A few new R1200R Q's...

[crazyhorse]

okay i have put a few hundred miles on my new 08 r12r now and have a few questions for the experienced.

1. when my bike is on the centerstand and in neutral, the rear tire rotates slightly (6-8 rpm?). there is some force there, i can't hold it back with my pinky but can with my pointer. if i pull the clutch in it stops. seems to be moreso when i have just started the bike. is this normal? i have never had a bike that did this, but i have always had a chain-driven bike before.

2. my bike is a bit hard to get into neutral until heated up. not at all like my f650. i have to start the bike then drive to a security gate where i work and it's always hard to engage neutral, then hard to engage first. not hard to find them, but it doesn't seem to click in easy even with a bit of rocking or throttle. seems odd.

3. idle is not totally smooth. maybe that's the big boxer. it won't stall but i thought it would be smooth with all the elctro-computer-gizmo engine management. can i change the idle speed myself? it's about 1050 rpm.

4. i know there are a few recalls on the 07s, are there any on the 08s? is there a website to check VIN or does the dealer have to check?

more to come i am sure. those are just oddities but i am enjoying the ride immensly. or course very different to my other bike, an f650gs.

thanks!

wes

[MJB]

okay i have put a few hundred miles on my new 08 r12r now and have a few questions for the experienced.

1. when my bike is on the centerstand and in neutral, the rear tire rotates slightly (6-8 rpm?). there is some force there, i can't hold it back with my pinky but can with my pointer. if i pull the clutch in it stops. seems to be moreso when i have just started the bike. is this normal? i have never had a bike that did this, but i have always had a chain-driven bike before.

Mine too......My question is the ABS Brakes....If you put in first gear, and increase RMP, the back wheel spins. When you apply the front brake the back wheel does not stop. Are not the Front and Back brakes linked

2. my bike is a bit hard to get into neutral until heated up. not at all like my f650. i have to start the bike then drive to a security gate where i work and it's always hard to engage neutral, then hard to engage first. not hard to find them, but it doesn't seem to click in easy even with a bit of rocking or throttle. seems odd.

I believe this this is a feature of the RR. When at a stop light and I'm in neutral, sometimes I have to rock the bike a bit too get into gear.

3. idle is not totally smooth. maybe that's the big boxer. it won't stall but i thought it would be smooth with all the elctro-computer-gizmo engine management. can i change the idle speed myself? it's about 1050 rpm.

Yes... When in neutral it does shake a bit. Big engine

4. i know there are a few recalls on the 07s, are there any on the 08s? is there a website to check VIN or does the dealer have to check?

more to come i am sure. those are just oddities but i am enjoying the ride immensly. or course very different to my other bike, an f650gs.

thanks!

wes

[deilenberger]

okay i have put a few hundred miles on my new 08 r12r now and have a few questions for the experienced.

1. when my bike is on the centerstand and in neutral, the rear tire rotates slightly (6-8 rpm?). there is some force there, i can't hold it back with my pinky but can with my pointer. if i pull the clutch in it stops. seems to be moreso when i have just started the bike. is this normal? i have never had a bike that did this, but i have always had a chain-driven bike before.

Absolutely normal. There is some drag through the gearbox caused by the oil - it works sorta like a torque converter on an automatic transmission (a very inefficient one..) The effect is more noticeable when the oil is cold and thicker. It's a "they all do that" and "it's normal and expected.." sort of thing.

2. my bike is a bit hard to get into neutral until heated up. not at all like my f650. i have to start the bike then drive to a security gate where i work and it's always hard to engage neutral, then hard to engage first. not hard to find them, but it doesn't seem to click in easy even with a bit of rocking or throttle. seems odd.

It should go into neutral easily from 2nd or 1st when coming to a stop IF you put it in before stopping. Once stopped, when cold - it's easy to miss neutral and end up in gear again. It will become easier as you get more miles on the bike.

