Wow is me

Rugged Path · Oct 22, 2021

Knowing when to let go, no matter the loss; more of the feeling than financial but!
My 2002 R1150GSA has been good to me. Bought new in Kuwait, it enabled me to visit all the GCC countries and Jordan's Dead sea and Petra. Flew it back to the UK in 2011. Retired from working in Saudi in 2016 and got it prepped and registered. And it's served me well.
But one day........ It was difficult to re-start on a rideout. That is when problems seem to have eminated from (as they do).
Difficult in starting, always sooting up. The O2 sensor caked in it and running poorly.
Months with an indie here in the NWest, nearly £1.800 bill so far for labour and changing bits and still fuel/firing problems.
Now told there is a small leak from the tank

. Also gearbox sounds

.

Should I carry on and perservere?
This is going to cost me more than it is worth financially but, I like the bike.
Now considering it may be the ECU playing up as changed the hall sensor.
Or bag it in bits to sell on eBay then order a R1300GSA coming soon to a dealer near you

.

Feeling miserable

.

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Rich C · Oct 22, 2021

I would weigh up what the potential extra spend is going to be against what the cost of a replacement bike is going to be. In terms of value of the bike, costly repairs / upgrades hardly ever make sense in pure financial terms on older vehicles... There has to be a limit but you're attached to it because all of the places you've been on it.. That counts for quite a lot... And also have a think about whether the tech you've been using is now struggling and doing fault diagnosis by parts substitution at your expense...

And also I've just noticed your location..... I grew up in Hough.... don't live there now but it's where the family home was...

R

twizzle · Oct 22, 2021

i'd ask what he has done for £1,800 then take it to somebody that knows what they are doing -........

JohnnyBoxer · Oct 22, 2021

twizzle said:
i'd ask what he has done for £1,800 then take it to somebody that knows what they are doing -........

Indeed

Take it to Steve at Rainbow Workshop

A 1150 GS guru (and all BMW's)

He will sort it (or give you an honest opinion, whether to fix it or sell)

https://www.rainbowworkshop.co.uk/

Rich C · Oct 22, 2021

twizzle said:
i'd ask what he has done for £1,800 then take it to somebody that knows what they are doing -........

Put somewhat more directly than me but that was the gist of what I was getting at!

Rugged Path · Oct 22, 2021

Rich C said:
Put somewhat more directly than me but that was the gist of what I was getting at!

I have the bill so far. Wearable parts replaced after 18yrs of service.
The guy knows his boxers having had a BMW franchise in the past.

Labour charges are always high when sussing out faults that are difficult to pinpoint.

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John B · Oct 22, 2021

Hi, not much practical help but I empathise with you, likewise I have an GS1150, had it since new in 2001, luckily not had any problems but it is getting heavier every passing year but i'd be absolutely gutted if it had to go. I keep thinking that one day I'd get it sorted by Mikeyboy but currently while it still appears to be running I'll just put in earplugs and enjoy the time we have left....Cheers :beerjug:

JohnB

Mzokk · Oct 22, 2021

John B said:
Hi, not much practical help but I empathise with you, likewise I have an GS1150, had it since new in 2001, luckily not had any problems but it is getting heavier every passing year but i'd be absolutely gutted if it had to go. I keep thinking that one day I'd get it sorted by Mikeyboy but currently while it still appears to be running I'll just put in earplugs and enjoy the time we have left....CheersJohnB

Mine is still in good order despite 75K. I appear to be wearing out more quickly than it! Know what you mean about the weight....its getting a bit marginal!

timeandtide · Oct 22, 2021

JohnnyBoxer said:
Indeed

Take it to Steve at Rainbow Workshop

A 1150 GS guru (and all BMW's)

He will sort it (or give you an honest opinion, whether to fix it or sell)

https://www.rainbowworkshop.co.uk/

Good advice!
Alternatively Mikeyboy.

stanley · Oct 23, 2021

Find the problems and fix them.
I'm reckoning that you would hate a 1250/1300... soulless things!

I'm stinging a bit this week after eventually calling time on my old Saab. On the other hand, I've decided to sell my nearly new 1250... soulless thing!

