... schematics and technical service manuals for the 2002, R1150RT-P...

[GoodKnight]

Does anyone know if schematics and technical service manuals for the R1150RT-P are available to the civilian owner?

[Woodie]

Some are, many are not. The wiring technical stuff (for the "authority" wiring is pretty much not available. I did have one dealer show me the one-pager, but wouldn't let me copy it.)

[GoodKnight]

Have you figured out how to take advantage of the "juice" available from the 14V system?

 

Seems that (ideally) any 12V "farkle" would require, either a shunt, regulator or DC-DC converter.

[Woodie]

Have you figured out how to take advantage of the "juice" available from the 14V system?

 

Seems that (ideally) any 12V "farkle" would require, either a shunt, regulator or DC-DC converter.

Doesn't appear that way. Not sure what you mean when you say 14V. AFAIK, it's all 12V DC (nominal)...the same as the civilian models. The wattage on the alternator is higher, so it can run more gadgets at the same time, but the voltage is the same. (and the batteries are the standard ones)

[GoodKnight]

Have you figured out how to take advantage of the "juice" available from the 14V system?

 

Seems that (ideally) any 12V "farkle" would require, either a shunt, regulator or DC-DC converter.

Doesn't appear that way. Not sure what you mean when you say 14V. AFAIK, it's all 12V DC (nominal)...the same as the civilian models. The wattage on the alternator is higher, so it can run more gadgets at the same time, but the voltage is the same. (and the batteries are the standard ones)

 

Right - 12V. 14V at the alternator.

[SWB]

Does anyone know if schematics and technical service manuals for the R1150RT-P are available to the civilian owner?

 

Try this site. https://www.bmwmc.net/

under the "technical information" tab. If you have problems, double check your Internet Explorer security settings - they may be blocking cookies and other stuff needed by the site.

 

All of the stuff you're asking for is available.

[SWB]

Have you figured out how to take advantage of the "juice" available from the 14V system?

 

Seems that (ideally) any 12V "farkle" would require, either a shunt, regulator or DC-DC converter.

 

The two-battery RT-P system works like this: The primary" battery runs pretty much like a conventional RT. It starts the bike, runs the main lights and everything else that a normal RT uses. The second battery runs the Whelen package & radio, the leads to all of which reside under the radio box. I believe there are six hot leads back there. I'm running fog lights off it out of convenience, but nothing else. When the battery goes belly up, I'll covert the bike so that it uses only one battery. The alternator charges both.

 

The main reason for the two-battery system (or so I've read; this could be folklore) is that the authority lights, radio, and other stuff can run separately from the bike until the battery is dead, without the risk of leaving the bike unstartable, or unsafe (i.e. ABS faults due to low power).

[KER]

Does anyone know if schematics and technical service manuals for the R1150RT-P are available to the civilian owner?

 

www.bmwmc.net

 

there really isn't anything mechanically different with the RT-P bikes vs the civilian bikes, a regular shop manual would suit you just fine. However,you can get a repair manual from the link provided, along with all the wiring diagrams for the emergency equipment, and a complete spare parts listing for the authority equipment.

[GoodKnight]

Ker, SWB, Woodie -

 

Thanks for the link.

 

I'm looking at the schematics.

 

Seems like one would want to retain the "police" battery and utilize the additional accessory bank for heated clothing and such.

 

Walt

[GoodKnight]

Are the BMW dealers obligated to remove any or all of the Authority devices and controls prior to sale?

 

Seems like they're uncertain as to what to do at my dealer.

[RTP Rider]

While it's in their best interest to remove any authority equipment unnecessary for civilian use, it's in YOUR best interest to ensure you don't have equipment that violates various motor vehicle statutes.

 

Depending on your state, sirens, flashing lights of any color, fixed blue lights, etc. are all designated by code to be for specific official use.

 

That said, reusing PAR 36 strobe housings for driving or fog lights is perfectly acceptable and a good way to save some money.

 

Hope that helps.

[GoodKnight]

While it's in their best interest to remove any authority equipment unnecessary for civilian use, it's in YOUR best interest to ensure you don't have equipment that violates various motor vehicle statutes.

 

Depending on your state, sirens, flashing lights of any color, fixed blue lights, etc. are all designated by code to be for specific official use.

 

That said, reusing PAR 36 strobe housings for driving or fog lights is perfectly acceptable and a good way to save some money.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Great - an Officer! Yes - a great help!

 

They are willing to remove the absolute minimum from the '02.

 

I don't know all the proper names for the lights but this is the best I can do, at this time:

 

The red & blue lenses mounted on the lights, above the mirrors, housings and connections will remain.

 

The two, rear blue lights, located on the mud-flap will be replaced with two red lights.

 

The siren will be removed. However, it would be great if it could be used to produce a horn sound at a normal level.

