Just binned my bike, anyone else experienced this.

[Richard P]

This might not be much help but a few years ago, my K75 suffered a series of at the time mysterious engine cut out incidents which resolved themselves after stopping and re-starting the engine.

Turned out it was probably due to water in the tank.

Didn't find out until after the bikes traditional winter lay off (MZ when the road is salty) when it wouldn't start due to an empty tank which when I tried to refill it was duly rewarded by a petrol soaked left leg from the corroded hole in the tank.

Hasn't done it since though.

 

[fatbaldbob]

The verdicts in, not good news for GS1200s!

Got a call from BMW today ref my bike, all repairs have been done and an investigation into the cause completed. All electrical problems have been ruled out and the most likely cause discovered. Believe it or not, upon checking the cylinders they found the plugs to be fouled on one side, upon looking for a cause for this they found that the throttle linkage to this side appeared to sticking / not snapping closed this has lead to wrong mixture causing plug fouling leading to it not firing and the bike intermittently running on one cylinder causing the sudden loss of power, possibly leading to a stall as engine speed reduces. They also said the throttles were well out of balance and the fast idle cable not set correctly.

Some of this seems plausible but appart from the 4 times I have experienced the problem I have not noticed any deterioration in performance and the bike is on the original cables, which he informed me really should be replaced every 18000 miles weather you think it needs it of not (mine are the originals and have done 47000 miles) apparently it makes a big difference, I guess you don't notice the changes in performance over time.

The cure, new throttle cables, fast Idle cable, plugs and throttles balanced, appart from that it is apparently in excellent health for it's mileage. So I have authorised the work and will collect it in the new year.

The bad news for GS1200 owners

The final bill for accident damage and repair came in at £2700, I asked how come it wasn't written off, the answer: The value of GS1150s especially GSAs is on the up and this is set to continue as the demand for them is increasing. "Why the big demand?" says I, well apparently the 1150 is now regarded as a better bike than the 1200, both in terms of performance (not speed but torque and engine characteristics) and overall better reliability. This has lead to a glut of 1200s on the market that no one wants reducing their value and their previous owners plus (as word spreads that the 1150 is better) those looking for a first GS now chasing a limited supply of 1150s! But we knew that already didn't we But now its official, dealers are awash with 1200s but the punters are after 1150s.

Looks like I'll be keeping it, but I have got my eye on a new Suzuki V Strom DL1000 GT it's a lot of bike for the money and I've seen them new for as little as £5995 now thats got to be VFM. Oooh I'm torn

 

[vilguy]

Be warned bob, not that i have anything against the DL... i just sold mine! and loved it to bits.. but depreciation over just 1 year is HARSH!!!

Excellent bike though if your going to keep it for a few years or dont mind losing a couple of grand after a year.

Stick with the GS!

 

[edkinsorama]

They do lock up!

Just thought I'd throw my tupence in on the rear wheel locking up issues. They certainly do.

I was doing about 50 in 5th i guess and my bikes keys were jangling on the handlebar and causing me some irritation. I used my left hand to clear them away from the handlebar. This very successfully solved the jangling related irritation but caused the rear wheel to immediately lock up, which in turn caused the bike to go snaking uncontrollably down the road, which in turn caused my sphincter to start pulsating uncontrollably. The whole sorry scene was punctuated with a the obligatory 'f%&^&^%^%&^k'. Things were magnified in severity because my left hand, rather than being solidly attached to the handlebar, was reeling away in free space after it's mission to put an end to the jangly key scenario! Suffice to say that I eventually managed to tame the beast with the clutch and consider how my life had nearly come prematurely to and end, again. So the post mortem? In my over zealous de-janglification of my keys I had inadvertently turned the most key of keys - the ignition key to its off position! I was able to flick it back on with my throttle hand, balance the clutch and the gas, and she fired back up as if nothing had happened. The moral? The rear wheel will happily lock up at speed following an interruption to the ignition system power supply. The second moral? Don't be a twat!

Cheers

S

 

[karlp]

Just thought I'd throw my tupence in on the rear wheel locking up issues. They certainly do.