3. idle is not totally smooth. maybe that's the big boxer. it won't stall but i thought it would be smooth with all the elctro-computer-gizmo engine management. can i change the idle speed myself? it's about 1050 rpm.

Normal, and no, you can't. There is no idle speed adjustment, and you'll notice it varies with engine temp (faster when the engine is cold). It's all controlled by the "elctro-computer-gizmo" (is that *electro*-computer-gizmo?) A lumpy idle is normal. Luckily we don't ride the bikes at idle, and I kinda like it - gives the bike some character when sitting at a light next to a HD..

4. i know there are a few recalls on the 07s, are there any on the 08s? is there a website to check VIN or does the dealer have to check?

No on-line website, but your friendly local service department can check using the VIN. Give them the last 7 characters (2 letters followed by 5 numbers), or you could call BMW Customer Relations - they can look it up for you. Haven't heard of anything on the '08's...

more to come i am sure. those are just oddities but i am enjoying the ride immensly. or course very different to my other bike, an f650gs.

thanks!
wes

Be interesting to see how much use the f650gs gets now..

[WILDPIG]

Q NUMBA 1- MINE DOES THE SAME ITS AN 08 MODEL, NO CONCERNS THERE Q NUMBA 2- PERFECTLY NORMAL FOR A BMW TRANSMISSON-- HAS TO DO WITH THE FUNKY CLAW//SLIDING SHAFT CONFIGERATION, PERSONALLY-- I HATE IT. Q NUMBA 3- MINE DOES THE SHAKES AS WELL-- PERFECTLY NORMAL FOR A BOXER MOTOR AN YES THERE HAVE BEEN REPORTS OF STALLING THAT SUPPOSEDLY COMP UPDATES HAVE CORRECTED. Q NUMBA 4- ABSOLUTELY RECALLS ON 08'S-- FRONT BRAKE LINE RE-ROUTING AN EWS FAILURES AT SUPER HIGH FAILURE RATES-- AN YEP MY 08 SUFFERED BOTH AN YES HIGH % OF SUDDEN BATTERY DEATH SYNDROME-- YER BMW DEALER WILL CORRECT AN THE FACTORY WILL I PROMISE PRETEND IT'S NEVER HAPPENED. ONE OF MY MAJOR BITCHS ABOUT CORPRATE BMW -- I STATE COPORATE BMW CARES LITTLE ABOUT THE CUSTOMER REALTIONS. NICE BIKES,, BUT WHEN THEY BREAK,, AN OH YES THEY DO BREAK THERES A HUGE PROBABILITY --IT'S STRAIGHT TO THE DEALER WITH VERY LITTLE ROADSIDE FIXIN. THATS MY 2 CENTS AN I HAPPEN TO KNOW I'M CORRECT IN MY ACCESSMENT.

[deilenberger]

okay i have put a few hundred miles on my new 08 r12r now and have a few questions for the experienced.

1. when my bike is on the centerstand and in neutral, the rear tire rotates slightly (6-8 rpm?). there is some force there, i can't hold it back with my pinky but can with my pointer. if i pull the clutch in it stops. seems to be moreso when i have just started the bike. is this normal? i have never had a bike that did this, but i have always had a chain-driven bike before.

Mine too......My question is the ABS Brakes....If you put in first gear, and increase RMP, the back wheel spins. When you apply the front brake the back wheel does not stop. Are not the Front and Back brakes linked
wes

They are linked - but intelligently - the linking is proportioned according to speed (and braking force applied), and when the bike is stopped (front wheel not moving) - the linking isn't engaged.

[deilenberger]

AN I HAPPEN TO KNOW I'M CORRECT IN MY ACCESSMENT.

It must be reassuring to never be wrong..

