Bad vibration after 600 mile service

[Tony Van Der Voorn]

Another question from a new member.

 

I purchased my new R1200RT approx 2 weeks ago and was getting used to the slight vibration that is apparently present in all "R" motors. I rode up to Kansas City, MO from Wichita, KS (approx 200 miles in 3 1/2 hrs) to get the 600 mile service. I honestly don't remember if the worse than normal vibration was present when I arrived at the BMW dealership, but it certainly was when I left and seems to possibly be getting worse yet.

 

Any ideas or suggestions before I call the dealer Tuesday morning and require me driving back to KC to fix?

 

Thanks,

Tony Van Der Voorn

Wichita, KS

[dirtrider]

Morning Tony

 

Unfortunately from where I sit I can't feel any vibration or engine disturbance.

 

 

So, we need more information from you on road speed, engine RPM, throttle position, trans gear, etc on when the vibration is happening & when it isn't.

 

We also need to know where you feel the vibration such as seat or foot pegs or handlebars etc.

 

It might also help us if you could tell us EXACTLY what they did for your 600 mile service.

 

Something as simple as using thicker (like 20W50) motor oil can cause more engine load therefore cause more light throttle steady state engine disturbance.

 

Look at your oil sight glass to see if the oil level is grossly overfilled. You might have to tilt the bike to the right to see how over full it is. (If so, get some help so you don't drop it over to the right)

 

Anything "accessory wise" added when you were at the dealer? How about any new gloves or gear you purchased?

 

It's also possible they damaged a coil or left something loose or out of position.

 

Call the dealer & ask their opinion. Maybe they can ask the tec what he did or what he changed during the service.

 

[Tony Van Der Voorn]

The vibration is most severe at idle. Also when I am slowing down and the engine is no longer under load, I can feel the vibration quite a bit.

 

I feel the vibration in the handlebars and the seat.

 

Looks like the dealer replaced the oil filter, oil (4 qts 10W40), gear oil (75W90) and (3) gasket/seal/o-ring.

 

I checked the oil when I returned home from the trip to KC and the oil level was filled to approx 2/3 to 3/4 of the sight glass. It appears to be using oil also, but will keep an eye on that. It did not appear to have used any oil during the first 500 miles.

 

No new accessories.

 

Thanks,

Tony Van Der Voorn

[CoarsegoldKid]

Isn't the FD fluid supposed to be changed out at the first service? I'm not at all saying your FD is the source of the vibration. I would bet on a coil not seated or the connector to the coil not seated properly.

What gasket/seal/o-ring would that be? I don't have the camhead so maybe that's a normal replacement.

[marcopolo]

Isn't the FD fluid supposed to be changed out at the first service?...

 

Presumably that's why he's got 75W90 gear oil on his invoice.

[dirtrider]

Morning Tony

 

Still not enough information to give you a solid diagnosis.

 

You would think that if a coil issue it would act up more under engine load than idling.

 

It's possible the dealer left a stepper motor wire disconnected or cylinder temp sensor disconnected.

 

The other possibility is when your bike was hooked to the dealer's computer it downloaded an updated engine calibration that changed the idle RPM or idle function.

 

It's also possible the dealer cleared all the adaptive from the fueling computer but again you would think those would have been re-learned on your 200 mile trip home.

 

It's also possible you put some bad gasoline in the tank at one of your fuel stops. Like very high alcohol content or a bit of water.

 

Call the dealer & discuss your problem with them & ask them EXACTLY what ALL they did (in detail).

 

If it sounds like what the dealer did didn't cause your idle issue then maybe ride it around town for a while to see if it re-learns the fueling adaptives & to burn the gasoline out of the tank then re-fill the tank with different gasoline.

 

[Tony Van Der Voorn]

Thank you everyone for your help. I am calling the dealer in the morning and see what they can do. In the meantime, I will add some injector cleaner to the gas, burn the rest of the gas in the tank and refill with 91 octane gas.

 

According to the tach, the engine RPM is still the same, approx 11000.

[dirtrider]

---

 

According to the tach, the engine RPM is still the same, approx 11000.

 

Evening Tony

 

Hopefully that is 1100 not 11,000. 11,000 RPM's is a bit high for engine idle.

 

[zhukov1942]

As a new RT owner, I can say that I was a bit surprised at the low rpm engine vibration...former Harley guy thinking the BMW opposed twin was much smoother. It is, but not at idle.

 

That said, if the vibration is more than a tingle, don't ride it and take it back to the dealer, something's wrong.

 

 

[Tony Van Der Voorn]

Sorry, I did mean 1100, I was even questioning that number as I was typing it.

 

The vibration is definitely more than tingle. I mentioned in an earlier post that I actually like the "tingle" that was present on the bike prior to this 600 mile service.

[Tony Van Der Voorn]

If anyone is interested, the problem was a disconnected vacuum line.

 

Thanks again,

Tony Van Der Voorn

[Geoffster]

If anyone is interested, the problem was a disconnected vacuum line.

 

Thanks again,

Tony Van Der Voorn

On a throttle body?

[racer7]

The clutch side one especially is very easy to forget to reattach because synch adjustments are normally done on the throttle side. All too eay is to simply pull of the synch device and forget to put the stock connection back.

[Tony Van Der Voorn]

Yes, the dissconnected vacuum line was on one of the throttle bodies.

 

And yes, it was the clutch side.

 

Tony Van Der Voorn

Wichita, KS