have a 1600GTL I bought new , I have over 50k on it now. I have struggled with overheating issues from 5,000 miles on. I have been to three different dealerships and still have the issue. The fan has been replaced, the radiator blown out with both air and water. Both have helped but not stopped. It happens in stop and go traffic and in the mountains. My next service I will have the valves run and am thinking about having them do a radiator flush. Does anyone have any other ideas? it is the 2012 model . I love this bike and am planning on hitting the 100k mark with it.
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1600GTL over heating
- Thread starter Wrede0501
- Start date
Road tar, tar snakes will plug up the lower part of the radiator. If your bike has been serviced @ 18,000, 36,000 & evey 18,000 miles, they are supposed to remove the radiator and send it to a radiator shop to clean the exterior part of the rad to remove the tar, bugs that might be plugging your rad.
please do a search on the
HTML:
http://www.k1600forum.comBest of luck to you.
Robert
jandhumphreyme
Member
I've been thinking about supplementing my '11 R1200R with a K1600GTL, does BMW recommend sending a radiator to an outside shop for cleaning every 18k miles? I can see inspection but removal and sending out for cleaning?
BMARC153920
New member
No but many dealer do if needed. At my 18k my rad was clean and didn't need it. I'm at 24k now and have zero cooling issues. I do spray simple green foaming coil cleaner every few weeks and hose it out but otherwise, fast riding, traffic, crawling, slow speeds and hill climbing at temps well above 90 degrees and I have never ever seen the yellow warning and my fan cycles on and off as expected to maintain the temps.
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You can check it out every 18,000 miles when you remove it to check the valve clearance. At that time you can shine a line through it which will reveal if part of the fins are plugged. If they are plugged, radiator shops have the proper chemicals and baths to do a good cleaning job.
Robert
jandhumphreyme
Member
This just keeps getting better...... you need to remove the radiator to check the valve clearance?
Some of these new engines seem to be real fussy on the radiator being clean......like new out of the box clean....
I have a hard time thinking that the "core" is plugged, which is what I think you are suggesting.....it's just too new. I'd like to actually see the inside before a complicated flush process. These new machines have a "sealed" system that is really different than the engines of old. I don't know how to check parts like the thermostat and water pump flow on that bike but both can contribute to an engine running hot.
If you have a way of putting water on the outside of the radiator with a garden hose, doing so after a ride and watching the temperature gauge should help with what is going on.
An infra-red non-contact thermometer should allow you to "follow" the heat build-up as the engine warms- or cools.
Hate to suggest this- is the sensor reading correct? Sensors are not what they used to be
I added the model to your title, let us know how you make out.
Gary
Hot blooded 2013 K1600 GTL
My 2013 GTL experiences similar symptoms. I live in the hot, humid southern USA and whenever I get stuck in stop and go traffic, within a few minutes the temp gauge starts to climb and the radiator fan begins to cycle on and off (without seemingly doing much to cool things off.) This bike has run at high speed for hours on end in all sorts of weather (hot and cold) without a hitch. But "prolonged" slow speeds or stop and go riding seem to really tax the cooling system - no matter what the weather. Within a few hundred miles of my 18,000 mile service I took the bike to the top of Pike's Peak in Colorado. The ride was never going to be quick because of the many switchbacks on that road - and it was slowed further by cars ahead of me getting stuck behind bicyclists intent on making the summit. With limited turn-outs available and slow speeds unavoidable, my bike quickly overheated and was flashing red by the time I made it to the parking area at 14,100 ft elevation. The ambient air temp in late July was in the low fifties. I let the bike cool down for an hour while I enjoyed the view. It performed fine on the way down and for the rest of my extended road trip - but I remain unsure if I have an undiagnosed radiator problem or if the bike's cooling system design is the issue. By the way, coolant and oil levels were topped off at the 18K mile service and double checked by me prior to this most recent incident.
My 2013 GTL experiences similar symptoms. I live in the hot, humid southern USA and whenever I get stuck in stop and go traffic, within a few minutes the temp gauge starts to climb and the radiator fan begins to cycle on and off (without seemingly doing much to cool things off.) This bike has run at high speed for hours on end in all sorts of weather (hot and cold) without a hitch. But "prolonged" slow speeds or stop and go riding seem to really tax the cooling system - no matter what the weather. Within a few hundred miles of my 18,000 mile service I took the bike to the top of Pike's Peak in Colorado. The ride was never going to be quick because of the many switchbacks on that road - and it was slowed further by cars ahead of me getting stuck behind bicyclists intent on making the summit. With limited turn-outs available and slow speeds unavoidable, my bike quickly overheated and was flashing red by the time I made it to the parking area at 14,100 ft elevation. The ambient air temp in late July was in the low fifties. I let the bike cool down for an hour while I enjoyed the view. It performed fine on the way down and for the rest of my extended road trip - but I remain unsure if I have an undiagnosed radiator problem or if the bike's cooling system design is the issue. By the way, coolant and oil levels were topped off at the 18K mile service and double checked by me prior to this most recent incident.
1600 overheating.
It's at the shop now getting its 56K service done and they are putting a new radiator in it. I asked for the old one back so I could check it.
It's at the shop now getting its 56K service done and they are putting a new radiator in it. I asked for the old one back so I could check it.
Some of these new engines seem to be real fussy on the radiator being clean......like new out of the box clean....
I have a hard time thinking that the "core" is plugged, which is what I think you are suggesting.....it's just too new. I'd like to actually see the inside before a complicated flush process. These new machines have a "sealed" system that is really different than the engines of old. I don't know how to check parts like the thermostat and water pump flow on that bike but both can contribute to an engine running hot.
If you have a way of putting water on the outside of the radiator with a garden hose, doing so after a ride and watching the temperature gauge should help with what is going on.
An infra-red non-contact thermometer should allow you to "follow" the heat build-up as the engine warms- or cools.
Hate to suggest this- is the sensor reading correct? Sensors are not what they used to be
I added the model to your title, let us know how you make out.
Gary
Thanks I will.
1600 overheating on Pikes Peak.
cemetery with twenty Harleys and I was the only bike to have to pull off do to overheating. Ouch!
Pikes Peak got mine overheated also. I Looked a new 1600 when I dropped mine off and it looks like BMW tried to open the engine to more air by opening the sides covers. You can see a lot more engine than on the 2012 models. The most embarrassing overheat was this spring riding in a funeral procession at Arlington
cemetery with twenty Harleys and I was the only bike to have to pull off do to overheating. Ouch!
My first thought was a thermostat sticking. If it sticks partially open, you won't get the coolant to circulate enough to keep from overheating.
Chris
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