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Why am I getting only 25mpg?

This is a shot from this morning, does the code plug pink color mean anything? Are these plugs prone to failure?

No, no more prone to failure than any other piece of wire.
(dives into a pile of papers, comes up with single sheet, reads...)

I may have to beg for help here for a 100% righteous answer but you will probably be satisfied that pink is the oem plug for the R bike.

I believe that Pink takes both 87 and 87a to ground (30) which tells the Motronic that (87) there is a catalytic converter or in other words to expect an O2 sensor providing closed loop, and (87a) you have "R/GS" intake tubes or cam timing - probably provides a different spark advance curve or possibly an accellerator pump function. The longer and smaller diameter intakes supposedly improve the responsiveness of the engine at the expense (possibly) of top end output.

So yellow for S/RS/RT and pink for R/GS.
...in the US.
 
When I get lousy mileage, the problem is always in my right wrist. :stick

Ah yes Twisted Wrist Syndrome, caused by abnormal pelvic tilt.

Conventional treatment is to excise the excess money which has accumulated in the area near the left buttock, reducing the pelvic tilt. Usually this will provide temporary relief from twisted wrist.
 
Several years ago my 95 R1100RS dropped from mid/upper 40's to low 30's. I remembered reading something years prior that a bad O2 sensor could cause the issue. I replaced the O2 sensor and the mileage went back to normal.
 





This is a shot from this morning, does the code plug pink color mean anything? Are these plugs prone to failure?

As others have said, you have the correct coding plug for your motorcycle. So before jumping to an O2 sensor, which is looking like the problem, you could pull fuse 5 for 15 minutes to reset the Motronic and then check your mileage again.

You could also remove the coding plug and put in a jumper from 30-87a, causing it to ignore the O2, reset and check mileage.

If the O2 sensor is bad causing your bike to run rich, you might find that with the pink plug and a working O2 sensor, that you don't like the performance as well, since the engine will then be running a lot leaner.

Take a step at a time and you'll get a good compromise.
 
Ok, brought it into Bergen BMW this morning and spelled out the issue for the service agent...his response was "I wouldn't expect better mileage than that from that model and year". When I pointed out that the bike was getting 35mpg when it came in for the service and left getting 25 mpg he agreed to get a mechanic to take it for a test ride. The mechanic came back saying he felt some sort of resistance and took the bike in the shop to run a few tests, he then came back telling me he believed the front calipers we not completely releasing and that I've been riding with friction which could explain the lowered mpg. With no ride home I could not leave the bike and made an appointment to bring it back next week.

They wheeled the bike out and...it wouldn't start! What ever they did in their test must have caused it so now they had no choice but to give me a ride home...BUT...not before telling me I'm going to be charged a minimum of $100 for diagnostic labor and whatever parts might be necessary. I'll fight with them later about the fact that they had just replaced the front brake master cylinder in that service as well as flushed and bled the brake system.

On another note, while I was there I went to the parts department to inquire about the part numbers for the clock module and mount, once he had it on the screen I asked him for the part numbers because I wanted to first see if I could find a used one online. I was flabbergasted that the agent looked me in the face and said he wouldn't give out the part numbers because I was not buying it from them. I have always gone to the parts departments of all the vehicles I've owned to get numbers to look for used and have never been told I could not have the numbers. Is this standard operating procedure with BMW or just this dealership?
 
Always go for the basics. Any complaint about fuel economy starts with tire pressures, alignment, rolling resistance and the list of basics can keep you occupied with substantial time before you worry about coding plugs and sensors. My brother drove sixty miles with the park brake engaged on my truck. His first complaint was fuel economy and my comment was he deserved to pay for it because he didn't notice it.
Lastly, mechanics/technicians always are the first ones to be blamed when a new, unforeseen problem pops up by sheer coincidence. I built an engine for a track hoe and within twenty minutes of going to work, the main hydraulic hose popped. The customer was absolutely convinced it was because of my engine.
 
