Fuel strip

[crewzzn88]

lost my FS on my 08 at 1200 miles, yeah 1200 miles. i never really relied on any fuel gauges. from HD to Metric now to bmw's, I ALWAYS used the trip odometer. not going get it replaced b/c of the high failure rate of this item. still luv the bike.

[sky_sailor]

Wow. You bunch of girls! Not only should you NEVER rely on a fuel gauge (I fly for a living, and the fuel gauges are just "decorations") but ALL motorcycles should have kick starters as well. I know it's a big effort to reset your trip odometers, but I'm sure you can all manage it?

[deilenberger]

Dealer said "The fuel gauge in the R1200R is fairly reliable, but does occasionally fail". "

I think that would more honestly be said as: "The fuel gauge in the R1200R is fairly accurate when working, but can be relied on to fail". "

[deilenberger]

Wow. You bunch of girls! Not only should you NEVER rely on a fuel gauge (I fly for a living, and the fuel gauges are just "decorations") but ALL motorcycles should have kick starters as well. I know it's a big effort to reset your trip odometers, but I'm sure you can all manage it?

Wow. Way to make friends, eh?

[sky_sailor]

Wow. You bunch of girls! Not only should you NEVER rely on a fuel gauge (I fly for a living, and the fuel gauges are just "decorations") but ALL motorcycles should have kick starters as well. I know it's a big effort to reset your trip odometers, but I'm sure you can all manage it?

Wow. Way to make friends, eh?

I'm kidding Don! Tongue in cheek.

[websterize]

The story on how a Maryland rider of a 2011 R12RT went through *eight* fuel strips, two onboard computers and 85 days in service before having his bike declared a lemon are on page 10 of this PDF http://bmwbmw.org/bts/2012/bmwbmw_bts_2012-04.pdf, the publication's final issue.

My dealer is the same mentioned in the piece, and when my fuel strip goes (now that I'm out of warranty), I hope he goes to bat for me against Motorrad.

[bicyclist]

The story on how a Maryland rider of a 2011 R12RT went through *eight* fuel strips, two onboard computers and 85 days in service before having his bike declared a lemon are on page 10 of this PDF http://bmwbmw.org/bts/2012/bmwbmw_bts_2012-04.pdf, the publication's final issue.

My dealer is the same mentioned in the piece, and when my fuel strip goes (now that I'm out of warranty), I hope he goes to bat for me against Motorrad.

Umm, what day did you read that story?

[websterize]

From an email, today, by a local BMW club chapter webmaster:

It is a sad day here at BMWBMW. This will be our last issue of the BTS. We tried applying for government bailout. But, we were denied because other, better-off financial institutions needed the funds more. Our editor has decided to close the doors on the newsletter as a cost-cutting measure to allow for more funding of the Tiki Bar at the [Square Root Rally].

Too bad the club couldn't continue with an electronic-only version.

[deilenberger]

From an email, today, by a local BMW club chapter webmaster:

It is a sad day here at BMWBMW. This will be our last issue of the BTS. We tried applying for government bailout. But, we were denied because other, better-off financial institutions needed the funds more. Our editor has decided to close the doors on the newsletter as a cost-cutting measure to allow for more funding of the Tiki Bar at the [Square Root Rally].

Too bad the club couldn't continue with an electronic-only version.

Sort of off-topic, but..

That's pretty much the death of a club. Without a newsletter - all the people who are members and don't make meetings aren't going to be renewing. I'm newsletter editor for our local club. Have been for about 15 years now (tried passing it on, but it always comes back to me.. so I resigned myself to editor for life..) - and I know the club would go away without one.

What is BMWBMW doing to replace it? The younger people in our club thought a forum would work great - it did for the 4 of them that were under 40. No one else but me posted to it.

Our club newsletter is still done on paper. The online one has less impact and unless you take your iPad to the crapper is hard to read at leisure. Ours is timed to come out 3-4 days before our meeting. The once or twice one didn't get out (I was away for a few months) attendence at the meetings was dismal - less then half the usual number of people. We do support it with some very limited advertising - enough so it costs the club about nothing (covers printing and postage) - but I doubt if we would get the advertising if we did an all electronic version.

[mogu83]

We're stealing this thread . Bill, the Tiki bar is a nice touch at the BMWBMW rally (June 1-3 Thurmont,MD) but I always felt the old rusty beer truck with the flat tires and taps sticking out the sides added to the ambiance of the pavilion, plus you didn't have to walk as far to get a beer.

