Ride with Cold start lever (increased engine speed) or Choke up in middle position

[BeemingInHawaii]

I just bought a 2004 BMW R1150RT (attached pic) 48000 miles. My first BWM. I rode dirt bikes and small road bikes years ago. It is a beautiful motorcycle.  I have been riding with Cold start lever (increased engine speed) or Choke up in middle position.  Is this bad for the motorcycle. The bike seems to ride rough with the level in the A position or Off.  I love this forum because I have found that several new BMW owner have the same issues...like best RPMs running in and stalling on start off from stop.  So, when the motorcycle cold start lever is in middle position, I do not have is starting stalls and I was thinking of adjusting the Ideal but was not sure the ideal rpm speed should be at. 

 

The motorcycle had 1 owner who said he has done all the maintenance.  I think about doing changing the spark plugs and adjusting/checking the valves. I bike seems loud to me, but I see in the forums tat BMW are loud.

 

Any advice would be wonderful.

 

Thanks

[Redfoxx]

Bought the same bike in the same color in August, mine had 60,000 miles. I was 3rd owner. It was also my first BMW. I have learned that with the boxer likes higher RPM vs my previous Japanese bike.  I only run the choke/high idle for maybe the first mile. 

 

I didn't have any maintenance records so had to do a lot maintenance. My tires where just over 10 years old, my fuel filter was 15 years old. So I have been busy changing fuel lines. belt (20years old) and so much more. I did all 4 plugs, valves.  synced throttle bodies, lots of new orings. 

 

Happy riding you find lots of thinks to tinker on. 

 

Red  Fox

[Skywagon]

It does not hurt it to ride with it up.  It's just a fast idle slide...no choke on the bike.  If it runs rough when warm with it off, you need to do a little tuning.  It could be you need to do a throttle body sync, change plugs - all 4, or ?  There is a gentlemen on this board named DirtRider or DR.  He will likely be along shortly and send you in the right direction once he gets a bit more info from you.  There is nobody on the planet that knows more about these bikes than DR.  Follow his advice as gospel.

 

Welcome to the forum.  It is a great place to be.

 

P.S...I had the 2005 of that exact same bike.  I rode it 50,000 with no trouble.

[dirtrider]

11 hours ago, BeemingInHawaii said:

I just bought a 2004 BMW R1150RT (attached pic) 48000 miles. My first BWM. I rode dirt bikes and small road bikes years ago. It is a beautiful motorcycle.  I have been riding with Cold start lever (increased engine speed) or Choke up in middle position.  Is this bad for the motorcycle. The bike seems to ride rough with the level in the A position or Off.  I love this forum because I have found that several new BMW owner have the same issues...like best RPMs running in and stalling on start off from stop.  So, when the motorcycle cold start lever is in middle position, I do not have is starting stalls and I was thinking of adjusting the Ideal but was not sure the ideal rpm speed should be at. 

 

The motorcycle had 1 owner who said he has done all the maintenance.  I think about doing changing the spark plugs and adjusting/checking the valves. I bike seems loud to me, but I see in the forums tat BMW are loud.

 

Any advice would be wonderful.

 

Thanks

Morning  BeemingInHawaii

 

As David said, it is JUST a fast idle lever that raises the engine RPM (the choke label is just a carry-over from the past).

 

Does it hurt to ride with it ON, or part way ON, depends on your definition of "bad for the motorcycle".

 

It won't hurt the engine but it does raise the engine idle speed so your fuel milage will be lower. If it raises the idle RPM long enough (like sitting still & not moving with no air flow over the motorcycle ) then it can (probably will)  cause the front exhaust pipes to turn a dull red (you will see this at night). This can burn the plastic side panels above the exhaust pipes. The 1150 isn't as bad for this as the 1100 but it can happen on the 1150 if the engine idle is too high with the motorcycle sitting still.

 

If you are getting engine stalling without the fast idle lever on then your base (curb) idle is probably too low. This can be caused by many things but on the old 1150 motorcycle it is usually due to coked up BBS screws & coked up air passages under the BBS screws. BBS stands for Big Brass Screw. Those are the brass air-bypass screws in the throttle bodies. (these screws set idle RPM)

 

You should probably start by turning each BBS screw all the way in (after marking for position then counting the number of turns & partial turns it takes to full seat the screw).  This is so you can put them back to exactly where they were.

 

Then remove the hose or vacuum cap on the bottom of the throttle bodies. (personally I put a drain hose on each lower throttle body nipple to allow any junk & cleaner to flow to under the motorcycle.

Then remove the BBS screws, then clean the screw & screw tips,  then squirt a little (o2 sensor safe) carburetor cleaner into the BBS holes in the throttle body  then use a Q-tip to try to clean out the BBS screw passages best possible (they are short  & go directly into the throttle bore). 

 

Then put a little grease on the BBS screw rubber "O" rings then screw the  BBS screw  back in to where it was before removal. 

 

Then see how it idles & rides, if OK then you can just ride it & enjoy. If you still have idle issues then you will probably have to look other issues, like doing a valve adjustment, doing a throttle body sync, making sure the your o2 sensor is working correctly, verify the correct CCP is in the fuse box, etc.