[crazyhorse]

Be interesting to see how much use the f650gs gets now..

well, so far 2 weeks and... zero! i hadn't really intended on selling the f650 but judging by how much i love the r12r i don't really see the f650 getting any more miles! and it's a great bike...

thanks everybody for the replies. i don't see a ton of our bikes on the road, good to know there are a few of us out there that know the secret and can resist the poser nature of the r12gs. (no disrespect to the r12gs riders who actually use the bike for what it was built for).

wes

p.s. deilenberger i think you snatched the sport shield from ebay i was going to get!

[mogu83]

Transmission - Normal I've had the same thing with my /5, a Guzzi, and a few Hondas, I think I even noticed it once with a manual transmission car with both rear wheels off the ground with the engine running in neutral.
Vibration at idle: Remember it's a 2 cylinder 1200cc motor and it's putting out almost 110 HP. If you want to see vibration look at a rubber mounted Harley 1500+cc that only puts out 60+ Horse. Their is a lot going on in that Beemer engine. It's surprising it runs as smooth as it does.
Idle Speed: I couldn't see any way to adjust it, but I can't adjust any of my cars either.
Recalls: Haven't heard any on the 08s, they must have got them all on the 07s. Don't hear anything about read drive failures anymore either.

As far as dealing with the company and dealers, I've had no problems. Warranties and recalls were taken care of by the dealer I bought the bike from. Another local dealer that I didn't buy from has always been friendly and helpful. I bent both rims out West and BMW of Denver took great care of me and had me back on the road in two days. They even offered to get me a place to stay if I needed it, can't beat that. They knew that they would never see me again so they weren't looking for return business, they just treated me well because I was on a Beemer. Maybe it's the way you deal with them (dealers,BMW or just people) if you go in and say 'I'm screwed and need help' instead of 'I demand' you generally get a better reaction. Mean people usually get screwed, when I worked (retired now) I usually went out of my way to screw people that tried to give me a hard time.

[crazyhorse]

to be more specific, it's not the vibration that is unexpected, it's the rough idle. sometimes the engine seems like it may stall, or rather on other motors would want to stall, like the timing is irregular every now and then. however inertia states those big pistons don't want to move so i suspect this to be normal.

wes

[famousperson]

Mean people usually get screwed, when I worked (retired now) I usually went out of my way to screw people that tried to give me a hard time.

Oh! So that was YOU, mogu83.

[ShinySideUp]

to be more specific, it's not the vibration that is unexpected, it's the rough idle. sometimes the engine seems like it may stall, or rather on other motors would want to stall, like the timing is irregular every now and then. however inertia states those big pistons don't want to move so i suspect this to be normal.

wes

I had the same perspective as you, but what I've found over the last 20K miles is that it's really rare that the engine does actually stall. It's just the feeling of a big twin to sound like it's lugging at lower rpm's, when in fact, the torque will pull you through just about every time. Of course you COULD have some water in your fuel or something weird, but probably not.

Two other thoughts on the rough idle: it will get smoother as the engine breaks in. And I'm talking about AFTER 10K miles. These boxers just get better and better as they loosen up a bit. This is my first one, and a GS rider at the local dealer told me that, and I thought he might just be blowing smoke, but I've found it to be true.

The other piece is valve adjustment. Learn to do your own so you can get so good at it that you'll be way better than the over-worked mechanics at the dealers. My last one was at 18K and I swear my engine is now almost as smooth as my Honda ST1100 V-4, not quite, but almost. The secret is to develop a feel for how much drag you feel on the feeler gauges and make sure they're all the same on all the valves. You will be rewarded by an engine that purrs. OK, it's a little rougher in cold weather until it warms up, but still...

[Preacher]

I've got an '08 R1200R with 12K on it. The first recall happened just before I picked it up at delivery (mine was a demo); it was the antenna ring failure. The 2nd recall was for the ABS line. Whoever supplied the line to BMW made it too short. Apparently the bike's braking computer "looks at" the quantity of fluid in the system and can set a code thinking there is a problem. Dealer got the replacement tubing which is only a little longer than one replaced. So it's done.

