Bike dying clutch pulled in at stop.

[36679]

Just had the bike worked on for valve cover gasket leak. While in there had the valves checked -- were not out of spec according to dealer. Also they changed the plugs.

I'm riding the bike and it dies going into a rest stop after downshifting to second gear. Also has continued to die when at a stop with the clutch pulled in. I notice a slight "miss" when listening to the motor. It also seems to be idling slightly lower than before.

Am going to take it in to another dealer hopefully Tuesday. I am 550 miles from home. The bike has 46K on it now.

Anyone else had a similar problem?

 

[pglaves]

It would help if we knew the year/model we are trying to diagnose. I'm going to assume it is an F twin but given the number of posts that get in the wrong place this is a leap of faith.

Assuming this is correct, idle speed is established by the engine computer and stepper motors. Taking it apart far enough to do a valve job probably has upset some element of that system - vacuum tubes or electrics.

 

[36679]

Paul, yes it is an F650GS Twin 2009 -- sorry for not including that info. Thanks for the advice!! Hopefully will have it in to the dealer tomorrow.

 

[dadayama]

Let us know what they say... i have the same bike and have never had that problem...

 

[36679]

We decided to check the plugs. After taking the plastic all off (lots of screws to remove!) and very tight to get into, we pushed down on the plugs. The bike is running fine now.

 

[scotchale]

Just had the bike worked on for valve cover gasket leak. While in there had the valves checked -- were not out of spec according to dealer. Also they changed the plugs.

I'm riding the bike and it dies going into a rest stop after downshifting to second gear. Also has continued to die when at a stop with the clutch pulled in. I notice a slight "miss" when listening to the motor. It also seems to be idling slightly lower than before.

Am going to take it in to another dealer hopefully Tuesday. I am 550 miles from home. The bike has 46K on it now.

Anyone else had a similar problem?

My wife's 2010 F 650 Twin is having similar problems. It either dies suddenly while downshifting for/to a stop. Other times, while holding the clutch at a stop, the engine will stop. I am assuming the times it dies is also while engaging the clutch during downshift, so I am narrowing the problem to an occurance related to depressing the clutch. Now, what is going on at this time relative to the engine or maybe a switch in the clutch, I am not sure. This problem is so intermittent, its hard to diagnose.

Also at times, if the bike is in gear and the clutch is depressed to start, it will not start, other times, it starts just fine. Kickstand up during those times as well.

Plan on taking it to dealer while under warranty soon. Also noticing some oil seeping around the top of the head of the engine, just saw that today...so something else to be wary of?

Thanks,
Bryan

 

[36679]

What did you find out?

Well, it ran OK for awhile and it's back at it. Dying out with clutch pulled in. It's back at my dealer in Detroit. Any news from your end? Also, pulsing when using front brake again. This is my fourth front rotor.

 

[cyclynnut]

Same bike same problem-fixed

I have an 09 F650 GS that has done the same stalling when slowing, turning, parking lot, etc. They replace fuel modular, fuel pump at different times and it was better for about a month. It progressed to stopping every time I pulled it in and had to take it in again. They read up on the problem from BMW and the fuel modulator and fuel pump have to be changed at the same time. It is running now better than ever. I have 37,000 miles on it. Just a few hundred on it since this last change but I can tell a difference even when riding slow. Your dealer should have a memo on this problem. My dealer, Pandora's in Chattanooga is the best. Took a few times to find the problem but now we know.

 

[mtzgrr1951]

Many issues with the 800 twin can cause an engine to "die" especially when the Idle Control System takes over.

To be brief, my engine sporadically cut-out when downshifting / slowing to a stop or turn, on my 2007 F800ST (< 9,000 miles). Problem was finally traced to an intermittently faulty Idle Controller. It functioned 95% of the time, sends no fault codes to the EMU, but it had developed "sloppy" internals. The internal shaft, that connects the plunger to the rest of the controller internals had come undone. This caused the bike to hunt for idle on occasion and cut-out when the engine when rpm dropped below 1500 - 2000. Replaced the idle controller (about $130 and 2 hours easy labor). The bike now has over 650 miles since replacement and no further issues.

 

[Omega Man]

Many issues with the 800 twin can cause an engine to "die" especially when the Idle Control System takes over.

To be brief, my engine sporadically cut-out when downshifting / slowing to a stop or turn, on my 2007 F800ST (< 9,000 miles). Problem was finally traced to an intermittently faulty Idle Controller. It functioned 95% of the time, sends no fault codes to the EMU, but it had developed "sloppy" internals. The internal shaft, that connects the plunger to the rest of the controller internals had come undone. This caused the bike to hunt for idle on occasion and cut-out when the engine when rpm dropped below 1500 - 2000. Replaced the idle controller (about $130 and 2 hours easy labor). The bike now has over 650 miles since replacement and no further issues.

More good info. Welcome to the forum metzgrr51

 

[gblawler]

I have had a few times when the engine died when I pulled in the clutch and also had a very slightly rough idle around the same time.

What seems to fix it for me was to disconnect the battery for 5 minutes, reconnect and then go through this procedure:

1. The first time the bike is started after the battery has been disconnected, turn on the key (but don't press the starter button). With the key on, roll the throttle all the way open and closed 3 times.

