Weirdness

[Dingo55]

Hi All 

Recently picked up a 2015 R1200RT

I guess I'm late to the party but what a piece of kit

Have to keep reminding myself I'm riding a motorcycle 

However

 

Have a 'problem' that seems a bit weird

Bike overnights under cover under cover 

In the morning if I'm riding that day I start the bike ( strong start, no issue)

I then ride out through some gates a distance of 70 meters, bike up on centre stand and switch off

Get back to head off riding anywhere between 10 and 60 minutes after initial switch off and bike then require sometimes 3 but usually 4 attempts to fire up

It seems to me that it's not getting enough fuel but I don't understand how it starts readily on that first attempt 

During the course of the day after multiple switch on/ off it generally starts first time  occasionally needing a second attempt

Next day same procedure

Any help greatly appreciated 

Closest BMW tech help is 400 kms away

 

Don't know if this is related at all but have seen the info on the seized exhaust flapper

Had rear wheel off recently and  noticed that the flapper does nothing when ignition is activated (It's in the fully open position) 

Thanks in advance

Cheers

Mark

[Toter]

Upon initial start, you need to run the engine until it is done fast idling. If this is not done, a hard start can occur. Pretty common on fuel injected motorcycles.

[Dingo55]

Hi Toter

Thanks

How long does that process take?

Would that not be completed in the time taken to ride the 70 meters?

I'll do some experimenting

Cheers

Mark

 

[dirtrider]

9 hours ago, Dingo55 said:

Hi All 

Recently picked up a 2015 R1200RT

I guess I'm late to the party but what a piece of kit

Have to keep reminding myself I'm riding a motorcycle 

However

 

Have a 'problem' that seems a bit weird

Bike overnights under cover under cover 

In the morning if I'm riding that day I start the bike ( strong start, no issue)

I then ride out through some gates a distance of 70 meters, bike up on centre stand and switch off

Get back to head off riding anywhere between 10 and 60 minutes after initial switch off and bike then require sometimes 3 but usually 4 attempts to fire up

It seems to me that it's not getting enough fuel but I don't understand how it starts readily on that first attempt 

During the course of the day after multiple switch on/ off it generally starts first time  occasionally needing a second attempt

Next day same procedure

Any help greatly appreciated 

Closest BMW tech help is 400 kms away

 

Don't know if this is related at all but have seen the info on the seized exhaust flapper

Had rear wheel off recently and  noticed that the flapper does nothing when ignition is activated (It's in the fully open position) 

Thanks in advance

Cheers

 

Morning Mark

 

I have seen this happen in some cases on SOME wethead 1200 motorcycles.

 

I'm not exactly sure why as I haven't seen it happen on the 1100, 1150 or 1200 hexhead or camhead fuel injected motorcycles. 

 

You might try some (unique) starting things to see if something will help the (partially warmed-up) starting. 

 

First try holding the throttle (twist grip) at about 1/8 open during engine starting. 

 

If that doesn't help then try turning the ignition on, then back off, then back on THEN try starting. 

 

Otherwise you might need to get a GS-911 on that motorcycle to trap real-time fueling data DURING the starting problem. 

 

Does it seem to crank over fast enough during the no-start events? 

[Skywagon]

Not on a bike, but had similar issue on a similar style engine setup. Would start fine, move a mile, hard to start. Run an hour without issue. Shut off, hard to start. It would sometimes vapor lock when hot. 
 

In my non-motorcycle application it turned out to be fuel flow/pressure. Replaced the pump, cleaned the injectors, and has worked great since. 
 

What DR said about cracking throttle open and resetting key causing fuel pump to recycle is probably going to help by getting mor fuel in the system. 
 

My 2014 doesn’t have those symptoms. I wonder if after the hex head and the early wetheads if BMW changed to a lower flow pump from 2015 on?

[MikeB60]

Hard starting can be symptomatic of a cam position sensor/trigger that is slightly out of alignment. Pretty common on the wetheads. My 2016 GS got to the point where it always needed two or three stabs of the starter button. Correct cam timing and a reset of the cam sensor alignment and the problem disappeared. Plenty of threads on ADV rider regarding this issue.

[Dingo55]

Hi 

Thank you all for your help

I'll leave this result up to wiser minds than mine to explain but going on what Toter said I decided , after start up this morning, to ride the bike 500 meters down the road

and back 

Parked up as normal

Back to the bike 40 minutes later and bike started perfectly ( no throttle, barely touched the starter) and away we go

Hopefully that will be repeatable ongoing

Thanks again

Cheers

Mark  

[Paul De]

I'm sure the engineers thought of fire it up and ride it like you stole it, load it up and ride off for hours of riding, fire it up and let idle too long, an aging rider remembering their glory days turning off the stability control and doing a wheelie (hehehe the usual stuff).  They probably never thought to test fire it up and ride it for 70 meters and it is just an idiosyncrasy of the engine management system. I mean, who the heck would ever do that!?

[Rainman48]

I'm with the cam sensor positioning group.  Many threads on that and since putting mine in the correct position no more faulty starts.

I am curious however.  why ride it 230 feet and then shut it off and put the bike back on the center stand while opening a gate?  The center stand requires a level and firm surface.  Why not let it warm up properly by putting it on the sidestand and leaving it on while managing the gate?  Just curious.

[Dingo55]

Hi All 

A brief update

All my weirdness has been 'solved' ( if only it were that easy)

Since I've been been taking the bike for a short run after first start for the day and then my "normal' procedure I have had NO instances of needing anything more than the slightest press of the start button to fire the bike up 

No throttle required . In fact I make a point of not touching the throttle at all during start up

So fingers crossed

 

For the 'Cat killers' ( ie the curious)

Think Rural

I move the bike the 70 meters (which I've done for the last !0 years with various Oilheads) to

1  Bring it up closer to the house and primarily

2  I can then go back and close and open various gates on the property to allow for the free flow of animals throughout the course of the day

 

Obviously now dealing (learning about) a different beast

Thanks for all the help

Cheers

Mark

 

 

[Paul De]

Ah yes, a personality! It is what we all love about our BMW motorcycles.  My 1999 oilhead had several idiosyncrasies, most not a big deal, maybe slightly endearing, and a few sort of irritating.  My 2015 has so few that I thought I was riding a well sorted Japanese bike when I first bought it.  So, a few idiosyncrasies I find easy to live with for the huge improvement in performance and ridability over my oilhead.

 

Thanks for the update and happy trails.