r1250r starting problem

[stevenpchristensen]

Greetings, I am a new member.

I have a 2020 R1250R I bought used with 2,700 miles. The ODO now reads about 3,700 miles. I am attaching a link to a 39 page thread that discusses starting problems with 1250 BMW models. https://www.advrider.com/f/threads/r1250gs-starting-problem.1418465/page-22

As apparently many others have experienced, my bike will not start when hot, say, after a short trip to the gas station or the grocery store. It turns over too slow to start, then will not turn over at all and no click, nothing. If I wait 30 minutes or so it will start again. This has happened multiple times and left me stranded.

My battery was new in February 2022. I had the bike to the dealer for the starting issue and they could not find a problem, the battery tested good. They did not know what was wrong with it and the service provider seemed to be saying it is normal for the bike not to start when hot. I am in Sarasota, Florida where the dealer is.

I have had the bike attached to an Optimate 4 trickle charger connected directly to the battery with the battery off the bike and the Optimate reads it 100% charged (so tests good), and the bike connected to the Optimate via the CANbus, and it reads about 80% charged which I understand is normal as there may be some loss of juice via the CANbus system.

I have checked the connections (ground, to the battery, etc.) and the connections appear good.

The attached list serve link finds a number of potential fixes including bad battery, OEM battery has inadequate cold charging amps, bad starter or starter relay, valves need adjusting to allow the cylinder pressure to decompress, bad starter switch, etc.

Given the large number of persons who seem to report this problem with 1250 models, it seems like it should be known to BMW and be a recall issue.

Is this a well known problem on this list serve? Any suggestions?

Thnx in advance.

 

[Omega Man]

Welcome to the forum!

Here is a late thread on the similar condition-

https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthrea...hard-start-problems&highlight=R1250r+starting

Hope it helps.

I will probably move this thread to the Wethead section in a while.

BTW, if a dealer told me

“ They did not know what was wrong with it and the service provider seemed to be saying it is normal for the bike not to start when hot.”

I would be wary of their skills.

OM

 

[mikegalbicka]

Welcome from central Florida. Are you going to Haps in Sarasota for service?

 

[lee]

Greetings, I am a new member.

I have a 2020 R1250R I bought used with 2,700 miles. The ODO now reads about 3,700 miles. I am attaching a link to a 39 page thread that discusses starting problems with 1250 BMW models. https://www.advrider.com/f/threads/r1250gs-starting-problem.1418465/page-22

Welcome to the forum.
I read several pages of the ADV link starting where your link took me.
I stopped reading when the one member said a new starter relay fixed the problem.

The link that Omega Man provided also said a new starter relay fixed the problem.

It appears the relay is easy to replace, so I would give that a try.
Good luck

 

[stevenpchristensen]

Welcome from central Florida. Are you going to Haps in Sarasota for service?

Thanks for the welcome.

Yes, I have been going to Haps.

So far no luck at Haps getting the problem fixed and they are not fully responsive. How has your luck been at Haps?

 

[mikegalbicka]

Thanks for the welcome.

Yes, I have been going to Haps.

So far no luck at Haps getting the problem fixed and they are not fully responsive. How has your luck been at Haps?

I drive from Lakeland to get my service done there and they have always done a good job for me and my 07RT. I haven’t been there in over a year now though so something might have changed that I don’t know about. I hope not but Bob was having some health issues last time I was there so it is possible.

 

[c10950]

Battery age to many seems new at Feb 2022 , but lets look at its stamped manufacture date not the installation date.
Next did the dealer load test the battery or just read with a multi meter and see 12.X VDC ?

Here is a good example of NEW units with two different batteries connected to the GS-911 for services

2023 R1250GS trophy ( oem battery ) 12 AH @ 200 CCA

2023 R1250RS ( Shori Battery ) 21 AH and 315 CCA

The GS has to be connected to a battery charger within 2 min or the voltage drops to low to use the GS-911 while the RS with the Shori Ive been connected as long as 20 min for recoding things and service and never had to connect a charger .

There is also the cam decompression that aids in starting of the boxer engine , but I very well doubt its the issue .

Batteries are a consumable item like tires , and with no lead smelting in the USA today we subject to poorly made units from China / India .

I change about 1000 batteries a year in Fire Alarm systems . Old batteries I find in 7 amp hour 12 vdc are nearly double the weight of the same size new AGM units of today . the Lead content is much lower and they never make the NFPA 72 5 year service life max .

Now the Starter relay simply is a switch carrying high current / amp load when you press start . I find this odd to be the issue unless its sticking . This item is located away from engine heat and would not be affected by engine temps . It is momentary on only when start button is depressed , and returns to off when released .

 

[stevenpchristensen]

If you are referring to Bob Poneleit, the website says he's retired.

I do not have any knowledge of changes in the business as my contact with the business is short, began June 2023.

I have been told by persons at Haps that it's a family owned/operated business, and I have observed multiple family members actively working there - this can be good if it's carefully run, or bad if it is nepotism vs. competence. So far my experience has been mixed.

I have a service appointment to deal with my starting issue (again) scheduled for Jan. 4th. I will keep you posted.

 

[mikegalbicka]

If you are referring to Bob Poneleit, the website says he's retired.

I do not have any knowledge of changes in the business as my contact with the business is short, began June 2023.

I have been told by persons at Haps that it's a family owned/operated business, and I have observed multiple family members actively working there - this can be good if it's carefully run, or bad if it is nepotism vs. competence. So far my experience has been mixed.