At 1050rpms, it seems that's a bit on low side. Mine never shows less than 1200 or tad under, but there could just be a difference in the tachs. Idle is always a nice, steady pulse, though the bike shakes with that pulse until you just begin to raise revs and pull out.

I never have had issues getting the bike into neutral. After first cold start in morning, it won't engage first unless I pull the clutch a couple times, then it engages immediately and quietly. Actually this is pretty common among various brands of bikes.

I've been running a full Remus and Dobeck module for last 5K miles.

Yes, the boxers according to many don't reach full break-in until 18K. BUT, I found that the oil consumption dropped drastically by time I had 2500mi on the bike. Been running Amsoil MCV 20w-50 ever since. Bike only consumed 1/4 cup between 6K & 12K. I don't beat on my bike, but when on clear roads regularly ride between 70 & 90mph. It runs like a clock. Additionally, at 600, 6,000 & 12,000mi service intervals my valves hardly needed any adjustment... actually only the exhausts needed any adjustment at 6 and 12K and it was still within spec. Bike never had any valve clatter. If I ride bike less than spirited, it gets a consistent 50-51mpg on trips, otherwise 43mpg is about worst it does.

I switched to Michelin Pilot Road 2's after Metz's were totally shot at 9200mi. These things are grippier, much more precise in handling, and wear far better.

Good luck with your R; hope this helps.
Here's couple pics:
I "ride naked" as soon as weather modulates. Only takes 15min to add/remove bag mounts.

Setup for winter riding/touring with 18" Cee Bailey and Givis.

[qfman]

Agree with all above but just one note on the first gear engagement -

I have found the best way to get first is to pull the clutch and select first immediately. There's no need for rocking if you just 'pull' and 'snick'.

Tom

[qfman]

Agree with all above but just one note on the first gear engagement -

I have found the best way to get first is to pull the clutch and select first immediately. There's no need for rocking if you just 'pull' and 'snick'.

Tom

[crazyhorse]

preacher, that is a nice blue baby.

i have a full ztechnic on mine (db killer/cork still in b/c although cool it game me a headache) but i don't think i have any FI mods. is the dobeck unit a FI device?

i put the mototechnic barbacks and it has helped a lot - i hairline fractured my shoulder and sprained the tendon last october offroad on my drz trying to make it rock climb so i am a bit gimpy. not quite a teenager any more i guess...

wes

[celticus]

Maybe it is just your perception that the engine is about to stall. Or maybe there IS something wrong. I never think my motor is about to die. I don't even think of it as lumpy. Maybe I'm just used to it though.

"It must be reassuring to never be wrong.. "
I find it equally distressing to be always wrong, but I'm not sure what to do about it. Whatever course of action I chose would no doubt be .......wrong.

Mark

[Dauntless]

Setup for winter riding/touring with 18" Cee Bailey and Givis.

Is that factory painted or custom? I thought blue was on '09 color.

[mechanic savant]

IMHO it needs about 6k mi."break in ride"

[crazyhorse]

Agree with all above but just one note on the first gear engagement -

I have found the best way to get first is to pull the clutch and select first immediately. There's no need for rocking if you just 'pull' and 'snick'.

Tom

this has indeed been quite successful for me. thanks.

wes

[Bill Stevenson]

I have been riding Beemers for so long that I had forgotten all these little quirks that they have. I always get the bike into neutral while it is still rolling because otherwise it can be a PITA (note this is so for all Beemers and becomes habit after a while). The rear wheel turns as described, 'twas ever thus with every Beemer. Don E. already explained it correctly, but to lend credence to his note, the integrated brake system on these bikes is very sophisticated and the rear brake is not engaged when the bike is not moving. As far as the rough idle, have your dealer check it. We can't know over the internet whether yours is OK or not. From your description, it sounds like something is not right, but without being able to hear it, feel it, etc. who knows? As far as recalls, there have been a few as already noted. Here again you should check with your dealer to make sure they were all done and you haven't missed anything.

Bill