Just finished the 12K valve clearance check and they were all in tolerance. I used my old, inadequate WestCo battery from my long gone R1150R to keep the F800's main computer and instrumentation data alive when the bike's battery needed to be removed, allowing airbox removal. Being that a lot of components and sensors were unplugged, I thought for sure an error code may have been set, but there were none.
The main reason I hooked up the GS-911 was to recalibrate the idle control motor (ICM). The GS-911 software has that specific recalibration task as a menu choice. Since I took the ICM apart for cleaning, the plunger apparently got moved from it's last position as the 2nd engine startup stalled immediately after running 2 seconds. That
NEVER happened before and I knew it was because I disturbed the proper ICM "off" or "parked" position. No problem. Hook up the GS-911, turn on the key (engine off), plug it into my new
NetBook running the GS-911 software and select "idle actuator calibration" mode then, in less than 1 minute, I can hear the ICM making it's computer controlled stepping motor operational noises while the display shows the "step number" as it increments then resets to zero. While still connected (by USB cable) I changed the next service reminder to year 2020 and the next service mileage to 60K so it won't hassle me anymore. Anyone that does their own servicing (oil changes, valve check, antifreeze change, etc) is aware of when they should be done at 6, 12, 18, 24, 30 etc thousand mile marks by looking in his/her little notepad or back pages of the Owner's Manual. It is a great feature for riders that have their bike $erviced only at the BMW dealer. Me, I just don't care to be "reminded" by the display and have to reset that reminder with the GS-911 after every 6,000 mile and 1 year interval.
For a number of reasons involving the sequence of operations, com port number designation, Win or GS-911 driver installed, connecting it to the bike and alignment of the stars . . . . the bluetooth feature still has not been successfully connected. It could not "find" it, even though it was 3 feet away and correctly powered up. This is so typical of the M$ Windoze PC world which in the year 2011 should be totally plug-n-play if I tell it to use no security features. I have lost what little respect I ever had for those F'n geeks that engineered that hostile datalink system. If I had it to do over,
I would NOT have spent the extra $50 for the GS-911 BlueTooth model. Especially when the little 10" Netbook is so portable for 7+ hours on it's big battery and what needs to be done happens so quickly. Besides that, my new LG 420G Tracfone does not have BlueTooth, that would have enabled on-the-road away-from-home diagnostics/resetting via the GS-911's cellphone app.
A few things I noticed:
--The Instrument menu's main odometer reading shows the bikes odometer with tenths of miles while the bike's dash display does not.
--The tank vent valve operates very quietly (in manual test mode) and is really hard to hear (engine off). You need your ear pressed to the tank panel, where the valve hides beneath.
--With the GS-911 program you can turn on: the cooling fan, the left or right injector for 3 seconds, the fuel pump, the air injection valve, the tank vent valve, the idle control motor, the diagnostic warning light (orange) triangle and the overtemp light (red) (the same orange warning light triangle immediately turns red).
That's pretty cool that I can do all those diagnostic function tests with just a mouse click. The best part is I will not have to go to the BMW dealer to find out what went wrong . . . . if and when something critical ever does.