Trouble starting with Rapid Bike?

So I installed the Rapid Bike Module last weekend with no issues. Fired it up afterwards with a little bit of sputtering initially but after a minute or so things sounded fine. The bike is a track bike and completely naked at the moment so I only rode down the road a few miles to make sure everything seemed to be running properly and it was. So a couple of days ago I took the bike over to have the bodywork mocked up for paint and while riding it from the trailer to the back of the shop, I ran out of fuel. Afterwards, I put fuel back in the and attempted to start it but without any luck. It turns over as if it wants to crank but it doesn't fire up and if I continue trying then you can smell gas. Whatever is going on may very well have nothing to do with the Rapid Bike but I have ran out of gas before and had no issues re-starting the bike. So far I have just tried disconnecting the battery as well as tried starting it with a wide open throttle to attempt to get air into it, as per dealer's recommendation. It almost seems like it is flooded. Next step will be disconnecting the Rapid Bike and hooking everything back up as stock but before I go to that trouble, I'm curious of any other ideas?

i have seen that from time to time

Did you check to make sure the fuel line didnt come disconnected. I know sounds dumb.. Just give it a look

So it's been a few days now and still no luck getting it to fire up. I disconnected the Rapid Bike Module and put everything back to stock but still nothing. Every so often I will get an ignition and shoot flames out the exhaust but won't start. I thought that maybe it wasn't getting enough power from the battery to turn over, but I have fully charged it and even tried a brand new one but still nothing. The only thing I can think of now is that maybe it has fowled the plugs. Possibly because of the Rapid Bike not having but a few miles on it and dumping too much fuel in once I put gas back in the tank. I wouldn't mind changing the plugs myself, even though I know it's a PIA, but if for some reason it's an ECU issue then I would be SOL. Anyway, I think I'm just going to take it to the dealer to have them figure it out. However, I'm still interested if anyone has ideas. Thanks!

jmparton said:

So it's been a few days now and still no luck getting it to fire up. I disconnected the Rapid Bike Module and put everything back to stock but still nothing. Every so often I will get an ignition and shoot flames out the exhaust but won't start. I thought that maybe it wasn't getting enough power from the battery to turn over, but I have fully charged it and even tried a brand new one but still nothing. The only thing I can think of now is that maybe it has fowled the plugs. Possibly because of the Rapid Bike not having but a few miles on it and dumping too much fuel in once I put gas back in the tank. I wouldn't mind changing the plugs myself, even though I know it's a PIA, but if for some reason it's an ECU issue then I would be SOL. Anyway, I think I'm just going to take it to the dealer to have them figure it out. However, I'm still interested if anyone has ideas. Thanks!

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I have often seen that some pins in the fuel pump connector were bent. I guess this doesn't help, but it's worth checking it.

Okay, so the culprit was fouled spark plugs. My best guess is that since I had just installed the Rapid Bike module and only put just a few miles on it (maybe 4) before running out of gas, things had not gotten quite calibrated with the AFR and too much fuel was injected. Anyway, I replaced both plugs and disconnected the Rapid Bike and it fired right up. After letting it run for a couple of minutes, I reconnected the Rapid Bike and started the bike. Once it seemed like everything was functioning properly, I went out and put about 75 miles on it and had no issues. Everything seems to be running great now but that was an awful lot of trouble for just running out of gas, especially since I just had the plugs replaced in my last service. Also, I'm certainly no mechanic and am in no way faulting the Rapid Bike module even if it did have something to do with fouling the plugs. Just thought I'd share my experience...

Thanks for posting the fix. Almost ran out of fuel the other day myself.

I'm glad you got everything figured out. It seems to be easy to run out of gas on these things! lol

Just curious, did you replace the plugs yourself, and if so can you give a breakdown on doing it, thanks.

goldontop said:

Just curious, did you replace the plugs yourself, and if so can you give a breakdown on doing it, thanks.

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Yes I did it myself. Initially, I had planned to take it to the dealer since I was hearing what a PIA it is to get to the front plug. Now in hindsight, I'm glad I did the work myself. Total project probably took 2-2 1/2 hours.

I'll skip through removing the bodywork since that part should be pretty obvious. Getting to the rear plug is pretty simple by just removing the tank. To do this, remove the ignition cover to access the two front tank bolts. At the rear of the tank, remove the bracket under the seat that secures the rear of the tank. There is also a wiring harness at the back of the tank that needs to be unplugged and a wire that attaches to a metal piece on the back of the tank. Next, unplug the fuel line located underneath the tank. The attachment on the tank is spring loaded so there should not be much fuel lost. Once the tank is off, you will have access to the top of the rear cylinder head and can remove the spark plug wire so you will have access to the plug. The plug holes are pretty deep so you will need either a 14mm spark plug socket or deep well with probably a 5 or 6 inch extension. I used a deep well and it worked fine except for removing the plug once it was un-screwed. To get the plug out of the hole, I placed a magnet in the socket and simply pulled it out. Finally, just install the new plug and torque to I believe 12nm.

Okay, so that was the easy part. The front is certainly much more of a job. Access here requires removing the radiator from the mounting points on the headstock, engine, and fan housing, although you don't have to completely remove it from the bike. Also, I would advise first emptying the coolant and disconnecting the left side (clutch side) hoses (these will have a lot of coolant come out). This will give you much more freedom to move the radiator and plastic housing around. Once you've made these disconnections, you should be able to move the radiators out of the way so you can gain access to the front plug. Obviously, remove and install the same as for the rear.

I know this sounds like a lot but it really wasn't as bad as I thought. As with most things, just take your time and it's not as frustrating. I will say, however, that mine is a track bike so my front fairing and headlight were not in the way, although, I don't think they would be too much of an issue anyway. Hope this helps.

thanks for the hint. got a 4-pack of plugs coming.

since i'm adding radiator guards, changing fairings and doing the valve cover bolts anyways, that works well.
and after 14800 miles, i guess the bike deserves some new plugs
especially before its first race