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'04 R1150 GS Stalling problem.

Mlockard

New member
I just bought the GS in February and it has been awesome so far except for one issue. I was riding in the rain for about 2 hours and at the very end when I got near home, as I came to a stoplight I brake, pull in the clutch lever and it dies. It started right up but did the same thing at the next stop. And the next. Brake, clutch, stall.

This was the first wet ride so far and the only time it has happened.
Right before the ride I filled the tank with premium, it was near empty so a bad tank of gas? I added some seafoam in case this was the problem.

I have not been in the rain since and I have been getting gas elsewhere so right now I don't know if it was the gas or the rain. Any ideas? I would like to prevent this from happening in the future.
--Mike
 
Before I got crazy with the "what ifs", I'd pull every fuse and check for any sign of corrosion. I would then look closely and make sure all my battery cables are clean and tight and pay particular attention to the grounds.

After that, a wiring diagram and patience are your best friends.
 
I have an R1150R - same engine - and it has done the same thing occasionally. I haven't been able to isolate or identify exactly why it is doing it. In my case it doesn't seem moisture related. It has happened most often the first time the clutch is pulled and it is dropping back to idle following a prolonged run at highway speed, as when descending an Interstate off-ramp. My notion is that it is related to mixture control and might be related to the O2 sensor output. Note: the bike does have 170,000 miles on it so a few parts might be a little tired.

My solution is to set the idle speed to about 1100 which seems to keep it happy. When the idle drops off it seems to still stay high enough not to stall.
 
I have an R1150R - same engine - and it has done the same thing occasionally. I haven't been able to isolate or identify exactly why it is doing it. In my case it doesn't seem moisture related. It has happened most often the first time the clutch is pulled and it is dropping back to idle following a prolonged run at highway speed, as when descending an Interstate off-ramp. My notion is that it is related to mixture control and might be related to the O2 sensor output. Note: the bike does have 170,000 miles on it so a few parts might be a little tired.

My solution is to set the idle speed to about 1100 which seems to keep it happy. When the idle drops off it seems to still stay high enough not to stall.

This sounds like exactly the problem. I was running at high speed for a long distance and it only happened when I got back to town and slowed down.
My bike has only 26000k.
How do I turn up the idle? I'm still new to this bike, it seems there's more complexity here than the old KLR.
 
To me it sounds like Mike and Paul have a similar symptoms but likely a different root cause. Mike specifically mentioned the rain in his first post so probably needs to go over his bike, since its new to him, with a fine-tooth comb. I would bet Paul has been thinking about his problem for a while, trying to rule in/out the possibilities.

In Mike's case the wiring to the crankshaft speed sensor (HES) should be on the list of suspects due to the rain symptom. Also, it is possible that someone routed the filler neck drain into the charcoal canister and the tank vent to ground near the right footpeg. Its easy to get the hoses reversed. If rain water got into the canister, the tank vent might be allowing water into the TBs and causing an idle problem.

In Paul's case I think I'd ride with a GS-911 attached, logging realtime data and try and record the problem. A thought that comes to mind is that during deceleration, when the throttle is less than 2 degrees open and the rpms are above 1800, the injectors stop injecting fuel (overrun fuel Cuttoff). Fuel is off until: a) the rpm is below 1800 or b) until the throttle is opened above 2 degrees. I've recorded this phenomenon, when the clutch is pulled in suddenly too. You can't notice it but it shows for a second or so in a GS-911 log.

I can't think of how overrun fuel cutoff would cause that problem unless the TPS was misadjusted. Even then its a stretch. However I wanted to mention it because the engine is actually shut off at those times and has to restart.

I'm intrigued by this type of problem and am going to stay tuned.
RB
 
In Paul's case I think I'd ride with a GS-911 attached, logging realtime data and try and record the problem. A thought that comes to mind is that during deceleration, when the throttle is less than 2 degrees open and the rpms are above 1800, the injectors stop injecting fuel (overrun fuel Cuttoff). Fuel is off until: a) the rpm is below 1800 or b) until the throttle is opened above 2 degrees. I've recorded this phenomenon, when the clutch is pulled in suddenly too. You can't notice it but it shows for a second or so in a GS-911 log.

I might if the problem became persistent. But it has only happened maybe a dozen times in 11 years and 170,000 miles. I'm not at all sure how to go out and make it do it.
 
How do I turn up the idle? I'm still new to this bike, it seems there's more complexity here than the old KLR.

To increase idle speed requires that the idle air bypass screws - the big brass screw on each throttle body - be opened - that is turned counter clockwise. This needs to be done with a vacuum instrument attached so as to keep the throttle bodies synchronized at idle.
 
I might if the problem became persistent. But it has only happened maybe a dozen times in 11 years and 170,000 miles. I'm not at all sure how to go out and make it do it.

Sounds like you'll have to think it too a solution given how rarely it happens.

I'd ride it exactly as you say the problem occurs, while making a 911 realtime log and then look and see what the sensors are doing. It might give a clue even if it didn't stall.
 
There's also a technique I use to measure O2 sensor quality: take a riding realtime GS 911 log, import into excel, sort for closed loop, sort lambda sensor voltage low to high values and plot. It should look something like this:

14.7closedlooplambdav.jpg
 
Well I pulled all the fuses and they all look good, the battery connections look a little corroded but not too bad. I'll clean them up but I don't think it's that. I have all the service records for the bike and it was kept in a heated garage all its life so everything looks pretty much brand new. I looked into the GS911 and it's expensive enough so I won't be getting one in the near future unless this gets to be a big problem.
In the meantime I'll try to recreate the problem next time it rains and I will see if it does it dry after a prolonged high speed ride. My next day off is Tuesday so it won't be until then.
 
It is easy to check and see if the hoses from the tank vent and the (separate) filler drain have been reversed. They can be reversed accidentally when someone pulls the tank or when the in-tank hoses are maintained. I would check that next.
 
Hoses are all where they should be. There is rain in the forecast for the next few days so I'm going to ride some in the wet and see if it happens again.
 
My 2000 r1100r seems to have developed a similar problem. It ran beautifully today (no rain) for about 15 miles. Then it stalled at a light as I grabbed the clutch. Started and than ran Ok, then lousy, then Ok, back and fourth for the next few miles until I got home. I bought the bike last winter with 7,200mls. Its got 8,300 now. It hasn't had any other issues so far. I removed the carbon can a few weeks ago to make room for a top box but rode a lot since without a problem. Any advice would be appreciated.
 
I haven't been able to get it to happen again. I've done two long rainy rides and no problems.
When it happened I just got a stall when pulling the clutch in. When it restarted, it ran smoothly until the next clutch pull. No rough running with mine.
 
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