Need help with my 2004 R1150RA

[FordPrefect]

FordPrefect

Why on earth do you want to undertake a major dissasembly with no clue as to what is the nature of the problem? Had to get it off my chest......

Please call me at (225) 445-6922 after 6 pm CT and let me see if i can be of help.

boxermania it is not going to get fixed by just sitting there, and me talking about what it might be, obviously the dealer had no clue, otherwise they would have quoted me a real price and told me exactly what was wrong, but the dealer had a clue when it came to collecting the money.

Major disassembly to me would be if I took the whole engine out and rebuilding the whole engine, not just the top end, or just removing the heads. It is not that I don't have a clue, I have some clue, but I am not positive, I can admit as much, not sure what the hack the dealer did? Since it is obvious to me that since the dealer visit or 6500 mile service, it got progressively worse, too bad rained here for those few days right after I got the bike back from the dealer , otherwise I would have encountered this problem right away, I just started wearing a helmet after 30 years (bought it at a suggestion of the dealer) of riding so could not hear the engine too well.

I will give you a call boxermania it is 3:51PM CST right now, and have to get my daughter from school, then I will be free to ponder what next.

[FordPrefect]

This link should provide a good reference to the chain tensioner, old vs new.....

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=4657 ...

and an inexpensive water manometer to sync the idle and the TB's

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r87/ ... 1241153464

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r87/ ... 1241153562 ...

Thanks for the links boxermania I already read all those and found this one to be the best of all the ones out there...I believe Phil got the idea from this article, but both are great.

http://advwisdom.hogranch.com/Wisdom/Ca ... rSwap.html

I have Motion Pro mercury system, but heard that Twinmax is much better and more accurate, I will use the Motion Pro if no one has a Twinmax that I could use.

[riceburner]

The TB sync is (IIRC) NOT a standard part of the service, so it's very possible that it wasn't done.

If the bike is that affected by humidity / dryness then I'd suspect it's running very lean - does it have the CCCP still in place? (it's a largish plug in the fuse box - there's a photo somewhere on this site pointing it out).

I think your best bet would be to take the CCP out, then do a valve clearance check, end float check, TB sync, reset the TPS (remove one of the fuses for a few seconds, or disconnect the battery for a moment), check your plugs/stickcoils and plug caps etc. Then ride it a few hundred miles. Oh - I'd also check the air-filter, and check the wiring for the Motoronic's Lambda sensor is ok (the sensor in the exhaust).

[boxermania]

Talked with FordPrefect last night and realized that when he referred to head removal he really meant valve cover, a matter of semantics. I think he has a good approach for checking over the work done by the dealer, as it apeears to be questionable.

Hopefully he can get to the source of the problem.

[FordPrefect]

Had a nice conversation with boxermania, he had some good suggestions, some simple checks to start with, and most likely he is dead right about what is wrong with the bike. I will simply take the valve covers off both sides, and it is pretty much in line what riceburner said recheck valve clearances, valve end float, and drop all the plugs, clean them up , and check the firing of all plugs, it could be that one of the stick coils has failed, which it did, since the tech did have a hard time remove it (the tech broke the left side stick coil, thus the replacement of). A great suggestion was to document everything, take picture of disassembly and the findings, to be used in the future.

1.take both valve covers off, check valve clearances, valve end float, readjust if needed
2.sync the TB's with either Motion Pro (I have this already) or Twinmax (need to see if someone has one of these), clean all the parts
3.put back together and test

Thanks boxermania for the great suggestions in our conversation, and thanks to riceburner for his suggestions as well.

P.S. If the above scenario does not resolve issue, I will remove both heads and recheck everything, including the connecting rods, which the dealer was adamant on blaming for the noise. I am hopping that boxermania is right and that master mechanic's assistant did the work wrong, that he did the valve adjustment with TDC off by 180 degrees, and that is why the pronounce valve pinging, on the right had side. It is worth checking, and fairly easy to check, getting tools read for Sunday.

[FordPrefect]

Well guys I didn't get a chance to do anything today, I worked late Saturday and got up late, and just was not feeling like wrenching, I will give it a try on Tuesday, my other day off...

[FordPrefect]

Well guys, I was depressed for a long time about my bike, I could not accept that BMW of Milwaukee killed my bike...but few days ago a co-worker talked me into taking the bike to BMW of Chicago, so I took the bike to BMW of Chicago to have them look it at, so far head mechanic found few issues (many details to come after I talk to Frank some more), left side chain tensioner was never installed correctly, left side chain was too tight, thus the pinging, right side was too lose and contributed to the noise, he ordered both chain tensioners and said that he will start from scratch...I had to replace my gel battery, which was two years old, this Tuesday I will know how much out of pocket cost will be for my using BMW of Milwaukee under old owner, in the mean while or should I say since March of 2011 BMW of Milwaukee got bought out by Honda car dealer (owner sons), waiting for new regime to take over and clean house. I will be visiting the new dealership after my bike gets fixed. I have all the documents, and can't wait to talk to old owner who is still in business few blocks down the road as a Triumph/Japanese dealer.

