Burning smell coming from tank area

[bmwk100]

Greetings,

I take my bike to the shop for a new tire and oil change prior to departing Monday from Ft. Lauderdale to El Paso. Right when I get to the dealer, I notice a burning smell (somewhat like electrical). I pointed it out to the technician who also noticed it. After getting it back from the service, the technician stated he could barely smell it when he checked it. I got home and smelled it again. It is coming from the right side (sitting on the bike) near the gas tank above the cylinder head. Anybody have an idea what this may be? I'm taking back to the shop first thing in the AM.

[Texas42]

1) If it is oil burning smell, that could be oil spilled during the service.
2) It has a dry clutch, so you will smell that sometimes, like the smell of hot brakes.

[bmwk100]

It definitely is not an oil smell and it occurred before the service. I took it for another spin tonight and the smell was still there when the bike was running and after turning off the ignition. My sniff test definitely confirmed it was coming from the battery/tank area on the right side (while sitting on the bike). I have 15K on the bike and have never smelled this before. The technician also stated it was obvious and not normal.

[mogu83]

Any after market wiring, lights/battery tender/GPS. If so might be time to lift the tank and check wiring. I can't believe the technician let the bike out of the shop with a strange smell coming from under the GAS tank.

[bmwk100]

Negative- no aftermarket wiring. I have a satellite radio that has a wire that runs on the left side of the bike but is not plugged in. Definitely taking it back to them tomorrow. I'm looking for some suggestions for him from someone who may have had a similar issue. He did not seem to know what could be causing it.

[Bob Ain't Stoppin']

To the OP, I would be very hesitant about leaving on a trip without fully resolving this issue. Aside from the obvious safety issue of a bike failure or fire while at speed, I can't imagine the difficulty of trying to repair a melted wiring harness on the road side.

Recommendation: Take the Triumph!

[bmwk100]

To the OP, I would be very hesitant about leaving on a trip without fully resolving this issue. Aside from the obvious safety issue of a bike failure or fire while at speed, I can't imagine the difficulty of trying to repair a melted wiring harness on the road side.

Recommendation: Take the Triumph!

Funny you bring up the Triumph. My wiring harness on my Sprint melted once when I was on a trip in Georgia. I traded it in for the BMW 1 1/2 years ago. I left the bike at the dealership and hope they can diagnose this before I leave on Monday.

[diethornig]

safety first bro.. it might kill you specially when your gas tank is liking you might fix it first before you will continue your journey...

[bmwk100]

Update: The bike was at the dealer for two days and they stated that they rode the bike and could not smell the burning that we all had when I dropped it off. (2 technicians confirmed that they smelled it when I dropped the bike off.) I was told that the smell was similar to when the clutch was slipping so the technician test rode my bike and said my clutch was fine. No slippage. Thus, I'm going to pick up my bike from the shop tomorrow and head off to El Paso on Monday morning. Wish me luck!

[Bob Ain't Stoppin']

Well, if the smell is confirmed to be not electrical, and seems to be clutch related, I'd think about a leaking seal contaminating the clutch disc. You might want to pull the starter and see if there is anything wet in there. Don't know if that would be a sure test for leaking seal, but it's worth a try.

Another thought, perhaps the spark plug on that side is loose and leaking some crud on a hot area to create the smell. That's also an easy check.

[2wheels]

This is a bit 'left of field', but could an insect have got trapped near the hot exhaust/engine and got fried? Makes an awful pong and can last for days....

[foobar]

Update: The bike was at the dealer for two days and they stated that they rode the bike and could not smell the burning that we all had when I dropped it off. (2 technicians confirmed that they smelled it when I dropped the bike off.) I was told that the smell was similar to when the clutch was slipping so the technician test rode my bike and said my clutch was fine. No slippage. Thus, I'm going to pick up my bike from the shop tomorrow and head off to El Paso on Monday morning. Wish me luck!

Unfortunately, I have also smelled that "ionization/ozone" smell-- pay attention to it. An electrical smell from under the tank is bad news. My smelling that smell lead to the replacement of my bike's main wiring harness-- not a chap fix. Granted, this was on an R1150R. Maybe Hans and Dieter have made some changes since then...

The main wiring harness is under the tank up near the handle bars and runs along the left side of the frame. It is not protected v. well w/ fuses and such. My bike's short started in one small wire, but went on long enough to melt the entire harness into a single blob of plastic and copper. The source of all this was one of the tail light wires. The melt was roughly beneath the left oil cooler and under the gas tank near the handlebars.

The dealer in Ft Lauderdale is (well) known to not be very good, particularly the service dept. Take it to the one in Miami or find a good independent shop. PM me if you want the shop I use in the area.

[bmwk100]

Thanks for the responses. I picked up the bike today and rode it home and did not smell the odor. (It definitely came from the tank area on the right side.) I'm going to take my vacation starting Monday (3,800 mile round trip). I'll update if I have some problems on the road.

[MTBeemer]

Good luck, ride safe, have a great time, wear Nomex skivvies.........

[towerworker]

A shot in the dark here. Could the smell originate anywhere near thr top of the cat converter? I'm more familiar with the 1150 vs the 1200. Does it smel at all like burning toast? I once had an oil leak from the tranny output shaft. It would leak down on the cat and burn away therefore leave no trace until the leak worsened and finally left a track. Smelled for all the world like burnt toast.

Wayne

[bmwk100]

A shot in the dark here. Could the smell originate anywhere near thr top of the cat converter? I'm more familiar with the 1150 vs the 1200. Does it smel at all like burning toast? I once had an oil leak from the tranny output shaft. It would leak down on the cat and burn away therefore leave no trace until the leak worsened and finally left a track. Smelled for all the world like burnt toast.

Wayne

Negative Wayne. I can't do a good job of describing the smell (seems no one can including the technicians) but the technician stated that it was similar to the smell when the clutch is burning.

[bmwk100]

Update- just returned from a ten day 4K round trip to El Paso. The bike ran great and the smell never returned. What a great bike!

[mogu83]

Was wondering how you made out.

[ammolab]

Update- just returned from a ten day 4K round trip to El Paso. The bike ran great and the smell never returned. What a great bike!

Did you enjoy those 75 and 80MPH speed limits on the TEXAS section of Interstate 10? How was your MPH on that part of the trip?

[bmwk100]

Update- just returned from a ten day 4K round trip to El Paso. The bike ran great and the smell never returned. What a great bike!

Did you enjoy those 75 and 80MPH speed limits on the TEXAS section of Interstate 10? How was your MPH on that part of the trip?

I enjoyed the speed limit but the 575 mile ride from San Antonio to El Paso was scary. Your mind starts playing tricks on you and you begin hearing noises and start smelling things that are not there. The thought of breaking down in the middle of nowhere was hard to get out of my mind. My average got down to 34 miles per gallon on that stretch. The winds were brutal.