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Bike Won't Start

W

wdt650

New member
I have a 2012 G650GS. Since I brought it home it has had a problem starting when it was warmed up, occasionally not starting at all until it cools off,(it acts like a bad battery). It's been to the shop twice now for this problem. The first time they said it was a loose wire on the negative terminal on the battery. The second time they said it was the stator and regulator.

After the first trip to the shop I warmed up the bike, took the seat off and put my meter on the battery. I then hit the start button and watched the meter. It started out with 13.7 volts, but when I hit the button it went down to about 7 volts. After doing this several times it finally started.

This sounds to me like a bad battery or starter, any ideas?
 
It sounds like it could be either. Since the battery is far easier to replace, I would try to talk the dealer into putting a known good battery in there and see what happens.
 
I don't know if the battery is the problem you have but a bad battery will cause a problem like that. These new bikes (the computer) likes to see a good 9 volts or it kinda says "no start today".
The battery that went bad in my F800 basically became a black hole for voltage. A donor battery would not jump it, it took a running car to make it go. Once the car was unhooked the bike would die. So if you want to test on your own, IMO, the battery has to come out.
I don't know why the dealer is having so much trouble with this but.....as it is new, it's a warranty issue. I don't know if the 3/36 warranty still covers roadside assistance. Keep the roadside number with you and, if you can, let us know how you make out and what the cause was. Good luck, Gary
 
I do have roadside asst. but the problem is that this is my commuter bike and I'm afraid to ride it to work. If I have to stop for gas or something and it doesn't start I'm late to work.
 
When " they said it was the stator and regulator",did they replace those 2 items under warranty?Though it does seem to appear it's a battery issue.
I ask because the G650 may be my next purchase.




wdt650 said:
I have a 2012 G650GS. Since I brought it home it has had a problem starting when it was warmed up, occasionally not starting at all until it cools off,(it acts like a bad battery). It's been to the shop twice now for this problem. The first time they said it was a loose wire on the negative terminal on the battery. The second time they said it was the stator and regulator.

After the first trip to the shop I warmed up the bike, took the seat off and put my meter on the battery. I then hit the start button and watched the meter. It started out with 13.7 volts, but when I hit the button it went down to about 7 volts. After doing this several times it finally started.

This sounds to me like a bad battery or starter, any ideas?
Click to expand...
 
bigdelta said:
When " they said it was the stator and regulator",did they replace those 2 items under warranty?Though it does seem to appear it's a battery issue.
I ask because the G650 may be my next purchase.
Click to expand...

They haven't yet, the parts are coming from Germany, two weeks at least.
 
wdt650 said:
They haven't yet, the parts are coming from Germany, two weeks at least.
Click to expand...


Did they tell you that is two weeks for the container to show up at port, maybe. Then the containers sit for customs,???, then the parts go to distribution,???, then to dealers........

Can you tell I've been through this? I asked why parts were not sent Fedex. I found out how naive I was.

Sorry buddy, I hope that's not the case for you and that the parts fix the failure.
 
rik said:
Did they tell you that is two weeks for the container to show up at port, maybe. Then the containers sit for customs,???, then the parts go to distribution,???, then to dealers........

Can you tell I've been through this? I asked why parts were not sent Fedex. I found out how naive I was.

Sorry buddy, I hope that's not the case for you and that the parts fix the failure.
Click to expand...

I feel sooo much better now.
 
Back in my deep dark past I was a parts/service manager for a Fiat dealer. We once waited six months for a cylinder head to come from Italy. Luckily the customer was off on a TDY with the Air Force and didn't need the car.
 
Update: the parts finally got here from the motherland, but...didn't fix the problem, so they replaced the battery, then the starter. At this point they have no idea what the fix is. The only good thing is that the problem shows up every time now.:banghead
 
I have a 2012 Sertao. It does this too. I suspect the automatic compression release is not working correctly or the Timing is advanced too far for starting,or the battery and starter do not have the capacity to start the bike. I usually push the start button and release it when the starter bogs. Then push it again and it will turn the motor. If it doesn't start I open the throttle and it starts.

This is a common problem. I don't understand why because the 650 single is not a new model.
 
I mentioned to the service writer that opening the throttle seemed to help and he told me never to open the throttle when starting the bike. He said that wherever the throttle is when the bike starts is throttle fully closed to the bike's electronic brain, so by opening the throttle during starting messes with the bikes brain, so to speak.
 
45gus said:
I have a 2012 Sertao. It does this too. I suspect the automatic compression release is not working correctly or the Timing is advanced too far for starting,or the battery and starter do not have the capacity to start the bike. I usually push the start button and release it when the starter bogs. Then push it again and it will turn the motor. If it doesn't start I open the throttle and it starts.

This is a common problem. I don't understand why because the 650 single is not a new model.
Click to expand...

First-Welcome to the forum 45gus :thumb

Now the thought of an automatic compression release is interesting. I don't know what system they use in that bike. I had one (ACR) in a Yamaha Grizzly 600 drive me crazy, fixed it after a lot of thinking. OM
 
Well, I'm tired of trying to tell the service dept. what to check next, besides my attorney told me not to call them anymore. The longer they have the bike the better my case.
 
This is a known problem with the compression release and has been fixed on warranty by many owners. Your dealer should have the memo for the repair!
 
wdt650 said:
I mentioned to the service writer that opening the throttle seemed to help and he told me never to open the throttle when starting the bike. He said that wherever the throttle is when the bike starts is throttle fully closed to the bike's electronic brain, so by opening the throttle during starting messes with the bikes brain, so to speak.
Click to expand...

I would never disagree with a qualified BMW tech ;). I only know it worked for me.

I remember starting thumpers before electric starters. You learned the drill for cold and hot but that in between could be tricky. If it was reluctant to start hot the drill was kill switch off hold throttle WO and kick through 4 times, kill switch on and a little throttle (you had to know how much for your bike) then kick.
 
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