BTW at fist service (6000-6500 miles) valves have to be adjusted, as well as the carburettors have to be synced up. Very interesting turn of events. My hunch was proved beyond reasonable doubt, and that the previous BMW Milwaukee dealer had no clue, was only in it for the money. But no one went to him for service, unless they had too, the owners grandma selling the dealership speaks volumes about the service they provided. I will never forget John telling me that it's the lower end on my bike that needs work, lol. Or after they broke few parts, he had the audacity to charge me for the parts, and then charged me to recheck his work ($240), after the 1st service if you can call it that. But as you guys can see there is a God.

Thank God I had plenty of bikes to ride, but I truly missed my sexy R1150R...soon it will be home.

Soon I will update you guys, and hopefully this little incident will restore my confidence in BMW once again.

[sweatmark]

Soon I will update you guys, and hopefully this little incident will restore my confidence in BMW once again.

Hope you're up & running soon! The R1150** is a great machine, despite errant dealers and engineering/quality oversights by the manufacturer. I'm committed to somehow making into a reliable modern classic like those in your airhead collection.

[FordPrefect]

Getting the bike tomorrow, $285 total cost, the issue was simple, the chain tensioner that the Milwaukee BMW installed was not installed correctly. I will let you guys know about the details, luck would have it BMW of Chicago got purchased, so now that would be dealerships changing hands, Milwaukee BMW changed ownership, and now Chicago BMW changed ownership.

[sweatmark]

Getting the bike tomorrow, $285 total cost, the issue was simple, the chain tensioner that the Milwaukee BMW installed was not installed correctly.

Great news - eagerly anticipating the ride report!

[FordPrefect]

Well picked up the bike and rode it back to Milwaukee from Chicago BMW, when I got it the mechanic Frank said that he got most of the noise reduced but still has a slight ping, that BMW ping...I departed from the dealer at about 4:30PM and, so from Chicago to about Racine the bike was running just fine, then all of a sudden the bike lost 50% of the power, died on me close to Racine Wisconsin it was about 5:30PM, lost power went from 75MPH to 50MPH and no apparent noise, that BMW ping disappeared, was running kind of like when you are running out of gas, surging I went to a gas station filled it up, and had a hard time starting it, possible lose timing belt, a lot of surging when I had it running, not sure what it is. So back to square one. BTW two BMW dealers and still no fix, not sure what to do now, at this point. Bad news Chicago BMW got sold, a new owner is taking over, next week new ownership taking over, also moving to Evanston. I think at this point I am calling BMW North America, and I will complain, I will ask for assistance since the chain tensioner was changed I had nothing but trouble. The bike is like new 7500 miles on the bike, unbelievable.

[jas]

Dumb question, I know...but is the carbon canister still on the bike?

[FordPrefect]

Yes, the carbon canister is still on the bike.

[jas]

Are the lines in the correct position on the carbon canister or is there any blockage? Not sure if it would help but maybe try removing the canister, cap the throttle body nipples, extend the drain line out the bottom and see if that provides any relief.

Which side of the bike was exposed to the direct heat as result of the structure fire?

[FordPrefect]

Are the lines in the correct position on the carbon canister or is there any blockage? Not sure if it would help but maybe try removing the canister, cap the throttle body nipples, extend the drain line out the bottom and see if that provides any relief.

Which side of the bike was exposed to the direct heat as result of the structure fire?

Don't know about the carbon canister, will check it let you know...canister removal does anyone have the link to that article by any chance? That aside that would no cause timing or surging issue, running on a single cylinder.

The fire was on the left side of the bike, the bike was parked about 15 feet away from a neighbors garage, which was on fire, minor cosmetic damage to left side. It was all repaired/repainted and the bike ran flawlessly from 2006 to 2009 or at about the first service @6500 mi, or when I had BMW of Milwaukee change the left side chain tensioner do to sleight chain whining noise, which was recommended by BMW Motorrad.

I actually called BMW Motorrad and asked for assistance with this issue, they BMW pretty much didn't care if their dealers are incompetent, that is how I interpreted my interaction with this customer service representative but they accepted and filed the complaints against both dealers, the problem is both dealerships got sold recently, and she underlined that all dealerships are independent, and that BMW Motorrad can't force their dealers to do good work, lol. While that is true, BMW Motorrad could make sure that the service provided is of high quality, and not substandard work. I said to the representative I am losing my confidence in BMW, these dealers are directly eroding BMW reputation and that I as a BMW owner can't trust the work these dealers are providing, at least in my mind, I expected quality work, I got nothing but a headache, and I lost substantial amount of money in the process...So no real assistance from BMW, just lip service. I am not done with this I need to find out if BMW recommended that the left side chain tensioner was necessary or not, since this was directly related to my issues at this time. So far unbelievable behavior by BMW, they passed the buck, while I took it in the pocket.

[FordPrefect]

Are the lines in the correct position on the carbon canister or is there any blockage? Not sure if it would help but maybe try removing the canister, cap the throttle body nipples, extend the drain line out the bottom and see if that provides any relief.

The lines (3) look correct coming out of the carbon canister...

[1FordPrefect]

Issue resolved, at a cost of $1900, BMW Motorad refused to take action against dealer, whom they certified.