I have a service appointment to deal with my starting issue (again) scheduled for Jan. 4th. I will keep you posted.

Yep, Bob was the service manager and a wealth of knowledge. Sorry to hear he retired but knew it was coming. His daughter was helping with appointments and billing but not sure whom they were grooming to replace him. Won't be easy. Hope they get to the root of the issue for you.

Edit: went to their web page (updated since my last visit) to learn she (Lana) was promoted to service manager, the tech with the most BMW experience (Phil) is still there (he can have some attitude problems but very competent - I started with him but moved on to someone younger) and Sam Ebert (the younger BMW tech doing my latest service) is gone. Bummer.

 

[stevenpchristensen]

Battery age to many seems new at Feb 2022 , but lets look at its stamped manufacture date not the installation date.

My battery appears to be manufactured 6/21 based on the sticker. I did not notice other markings.



Next did the dealer load test the battery or just read with a multi meter and see 12.X VDC ?

The service person said the BMW tester only said pass or replace, and she wished she could put it on a Honda tester that would show charge and health of the battery. I am not sure what that means, I am learning about batteries and other starting components of the bike in this process.

 

[c10950]

Battery age to many seems new at Feb 2022 , but lets look at its stamped manufacture date not the installation date.

My battery appears to be manufactured 6/21 based on the sticker. I did not notice other markings.

View attachment 93735 View attachment 93736

Next did the dealer load test the battery or just read with a multi meter and see 12.X VDC ?

The service person said the BMW tester only said pass or replace, and she wished she could put it on a Honda tester that would show charge and health of the battery. I am not sure what that means, I am learning about batteries and other starting components of the bike in this process.

She can put it on the Honda battery tester . It is just a battery nothing special about it a 200CCA 12 VDC battery for a BMW is no different than a Honad 12 volt 200 CCA battery . Battery post arrangement can be different but ratings are same .

 

[c10950]

In my honest opinion BMW went small on this battery for a Twin with high compression . My RS fires over much better than my friends 1250's running OEM batteries identical to your battery .

 

[stevenpchristensen]

Update

To update, I went proactive and purchased a new battery, installed two days ago. My BMW OEM battery still tested "good" but that can be misleading. My BMW OEM was still on warranty arguably but I did not want to go through the battle with the dealership and end up with another OEM battery., which I believe to be barely adequate new.

The BMW OEM battery has 200 CCA, and less hourly capacity. IMO it was marginal when new and operating perfectly. I wanted more power but did not want to go lithium (more expensive, etc.). So far the bike has started every time with the new battery but I will wait and see if the fix is long term as I have seen others report it was a mask that did not fix the underlying problem.

The new battery is Honda original equipment, I purchased from a Honda dealership. It fits perfectly though a couple pounds heavier. It came pre-mixed and I verified it has a recent October 2023 manufacture date.

Yuasa GYZ16H
Battery Family: GYZ High Performance, Maintenance Free
Voltage: 12
Capacity (10-HR): 16
Dimensions: 6 in. x 3 7⁄16 in. x 5 3⁄4 in.
Weight: 12.4 lbs.
Metric Dimensions: 150mm x 87mm x 145mm
Acid Volume: N/A oz
Amps: 1.6
C.C.A: 240
Country: USA

 

[310jen]

To update, I went proactive and purchased a new battery, installed two days ago. My BMW OEM battery still tested "good" but that can be misleading. My BMW OEM was still on warranty arguably but I did not want to go through the battle with the dealership and end up with another OEM battery., which I believe to be barely adequate new.

The BMW OEM battery has 200 CCA, and less hourly capacity. IMO it was marginal when new and operating perfectly. I wanted more power but did not want to go lithium (more expensive, etc.). So far the bike has started every time with the new battery but I will wait and see if the fix is long term as I have seen others report it was a mask that did not fix the underlying problem.

The new battery is Honda original equipment, I purchased from a Honda dealership. It fits perfectly though a couple pounds heavier. It came pre-mixed and I verified it has a recent October 2023 manufacture date.

Yuasa GYZ16H
Battery Family: GYZ High Performance, Maintenance Free
Voltage: 12
Capacity (10-HR): 16
Dimensions: 6 in. x 3 7⁄16 in. x 5 3⁄4 in.
Weight: 12.4 lbs.
Metric Dimensions: 150mm x 87mm x 145mm
Acid Volume: N/A oz
Amps: 1.6
C.C.A: 240
Country: USA

Glad to hear the problem was solved. Always try the simplest things first! It amazes me how far people go in the weeds when trying to sort a problem that is almost always the battery.

 

[c10950]

Good deal . What did the new battery at dealer run you ?

 

[stevenpchristensen]

Battery cost

The price of the battery including tax was $147.84. This is less than a OEM battery and it has more starting power than OEM.

I might have been able to get it cheaper via another vendor, e.g., Amazon, Walmart, but I could not have gotten it that same day, and I may not have gotten a battery that was properly maintained.

Since my new battery was manufactured in October 2023, and filled with acid (pre-mixed) at the factory, it was fresh enough that it would (should?) not have needed to have the charge topped off. The manufacturer has a stamp on the battery that says it should be checked for voltage every three months and topped off if necessary.

So far the new battery has solved my starting problem but time will tell. My old battery 'tested' good but, intermittently, would not start the bike hot.