tonk Posted February 17, 2010 Report Share Posted February 17, 2010 Rode to work this afternoon and noticed that the gear-changing was rubbish. Blamed myself. Then it lost engine braking. Dumped the clutch, coasted and saw it was idling at 1,500rpm. It got worse over the 12 miles to work until 5,000 became the 'idle' speed. Interesting to say the least. Rang BMW, told to bring it in (still got a year on the warranty). Then spoke to a mate who's credentials make him extremely qualified, he advised not to take it in because it was most likely a build-up of crud which would not be covered by the warranty. Unfortunately he's not able to fix it himself. The throttle snaps shut on the bar but the revs are all over the place. There is a traditional wire from the bar to a potentiometer which then uses a motor to move a rod which then controls the throttle bodies. Ride by wire I suppose? My bike is absolutely blathered at the mo. Access to the throttle bodies means taking off tons of panels, the tank and the airbox. All do-able but what do I do once I expose all the gubbins? Halp!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will#224 Posted February 17, 2010 Report Share Posted February 17, 2010 Clean your bike. I used to work for Buell and they had regular idle problems, it had a manual idle control but for whatever reason when they were set at zero throttle via the electronic gubbins they would somehow read at random other numbers. It caused stalling lots. They just used to reset the idle and job was jobbed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonk Posted February 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2010 The only way I know of re-setting idle is to disconnect the battery overnight, re-attach it, switch on the ignition, set the kill-switch to run, twist the throttle from shut to open to shut several times and finally switch the ignition and kill-switch back off before firing the bike up normally. That little procedure clears the ECU memory for throttle position and re-sets it. I guess it's the warranty uncertainty which is bugging me, it would incur a huge labour bill if they decide it's not a warranty issue but a bad maintenance problem. Which they won't tell me until they've finished... I've got nothing to lose by stripping the bike down and cleaning it. If the fault persists at least I'd be taking in a squeaky bike. Not looking forward to the ride home tonight. Be like riding a 2-stroke again. Eeep! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Pigdog Posted February 17, 2010 Report Share Posted February 17, 2010 Unless its supremely crudded up i would be inclined to say it would be warranty,cmon if it has a sticky throttle thats pretty life threatening and i would say most bikes should account for that-if you tamper with it would they not class that as warranty invalidating maybe?They should be able to tell from just looking at it before strippingit down if its been neglected Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDMitch Posted February 17, 2010 Report Share Posted February 17, 2010 I had an old GPz550 years ago which did exactly the same thing. It had got a build up of crud in the springs on the rod that ran above the carbs which should have physically snapped them shut. They were so gummed up that they didn't, but the throttle return spring meant that the grip sprang back at the bar. A good clean of those and it was fine. I could reach under the tank and reach the return hammer thingy of the outside carb, which was connected to all the others by the rod and stop the bike revving by pushing it down with a finger. If you can find the similar springs you could test if it's the problem in a similar way. So, whilst I appreciate your bike is very different, if there is a set of springs that is exposed to the elements anywhere the first thing I'd do would be to give them a damn good clean. Hope that helps. MItch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonk Posted February 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2010 Thanks guys, the tank is false, have to take the fairing sides off, then 4 tank panels off, then take the battery out, whip off the airbox and then the fuel tank underneath before I can even see anything! Don't know if this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lorenzo Posted February 18, 2010 Report Share Posted February 18, 2010 What sort of crud are you talking about? The sort of crud that builds up after passing through an air filter on a bike that's not especially old? I'd have it into the shop pronto if there's any sort of warranty, and if not I'd have it spread accross the garage floor, and it'd stay like that for weeks until i got bored, put it back together, and it still had the same problem, so I'd then take it into the shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonk Posted February 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2010 It's a year old, gets used everday to commute so it's seen a lot of salt the past few weeks. It gets hosed down with cold water regularly and washed properly once a week. The injector rails etc are buried really deep, the cassette gearbox is behind them, cylinder heads in front and frame and fairing panels either side. There is no spray directed straight at them so any crud will be from airborne deposits, but by gum it really penetrates. It was better on the way home last night* but setting off today was lethal - it hit the redline and stuck at the first junction after my house. Pushed it home. And changed my pants... *It was odd last night though, the revs would fall until 4,500 and then there was a distinct increase in engine braking from there till tickover. But only in 1st and 2nd. 3rd was perfect. Couldn't try it in 4th at 4,500 (90mph plus), roads too icy. Bloody thing is possessed. I did notice