occasional no start on 2000 R1100RS

My 2000 r1100 rs started doing it after being put back in service with a good charged battery. here is the scenario...cold start, on the side stand.
put the side stand up, turn key, no fuel pump sound, hit button, nothing, nada. try the side stand down, then let it flick itself up on the springs, and hit the button, it magically starts.
i am thinking that it is something to do with the side stand interlock, but not sure about what to look for. bike has just 84,000 miles.

Any ideas are welcome. Thanks.

The big clue is that lack of fuel pump activity when key is switched on. I think you are absolutely right about the sidestand switch. That's where I'd start.

jsouth said:

The big clue is that lack of fuel pump activity when key is switched on. I think you are absolutely right about the sidestand switch. That's where I'd start.

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Indeed. Key on. Kill switch on. Sidestand up. Fuel pump runs a few seconds and stops.

Press starter switch - bike starts.

Since you don't hear the fuel pump it is one of the three. The only one you fiddled with is the sidestand. So, that is absolutely the place to start.

I would put the bike on the centerstand. Leave sidestand down. Turn on key. Make sure kill switch is "on". Then raise the sidestand. Fuel pump?

Move the sidestand up and down a few times listening for the fuel pump.

I did the side-stand interlock bypass on my bike and a few others for that exact reason. The switch is in a bad place, prone to water and remnant road salt and such.

It's a great alternative because it uses the gear selector switch to make sure you don't accidentally drive the bike away.

I'm sure some one has the diagram/instructions but if nobody weighs in, PM me and I will try to find it.

Thanks guys, I am going in that direction. I will search this sight for instructions on bypassing the switch.
Appreciate the comments.

dieselyoda said:

I did the side-stand interlock bypass on my bike and a few others for that exact reason. The switch is in a bad place, prone to water and remnant road salt and such.

It's a great alternative because it uses the gear selector switch to make sure you don't accidentally drive the bike away.

I'm sure some one has the diagram/instructions but if nobody weighs in, PM me and I will try to find it.

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Oilheads had issues with sidestand switches, which were updated and redesigned I think at least twice. The new switches seem to be more reliable, so rather than bypass an important safety feature the OP might be well advised to replace rather than bypass.

I sold an oilhead on which I’d done the bypass. Went over sidestand operation and carefully explained the absence of the switch, etc. etc. Several months after buying the bike the new owner dumped, with his wife onboard, going around a left-hander with the sidestand down. Fortunately, no serious injuries—that time.

Just MHO,

DG

GTRider said:

Oilheads had issues with sidestand switches, which were updated and redesigned I think at least twice. The new switches seem to be more reliable, so rather than bypass an important safety feature the OP might be well advised to replace rather than bypass.

I sold an oilhead on which I’d done the bypass. Went over sidestand operation and carefully explained the absence of the switch, etc. etc. Several months after buying the bike the new owner dumped, with his wife onboard, going around a left-hander with the sidestand down. Fortunately, no serious injuries—that time.

Just MHO,

DG

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PGlaves said:

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http://www.ibmwr.org/r-tech/oilheads/Sidestand_Down_Generic/index.shtml

With this method, I can start my bike with the side stand down but the minute it goes into gear, the bike quits.

But that bypass still uses the sidestand switch, so you aren't really avoiding a potential switch problem.

OP: just replace the switch. I work on these things all the time and switch problems are now practically nonexistent. When the bikes were current there were problems, but not since then.

AntonLargiader said:

But that bypass still uses the sidestand switch, so you aren't really avoiding a potential switch problem.

OP: just replace the switch. I work on these things all the time and switch problems are now practically nonexistent. When the bikes were current there were problems, but not since then.

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So, the switch is down near the kickstand itself, or, somewhere in with the wiring harness? My symptoms seem to change when the kick stand come up hard, aided by the springs.

The switch is on top of the sidestand pivot. You might just try disassembling and cleaning everything first; I see these things gummed up pretty frequently. What I do is:

- remove the springs (I use a Motion Pro spring puller)
- remove the top clip or nut and lift the switch off
- remove the main bolt (from the bottom)
- pull the sidestand away and remove the bushing from the frame tab. Sometimes this needs to be pressed out; I have a stack of bolts and bushings that I use for this.

Clean everything, make sure the grease hole in the tab is clear, replace the bushing if it is worn, and reassemble with the bolt TIGHT. Pump grease into the hole and make sure it squeezes out on both sides of the tab. The bushing is supposed to spin in the tab, but when they stiffen up the bolt starts to turn inside the bushing. In extreme cases the sidestand ears have spread and they will no longer clamp the bushing. Making a custom bushing would probably solve this.

This will give you the chance to inspect the switch and see if it has flaky behavior. And you will restore like-new operation to the sidestand, which is very nice.

Anton,

Thanks for very clearly outlining this procedure.

After considering bypassing the safety feature, and hearing pro and con, for doing so, I have decided to keep it stock. I have ridden this bike 84k miles, and have acclimated myself, to not being able to have the side stand down with the engine running.

Good thinking. I've seen the "I don't need that crap" bravado turn around in a heartbeat after the first scare. People get used to things like this without realizing it.

If you want to be really make the sidestand look right when you're done, have not only a new bushing but two of the rubber sleeves that go over the springs.

Trivia: at some point BMW introduced with great (well, it was in a SIB) fanfare a new bushing that did not need lubrication. They may have stopped drilling the sidestand tabs for grease. Later on I think the grease holes reappeared; the idea just didn't work because the bushing friction is just part of the overall friction. You need grease on the sides of the tab where the sidestand ears rub against it.

Trivia part 2: at some point, I think in '95, BMW changed the thread in the sidestand from standard pitch to fine pitch. So if you replace the stand, you will need a new bolt and vice versa. The fiche does not reflect this any more; it shows a change in '95 but the same stand and bolt before and after because that is all they supply now.

No start

Have the same problem on my RS sometimes everytime so far after I have fiddled with the kill switch and ignition switch, put the bike in neutral etc. after looking down and putting kickstand up the bike started up. Sometimes it is the simple things or I am the simple thing?

Back at work and I can see that I gave you mostly info for the 1150. The R1100 is pretty much the same in the important details but it's assembled differently. It will be obvious to you, but the switch is underneath and the bolt is on top. So: bolt out, slide the stand out, lift the switch out of its holder. Clean/lube/etc is the same.

Thanks, I am on it.