Motorcycle Repair: Big scooter trouble, local bike shop, grateful thanks

Question
Hey Chris

I'm stuck (obviously).  I've got a big scoot - Aprilia Atlantic 500 - which died on me the other day.  I realise that you guys work with bikes and not scoots, so apologies for diving in, but I'm hoping you can just point me in the right direction.

To give you some background the bike itself is less than a year old and has done less than 3,000 miles.  I regularly use it for journeys of 3-5 miles which I know canes the life out of the battery.  About 2 weeks ago the bike wouldn't start because the battery power was very low.  Having recharged it, the bike seemed fine until Sunday last, when I went out for what should have been a 50 mile trip.  The bike had been out in the rain for several hours (unavoidable, I'm afraid) and throughout the journey - or what I made of it - it was raining hard.

About 15 miles out, the engine gave up.  The electrics seemed to be fine, the engine just stopped running mid-drive.  When I tried to restart, the electrics/power looked OK and there were turning-over sounds, but the engine wouldn't catch/start.  So I stood around for twenty minutes waiting for recovery and found that it started again, only to die after another 500yrds.  This pattern repeated 3/ times until I was picked up and taken to a safe location (in all about 2 hours later).  At which point it started and carried me all the way home.

I've gone back out on it again since, but trying to start it today I'm back to the same turning-over-but-not-starting situation.  I've tried recharging the battery again, but that doesn't seem to help.  It's almost as though there's water in the system somewhere, but I've no idea where or where the entry point would be or why it's not firing.

Any ideas?  I'm scratching my head as to where to go from here.  Ideally I'd take it to get it repaired, but coincidentally my local bike shop shut yesterday and the closest one is now about 10 miles away.  Bugger.

Extremely grateful thanks for all/any help.  

Answer
Hi Neil.
 Is this scooter a 2-stroke or 4-stroke.  That is a very important thing to know in helping to determine the problem.

You may want to look at the ignition system and see where water may intrude into it or where it could arc against the frame or engine as well as water intrusion points in the starter system.

Also check for water in the fuel.  That could cause this kind of problem as well.

There's a start for you.  Let me know what you find.
Good luck.
FALCON