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Feds probe BMW motorcycles for fuel leak problems

Here is the second picture after I went in and cleaned it very carefully!

After I took the pictures for the file, I went in with a very soft flux brush and vacuumed the whole area as I am a Felix of sort as I hate things dirty, especially motorcycles. It strange that here is a R12RT that has 114 kilometres on her and after cleaning it looks as good as the day it came of the assembly line. Hummmmm!

Now to go and sort out the cracked tail light!
 

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Here is the second picture after I went in and cleaned it very carefully!

After I took the pictures for the file, I went in with a very soft flux brush and vacuumed the whole area as I am a Felix of sort as I hate things dirty, especially motorcycles. It strange that here is a R12RT that has 114 kilometres on her and after cleaning it looks as good as the day it came of the assembly line. Hummmmm!

Now to go and sort out the cracked tail light!


I added a clamp to the flange from BeemerBoneyard to hopefully prevent cracking to this area on our 2011 K1300S's.
P1000475_Large_.JPG


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Sometime in 2011 or 2012 BMW has added a metal ring to the flange at the factory.
The cracking happens to the K bikes and R bikes.

Here is an updated K bike part from BMW. Notice the metal ring.
Image-3.jpg
 
Will post another picture after this one, as I haven't figured out how to add several pictures at the same time. Computer illiterate I guess!

You're not computer illiterate: the forum software only lets users upload one pic per post. However, if you have photos hosted on another server, either your own or on a publicly-visible repository like PhotoBucket, you can have multiple photos appear in one BMWMOA forum post by linking to the photos that are hosted elsewhere.
 
I agree with Lee and will be placing an order with the guys at Beemerboneyard later this morning. Guess the Tuperwear will not be going back on right away. Thank heavens it's winter here right now and it is not the best riding weather.

Ordered the clamp several hours after posting this and feel somewhat better!
 
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It happened on my R1200S, that is NOT an RT or a GS! So it happens on all bikes with this fuel pump design!
 
I agree with Lee and will be placing an order with the guys at Beemerboneyard later this morning.

I also replaced the plastic male half of the quick disconnect with a metal one from BeemerBoneyard.
Check your ON, I think BeemerBoneyard gives a 10% discount to MOA members.
 
I'm pretty sure that somebody said that they had read on the Internet somewhere that BMW said that their dealers had told them it was because the gas in the United States is different than gas in Europe - less compressible or less resilient or something - which causes the pressure pulses from the pump to overstress the plastic molecules and cause it to shudder and shake and eventually crack. :)
 
I'm pretty sure that somebody said that they had read on the Internet somewhere that BMW said that their dealers had told them it was because the gas in the United States is different than gas in Europe - less compressible or less resilient or something - which causes the pressure pulses from the pump to overstress the plastic molecules and cause it to shudder and shake and eventually crack. :)

Reminds me that during the mid-nineties seat belt buckle receptacles began to fail on Japanese cars. First it was a trickle then a flood tide. Official Japanese manufacturer's response was that it was an "American" problem. As we (Japanese) all know, "Americans eat too much and too often" in their cars, fouling the buckle assemblies.

Recall was issued, but not soon. And to be fair to Japanese manufacturers, slow response to product failure is NOT their exclusive domain. It is trans-border. Some never respond.
 
When you consider that the fuel strips are unreliable, the flange cracks and the FPC can fill up with water and short out, this entire area of the bike needs to be redesigned.
 
I'm pretty sure that somebody said that they had read on the Internet somewhere that BMW said that their dealers had told them it was because the gas in the United States is different than gas in Europe - less compressible or less resilient or something - which causes the pressure pulses from the pump to overstress the plastic molecules and cause it to shudder and shake and eventually crack. :)

From a legal point of view, I can understand this statement as an attempt to avoid any liability. But as a realistic possibility, I don't buy it. First, it is strange that we have only heard of BMWs experiencing this problem. Second, if the plastic is degrading on a molecular level, the additional of a metal brace will not stop the process. BMW knows very well that the bikes will be used with alcohol additive.

This is one of the things that drives me nuts when it comes to corporate mindset. They should come out and say they recognize the issue and are working with engineers and the government to correct the problem. This does not admit any liability and gives some degree of their attempt to assist their customers. (And they should be doing it before someone gets hurt.)

But Paul, I do appreciate you passing this information along.

E.
 
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Paul earlier comment:

I'm pretty sure that somebody said that they had read on the Internet somewhere that BMW said that their dealers had told them it was because the gas in the United States is different than gas in Europe - less compressible or less resilient or something - which causes the pressure pulses from the pump to overstress the plastic molecules and cause it to shudder and shake and eventually crack.

I thought about that comment and there perhaps maybe some merit in that the fuel the in US is Ethanol heavy, meaning that plastics and fibreglass does not like ethanol mixed gasoline. I recently inspected a fibreglass Norton Commando fuel take and the fibreglass layers were literally peeling away on the internals.
But on the other side of the coin, the R12RT that I purchased with it's high mileage has spent 80% of its time in the Western US touring and from the pictures I posted is not suffering a cracked flange Phenomenon. Honest feeling is that it is a poor design from the early get go and in the later models an up date has been done at the BMW factory?
 
Folks, I made that whole comment up with tongue firmly in cheek based on similar comments from BMW about injector problems. I don't think fuel is causing the plastic to crack. I think it is caused by screwing a tapered fitting into a plastic with insufficient tensile strength.

I thought the smiley at the end would provide a clue I was trying to be humorous.
 
Folks, I made that whole comment up with tongue firmly in cheek based on similar comments from BMW about injector problems. I don't think fuel is causing the plastic to crack. I think it is caused by screwing a tapered fitting into a plastic with insufficient tensile strength.

I thought the smiley at the end would provide a clue I was trying to be humorous.

People are not born with a "sense of humor" - it is an acquired taste and more rare than ever now in our "politically correct" world, whatever that is?!

And you're right Paul - an issue with metal meeting plastic, not fuel.

Mine was A-OK until I decided to 'fix something that wasn't broke' by having a quick-disconnect installed. Dealer warned me that the fuel pump housing was "fragile (brittle) plastic" and might not tolerate the new fitting................ it didn't.

$400 later, a new fuel pump assembly. Live and learn. :dance
 
Here's what a failing unit looks like. I'm sure (now) that had I not procrastinated in replacing the OE qd's I would have probably trashed my pump housing too. I say that because even though really only the male qd needs to be changed to the brass unit, I would have gone beyond and changed the female qd just as well. I wonder if my cracked unit will make to some acceptable remedy?
 

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Dealer warned me that the fuel pump housing was "fragile (brittle) plastic" and might not tolerate the new fitting................ it didn't.

$400 later, a new fuel pump assembly. Live and learn. :dance

That's why I only replaced the male half of the QD. It's the male half that will normally fail.
 
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