 

The side-strobes will stay but the strobe controller will be removed. I asume this is THEE "PAR-36" controller or strobe modulator/controller?

 

The rear pole and light will be removed.

 

They've agreed not to cut but rather disconnect the connector's from the controller.

 

Also, do you know what the "power management module" does?

Will it come in handy? Saw it inside the radio box. Think that might be a good thing to keep?

 

Anything else I should make sure stays?

[RTP Rider]

 

They are willing to remove the absolute minimum from the '02.

 

I don't know all the proper names for the lights but this is the best I can do, at this time:

 

The red & blue lenses mounted on the lights, above the mirrors, housings and connections will remain.

 

The two, rear blue lights, located on the mud-flap will be replaced with two red lights.

 

The siren will be removed. However, it would be great if it could be used to produce a horn sound at a normal level.

 

The side-strobes will stay but the strobe controller will be removed. I asume this is THEE "PAR-36" controller or strobe modulator/controller?

 

The rear pole and light will be removed.

 

They've agreed not to cut but rather disconnect the connector's from the controller.

 

Also, do you know what the "power management module" does?

Will it come in handy? Saw it inside the radio box. Think that might be a good thing to keep?

 

Anything else I should make sure stays?

 

I'm not familiar with Michigan code. Each state has their own requirements and prohibitions. In Washington, blue lights pretty much of any kind cannot be used on any vehicle unless it's in designated law enforcement service. Red lights are also regulated.

 

On a R1150 RT-P, if the lights are rectangular, they are probably Federal Signal GS2 strobes. The housings can't really be reused as easily as the round PAR 36 strobes (which are more common on older R1100's). The PAR 36 housings make great holders for auxilary lights.

 

Even though the strobes are disabled, having red and blue lenses could still be construed as having prohibited law enforcement equipment on your motorcycle, and will certainly appear that way in someone's rear view mirror! In my opinion it's not worth the hassle and I'd remove the lights from the brackets to be safe and in compliance. The brackets will prove to be useful for mounting a whole range of legal aux lights. Make sure they stay - they are expensive and on the R1150, tough to reinstall (vs the R1100 which bolts easily on the dash).

 

It sounds like the dealer is removing the siren amp and the strobe controller (both normally housed in the radio box) - I'm surprised they aren't removing the red/blue GS2's as well. That's cool they are switching out the blue license plate lights for red. Those are #10 truck lights and the latest models are led equipped (easy to find at a NAPA auto parts store with bayonet mounts).

 

If you are handy with wiring, I'd replace the side strobes mounted on the crash bars with maybe some amber or red LED running lights - the strobes won't do you any good (and if they have colored lenses you'l be in violation potentially as well).

 

As for the siren and replicating an air horn, yep you guessed it, there are usually statutes which regulate decibel outputs from horns/sirens so check with that before you try to remount a louder horn.

 

One thing that proves a bit tricky with decommissioned RT-P's is the spare battery mounted in the glove compartment. It's true that it's main purpose is to power the utilities contained in the radio box, but the wiring for the hazard blinkers also runs through the aux battery. So for now, I'd fight to keep a fresh second battery in there. The power management module is likely the switch which isolates the main electrical system from the auxillary, and I'd keep it until I knew more.

 

Lastly, if they have a radio PTT switch or any Setcom wiring still on the bike, keep that as well. You may find it handy for wiring up a communication system.

 

Again, hope that helps.

[SWB]

Are the BMW dealers obligated to remove any or all of the Authority devices and controls prior to sale?

 

Seems like they're uncertain as to what to do at my dealer.

 

Depending on what kind of package is installed, it's worth a pretty penny ($600+ on the resale market). The Whelen strobe power supply $75 to $150.00, each strobe up to $90.00, and the LED strobe's more, the siren horn - can't recall .. maybe $150. The Whelen emergency package new is pricy, from $1200 to $3000 (though I think the latter figure includes radio equipment).

 

Just make sure you sell the blue strobes to a law enforcement or security outfit, or as I did, the entire package. (Don't want to give the roadway thieves and rapists tools to use to impersonate a LEO.) I offered it to my local PD for free (for the tax write off), and they only wanted the new LED strobes. Then a local escort service bought it.

 

Bottom line, if they ask you if you want it, say "YES". Removing the package is easy. (Be sure not to cut up or damage the Whelen cables or harness - I did, and it reduced the resale value). Then sell it and buy farkles!

[GoodKnight]

RTP RIDER AND SWB -

 

Sounds good.

 

Correction - I meant to say that the red & blue, RECTANGULAR, lenses, only, above the mirrors, would be removed.

 

Regarding the round, PAR-36 lights. They have one other 1150RT-P with those on it. The one I'm discussing has the rectangular, but is in better shape, cosmetically; even though, it has 53K the other has 29K. My concern was that the 29K bike (with the Par-36 lights) had been a city bike, thus more abuse. Please straighten me out there if I am being overly zealous. Perhaps, I should go for the lower mileage bike with the PAR-36 lights? Would than indicate that the controller’s are different as well? Meaning that, the round has the PAR-36 and the rectangular something inferior or less valuable?