I was doing about 50 in 5th i guess and my bikes keys were jangling on the handlebar and causing me some irritation. I used my left hand to clear them away from the handlebar. This very successfully solved the jangling related irritation but caused the rear wheel to immediately lock up, which in turn caused the bike to go snaking uncontrollably down the road, which in turn caused my sphincter to start pulsating uncontrollably. The whole sorry scene was punctuated with a the obligatory 'f%&^&^%^%&^k'. Things were magnified in severity because my left hand, rather than being solidly attached to the handlebar, was reeling away in free space after it's mission to put an end to the jangly key scenario! Suffice to say that I eventually managed to tame the beast with the clutch and consider how my life had nearly come prematurely to and end, again. So the post mortem? In my over zealous de-janglification of my keys I had inadvertently turned the most key of keys - the ignition key to its off position! I was able to flick it back on with my throttle hand, balance the clutch and the gas, and she fired back up as if nothing had happened. The moral? The rear wheel will happily lock up at speed following an interruption to the ignition system power supply. The second moral? Don't be a twat!

Cheers

S

so lets all go through this one step at a time - because 1. I do not believe it and 2. if i am wrong then this is very serious.

So what you are saying is that the rear wheel will lockup if the electrical supply to the ignition system is interupted or stopped.

 

[Fanum]

so lets all go through this one step at a time - because 1. I do not believe it and 2. if i am wrong then this is very serious.

So what you are saying is that the rear wheel will lockup if the electrical supply to the ignition system is interupted or stopped.

Not exactly......

As correctly (but rather pedanticly pointed out by someone above, it doesn't 'lock up' but the compression of the engine braking the rear wheel is enough to break your traction and cause the back end to break away, particularly if on a wet or gritty road.

 

[karlp]

Not exactly......

As correctly (but rather pedanticly pointed out by someone above, it doesn't 'lock up' but the compression of the engine braking the rear wheel is enough to break your traction and cause the back end to break away, particularly if on a wet or gritty road.

Yes that was pointed out by me - that is why I ask the question because I do not believe the rear wheel locks when the ignition is turned off.

It would be a serious safety issue if the electrical system failed.

The idea is to get people to walk through the scenarios slowly because logic tells me the rear wheel will not lock if there is ignition failure.

For this to happen under these circumstances the whole drivetrain has to lock

 

[edkinsorama]

Technically you are right....

Yes I suppose it doesn't actually 'lock up', but the sudden power failure leads to a braking effect from the compression of the engine as Fanum said - a bit like slamming the back brake on. If this braking effect is great enough to overwhelm the static friction between the tyre and the road then it will start to slide with respect to the tarmac. You are then in dynamic friction territory, which is not as strong as static friction and it will keep sliding even with less braking effect. I take the point that the wheel is probably still turning, BUT it's turning at a speed lower than it should be.

So the effect is the same - scary!

Cheers

S

 

[karlp]

Yes I suppose it doesn't actually 'lock up', but the sudden power failure leads to a braking effect from the compression of the engine as Fanum said - a bit like slamming the back brake on. If this braking effect is great enough to overwhelm the static friction between the tyre and the road then it will start to slide with respect to the tarmac. You are then in dynamic friction territory, which is not as strong as static friction and it will keep sliding even with less braking effect. I take the point that the wheel is probably still turning, BUT it's turning at a speed lower than it should be.

So the effect is the same - scary!

Cheers

S

I agree it is scary when the back tyre slides by whatever means but the thread needs to be clear if the rear wheel is locking or just turning more slowly when the ignition electrics are interupted.

If the rear drive train DOES lock when the ignition is interupted then it is a very serious safety issue and I would expect an answer from BMW

If the rear does not lock but turns more slowly (i.e. causes a slide) then that is a completely different matter - and is what I would expect to happen.

Here is a scenario that would dispell all this.

Put the bike on its centre stand and in gear.

Leave ignition off (i.e.no power to the ignition).
Disconnect fuel lines (so no fuel into cylinders).

Hockup electrics to starter motor.

Motor should turn over and as in gear turn the rear wheel.

According to above posts all this should not happen as back wheel locks if ignition electrics are off

(ALL THIS PRESUMES THE CANBUS WILL ALLOW IT AS I HAVE NEVER DONE THIS).

 

[fatbaldbob]

Karlp, Sorry to hear of your experience, not a plesant thing to happen and very similar to the first time it happened to me (approx same speed / gear etc) the difference being I have no idea why my bike died on me. But I am pleased that someone else can finally vouch for the end result (locked / slower moving wheel unable to overcome friction etc as previously discussed) both end up with you sliding out of control until the clutch is grabbed. I had a further 3 episodes of this with a resulting off on the last one. The speed is what saved you the slower you go the worse it is and the more potential to lose it as you have insufficient speed to overcome the compression and everying happens in an instant. Glad to hear you got away with it.

