We loaded all the gear and the bags for a trip and I turned on the key and cycled thru the info to check the range to see if I needed to get gas right away. The RT logo came up although I was pretty sure I had turned it off earlier. Gas OK so I pushed the bike out of the garage and hit the starter. Dash info all lit up, RT log came up, sounded like some servos somewhere in the bike came on but the engine did not turn over. Tried several times - no luck. Info system said electrical output at 12.1 volts. My wife had a business appointment so I pushed the bike back into the garage put it back on the BMW trickle charger (where it had been before) and left it for four days. When we got home, started fine and I rode it to the dealer where it would not start. Once again, although I am sure I turned off the logo at start up, the logo came back up. Anyone experience this? Bike has 6000 miles on it, delivered in November 2016 and has had the 6000 mile dealer service. Always stored with the trickle charger attached.
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Starting Problem 2016RT
- Thread starter 217don
- Start date
pglaves
#13338
It sounds like low voltage from the battery under load. Have the battery load tested. The battery may still be in warranty. Not sure. Months count.
pglaves
#13338
The tell tale is that default back to the RT Logo which has to be due to a low voltage when cranking. Sometimes batteries, as opposed to bikes, can fail. No big deal if dealt with honestly by the dealership.
gsinnc
Well-known member
OK I believe I had the very same issue but it only happened once. Tried to start it 4 times each time turned the key off and then let the start up checks run. On the 5th time it fired right up. Took it to the dealer that same day and they checked the battery and it was strong, checked the ground and it was tight. So I scheduled an appointment when then could do more checking and they did not find anything specific but they thought it may be the starter solenoid so they have one on order. But the bike continues to start fine now while I am waiting for the part to arrive. Ironically this happened in Knoxville, TN the morning of the last day of a 21 day trip to Salt Lake.
snotty54
Member
I know smart chargers are supposed to keep the battery at optimum all the time but I've had better luck using a timer in conjunction with a smart charger. I usually have the timer turn on the smart charger 4 hours out of every 24 hours. During the 20 hours when the charger is off, the battery falls off slightly, and when the charger comes on, it charges it back up then floats for the remaining time. I'm no expert but I feel this approximates, in a smaller way, the starting up and running of a bike every day. The most recent storage facility didn't have an outlet near by so I bought a small solar panel (10" X 8"), duck taped it to the roof, and hooked up up to a Delrin smart connector designed to work with solar to charge batteries. The sun goes down, it goes off, the battery falls off slightly, in the am the sun comes up, etc. Similar to the timer although the solar is on longer but solar panel output varies based on angle of sun too. Anyway, its kept the battery up and no issues when arriving and starting. The other thing I do, and many may disagree, is I replace the batteries on both bikes at the beginning of every 3rd season, or every 2 years. I take vacation, fly to the bike, pack up and go, and don't want to get stuck on the road with a dead battery. Over kill maybe, but I've never had a battery failure on the road and I've been doing "over the road" vacations for 20 years. I've gotten conservative with my tires now too, wanting to avoid a tire issue on the road. Admittedly, a flat can happen to any tire, but less so with ones with plenty of rubber! I always replace the front along with the rear even though it could probably go 1.5 cycles to the rear.
Scott
Scott
My Battery failed on my '15 RT at 14 mos. Took some "persuasion" at my local dealer, but it was replaced under warranty. Batteries fail, usually w/o enough warning. Fortunately they've always failed (for me) in my garage -- except for one failure in WVa on my Triumph Trophy 4, back in '05. My BMW story is posted somewhere on this site (or maybe BMW LT site).
ncpbmw1953
Member
I wish my one time starting issue was the battery! But they checked it thoroughly.
This must not be your situation because I guess yours was not turning over. Anyway, for my first time in ever I filled up at a Chevron station in San Luis Obispo earlier this year on a trip. When I started pumping the 91 oct fuel I noticed it was flowing atypically slow, quite slow. I wondered if I should stop right away and go to a different gas station, but didn't. Ran fine on my ride home, but the next morning she flat out would not start, but the engine was turning over fine. After a several attempts I began to think I need to have it towed to the local shop 20m away. Went out again and it started right up. I had rough starts for a few more days, whereas normally she starts right up. I ended up adding methanol and that was the end of starting troubles. Must have picked up at least some water in that fill up. It's been fine ever since FWIW.
nhhandyman
Southern NH
There is another thread here - maybe another forum - about hard starting 'sometimes'. - sorry don't have a link -
The thread goes into different ways of avoiding it.
One time it did happen to me the 'user' settings were all reset including the RT logo on startup.
I have gone to using the kill switch to turn the bike off if I know its going to be sitting longer than an hour. Since then I have not had the hard start issue.
... 'hard start' ... does not kick over on first try, several attempts and then it starts - it never failed to start fully.
The thread goes into different ways of avoiding it.
One time it did happen to me the 'user' settings were all reset including the RT logo on startup.
I have gone to using the kill switch to turn the bike off if I know its going to be sitting longer than an hour. Since then I have not had the hard start issue.
... 'hard start' ... does not kick over on first try, several attempts and then it starts - it never failed to start fully.