Udders · Oct 23, 2021

My 02 1150 GS is worth around £3k. I’ve just spent well in excess of £6k on it. Do I care it’s cost nearly double what it’s worth? Nope.
It all depends on if you really want to keep the bike or not. I’m not interested in having a newer one. I much prefer the simplicity of the 1150. I can drop it, then pick it up again without a shit load of expensive damage. Parts are readily available and relatively cheap.
I’d be VERY concerned that after spending that much on it the mechanic is no further forward in finding out what’s wrong with it!

DrFarkoff · Oct 23, 2021

I would say take it to someone who does actually have a feel for these bikes!!! £1800 did they change for a brand new ECU or something?

These bikes are nothing more than a basic fuel injection system Its like a big calculator that just keeps working away Unless you fry the brain somehow
I have only diagnosed one ECU in all the time I have been doing this bike fixing malarkey

It needs compression, Fuel, air and spark at the right time just like every other internal combustion engine

But the Calculator is not clever and is only as good as the parameters it works to!

If the Hall sensor is Dodgy is one possibility and also

Re your problem Get them to check fuel pressure at the injectors! I had a bloke ask me to look one over with very similar problems Ran like a bag of schite and sooted up the O2 etc

Unfortunately he had been at it swapping parts for months so I had to recheck that they had done everything correctly and then make my diagnosis and whenever the Check list was done It was the Fuel pressure regulator

It was not holding full pressure and that was causing havoc

You can test this yourself by getting on of those little pipe clamp things and with the engine running start to clamp the return line and listen to hear the pump strain and loosen it half a turn so the line is not closed completely Its a crude test but it did confirm the issue on a very short test run

Oh and at this age definitely REPLACE the fuel line quick disconnects! :rob

They have a bad habit of cracking at the male part and breaking off allowing fuel to rush out of the tank often under pressure

L · Oct 23, 2021

£1800 for 18years worth of wear and tear is only £100 a year. A bargain.
Current value of the bike is probably at least £1500 and maybe much more. There are plenty of people out there who will take it off your hands as its one of the last which don't have tons of electronics to complicate things. Sell it and get another for an additional £1500 but it will be an unknown entity and it'll never be the same! Sell it and buy something else for thousands more which you may not even want or like...

This isn't about the money. Just get it fixed. If Mr Indy can't fix it in a reasonable timeframe that works for you both, get it to someone who can, or work through it yourself if you have the time and space... plenty of help and recommendations through this site...

West coast gser · Oct 23, 2021

Hmm they can't expect you to pay that when they've not fixed the problem..after a few goes at it they should've got in touch with you to say they can't fix it instead of fannying around an bumping up the bill...you should've remove it n take it somewhere else..I know how you feel after getting shafted by a so called expert...

West coast gser · Oct 23, 2021

twizzle said:
i'd ask what he has done for £1,800 then take it to somebody that knows what they are doing -........

Well said ..found Indy's jus want to fanny around so it jus bumps up the bill ...but they'll not do that as they'll lose the custom .but he should've called time on it after a few goes instead of it dragging on .

JohnnyBoxer · Oct 23, 2021

I heard that early 1200’s (2004-7) were now becoming becoming beyond economical repair (unless you can do it yourself)

Due to a more complex design ref clutch replace, gearbox input shaft and driveshaft & bevel complexity etc
Making them less easy/cheap to fix as labour time is a lot more than 1100/1150’s

So stick with it

Mad Hatter · Oct 23, 2021

It’d be worth you sticking it on a ferry and getting DrFarkoff to sort it out for you. The 1150’s have soul. All the the GS’s after don’t and you’ll regret it if you get rid. Here’s mine today in burgundy making more memories that’ll last me the rest of my days

knucklemoto · Oct 23, 2021

I say fix it. My 1150Gs, year 2000, has an ADV tank and done 128018 miles went dunk in the gearbox department last year and as the bike had only cost me £2300 about 5 or 6 years previously I had to decide whether to spend any £ on not just the gearbox, but also the shot suspension, rotten exhaust and cat, crap headlights, poor brakes etc...

My wife and I love the bike and have lots of stories of journeys and explorations on it so we went for it and spent about £1500, it still needs a bit more doing but I'm glad I did. It's a funny bike, clunky, weird looking, Tonka toy, and now with a John's chip, balanced 1200 injectors and de-cat it runs really well, smooth tick over, pulls cleanly and easily, and rides better than ever.

Stick with it, there are some great indie techs here, you'll get to the bottom of it.

Wow is me

Rugged Path

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