Bike was done with the ride WAY before I was...

[Canyon Runner]

So, I am cruising along at about 4200 rpm in top gear and, all of the sudden, my transmission goes into what sounds like engine braking mode, and I start to drag down in speed. Since I am in a relatively safe place after checking the mirrors, my first instinct is to disengage the clutch to stop losing speed and coast the bike to the shoulder, looking for a flat place to stop. When I engage the clutch, the motor is off, gone. No restart when I get it stopped. Wait a bit, check the oil (as I did before the ride) and nothing seems amiss. No smell of fuel, no apparent leaking fluids (either at the site I stopped, on the bike, or in my parking spot at home).

Wait about 30 minutes, try again. No restart, both with "fast idle" lever engaged and disengaged.

I was out in the desert, with a rider. Had enough fluids and gear to keep us safe and happy for a while, but not enough to do a full troubleshoot/try and field address. Used my roadside assistance to get the bike towed to my dealer.

Anyway, I will find out tomorrow what they have to say (hopefully), but I am curous if anyone here might have a theory to offer. The bike just cut out at highway speed. I had put a half a tank of gas in, but it had been a good 35 miles before that, so I had a mixed tank of fuel, all 91 octane, and I had been riding for a while.

No real clues leading up to this, just normal fun and reliable rides. Anyone ever have their bike cut out at speed?

Thanks!

[Xdot]

I know the loss of a timing belt will do that. Sudden and complete death. Depending on the valve lift it may or may not damage the motor. I think the boxer has timing chains though and that would make a lot of noise. Loss of a fuel pump will do that too. Could be as simple as the fuel pump fuse. And ignition coil will do that also. Those are probably the main culprits for what you describe but there are others. Many other causes in fact. Modern engines with computer controls are very complicated.

Think about the three things an engine needs to run: Compression, spark, and fuel, in the right order. Any of that goes and motor no turney. Don't know if this helps. Kind of general but motors are motors.

[keithbw]

The Motronic?
Have not read of that going out much on this board though.
Wiring harness?
Glad you were able to get the bike to a dealer fairly quickly.

[Sunbeemer]

I had a failure like this last year that drove me nuts for a week or more, but I finally tracked it down (after a lot of unecessary diagnostic testing of the ignition coil and Hall Effect Sensors) to an Autolite Iridium plug that had blown the iridium pellet off the end of the electrode and wouldn't make a spark. This failure opened the high-voltage, waste-spark, ignition circuit (e.g. coil->plug->plug->coil) and caused the other plug to not fire, which led me on diagnostic tangents that eductated me , but the problem was finally easily fixed by replacing the plug(s).

Hope your problem is as simple to fix as replacing a plug or two, and you get it fixed quicker and easier

[sweatmark]

No real clues leading up to this, just normal fun and reliable rides. Anyone ever have their bike cut out at speed?

Haven't heard of this happening to R1150Rs, and this is first I heard/read of Sunbeemer's trevails.

But we did experience something similar with my wife's F800S this month... and the problem appears to be well-documented, commonplace for early F800S/ST, and not effectively resolved by BMW or dealers yet.

But R1150R? - no, this is unusual. If it's not an unexpected and rare mishap like those spark plugs, then perhaps Broken Wire Syndrome occured. Several recent threads documenting starting/run problems due to broken wires within the steering head harnesses.

[JayTee]

I had a similar experience a couple of years ago. The engine just suddenly stalled when I was riding at 100 km/h and did not start again. The reason was that one of the fuel lines inside the tank had disconnected.

-JayTee

[Canyon Runner]

All,

Thanks to all...

Hopefully I'll know more tomorrow. I'll post afterward. In the end, it was a safe and harmless type of malfunction. Certainly unexpected, and hopefully not expensive, but everyone was OK.

I did make sure the strain on the wiring harness was relived per advice on here. Doesn't rule wring out, but after reading the stories on here, hopefully it makes it less likely!

Other than that, it's a mystery to me. Hopefully the wheel of fate doesn't have any particularly pricey tales to tell.

Happy riding to all, in the mean time. I appreciate the input!

[Sander Abernathy]

Where your riding a Harley or a Ducati? That would explain it.

[Canyon Runner]

So, they were able to get the machine in and on a stand today. Preliminary diagnostics indicate a bad Hall Effect Sensor. Looks like I may be happy, for the first time, about investing in an extended warranty, as it looks like the repair is covered.

Hopefully, there is nothing hidden behind that curtain.

Anything I should check "in addition" or any reason I should be worried that a malfunction of a part of this nature would cascade to damage elsewhere on the bike?

They are supposed to be working on it tomorrow....

Cheers!

(By the way, I did search the archives here and see that the Hall Effect Sensor issue is sometimes tied to issues with the wiring harness that serves it. I will certainly inquire regarding that. Any other tips or gothchas out there that I should look out for would be appreciated. Thanks!)

[challey]

I would also check the wire harness thoroughly, paying particular attention to the loop that's gathered up under the fuel tank and to the primary wire at the 90° bend near the corner of the battery tray. Make sure that the wires are not contacting the tank or the battery tray, wearing off the insulation and exposing the wire. The BMW harness is poorly designed with many unprotected circuits so that any short can potentially cause a catastrophic failure (meltdown) of the harness as happened here: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=17892

I think that BMW issued a SB on this, so your dealer may have already inspected/rerouted/protected as needed but it won't hurt to double check.

Charlie