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

I picked up my (almost new) Rockster this weekend. Its my first BMW.

An couple initial observations:

1. When the engine is warm I can hear what sounds like tapping coming from each cylinder. This happens at idle and when I'm running at lower rpms. The bike only has 2700 miles on it and did have the 600 mile BMW service. Is this normal or do the valve clearances need to be re-checked ?

2. That funky looking catalytic converter sure gets hot. Has anyone seen it cause the paint to peel over time ?

I'm sure I'll have more questions as I get familiar with it. All in all I'm very happy with the bike.

Welcome to the wonderful world of the R and Rockster!!
Warning!!! This site is addictive and leads to multiple upgrade purchases!
What color Rock did you end up with? Any pics yet?
T.

Welcome to the World of the Rocks. Yes, the engine makes all sort of ticking and clacking noises. It's very characteristic of BMW flat twins. Especially in your area in the summer and at slow speed, you will hear the valve chattering a bit, but that's normal.

The catalytic converter does get extremely hot, so get rid of it and replace it with a Remus Y-pipe (or the type of offering from another company). Your feet will thank you and your bike will thank you for the replacement.

Thanks for the warm welcome. I have some pics of the bike but i need to figure out how to post them.

Glad to hear the noise is normal for the flat twin.

I call that noise the Singer Sewing machine effect. It freaked me out too at first.
Welcome aboard, I hope you enjoy your Rock as much as I have. It is a very versitile bike if you are a versitile person. I just got my Iron Butt Saddle Sore 1000 on it when others said it can't (or shouldn't)be done. Actually they said I was nuts to do that on a naked bike in January. But I proved them all wrong. Yea Me!


Take care,
Tommy

the only time to be worried about ticking heads is if you can still hear it at 90mph.

Just don't let the bike sit idling in the heat. It's air cooled and needs a flow to keep it cool. It will rattle if it gets too hot.

Does anyone know if the factory warrenty is voided if I replace the catalytic converter with a Y-Pipe ?

doubtful since bobs and other dealers are installing aftermarket exhausts. if you have a problem just slap the old crap back on!

When you talk about the catalytic converter, are you talking about that strange black canister at the RH rear that is fitted to US bikes only?

Unlike some of the others here, I actually like the standard exhaust on my (non-US spec) Rockster. Yeah, the big catalytic converter ahead of the rear wheel can look a bit obvious and ugly from some angles (like if you're lying on the road!), but I think the standard muffler looks good and is nicely tucked away, and I'm willing to do my bit to lessen air/noise pollution. Of course, when it comes to replacement time an aftermarket system usually costs less anyway.

Enjoy your bike ...

Captain K.

Welcome!

The black cans that are fitted to US spec bikes are the fuel vapor collector. The catalytic converter is the big thing that sits between the headers and the exhaust pipe. It gets extremely hot and radiates heat into your feet. Good on cold days, bad on hot days.

grt1500 wrote:I picked up my (almost new) Rockster this weekend. Its my first BMW.

An couple initial observations:

1. When the engine is warm I can hear what sounds like tapping coming from each cylinder. This happens at idle and when I'm running at lower rpms. The bike only has 2700 miles on it and did have the 600 mile BMW service. Is this normal or do the valve clearances need to be re-checked ?

Okay.....well.....personally....my rock has always been pretty darn quiet and I do tend to ride her pretty hard. After my 1st track day, we noticed that she was generally louder and that there was some ticking. I just figured that was normal as I do run her a LOT harder now (usually shifting up around 6k and down at 5k with pushes to the rev limiter at times).

Well...last week I took my wife for a ride over to Long Beach so we could demo the k1200r and it seemed that the ticking was getting louder and mainly coming from the right cyl. I took it in to the shop today and low and behold....TICKING IS NOT NORMAL! lol

Turns out that the 2004 Rock is built with the old style push rods and under hard driving they have a tendancy (so says the techs that showed me old and new) to fail. I actually CRUSHED two of them! *beats chest manly style*

I rode her home....rode without ear plugs for the 1st time in months and she's a whole nother machine.

I'm not sure what you're hearing, but it very clearly sounded like my old car when the valves needed adjusting...tap tap tap tap! Bottom line though....if it's ticking.....get it checked!

Good luck!

*A much happier Rock owner*

Illuvatar wrote:

grt1500 wrote:I picked up my (almost new) Rockster this weekend. Its my first BMW.

An couple initial observations:

1. When the engine is warm I can hear what sounds like tapping coming from each cylinder. This happens at idle and when I'm running at lower rpms. The bike only has 2700 miles on it and did have the 600 mile BMW service. Is this normal or do the valve clearances need to be re-checked ?

Okay.....well.....personally....my rock has always been pretty darn quiet and I do tend to ride her pretty hard. After my 1st track day, we noticed that she was generally louder and that there was some ticking. I just figured that was normal as I do run her a LOT harder now (usually shifting up around 6k and down at 5k with pushes to the rev limiter at times).

Well...last week I took my wife for a ride over to Long Beach so we could demo the k1200r and it seemed that the ticking was getting louder and mainly coming from the right cyl. I took it in to the shop today and low and behold....TICKING IS NOT NORMAL! lol

Turns out that the 2004 Rock is built with the old style push rods and under hard driving they have a tendancy (so says the techs that showed me old and new) to fail. I actually CRUSHED two of them! *beats chest manly style*

I rode her home....rode without ear plugs for the 1st time in months and she's a whole nother machine.

I'm not sure what you're hearing, but it very clearly sounded like my old car when the valves needed adjusting...tap tap tap tap! Bottom line though....if it's ticking.....get it checked!

Good luck!

*A much happier Rock owner*

Same thing happened to me last summer. All sorted under warranty though.

riceburner wrote: Same thing happened to me last summer. All sorted under warranty though.

Same here...Don'tcha love it! Nothing like walking ot of a BMW shop without spending a penny! lol

My only beef is that they only replaced the crushed ones on the right and left the old style rods in on the left....silly buggers!

welcome

Illuvatar, Riceburner,

Yes, the tapping sounds like an old car I had too. A '66 Buick that had worn valve tappets. It just doesn't sound right.

I'll take it to the shop and have the checked it out. Thanks

Quite welcome and good riding!