2. Leave the key turned on and start the bike.

The service manager at a BMW dealer told me this procedure calibrates the throttle position sensor. He told me when the battery is disconnected, the computer loses all of the data it stores about things like the high and low readings from the throttle position sensor. When the computer is "booted", by connecting the power after a disconnect, it enters a mode where it watches the throttle position sensor before the FIRST start. He also said that the computer can accumulate some bad data over time which can result in poor engine performance, so a reboot is something that might help.

I bought my bike from a good friend who had replaced the battery a short time before I bought it (he did not know about the procedure). It ran fine, or so I thought, but it did do things like occasionally stall while I was riding it. That battery failed early, so early that called the dealer to discuss the symptoms. That is when the service manager told me he was 99% certain it was just a bad battery and he told me about the procedure to follow when I replaced the battery. After I did this procedure with a new battery, I could not believe how much better the bike ran. It was like a different bike.

 

[RadioFlyer]

Corrupted volatile memory?

I saved the following text from a posting someone did somewhere in a forum. Apologies to the author for not having a proper citation but I think it advances the discussion here.

mike

"My warm weather stalling was corrected by removing both battery cables and holding them together for 5 minutes to force a reload of the volatile memory in the engine management computer, which also resets service date, clock, and a few other things including learned mapping.
Once this is done correctly the bike will start flashing "service" on the display indicating the internal clock no longer knows the date so can't say when the next service is due. The only way to reset this internal clock is to take the bike to the dealer, but it is better then a poke in the eye with a sharp stick if you are on the road when stalling begins occurring.
Basically the engine management computer has two types of memory in it, volatile, and non-volatile. Everything needed to run the bike is stored in the non-volatile memory which does not require any voltage to remember it's programing and is not susceptible to corruption from voltage spikes or EM interference, but this memory is also very slow and would require you to wait 30 seconds before starting the bike if it wasn't also loaded into volatile memory.
Volatile memory is very fast but needs a small amount of current, less then 1 mA to remember it's programing and is susceptible to voltage and EM spikes causing corruption of it's data.
The first time a battery is placed in the motorcycle it loads the program stored in the NV ram (Non-Volatile memory) on to the V ram (volatile memory) where it stays forever more unless you run your battery dead for a long time, disconnect your battery for a long time, or disconnect your battery cables and hold them together for about 5 minutes.
Since V ram is susceptible to corruption, I suspect that others, not just me, may simply be dealing with this as their source of stalling. This is pretty much the same as a home computer but the NV ram would be your hard drive on a computer and ram is your V ram. Just as a computer can sometimes get buggy and needs to be restarted, I believe the same is true of your engine management computer but the only way to restart it is the ways mentioned above.
Many shops have updated bikes that were stalling with the latest software and had success at curing stalls, but guess what! Updating software also clears out the V ram and reloads it from NV ram, NV ram with the new software loaded on it in this case.
I am all for updating software but if someone's bike begins stalling persistently away from home, this is worth a try."

 

[jcarpino]

Same issue 2010 F650gs

I had this same issue with my 2010 F650gs after getting the bike back from the dealer for service. I followed your steps below and it worked like a charm. No more stalling.

Correction: Worked for a little while, now acting up again. Dealer picking up the bike this week to check their work.

Thanks!

I have had a few times when the engine died when I pulled in the clutch and also had a very slightly rough idle around the same time.

What seems to fix it for me was to disconnect the battery for 5 minutes, reconnect and then go through this procedure:

1. The first time the bike is started after the battery has been disconnected, turn on the key (but don't press the starter button). With the key on, roll the throttle all the way open and closed 3 times.

2. Leave the key turned on and start the bike.

The service manager at a BMW dealer told me this procedure calibrates the throttle position sensor. He told me when the battery is disconnected, the computer loses all of the data it stores about things like the high and low readings from the throttle position sensor. When the computer is "booted", by connecting the power after a disconnect, it enters a mode where it watches the throttle position sensor before the FIRST start. He also said that the computer can accumulate some bad data over time which can result in poor engine performance, so a reboot is something that might help.

I bought my bike from a good friend who had replaced the battery a short time before I bought it (he did not know about the procedure). It ran fine, or so I thought, but it did do things like occasionally stall while I was riding it. That battery failed early, so early that called the dealer to discuss the symptoms. That is when the service manager told me he was 99% certain it was just a bad battery and he told me about the procedure to follow when I replaced the battery. After I did this procedure with a new battery, I could not believe how much better the bike ran. It was like a different bike.

 

[jcarpino]

Yes, same exact problem

Just had the bike worked on for valve cover gasket leak. While in there had the valves checked -- were not out of spec according to dealer. Also they changed the plugs.

I'm riding the bike and it dies going into a rest stop after downshifting to second gear. Also has continued to die when at a stop with the clutch pulled in. I notice a slight "miss" when listening to the motor. It also seems to be idling slightly lower than before.

Am going to take it in to another dealer hopefully Tuesday. I am 550 miles from home. The bike has 46K on it now.

Anyone else had a similar problem?

I have the same problem with my 2010 F650GS. Rode the bike over 9k miles last year without a single problem. No stalling at all. Then I brought it in to Max, and they did the exact same service as you describe. Since then I get the exact same stalling problem. 24k miles on mine. Just emailed the dealer. We'll see what they have to say. Makes me not want to bring it to them anymore!