2019 R1250 RT - Hard starting

[taran1900]

This worked on my 15'.........

Your '15 is not my '19.

 

[veefore]

Your '15 is not my '19.

Apparently not…….I had exactly the same symptoms and what was outlined worked and continues to do so a year later . Thought that affirmation might be helpful. Sorry, my bad.

 

[taran1900]

Apparently not…….I had exactly the same symptoms and what was outlined worked and continues to do so a year later . Thought that affirmation might be helpful. Sorry, my bad.

I may not have been totally clear. Sorry if that was the case.

The throttle reset process does not seem to be working for me anymore. I have tried it several times recently with no change in symptoms which is it turns over and over the first time either not starting or starting after four or five seconds on letting it go.

When I'm not riding the bike is on the battery maintainer and when I attempted to start it yesterday it was a 100 degrees in my garage. So, battery state and temperature have no bearing on the symptoms.

When I did my 12k service I checked the cam timing. Perfect. Valve clearances, perfect. Cam lobes, perfect. Spark plugs. Perfect.

I have verified that the battery cables are tight. I have checked the connectors to the throttle bodies and injectors to makes sure they are snapped in and snug.

I have run fuel cleaner to get any water out that might has condensed in the tank during the periods when I'm not riding. No change.

The only thing I am left with, is crappy software. Yesterday I took a video of the starting attempt. During the video I showed the battery maintainer and that all was green before attempting to start. So tomorrow, I am going to visit the dealer and show them the video and say "you fix, please". I'll report back on how things go.

 

[veefore]

I may not have been totally clear. Sorry if that was the case.

The throttle reset process does not seem to be working for me anymore. I have tried it several times recently with no change in symptoms which is it turns over and over the first time either not starting or starting after four or five seconds on letting it go.

When I'm not riding the bike is on the battery maintainer and when I attempted to start it yesterday it was a 100 degrees in my garage. So, battery state and temperature have no bearing on the symptoms.

When I did my 12k service I checked the cam timing. Perfect. Valve clearances, perfect. Cam lobes, perfect. Spark plugs. Perfect.

I have verified that the battery cables are tight. I have checked the connectors to the throttle bodies and injectors to makes sure they are snapped in and snug.

I have run fuel cleaner to get any water out that might has condensed in the tank during the periods when I'm not riding. No change.

The only thing I am left with, is crappy software. Yesterday I took a video of the starting attempt. During the video I showed the battery maintainer and that all was green before attempting to start. So tomorrow, I am going to visit the dealer and show them the video and say "you fix, please". I'll report back on how things go.

Hopefully they get to the bottom of it for you. It was funny, mine started playing up right after a service at the dealership. Don’t know if it was something that got messed in my parameters when they interfaced with the ECU. Sounds like you went down basically every avenue, time for the mothership.

 

[taran1900]

Hopefully they get to the bottom of it for you. It was funny, mine started playing up right after a service at the dealership. Don’t know if it was something that got messed in my parameters when they interfaced with the ECU. Sounds like you went down basically every avenue, time for the mothership.

Well, I have an update. Yesterday, with video in hand, I went to my north Dallas (Plano actually) dealer and played it for the service guys. I also described the history, conditions and things I've done to work around the issue. They acknowledged that this has been happening without any regular pattern and BMW cooperate seems to have no clue why it happens. Since my battery is in tip top condition and temps are not an issue given this is Texas in July, the only option was to see if there were any new software updates for the bike. There were and it took about an hour or so for the update to be pushed (no charge, no hassle). I also mentioned the squeaking exhaust flap. After the update one of the things done was a throttle recalibration done by the computer process.

So the bike has sat in the garage over night and I just performed a start of the bike. Fired up immediately the first time. I think it turned over once before firing. And the flap squeak has magically disappeared. I think they may have lubed it for me and forgot to mention it.

So far, so good. Fingers are crossed that it stays this way. Why crossed fingers? Sometimes, according to the master tech, the software update does not cure the issue. And, as most who follow this issue know, no fault codes are thrown when it happens. Time will tell...

BTW, this dealer has gone from being abysmal to being one of the best I have ever dealt with. Their lead master tech has over 30 years experience wrenching on BMWs and the other techs seem to be very good/excellent. Labor rate is sky high, but that's everywhere. At least with these guys and gals you know the work being done is good. the parts counter is run by experiences motorcyclists who are passionate about riding and they know their stuff. We hear so much about bad dealers so I figured I'd plug a good one. The place is run by passionate motorcyclists who are super friendly and professional. I am so lucky that I live a mere 12 miles away for them.

 

[omega man]

Nice to hear a report back……on the bike and the dealership
OM

 

[WWeldin]

And the flap squeak has magically disappeared. I think they may have lubed it for me and forgot to mention it

Definitely keep us posted on the the flapper valve squeak. I had mine resolved twice by the dealer(s) and once by me; it did not last long as the noise did return on mine. When I lubed the flapper shaft, I used copper anti-seize. It lasted a few weeks. I wonder if I should have used a higher temp rated anti-sieze/lubricant (thought I did.). I used something pointy and small to dab the lube in the shaft area, which seemed to work for me, but the valve cannot be taken apart to properly repair it. Boxflyer had his valve fail and the whole exhaust assembly need to be replaced. Yeah.

Good luck!

 

[taran1900]

Definitely keep us posted on the the flapper valve squeak. I had mine resolved twice by the dealer(s) and once by me; it did not last long as the noise did return on mine. When I lubed the flapper shaft, I used copper anti-seize. It lasted a few weeks. I wonder if I should have used a higher temp rated anti-sieze/lubricant (thought I did.). I used something pointy and small to dab the lube in the shaft area, which seemed to work for me, but the valve cannot be taken apart to properly repair it. Boxflyer had his valve fail and the whole exhaust assembly need to be replaced. Yeah.

Good luck!

Yeah, I'll post some updates once I have them. My regular warranty expires at the end of this coming November but I got a four year extended warranty for big ticket items like the exhaust and other various uber expensive bits. Last week I received my can of spray anti-seize. Hopefully the spray can penetrate deeper than it does by brushing it on. I use anti-seize on the muffle exhaust manifold connection every time I remove the muffler to change the rear tire.

If the hard start thing returns again something I'll try is redoing the throttle calibration with my GS-911, but I am hoping it never comes back.