* Note the plug for the 2012 Square Route Rally June 1-3 Thurmont,MD.

[deilenberger]

Ditto on Harry's comment, especially when it rains (which it ALWAYS does at SR).. wading across the mud from the pavilion to get a beer becomes a chore and less beer is sold, so less frivolity results. Lose, lose, lose..

[bicyclist]

From an email, today, by a local BMW club chapter webmaster:

It is a sad day here at BMWBMW. This will be our last issue of the BTS. We tried applying for government bailout. But, we were denied because other, better-off financial institutions needed the funds more. Our editor has decided to close the doors on the newsletter as a cost-cutting measure to allow for more funding of the Tiki Bar at the [Square Root Rally].

Too bad the club couldn't continue with an electronic-only version.

Sheesh, it was April Fools Day! The newsletter's not going anywhere. I guess you missed the "In BTS next month" on P16.

And, yeah, I agree that the old beer truck was very conveniently placed. Unfortunately, it died and the site owners hauled it away.

[finsally]

Hi Guys,took the bike into dealers yesterday,fuel strip replaced £174 they give me a few quid off the quoted price,two years warrenty.....watch this space!!


Cheers Bob

[parkec]

My fuel Gauge died yesterday...guessing strip...

Gauge Read ---- only took 1.5 gallons to fill. Early 2007 w/ 53,000 miles..Located in Florida.

Checked out Trip Odometer instruction this morning for Saturdays Ride...will cross refernce off GPS.

[Ghostcloak]

Just got back from a 630 mile round trip. Fuel Strip failed at 24,781 miles on the odometer. Scared the heck out of me since it happened WHILE I was riding. I had a 1/4 tank last I looked with about 100 miles on the trip meter. When I glanced at my gauges about 5 minutes later, I had a fuel light and the fuel gauge had no bars. I panicked and pulled into a gas station, filled up ~2.2 gallons and went down the road another 5 miles when I realized my fuel strip likely went out. This is a first for me, though I am aware of this issue, as I have only had my 2008 R1200R for 2 months now. The rest of the trip went fine. I think I went ~400 miles without a fuel guage, filling up at around 160 miles on the trip meter and carrying a 1 gal jerry can just in case. Being in the mountains and unfamiliar with the area, I wanted to make sure I didn't run out.

Fortunately the previous owner replaced the strip 5/3/11. Looks like I'll be heading to the BMW dealership tomorrow to have my replaced under warranty. Couldn't have been a better time for it to fail, guess I got "lucky."

Any advice on how to prolong the life of these strips? I've heard/read rumors about the ethanol in the gasoline being the primary cause of the fuel strip failures and that finding a gas station with ethanol-free gas will help. I ride almost daily, so the gas in the tank doesn't stay in one spot on the sensor for long. If I don't plan on riding for a few days, I fill it up.

[deilenberger]

Any advice on how to prolong the life of these strips? I've heard/read rumors about the ethanol in the gasoline being the primary cause of the fuel strip failures and that finding a gas station with ethanol-free gas will help. I ride almost daily, so the gas in the tank doesn't stay in one spot on the sensor for long. If I don't plan on riding for a few days, I fill it up.

The only way to prolong their life is to have it fail before the 2 year parts/labor warranty is up.

The ethanol rumor is just that. There have been failures reported from countries where ethanol isn't in the gas (and I saw no deterioration of the plastics in the sensor strips I've torn apart.. and I was looking for it.) IMHO it's simply a questionable design.. the junction of the strip to the actual wiring seems to be where the failure takes place, and it's inside the epoxy lump that holds this junction. I was unable to destructively deconstruct the lump so I could look at the junction (and I no longer have access to X-ray equipment or an electron microscope..)

[red baron]

According to my dealer fuel strips are by far the biggest warranty item. On my 2008 R1200R the fuel strip has been replaced already two times. Presently my bike shows 34,000 miles.
Peter

[Catchina]

Filled up this morning and went 40 miles, on my way home the fuel light went on...looks like the fuel strip issue

[rickmbmw]

I just purchased a new R1200R Classic and the Fuel Strip failed at 25 miles. I drove by the dealer yesterday because I was unaware of this problem. His response, "It has been a problem with previous years but I'm VERY surprised to see it on your bike." He offered to replace it immediately or wait until the 600 mile check-up. I plan to wait for the 600 mile service.

I've always relied on my trip odometer on my R1150R so I'll continue with that method.

Rick

[captainbeaky]

Same here, 10 k miles.
2007 r1200r, gunmetal.