BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

Hi there, Spanish guy living in Taiwan and getting his 2014 R1150R next Tuesday. Currently I own an F650GS Dakar, which like and I would like more if the water pump didn't fail every X km...

I'm buying this bike for I want something with more power and I love the lookings, but after reading a lot I'm getting scared about the iABS module and other possible problems (final drive, clutch, etc...)

The bike has supposedly only 19k on the clock, and looks good.

Any advices? am I going to have amny trooubles with it?

2014? they switched to 1200's long before that....

do you mean 2004?

or are you picking up a 2014 1200r?



welcome!

peels wrote:2014? they switched to 1200's long before that....

do you mean 2004?

or are you picking up a 2014 1200r?



welcome!

Mind fart, sorry. I meant 2004 indeed.

I tested 2 days ago and I found a bit hard to get from N to 1st gear... bad symptom?

Most of the internet post on these bikes show problems. Usually these bikes are reliable. A low percentage of the overall bikes have problems on the road. Buy it and ride it and don't over think things.

swamper wrote:Most of the internet post on these bikes show problems. Usually these bikes are reliable. A low percentage of the overall bikes have problems on the road. Buy it and ride it and don't over think things.

THAT^

enjoy it. the maintenance is pretty easy. and rewarding. use all the negative threads as a guide, not for fear.

Any special advice regarding clutch and shifting technics? apparently it shouldn't be used in the same way than wet clutch bikes...

and when I commute there's a lot of traffic jams... which lead to heavy use of clutch. What exactly is "clutch slipping"? is it to use gas AND a bit of clutch at the same time, like when going very slow or climbing steep hills with not enough power?

I'm also seriously considering a servoctomy, and save the money I can get from the iABS for a possible future problem with the clutch / transmission shaft xD

Hi and congrats! I have an 04 1150r also and I love it. I always roll the bike backwards a little bit to shift it from neutral into first. I've noticed that by rolling bike back just slightly, gears slide right in with no problems. So, that's what I've done the entire time I've had this bike. I have over 37,000 miles and all I've done has been routine maintenance. No ABS and I'm happy because it's so much easier to service. I also switched out the quick disconnects for the fuel because they were cheap plastics.

Hi again,

I picked the bike: it looked good, when I tested 2 days ago all the sounds were OK, and today I could shift with no problem....

however, to go to work was scary:

1. the transmission was doing weird noises (weird to me at least, and I don't mean when shifting or using the clutch, I mean constantly... are these drives supposed to sound???)
2. then it rattled a couple of times and...
3. a lot of smoke appeared... because the guy had changed the drive oil and it was leaking in one o ring, middle section, the one on the top
4. when I stopped it at the office, it was kinda knocking!!!

:S

The knocking is probably a result of a low motor oil level. Check the sight glass on the side. On the center stand it should be right in the middle of the circle. Also the rattle you hear is caused by a poor cam chain tensioner design. BMW has an updated version if it for about $100 and its very easy to install.

I think that I was overwhelmed by the combo of smoke, low tyres pressure (making it close to impossible to take curves), the new normal noises, and the abnormal ones. Right now is in the shop, and tomorrow the engine will be inspected and the valves adjusted. A friend thinks (hopes) that the valves is the main problem... let's see.

I'm trying to calm down...

knocking(ticking)...it happens. valves are noisy. remember the heads are hanging out in the breeze. not hidden by any bodywork, a tank or anything.

abs, if you want to... remove it. I did, Dont REALLY miss it. wet pavement, abs would be nice....but its no less safe than being a smart rider.

though I must warn you. be careful trying to sell it. if an idiot buys it, theyll try to blame you for any problems. Dont ask me how I know....

transmission noise? no idea on that one.

Hi, I moved to an R1150R Rockster from a honda firestorm and was overwhelmed by all the new noises I was hearing. All the things you have mentioned, a search of this forum will put your mind at ease, long story short 3 years later and I have to say it's my favorite bike of all the bikes I've ever had, they are reasonably easy bikes to work on I would suggest learning to do your own work, a lot of bike shops love to run these bikes down.
Here is a list of noises and the solutions I found,
Rattle on startup on left hand side: uprated cam chain tensioner
Ticking, clicking on right hand side: butterfly shaft in RHS carb rattling. Throttle body sync helps, tried a ticker killer, also helped but some days it's louder than others, don't really worry about it.
Noisey gearchanges: learn to preload gear lever before changing gear, I find quick changes the best, don't let the transmission unwind,
there is a lot of free play in there
Rattle from heads: adjust valve clearances
Transmission rattle at tickover: Throttle body sync
Everyone has there own way of checking engine oil level but I find the only way to know how much oil is in it is to do an oil and filter change, put in 3.75 litres of oil and then use the same routine for checking the level, what I do is leave bike on side stand for 15 minutes after long spin then put on centre stand and check oil level after a few minutes, it should be around the centre of the sight glass, I find it doesn't seem to use as much oil if I keep the level on the low side as opposed to keeping it at the top of the sight glass.
As long as you can see oil in the glass it is ok to ride.
I hope your bike is ok and you get a chance to enjoy it, they definately grow on you. Cheers.

Lots of things to check!

Now the bike is definitively better, and I feel a bit safer after some of the sounds have been identified; for example, one horrible sound like junk being shaked was coming from the plastic housing that wraps the control panel. That's good... more or less.

Today the bike has developed a new problem: the ABS light won't go out. The warning on the left fades out and the one on the right blinks at 1Hz, which seems to mean that ABS is no available in one of the breaks. Good. After riding for a while both disappear but then came back. And what it's worse, the last time I checked the left one was on and the right one was blinking at 1Hz, which means "only residual brake on one circuit".

I'm thinking of either low battery (the bike has been serviced and after having it running in N for so long, i guess that it could be a bit drainned), or perhaps some electrical problem (it has been pouring for hours here, so may be some cable got wet... this happened to my F650GS before). Or perhaps both things at once...

abs light....i'd bet low battery. stop the bike. shut off, and start again. usually goes back off. if not....

maybe the abs wheel sensor not picking up the speed? just a thought. fuse?

Now....

that rattling control panel: its the back of the clock! and SUPER annoying. EASY fix. unscrew the back, and put something in there to stop vibration. I used thin weatherstrip.

The ABS warning seemed to be related to low battery indeed.

How about the muted clunkclunkclunk / drundrundrundrun in the clutch? it sound when in N, and disappears using the clutch...