 

There is one more thing___ There was a BMW service bulletin on the 1150 twin spark to make sure that the R/H lower spark plug wire is not running close to, or along, or across the o2 sensor pig tail wire. There was o2 sensor pig tail re-routing instructions but it was convoluted & not easy to follow. This is important to check if you have stalling issues as the o2 sensor pig tail being too close to the  R/H spark plug wire  can cause cross-talk &  that disrupts the Motronic (fueling computer) & causes engine stalling.   

[BeemingInHawaii]

Thanks to everyone for their replies.   I will take your advice and do the work. I do not let the bike set and ideal so do not let it get hot but i can see where that coukd be a problem in heavy traffic.  The bike ideals at 700 rpm where warmed up with the ideal control off. Is that the normal ideal speed? 

[Lowndes]

700 rpm seems too low for a warm idle speed. 

 

Dirtrider??

 

 

 

[dirtrider]

13 minutes ago, BeemingInHawaii said:

Thanks to everyone for their replies.   I will take your advice and do the work. I do not let the bike set and ideal so do not let it get hot but i can see where that coukd be a problem in heavy traffic.  The bike ideals at 700 rpm where warmed up with the ideal control off. Is that the normal ideal speed? 

Morning BeemingInHawaii

 

The ideal idle RPM is between 1050 & 1150 with 1100 being a good idle RPM. 

 

You have something effecting the idle RPM so look at the those BBS screws for being clean.

 

Fouled lower spark plug, or plugs, can also lower the idle RPM. 

[BeemingInHawaii]

Thanks DR

Soon as I get the time, I am going to change the spark plugs and I will add doing the BBS (send Video link if you know a good one).  I do my own maintenance but this will be the first on a motorcycle. I found a good video on the plugs and values. I was told the oil and filter was just changed.  If there is something else to check/change during the tune up let me know since first time with oil head, axal drive no belt/chain and it is a BMW.

[dirtrider]

2 hours ago, BeemingInHawaii said:

Thanks DR

Soon as I get the time, I am going to change the spark plugs and I will add doing the BBS (send Video link if you know a good one).  I do my own maintenance but this will be the first on a motorcycle. I found a good video on the plugs and values. I was told the oil and filter was just changed.  If there is something else to check/change during the tune up let me know since first time with oil head, axal drive no belt/chain and it is a BMW.

Evening   BeemingInHawaii

 

I don't watch any of those on-line videos so can't help you there. 

 

As for things to do in the future__ 

 

You probably should eventually look at replacing the in-fuel-tank fuel filter, definitely replace the high pressure in-tank submersible fuel hoses (they tend to degrade then rupture with age).

 

Replace the brake hoses as those degrade with age then can also rupture or leak. 

 

Definitely do a full brake maintenance as the ABS controller is very expensive & old skunky fluid can cause it to fail  (the  fuel tank needs to be removed to fully service the braking system)

 

A valve check/adjustment is also a good idea,  then do a throttle body sync & balance afterward.  

 

Change the final drive & transmission gear oil.

 

Probably replace the alternator belt (that is pain if your 2004  has the elastomer belt) as that takes special care & fiddling as it is adjusted by pulley spacing not just belt tension feel.

 

Search around in the archives & old posts on this site as most of what needs to be done & how to do it is in the old threads. 

 

I probably missed a lot so hopefully others will add to my above list of things to do. 

 

[Lowndes]

BeemingInHawaii,

 

You might want to find a Clymer manual for this bike, #M501-3 covers most of the R1100xx and R1150xx bikes with good info on how to and torques, tolerances, etc.  Easy to follow directions with pics and wiring diagrams.  Sometimes you can find used ones on ebay for cheap.

 

Cleaning the little passages on each side of the BBS made a huge difference in both of my oilheads.  It could be done on the bike but I removed my TB's so I could get both feet on them and give them a good cleaning and not get junk all over the bike doing it.  I used a large can of spray carb cleaner on each TB to make sure the passages were clean.  My bikes had between 25 and 35K  miles and the passages were really clogged.  Don't use any wires, toothpicks, pins or needles on these passages, just the spray cleaner.  Spray a little, let it soak for 3-5 minutes and repeat.  Eventually they will come clean.  Cleaning everything else on the TB's is just cosmetics, but I like cosmetics, too.

 

IF you remove the brass throttle discs and and shafts, be sure to mark them and take pictures before disassembly so that they go back EXACTLY the same way they were.  Its hard to tell but they are directional, plus they have to be adjusted and seated to close all the way around the disc, 100%.  The BBS provides the air for the air/fuel mixture at idle thru these passages.  Mark these BBS before you touch them so they can set back to original, too.  It's best to only disassemble and clean one side at a time.

 

Here are my pics, sorry, no video with narration and suspenseful music.  Hope it helps.  https://goo.gl/photos/zvAQ7QXAtYvEgNQQA

 

BBS:

 

Passages on the inside to and from the BBS:

 

 

[BeemingInHawaii]

Thanks DR, 

I will take all your advice and see what I can do. You mentioned several things I will have to research before I can even think about do it.

 

Thanks to everyone,

I am loving this forum and really like it when everyone joins in to help and make people feel valuable.

 

 

 

[Jim Moore]

17 hours ago, BeemingInHawaii said:

I do my own maintenance but this will be the first on a motorcycle.

You picked a great bike to learn on. I learned how to be a mechanic working on my RT.

 

There's a guy named Jim VonBaden on advrider.com who produces and sells videos showing how to do maintenance on these bikes. Well worth the nominal money he charges.