1200RT Hard to Start After Moving to Colorado?

[BCBOSD]

All, searched the forum on this one and could not find any info so here goes. I just moved from Washington DC to Colorado Springs, CO. In DC, I rode year round in all temps and weather conditions. Never a starting issue. I trailered the bike to Colorado (yeah I should have rode but chose to be in the car with my family). Now, the bike does not want to start when first started (cold bike--not too cold air temps yet). It will fire and turn over a few times then die. The only way to start it is to give it a lot of gas and I've never had to do this with this bike.
The only real delta here is the altitude. I figured the computer would adjust after the first start up or two but no luck. I've read other posts on changes in gas mileage due to battery swaps and "clearing out" the computer. Would disconnecting the battery give me a "reset" and help? Other ideas? Any help would be appreciated--I even rode today in the light snow! Thanks in advance.

 

[alzyck]

I'm not sure if this is the same issue, but I find when my RT's been in temps that are below 40F or so, I have to crack the throttle a bit to keep it running when the engine is cold and I first start it. Just for 30 seconds or so. It's never not started when I give it that little extra throttle, but it won't keep running if I don't.

I went from a GL1800 Gold Wing to the R12RT (very glad I made the move), so when that first happened on the RT, I thought there might be something wrong. On the Wing, I've had the bike sit outside with temps in teens. Totally cold bike. Press the starter and it started instantly, goes to fast idle, and runs smoothly. No throttle required.

I asked the BMW dealer about the harder cold starting on the RT and his response was "That's normal, they're a little cold blooded."

YMMV

 

[greenwald]

Welcome to glorious Colorado! My daughter lives in Castle Rock and my son and I just visited her recently on bikes. My R1200RT had no issues whatsoever for the several days we were there, scurrying all over the mountain passes.

Your forum ID doesn't say where in CO you're located, but I have visited Foothills BMW and found them to be a good dealership.

As for the 'battery disconnect,' removing the battery leads and touching them together for about 30 seconds will clear CANbus fault codes, but may not resolve your issues. See what the dealer has to say, and enjoy the Golden State!

 

[RCOCKRUM]

Don't mean to hijack the thread. But, I'm interested in the comment about clearing the fault codes. Any experience with clearing the service needed code that comes up at 6000 mile intervals? I just finished my 12,000, but had to take it to the dealer for them to clear the message. Will disconnecting the battery and touching the leads together clear the service message?

My 09 RT also seems a little reluctant to start when it's cool, but it always finally does.

 

[widebmw]

On airheads I would use a lower octain gas at high altitude.

 

[Semper_Fi]

Don't mean to hijack the thread. But, I'm interested in the comment about clearing the fault codes. Any experience with clearing the service needed code that comes up at 6000 mile intervals? I just finished my 12,000, but had to take it to the dealer for them to clear the message. Will disconnecting the battery and touching the leads together clear the service message?

My 09 RT also seems a little reluctant to start when it's cool, but it always finally does.

Only 2 ways to clear your codes:

1 - Dealer

2 - GS911 module

 

[Tom K.]

My '06RT also needed a bit of throttle when starting at 5,000 ft and 40o in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I think that switching from 20w50 to 10w/40 oil might help.

Tom

 

[mpmarty]

Try this first:
1. Turn on ignition, do not start bike.
2. Turn the throttle all the way "on" and hold it for a few seconds
3. Close the throttle.
4. Shut off ignition.
5. Start the bike and see if that helped.

 

[pglaves]

Try this first:
1. Turn on ignition, do not start bike.
2. Turn the throttle all the way "on" and hold it for a few seconds
3. Close the throttle.
4. Shut off ignition.
5. Start the bike and see if that helped.

Repeat this roll-on, roll-off 3 to 5 times - then turn the key off.

The ECU memorizes the voltage from the TPS at full closed and full open, and uses these values to control mixture.

 

[ricoshay]

All, searched the forum on this one and could not find any info so here goes. I just moved from Washington DC to Colorado Springs, CO. In DC, I rode year round in all temps and weather conditions. Never a starting issue. I trailered the bike to Colorado (yeah I should have rode but chose to be in the car with my family). Now, the bike does not want to start when first started (cold bike--not too cold air temps yet). It will fire and turn over a few times then die. The only way to start it is to give it a lot of gas and I've never had to do this with this bike.
The only real delta here is the altitude. I figured the computer would adjust after the first start up or two but no luck. I've read other posts on changes in gas mileage due to battery swaps and "clearing out" the computer. Would disconnecting the battery give me a "reset" and help? Other ideas? Any help would be appreciated--I even rode today in the light snow! Thanks in advance.

My 05-R1200RT appears to be able to monitor actual barometric pressure. My GS-911 shows barometric pressure as one of the input signals to the BMS-K computer (typically around 979mBar, here in Pittsburgh). I was in CO this past Spring and had no problems starting the bike atop Pike's Peak (14,000 feet and about 29??F at the time)

You'd think the local dealer could compare the bike's reading with the actual barometric pressure in Denver to see if there is a calibration issue. If you have any luck with this approach, please share the results.

 

[andrewsi]

Off topic and on the plus side, I bet you're going to see better gas mileage at your new rarified heights than you did in DC, particularly when it's warm and the "density altitude" is even higher - At the Utah weekend a few weeks back, when we were riding around elevations of 5k-10k all day, with temps in the high 70s/low 80s, I was getting around 53mpg, which is several mpg better than I usually get under similar conditions back home near sea level. (Typically 43-49mpg).