Ideas to resolve R1150R Issues Needed

[motorcityrider]

Some issues I am having with my new ride. 2003 R1150R 3000 miles
1. Surging
2. Vibration is causing right hand to go numb when I ride
3. Idle is not very smooth
4. Throttle very sensitive at low speeds

I would appreciate a list of things I can do (in order of impact) to resolve some of these? Also, if anyone knows of an independent BMW mechanic (familiar with the newer bikes) in the Detroit area, I would appreciate it. Thanks.

[Ritchard]

There are certainly better mechanics on the board than me, but this sounds to me like the first thing to be done is to get the throttle bodies in sync. It's easy, cheap, and very rewarding.

[challey]

Ritchard is on the right track but do a valve clearance adjustment first, then a TB synch. These are both relatively easy to do yourself (search for the instructions on this site or Google OVAD and TBS4D for some other clear, easy to follow instructions).

My bet is that if you do both of these, you'll resolve at least 95% of the issues your list.

Don't be afraid to post questions about specifics if you attempt the valve adjs and TB syncs.

Charlie

[motorcityrider]

What is the best tool to buy for the TB adjustment?

[jfslater98]

Some will say TwinMax (@$100), but there is a lively discussion about using a water manometer here

http://r1150r.org/board/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=17879

Maybe $8 in parts?

[MikeCam]

Everybody is correct, but here is what I would do...

1) ride the hell out of a tank of gas - rpm's at or near 4000 the entire time (at 3K miles, you are still breaking it in, but the FI system has been sitting and getting dirty all that time)
2) Techron and gas and another spirited ride.
3) RON let a full heat and cooling cycle ensue
4) cold engine valve adjust
5) warm engine idle adjust and TBS at 4000 rpm
6)full tank of gas and another spirited ride
7)oil and filter change regardless of mileage
Once you get to 6K miles and are finished with the break in period repeat steps 1-3 often but in the rpm range 5500-6500; repeat steps 4-6 as often as the surge and rough idle bug you; repeat step 7 whenever you want.

Things to note: So-called surge is almost always local gas related; very rarely is it the bike. But some regions have such poor gas formulations that you simply cannot get it to go away. Low rpm, low load, in town speeds seem to make it worse - so don't cruise in a mid-range gear, keep rpm high under light loads (w/o overheating).

BOL

[Basmaf]

I have just had the same problems with my 04 1150R twin spark.
It turned out to be a coil stick, the left one that was breaking down.
I checked these first as I found an easy test from this website, thanks guys.
I removed the plug caps from the lower plugs and started her up.
She ran like a dog at low revs, missing, backfiring etc, but smoothed out as the revs increased.
I swapped the main plugs over and found it was still the left plug coil that was causing the problems
Bought new coil sticks and hey presto... she now runs as smooth as a flat twin can.

It was the left coil that was faulty.
When I ordered new ones from "Motorworks", they told me it was usually the left coil stick that had failed.
If this has happened to you, was it the left coil that went pop ?

-Basmaf

[Racegun]

what year started using the twin spark...03 or 04?

tia
dave

[boxermania]

The twin spark came to be in '04....although some late '03 bikes might have been fitted with the twin spark. It really doesn't do much for the engine run ning as anticipated.....TB out of sync and a bad stick coil(s) will make the engine run poorly.