Ok. Um, I'm going to ignore the alarm bells going off in my head about it not starting after a tech took a test ride.

I'm going to focus on the idea that the brakes are stuck on.

This is entirely possible.
The age of the bike is about right for the original rubber brake hoses to be swollen and broken down.
As I probably mentioned, since I mention it in nearly every thread, you should change out the rubber brake hoses in favor of stainless / teflon like the ones I got from Spiegler.
This is a safety issue, I'm not just bragging about my ss brake lines.
On my RT the line going to the right front caliper split - while I was backing out of a parking spot.
It also "locked" - I had to loosen the bleeder relieve the pressure so I could push it around.
So between the split and the piston the hose was swollen shut.
I replaced it with an OEM part. Then I discovered that I could NOT bleed air out of the left caliper.
The left hose was swollen shut as well.
Now the factor making this happen is just age, not mileage, so even as low miles as you have this is probably an issue.
 
That tech is SO far off it's sad. The Oilheads of that vintage should easily get 40mpg and better. Until I messed with the TPS setting on my RS I never got worse than 40 mpg no matter how hard I rode it. I'd check the O2 sensor, and the TPS voltage setting. If your bike is running that rich though, I'd expect you'd see lots of black soot around the muffler outlet. Mine did that when I had messed with the TPS setting, oh my fuel mileage also dropped to the mid-30's.

Plug color is a reasonble indication. Light medium tan color on the white ceramic portion.
 
Brakes make HEAT, if they were dragging the rotors would be hot enough to sizzle if you spit on them after coasting to a stop.
 
Always go for the basics. Any complaint about fuel economy starts with tire pressures, alignment, rolling resistance and the list of basics can keep you occupied with substantial time before you worry about coding plugs and sensors. My brother drove sixty miles with the park brake engaged on my truck. His first complaint was fuel economy and my comment was he deserved to pay for it because he didn't notice it.
Lastly, mechanics/technicians always are the first ones to be blamed when a new, unforeseen problem pops up by sheer coincidence. I built an engine for a track hoe and within twenty minutes of going to work, the main hydraulic hose popped. The customer was absolutely convinced it was because of my engine.

Tires new, pressure correct, wheels true and balanced. I'm not convinced of the tight calipers...just their guess for now. I mentioned the O2 sensors and the mechanic said he'll test.

I just know that if any of this had to do with their work it will get buried and I'll end up paying for their mistakes of oversights. I wish I could do this work myself but I live in an apartment and the bike lives in the parking lot covered, I can't do any work that can't be finished in an hour or two.

I know it's 50/50 that this might be related to their work...fact is they talked me into replacing the complete front brake master cylinder because the old one was leaking and they said it could not be rebuilt. I paid for that and for them to flush/bleed the brake fluids, I paid for the brakes to be inspected and adjusted among many other things.

I paid the almost $1000 to inspect, tune, adjust, and replace everything possible on the bike so I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that it would run better than when it went in.
 
Sidebar: This is an HD-BMW dealership? I suppose they are out there. Never seen that combination around here. Interesting.
 
...fact is they talked me into replacing the complete front brake master cylinder because the old one was leaking and they said it could not be rebuilt.

Could not be rebuilt? Did they say why? There is, after all, a piston rebuild kit in the parts fiche, so "unrebuildable" would seem to imply fatal damage to the cylinder housing itself. Seems like a red flag.
 
Could not be rebuilt? Did they say why? There is, after all, a piston rebuild kit in the parts fiche, so "unrebuildable" would seem to imply fatal damage to the cylinder housing itself. Seems like a red flag.

First they said just needed to replace cover and gasket, then that didn't work and they said they needed to rebuild the master cylinder, then they said there was too much pitting and it needed to be replaced. I asked them to at least let me supply the part and I got one from Beemerboneyard. I saved on the part but they still charged me for the rebuild kit.
 
Just to comment, new parts out the box do fail. Don't think that just because they are a BMW shop that the technicians don't make honest mistakes, just like the pilot, Sum Tin Wong on that 777 in SF.