 

So, in the end, what will the controller, they’re removing look like? Is it a rectangular, aluminum/metal box about 1” in high and 6”x4” roughly? That’s what I think. It would be helpful to know what the devices look like, that are being removed. This is why I asked that I be present during the removal. Though, they may not allow that.

 

Also, not sure, what exactly should stay to keep the “communication’s” harness intact.

 

Sincerely appreciate your invaluable help.

 

Walt

[RTP Rider]

OK take ANY comments for what they are worth - just opinions

 

First, don't buy any bike based on the type of strobe lights they have....

 

The rectangular GS2's started becoming the preferred equipment back on the R1100's (before the R1150's came out), so some late model R1100 RT-P's have GS2's. Prior to that, the R1100's usually came with the round PAR 36 lights. These have been standard equipment on most KZ1000P's and H-D's, making for good fleet parts compatibility (GS2's are often used as bumper mounted lights on Crown Vic's etc. too).

 

It's possible that some R1150's had PAR 36 lights, but I've never seen one - the GS2 rectangular light came as standard equipment for the R1150's as far as I know.

 

More recently, the GS2's have been replaced by Code 3 LED-X lights (led's have been favored over strobes for their lower power consumption).

 

OK so my first concern here would be to make sure that you are in fact looking at two R1150's and not an R1150 and an R1100.. I'd be guessing the one equipped with PAR 36 lights is an R1100...

 

Relative to the milage issue, here's what I'd do:

 

1) Identify the agency the bikes came from

2) Determine what shops maintained the bikes. In the case of CHP, the bike may be maintained by more than one shop (like A&S and Ozzies's depending on where it was assigned)

3) Have those shops fax you the service records. It will prove VERY illuminating. A well maintained bike will be in for lots of standard maintenance and frequent tire/parts renewals. You'll also see warranty work and any major issues. If it's been down you'll aslo see red flags like tupperware replacement, mirrors and bars.

4) harder to do, but if at all possible, determine what service it was in. Patrol and highway vs. training is a big issue.

 

If you can get most of this from the dealer you are working with great. But you may have to do the detective work yourself.

 

If it were me, and all things being somewhat equal I'd always gravitate to the lower milage bike. Better resale, possibly less wear & tear. City vs. highway IMHO doesn't make all that much difference. All pursuit bikes are beat on to some degree, and based on the code of conduct, all bikes should be cared for pretty well by their assigned motor men.

 

As for your strobe power supply/siren amp, just tell them to leave that stuff as you are worried about wiring issues etc. Then we can help you figure it out later! If you can, get a model # off the box and manufacturer.

 

BTW, some of the newer R1150's come with a BMW specific siren amp which mounts UNDER the radio box plate. You and the dealer may not even know it's there.

[GoodKnight]

Do I use the engine of frame VIN, to gather the information?

[RTP Rider]

Do I use the engine of frame VIN, to gather the information?

 

Depends how the shops keep track of their records.

 

A VIN would always be helpful (never heard of anyone using a frame #).

 

But many shops keep their references by the police department's bike ID number. A&S in Roseville CA can do a VIn lookup but they'd prefer the "Mary" number of the CHP bike for quicker lookup (CHP bikes have a 4 digit CHP code preceded by an 'M'. This can usually be found etched or printed on one of the rear frame members near the plastic side covers.).

 

If you can't find out the bike's ID number just roll with the VIN.

[GoodKnight]

Thanks - I'm off to follow-up.

[GoodKnight]

Could only find the VIN's of each '02. I copied down a number with a letter suffix and 4 digits but not an "M".

 

Is there a way to run the history, using the VIN, myself?

[RTP Rider]

Could only find the VIN's of each '02. I copied down a number with a letter suffix and 4 digits but not an "M".

 

Is there a way to run the history, using the VIN, myself?

 

Sounds like you have what you need.. now follow though on the steps above. Hopefully you got what agencies the bikes came from.

 

Now starts the detective work.

 

What agencies are they?

 

Find the fleet maintenance number for the agency and ask them about the bike specifically or where it was maintained. Most fleet operations won't release their records (nor are they as detailed as a dealerships usually). That's one reason why you need to track down what shops maintained the bikes.

 

The shops will keep a computerized record for each bike (but again, several shops may have maintained the bike if it got moved to different barracks/officers).

 

For each RT-P I have, I have dozens of pages detailing nearly every maintenance event, from small to large. But you have to work to get it!

 

I'm not aware of any "carfax" type service which would allow you to run this yourself. My experience also shows that the shops have limited linkages, if any, to other shops via the VIN.

 

Good luck - you confirmed they are each R1150's - good!