? Want to turn my idle up a pinch on my 2004 R1150RT ?

[chat_vmax]

Want to turn my idle up a pinch on my 2004 R1150RT,

Does anyone know where the adjustment is,,, It runs great and dont want to mess with throttle bodies,, it just idles at about 900 rpms,, is there a master idle adjustment like on my Japanese bikes??

 

Any help appreciated :-)

[squints]

mine did the same thing. I may be wrong but I think the only way to do it right is to adjust the Big Brass Screw on each throttle body. But what I did the cured most of my problems was to adjust the High Idle Cable. I started the bike wiht the high idle pulled then held it by hand and adjusted the threaded rod and locknut underneath it. This cured alot of my troubles on cold start-up.

[ShovelStrokeEd]

Don't want to mess with the throttle bodies? You're SOL. There is no idle adjustment knob like the multi-cylinder Japanese bikes have. You have to do it the old fashioned way and adjust each individual throttle body.

 

You MIGHT be able to get away with just backing out the big brass screws the same amount on each TB. Ideally you would want to attach some form of manometer to equalize the idle speed but, with this small of an adjustment, you might get away with just moving the screws.

 

Specification for idle speed is 1050 RPM plus or minus 50.

[daveinatlanta]

Apparently there is a temporary fix!

 

I had a similar problem the day I took my 1150RT to the BMW dealer for a valve adjustment, throttle body sync, etc. After it was finished, I thought the idle was too low - around 950 RPM. So the mechanic came out and simply adjusted the fast idle cable a little. In essence, he adjusted it as if to make the fast idle slightly 'on' all the time.

 

Admittedly this is not a text book solution but I've ridden about 1000 miles like this. In a couple of weeks I will adjust the idle the right way, the next time I take the plastic off and do all the other periodic maintenance. And I'll think about never going back to that mechanic!

[Ken H.]

So the mechanic came out and simply adjusted the fast idle cable a little.

Oh, that's a bad, bad idea. Not the least of reasons is it will never allow the left TB to go back to its idle stop, and the TPS will never establish its min. position for setting up the correct fuel delivery curve. And now your are dependent upon the TBs hanging open by three different cables in the equation for idle sync. The mechanic who did this either doesn't have a clue how the TBs work on a boxer, or he was just trying to make you go away. Boo, hiss, boo.

[T__]

Want to turn my idle up a pinch on my 2004 R1150RT,

Does anyone know where the adjustment is,,, It runs great and dont want to mess with throttle bodies,, it just idles at about 900 rpms,, is there a master idle adjustment like on my Japanese bikes??

 

Any help appreciated :-)

 

Chat, you might want to mark the POSITION of the 2 throttle body brass air screws in relation to the throttle bodies themselves,, then remove them (the brass screws) & clean BOTH the brass screw tips & the screw seats in the throttle bodies with carburetor cleaner.. Those areas have a tendency to coke (carbon) up after some miles & usage time therefore restricting the air flow slightly & lowering the base idle RPM’s..

 

After a good cleaning & re-installing to the same position,, re-check the idle speed & if still low back those screws out an additional ½ turn or so..

 

Twisty

[Ken H.]

Honestly though, doing anything, including cleaning, of the large brass screws is going to effect sync. Attempting to 'get them close' is really the wrong approach. Doing an entire sync job after messing with the LBS's is the correct way to proceed.

[Jim Moore]

Turn both of the big brass screws on the throttle bodies to the left 1/2 turn. I'm not sure if they are accessable with the fairings on.

[Tank]

Honestly though, doing anything, including cleaning, of the large brass screws is going to effect sync. Attempting to 'get them close' is really the wrong approach. Doing an entire sync job after messing with the LBS's is the correct way to proceed.

 

 

I'm with Ken on this..... close enough isn't really close enough.

[ShovelStrokeEd]

All depends on your tolerance for vibration and/or rough running at idle and just off idle. I've been synchronizing carbs for years by ear and can usually get within 1/4" Hg with my method. Now, that is 3" on a water manometer so it isn't exactly precise but, I don't much care how my bike runs at idle, so long as it continues to run and is reasonably smooth. Heresy, I know, but there it is.

[russell_bynum]

All depends on your tolerance for vibration and/or rough running at idle and just off idle. I've been synchronizing carbs for years by ear and can usually get within 1/4" Hg with my method. Now, that is 3" on a water manometer so it isn't exactly precise but, I don't much care how my bike runs at idle, so long as it continues to run and is reasonably smooth. Heresy, I know, but there it is.

 

Sinner.

 

 

If my bike were idling at 900 RPM and I wasn't having any actual problems because of it...I'd just leave it alone.

 

Doing it with the fast idle lever is a bad idea...for the reasons that Ken stated.

 

Messing with the bleed screws will do it, but to be really anal about it, you're going to have to re-do your TB Sync afterwards.

 

Jim's suggestion to just turn both bleed screws out a half turn or so (just turn them both out the same amount) is a decent suggestion. It is unlikely that your sync will be right afterwards, but it will not be that far off.

[Jim VonBaden]

All depends on your tolerance for vibration and/or rough running at idle and just off idle. I've been synchronizing carbs for years by ear and can usually get within 1/4" Hg with my method. Now, that is 3" on a water manometer so it isn't exactly precise but, I don't much care how my bike runs at idle, so long as it continues to run and is reasonably smooth. Heresy, I know, but there it is.

 

Sinner.

 

 

If my bike were idling at 900 RPM and I wasn't having any actual problems because of it...I'd just leave it alone.

 

Doing it with the fast idle lever is a bad idea...for the reasons that Ken stated.

 

Messing with the bleed screws will do it, but to be really anal about it, you're going to have to re-do your TB Sync afterwards.

 

Jim's suggestion to just turn both bleed screws out a half turn or so (just turn them both out the same amount) is a decent suggestion. It is unlikely that your sync will be right afterwards, but it will not be that far off.

 

Agreed, sort of. In my experience if your idle is below 1000 RPM youo tend to stall it more often. Not sure if it is because you are turning the throttle proportunately less, or that the bike lugs a but early and dies.

 

Jim

[chat_vmax]

If my bike were idling at 900 RPM and I wasn't having any actual problems because of it...I'd just leave it alone.

 

Doing it with the fast idle lever is a bad idea...for the reasons that Ken stated.

 

Messing with the bleed screws will do it, but to be really anal about it, you're going to have to re-do your TB Sync afterwards.

 

Jim's suggestion to just turn both bleed screws out a half turn or so (just turn them both out the same amount) is a decent suggestion. It is unlikely that your sync will be right afterwards, but it will not be that far off.

 

After reading the thread I have been convinced,,, I am not stalling after I warm up,, I am going to quit while im behind :-) lol Only 200 rpm's behind,,,, because after I "fix" it I will need a trailor to get it to the clocest dealer 60 miles away...

Thanks,, This is a great example of experience tempering my anal expectations of a motorcycle,,

PS: This board has been awesome as I complete my first 3 months of BMW ownership...!!!!!