I'm hoping to get my bike back tomorrow, but I must admit I'm still a bit wary of it as I'm not convinced by BMWs answer, it's a difficult one to diagnose as it only happened 4 times in 12 months.

 

[fatbaldbob]

Karlp, Sorry to hear of your experience, not a plesant thing to happen and very similar to the first time it happened to me (approx same speed / gear etc) the difference being I have no idea why my bike died on me. But I am pleased that someone else can finally vouch for the end result (locked / slower moving wheel unable to overcome friction etc as previously discussed) both end up with you sliding out of control until the clutch is grabbed. I had a further 3 episodes of this with a resulting off on the last one. The speed is what saved you the slower you go the worse it is and the more potential to lose it as you have insufficient speed to overcome the compression and everying happens in an instant. Glad to hear you got away with it.

I'm hoping to get my bike back tomorrow, but I must admit I'm still a bit wary of it as I'm not convinced by BMWs answer, it's a difficult one to diagnose as it only happened 4 times in 12 months.

Opps! Sorry not you Karlp just realised it was edkinsorama!

 

[kondorpilot]

Similar experiences 2 or 3 times on my 99 , 1100 GS.Only thing ever found wrong with the bike was WATER IN FUEL TANK. I am no mechanic but as suggested by Fanum, this would obviously have an effect on the fuel supply. Bike was faultless after draining and drying the tank. I suspect the water had got in during a hosing down of the bike when the fuel filler cap was found not to have been fully seated.

 

[Deleted member CB]

I think the difference between the wheel sliding but still turning & locking up is nit picking. But I don't have any problems believing that they do lock under certain circumstances.

Here's why-
Anyone who has tried to bump start a GS will know that it takes a great deal of force to turn the motor at low revolutions, it's very hard simply to get the fecker to turn & not slide in any gear.

Sooo, it follows that in any situation where the wheel breaks traction (at any speed) & the rear wheel revs drop, with no ignition it ain't very long before that turning wheel is going to stop turning (probably very quickly).

If the initial ignition cut is sufficient to break traction, there is no reason to expect that same sliding rear wheel to produce anything like the force necessary to keep turning the dead engine.

The fact that it slides in the first place is possibly because of the sudden "shock" to the rear wheel of an ignition cut, a minute loss of traction suddenly escalates into a locked wheel. It's not like rapidly shutting the throttle, that will always have a slight period of deceleration thus helping keep traction.

 

[Steptoe]

64 posts - 50 different opinons. All wrong.

 

[Deleted member CB]

64 posts - 50 different opinons. All wrong.

Go on then, enlighten us.

 

[Steptoe]

Go on then, enlighten us.

lazy b*stard do i have to do everything for you ? = look at post 62 for the answer

 

[ahutcheon]

lazy b*stard do i have to do everything for you ? = look at post 62 for the answer

i'd have to use binary to count that far on my fingers; are you saying that it's water in the fuel tank that causes the slide?

if so, any suggestions on how? i know just flicking the kill switch isn't (usually) very exciting in a high gear, does water in the injection system generate enough steam to stall the compression stroke?

 

[Pukmeister]

Had a water-in-fuel problem ??

Try blowing through the drain hole at the fuel filler neck with a compressed air line.

A mates 1150 would let water collect around the fuel filler when raining due to a blocked drain tube. Whenever he opened the fuel filler, a little water would enter the fuel tank. Eventually it accumulates at the bottom of the fuel tank and causes problems. Proving the drain hole and piping free of dirt solved it.

 

[Carl]

i'd have to use binary to count that far on my fingers; are you saying that it's water in the fuel tank that causes the slide?

if so, any suggestions on how? i know just flicking the kill switch isn't (usually) very exciting in a high gear, does water in the injection system generate enough steam to stall the compression stroke?

post 62... its this one no mention of water in the tank, unless I'm missing something....which is quite possible

 

[(RIP) Kaister]

i don't think you know what locking up the rear wheel is like until you've snapped a conrod at top revs and had it wedge into the frame on a jap4,dumped the oil all over the rear tyre and you've got a large heavy box on the back thats late for a delivery.

the skid mark was 100 yds long - but i stayed on and didn't dump it.

amateurs.

PS no, the clutch wouldn't release either