BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

This might be odd replying this time of year, near the first day of summer, but during a chance review of my Amazon orders, I discovered my 1.25 Amp Battery-Tender-Plus is now 10 years oid. I've Ammeter and Voltmeter monitored what they do over the charging cycle and was impressed. Right now it's wo...

Hoof, Now that you have solved the problem of a severely overtightened oil filter, I recommend you go back to the factory BMW oil filter. Reason being is the BMW filter is made of premium quality components -and- this is unique when it is compared to all the other brand oil filters, BMW's has a sep...

InternetMechanic, What bike are you building and what model R1150 did the swing arm come from? You have so many unknowns here that you'll need to actually be hands-on with an R1150R to take your own measurements. I would say nothing is "on center" because it doesn't have to be. What's imp...

JeffEd65, Thanks for the So Long and Thanks , especially toward this chatboard. Because the Boxer Twins can be BOTH relatively expensive to have exclusively dealer serviced -and- Very inexpensive to own when totally owner serviced, this website and the experienced, knowledgeable people here are one...

I watched the voltmeter when I started it. It was at 12.6 and then dropped to 8.75 when it was starting. SunBeemer said it right: "That's too much voltage-drop while cranking; generally less than 9.75 volts indicates an electrical problem." Because the battery is only 2 years old, that wo...

racurley, You have a 2003 model, meaning the electric starter went through 15 summers and 14 winters. Without any disassembly for cleaning/checking/lubing it can now generate less cranking power while at the same time drawing a lot more Amps starting current from what is likely a really good batter...

About using AvGas, my aviation mechanic experience in the late 60's was with 4,000 HP GE turboshaft engines on the P3 Orion https://www.military.com/equipment/p-3c-orion ) using JP-4 jet fuel (specialized kerosene). AVGas available on the NavalAirStation, which uses a larger amount of lead than road...

Hottech, It very well could be the bulb. Most bulb failures happen when the coiled spring filament breaks in a "burned thin" area, breaking the connection. Then the larger broken end filament waves around with the vibration, or not. When you raise the RPMs, that likely makes the filament ...

"The ADV thread . . . . "
Why . . . . That's Blasphemy!
I did not consider it, even though I have been there. Sometimes the extremely vast audience does not respond at all to newbees as they can be too difficult to deal with.

carknut, Surprising that nobody mentioned the TB synch hose vacuum caps on the intake manifold bottoms, especially on a 16 year old bike. They can still be in place but severely cracked, which also could happen "all-at-once" during a heat cycle. If there are hoses instead of cap-offs, rem...

My 9 year old F800ST actually is still on its first replacement 7 year antifreeze solution and it's clear look'n AOK. Right now it is 51 DegF (10.6C) outside at 9:10pm, going down to 38F (3.3C), (for the first time this season) by morning. Fortunately for me hiding upright and behind the protective ...

In the lower gears, count them if it matters. I almost always shifted without the clutch below 3,000 RPMs so making the 5? 6? decision was quicker with a simultaneous quick throttle chop and lever tap, since every motorcycle made gives 1 of 2 indicators that you already are in 6th. When you try to s...

Tundra Dweller, You say you cleaned the pad slide pins, but did not mention that grease was put inside the rubber accordion bellows that the pins fit inside. Also, "Pushing the pistons out" may not be that they were actually removed so that the piston seals can be removed to clean gunk ou...

Mirky87, The no headlight response from key ON says your battery is either dead or not connected. We could also suspect an ignition switch fault or wire harness wire break, but hooking up the charger partially works the starter solenoid. The sputtering sound when the charger is connected is the cha...

"The best motorcycle" IS a relative term, relative to the person that rode or rides one. Being a street rider, I can echo your enthusiasm for the BMW water cooled twins. You can ride it fast, slow, solo or 2-up, in traffic or backing it out of the garage, it requires less effort than my Oi...

Roger, Being a 2002 model it is very likely the caliper pistons and caliper seals are contaminated with gummy old brake fluid residues mixed with brake dust. -and- have never been taken completely apart for cleaning (16 years!). Being new here (1 post so far) means you need a link like this: http:/...

herb, What did the smoke cloud smell like? Gear, DOT4 or engine oil? They each have very distinctive odors, especially when they are smoking hot. My guess, because of the hot weather AND high RPM's, which creates additional heat, besides the very hot engine, from the transmission gear teeth meshing...

It has every indication it is the battery. Especially in the way it “failed“. If your battery charger is an older non-electronic type with just a transformer and a bridge rectifier it can provide an overvoltage when hooked up to a bad battery with a broken cell connector or a bad cell. Without the c...

JDay, I had a 2002 model for 7 years and about 63K miles. If you do all the work on your own bike it is one of the least expensive and most rewarding bikes to own. If you have it serviced by a BMW dealer it can be one of the most expensive bikes to own. It is a heavy bike but it is blessed with a l...

Ruddy, You won't have to remove the head, but removing the cam chain tensioner assembly (the Aluminum bolt head) should provide enough chain slack for you to locate the chain rail's end hole with various small tools. Try rotating the crankshaft bolt slowly with a 16mm wrench until the chain run gets...