that 4,500 is where I spend most of my time, regardless of the gear. It's comfiest there. Would that put a notch in the windings of a potentiometer? If I took it apart, cleaned it and then asked BMW to fix it under waranty would that reduce the risk of reaming my wallet? It's a sparkling bike underneath but winter riding is what I do, and make up for it in summer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superdunc Posted February 18, 2010 Report Share Posted February 18, 2010 From what you've described, it sounds like an electrical problem with the fly by wire system. What ever the cause if your bikes only a year old, regardless of mileage or the conditions its used in , I'd have back to the dealer pronto, and if they tried to charge me to rectify a safety issue I would be having some serious words with trading standards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimjambandit Posted February 19, 2010 Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 From what you've described, it sounds like an electrical problem with the fly by wire system. What ever the cause if your bikes only a year old, regardless of mileage or the conditions its used in , I'd have back to the dealer pronto, and if they tried to charge me to rectify a safety issue I would be having some serious words with trading standards. +1 It sounds suspiciously similar to a problem I had with an old Alfa 156 which has a fly'by'wire throttle too...needed a new ECU. Get thee to a dealer, if they say they think it's muck then ask them how best to clean it without knackering anything, and if they don't then it'll be covered under warrantee plobly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDMitch Posted February 19, 2010 Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 From what you've described, it sounds like an electrical problem with the fly by wire system. What ever the cause if your bikes only a year old, regardless of mileage or the conditions its used in , I'd have back to the dealer pronto, and if they tried to charge me to rectify a safety issue I would be having some serious words with trading standards. Yep. The kind of thing that happened to me was on a much older bike that lived outside without even a cover. A year old beemer shouldn't be doing it. MIght be worth having a quick clean if it's easy, but if it's such a hassle drop it into the dealers. Mitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonk Posted February 19, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2010 Been working this morning on the bike, got it to a state where I could see the throttle cable re-appear and run to the end of the bar which runs across the back of the throttle bodies. There is a spring, it's fuckin' enormous - really complex too with separate sprung steel bits to open and close that spring and other springs within springs. But there's also a motor too which operates the same rod. There's adjuster screws all over the place. To cut a long story short, it's utterly beyond me. And there's gravel, twigs, and 15 different types of rust everywhere. The grub screws have regular orange rust, the ally stuff has white fur, there's black powdery stuff on the springs. Worst of all it is all bone dry, as in not lubricated. Maybe it doesn't need to be because everything works. I've spent 30 mins with a torch checking every moving part - it all starts to move when it should, stops when it should and nothing sticks or goes too slow. And there's no slack. Puzzled? You betcha! Nothing appears to be pinched either. It's the warranty that freaks me - how in God's armpit am I supposed to keep that part clean? It's obvious that washing doesn't get in that area but riding the bike in bad weather allows everything in (I recognised some pine twigs from scotland and tar chips from france). It's obvious I can't fix it and the labour charge is going to be huuuuuge if they expect me to pay. Bum. Fuck. Bugger. Gent. BTW, really appreciate the help so far chaps. Might have to clean it without making it look obvious, get the rest of the bike spotless and give em a ring. I can't be without the bike, I use it for work. Next year it gets garaged. I'll get a Gilera Runner 180 or similar - ha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsracing Posted February 20, 2010 Report Share Posted February 20, 2010 Give it a good clean and take it into the dealers. If they try to fob you off with shite like 'rust' or 'corrosion' or 'lack of maintanence' remind them the bike is only a year old and where does it say you can only ride it in the summer? A bike or a car should still work regardless if it is covered in months of road shit or not. I fookin hate dealers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonk Posted February 26, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2010 Update - the bike was recovered by BMW to the dealer, they couldn't replicate the problem so had to ask BMW HQ for help. They said go ahead, strip it as far as you need to. It wasn't until they got the throttle bodies off and everything disconnected that they discovered a 'tight spot' as they turned the butterflies in the bodies on the rod thingy. Sorted! For free (throttle bodies alone are £400)! They have no idea how or why it's happened. It'll be a while before I get it back, I the meantime I'm bouncing around on a bright orange F650GS (which is an 800cc??!?). Great for the snow. Thanks for the suggestions peeps, I guess I'm posting this cos I was convinced it was in the hand-grip or cable and was caused by winter spooge, which in turn had knocked my confidence in winter riding. Which despite the gloom, cold, snow, salt etc, I still enjoy cos bikes are ace! Still want a shonker for next year... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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