... once or twice it almost fired but then nothing. I checked the plug and it was wet & black with a pathetic spark. Put a new plug in it next day and it was back to normal again! Until a few days later then the same thing happened with the spluttering etc but it didn't right itself. I bought a new ignition coil (fitted it on the 12th) and everything was great until today when it did the same thing again... (wet'n'black plug again) I'm beginning to wonder if the CDI is not giving the coil enough power (but as the bike's stuck at work and I'm at home, I can't really check voltages until tomorrow). Would the method described in this article http://www.wgcarbs.com//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=26 work with the CDI output? Or has anyone got a more sensible idea ? Thanks in advance.