DallasR1100RT Posted September 17, 2010 Share Posted September 17, 2010 So...as I am helping get things ready for a bike race I ride my 1998 R1100RT up to a place that has cold water...as I ride up this slight incline the engine dies like I hit the kill switch...lights are on...but engine is dead. I coast back down that little hill and over to my team van...remove the seat...hit the starter and it fires right up. WTH? Put on the seat...back up that hill...same spot...engine dies just as before...WTH!!!!! Coast back down the hill...call BMW shop...that said..sounds like a loose battery cable. OK...pull on the positive and I moved it..pulled back the plastic...tighted the bolt..put it back together...starts right up...back up that hill and the engine cuts off at the same spot for the 3rd time!!! This time I pull the seat at the top of the hill...hit the starter button...nothing. HMMM...is that smoke I smell??? Why yes...there is a fire under the left side of the front fairing...big fire...flames and all...have you even tried to get water inside the fairing....not easy!! So there you have it...my new to me BMW caught fire tonight!! Link to comment
Quinn Posted September 17, 2010 Share Posted September 17, 2010 Difference between "start if up" and "fire it up"? -- Link to comment
Hermes Posted September 17, 2010 Share Posted September 17, 2010 Prolly a stripped cable making contact due to gravity on that specific incline. But, without pics it's all conjecture and inuendo. Link to comment
DallasR1100RT Posted September 17, 2010 Author Share Posted September 17, 2010 funny I rode up and down hills all last weekend with not an issue...guess I am tearing off all the fairing and going for a look inside... Link to comment
DallasR1100RT Posted September 17, 2010 Author Share Posted September 17, 2010 Well...after removing all the plastic...this is not something that I will be able to repair. The entire main wiring harness in burned up and wires are actually burned away...no insulation is even left between the wires. I would post some pictures of the damage if I knew how to attach pictures to my post. So...has anyone ever heard of this happening? Mark Link to comment
Quinn Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 Well...after removing all the plastic...this is not something that I will be able to repair. The entire main wiring harness in burned up and wires are actually burned away...no insulation is even left between the wires. I would post some pictures of the damage if I knew how to attach pictures to my post. So...has anyone ever heard of this happening? Mark Yeah, on my Triumph Spitfire. --- Link to comment
EffBee Posted September 18, 2010 Share Posted September 18, 2010 Wiring harnesses are miserably expensive. See if you can pick up a used one at Beember Boneyard. Still, it's an all-day job for a mechanic to replace one, so be prepared for a bill with a comma in it. Hope it's not that much, but better to be prepared going in. Link to comment
notacop Posted September 21, 2010 Share Posted September 21, 2010 Lots of folks have had toasted wires. Probably from some home mechanic doing good stuff. I had the main fuse on my old Honda 500/4 blow out frequently. Proved to be the main power wire worn down to a couple strands at a bend in the wiring harness. You could do a lot of butt splices with the burnt wires and maybe get away with that as a repair. I won't offer to buy you bike later though. The whole harness is a better solution but pricey and time consuming process. Yours is a '98, probably had the tank off a time or two and it would be easy to have troubled the wiring in the process. Sorry you got a lemon. Link to comment
kenthewrench Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 Or get out your soldering iron,solder,shrink wrap, and electrical tape. Oh and a stool!!! You'll be there a while. It can be done close to correct to have a reliable ride.JMO---Ken Link to comment
James Clark Posted September 22, 2010 Share Posted September 22, 2010 Why wouldn't we believe you? Link to comment
WestTX RT Posted September 23, 2010 Share Posted September 23, 2010 Had it happen on my RT. It was a combination of a spark in the wiring harness or around the battery after I washed it and the fumes or gas from around the recalled quick disconnects. Since it was a fire, and it burned up the harness and some other stuff around the harness and battery, insurance paid for it. It was in the shop in Ft. Worth for about 4-5 months. Link to comment
upflying Posted September 23, 2010 Share Posted September 23, 2010 I'm surprised insurance would pay for repairs after a fire. After 4-5 months of shop work, it would seem to me the bill would exceed the value of the bike. Link to comment
beemerman2k Posted September 23, 2010 Share Posted September 23, 2010 You gotta phone this one in to the "Car Talk" guys on public radio. Give them this one as a "Stump the Chump" question Link to comment
upflying Posted September 23, 2010 Share Posted September 23, 2010 I've listened to those Click and Clack guys on occasion on NPR. They are very funny and informative. I can't listen to them too often though since the knobs on my radio only turn to the right. http://www.cartalk.com/ Link to comment
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