The single biggest reason why I'm so interested in this post is because my own 96 R1100RT and my buddy's 98 R1100RS suffered like yours. In my case, it was one phase of my Hall Effect Sensor, the 180 phase went wonky which was picked up when I read the codes. I could also determine I wasn't going into closed loop with a simple timing light.

My buddy's bike, they had the direction backwards on the tires. They were done by a Beemer approved shop. It took me less than two minutes to find it when I checked his tire pressures that he swears were perfect. But since I'm on my hands and knees once, no point getting up until I have a good look.

All very simple things, and the primary principle in troubleshooting is still KISS and will remain so forever.

I got stories and after almost 40 years on the tools, nothing surprises me.

I really take offense to someone passing judgement on a technician/mechanic unless they have been there, and done that.
 
Just to comment, new parts out the box do fail. Don't think that just because they are a BMW shop that the technicians don't make honest mistakes, just like the pilot, Sum Tin Wong on that 777 in SF.

The single biggest reason why I'm so interested in this post is because my own 96 R1100RT and my buddy's 98 R1100RS suffered like yours. In my case, it was one phase of my Hall Effect Sensor, the 180 phase went wonky which was picked up when I read the codes. I could also determine I wasn't going into closed loop with a simple timing light.

My buddy's bike, they had the direction backwards on the tires. They were done by a Beemer approved shop. It took me less than two minutes to find it when I checked his tire pressures that he swears were perfect. But since I'm on my hands and knees once, no point getting up until I have a good look.

All very simple things, and the primary principle in troubleshooting is still KISS and will remain so forever.

I got stories and after almost 40 years on the tools, nothing surprises me.

I really take offense to someone passing judgement on a technician/mechanic unless they have been there, and done that.


As I mentioned earlier, the tires are fine, he wheels are fine and I'm waiting to hear back from them once they figure out the mpg issue and not starting issue. But their credibility is waning after the first thing the service agent said was "I wouldn't expect more than 25mpg from that model and year". It was getting 35mpg when I brought it to them. And I'm now paying over $100 just for the privilege of them telling me what either they missed of did wrong from the $1000 service.
 
What I'm saying is you have to keep going back to the beginning of any trouble shooting problem. If the dealership is anything like the ones I worked in, Caterpillar in particular, if the problem is new, you will pay for it but if it's because of some sort of parts/service failure, they have internal warranty. We used to call it "community service".

The comment about the front caliper hanging up wouldn't surprise me given the scope of the work performed. By the way, I dare anybody to not leave a fingerprint on a rotor after a good ride. Mine stay hot for up to 30 minutes when I come off the highway. I didn't pay healthy coin for Spiegler but did replace them with good quality custom made DOT 4 compatible elastomers.

If you followed the string and followed all the advice on this string, you would pay enough in parts and labor to buy a new bike. My last really good bottle of Argentinian Merlot didn't impress me that there was enough margins to throw away good cash.
 
As I mentioned earlier, the tires are fine, he wheels are fine and I'm waiting to hear back from them once they figure out the mpg issue and not starting issue. But their credibility is waning after the first thing the service agent said was "I wouldn't expect more than 25mpg from that model and year". It was getting 35mpg when I brought it to them. And I'm now paying over $100 just for the privilege of them telling me what either they missed of did wrong from the $1000 service.

Not to add to your (seemingly understandable) trust problem but I have frequently taken issue with what a Service Adviser/Agent has told me about my bikes/cars. In my experience, they very often are not mechanics and that fact, in my view, discredits their opinions on technical issues witness the statement that you shouldn't expect better fuel mileage than you're getting. On the other hand, the tech is giving his best opinion on what your issues might be. Give him the opportunity to use his talent to identify the problem. If your issues continue, you might want to have a conversation with the Service Manager.

But, seeing as I'm here and your bike isn't, anything I can offer is a WAG (Wild Assed Guess). Best o' luck getting this fixed up sooner than later. I can only guarantee one thing - it will likely cost you money.
 
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