APRILIA RST MILLE FUTURA - PART 2 2000 Manual page 10

To shift down, proceed as follows:
Release the throttle grip (2) (Pos.A).
If necessary, pull the brake levers mod-
erately and decrease the speed of the
vehicle.
Pull the clutch lever (3) and lower the
shifting lever (4) to shift down.
If the brake levers are pulled, release
them.
Release the clutch lever and accelerate
moderately.
a
CAUTION
If a temperature of 126 – 135 °C (259 –
275 °F) is displayed on the right side of
the multifunction display and the last
two segments of the indicator range
blink, stop the vehicle and let the en-
gine idle for approximately two minutes,
thus allowing the coolant to circulate
regularly in the system; then, press the
engine stop switch to position " " and
check the coolant level, see p. 38
(COOLANT).
If the situation on the dashboard re-
mains the same after the coolant level
has been checked, do not start the vehi-
cle and contact an APRILIA Official Deal-
er.
Do not turn the ignition switch to posi-
tion " ", since the cooling fans would
stop independently of the coolant tem-
perature and in this case the tempera-
ture would increase further.
If the diagnostic warning light LED
"EFI" on the dashboard starts blinking
during the normal operation of the en-
gine, this means that the electronic unit
has detected an anomaly.
In many cases, the engine keeps run-
ning with reduced performance levels;
immediately contact an APRILIA Official
Dealer.
To avoid the overheating of the clutch,
keep the engine running with vehicle at
rest, engaged gears and pulled clutch
lever for the shortest possible time.
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WARNING
Avoid opening and closing the throttle
grip repeatedly and continuously, so
that you do not accidentally lose control
of the vehicle. If you have to brake,
close the throttle and put on both
brakes in order to obtain uniform decel-
eration, properly exerting pressure on
the braking parts.
By putting on the front brake only or the
rear brake only, you reduce the braking
force considerably, thus running the
risk of locking one wheel and conse-
quently losing grip.
If you stop uphill, decelerate completely
and use the brakes only to keep the ve-
hicle steady.
The use of the engine to keep the vehi-
cle steady may cause the overheating of
the clutch.
Before beginning to turn, slow down or
brake driving at moderate and constant
speed or accelerating slightly; avoid
braking at the last moment: it would be
very easy to skid.
If the brakes are operated continuously
on downhill stretches, the friction sur-
faces may overheat, thus reducing the
braking efficiency. Exploit the engine
compression and shift down by putting
on both brakes intermittently.
Never drive downhill with the engine
off!
When visibility is insufficient, switch on
the low beam even during the day, in or-
der to make your vehicle more visible.
In case of wet ground or scarce wheel
grip (snow, ice, mud, etc.), drive slowly,
avoiding sudden brakings or manoeu-
vres that could make you lose grip and
fall down.
a
WARNING
Pay the utmost attention to any obsta-
cle or variation of the ground.
Uneven roads, rails, manhole covers,
use and maintenance RST mille Futura 53