Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
While you are in there, think about replacing the hoses and filters, including the vent & water drain lines.
It's the other way 'round... the same filter at higher pressure was used externally on the R1200ST.[*]What does BMW know that I don't?
The motorcycle is safer in the showroom. We make a lot of decisions that are contrary to ultimate safety.[*]Pressure ahead of a clogged filter can exceed 100 psi. Is my motorcycle safer with the filter inside or outside?
But if you clog a filter because you got a bad tank of gas, then you are sitting on the side of the road with a full tank and the filter is in it.[*]The interval is only every 25,000 miles.
It's the other way 'round... the same filter at higher pressure was used externally on the R1200ST.
The motorcycle is safer in the showroom. We make a lot of decisions that are contrary to ultimate safety.
But if you clog a filter because you got a bad tank of gas, then you are sitting on the side of the road with a full tank and the filter is in it.
Tony,
The HES failure is actually failure of the wiring to the sensors, not of the sensors themselves, and are common in older Oilheads. HES wiring failure is more likely the cause of the bike's sudden death than a failure of the fuel pump. Here's info about the HES and its wiring:http://advwisdom.hogranch.com/Wisdom/oilhead_hall_sensors.pdf In short, the wiring's insulation can't stand up to the heat (the wiring's in a hot place) and eventually fails.
Certainly continue with the diagnostics suggested here. If the pump doesn't ever go on, it may indeed be faulty., But many of us who had HES difficulties on Oilheads (I did on my '96 R1100RSL at ~120K miles) also had fuel pumps that ran without difficulty.
The best reason to open the tank periodically is the weakness of the internal hoses which deserve an inspection from time to time....
It's good to do, but then make that an inspection on its own merit, not something piggybacked onto something else that doesn't really need to be done.
... Changing the filter is easier when its outside the tank, period.
And most bikes can go pretty much forever on the original in-tank lines if the bike is in regular use. In the cases where they don't, it's damage caused by very old fuel or some sort of contaminant. Not mileage-related, so no correlation to 24k mile filter change interval.
I have no way of knowing, but I suspect the filter location is driven by packaging more than anything else. Sure there's a lot of room and stuff going on within the R11RT fairing but the arrangement is still kind of primitive. It wasn't until the Hexheads that we saw nice hose routing, canisters integrated into tanks and fairings, etc. On the ST, maybe there was simply more room for it outside the tank, and on other bikes there's more room inside. F650 is also outside the tank, and in a very easy to access location (under the front of the seat, where it is on my wife's R11GS). So to isolate the "is it safe" issue, my interpretation is that BMW thinks it is safe.
Personal preference for the location, I think we can leave that at personal preference.
As for the hose issue, I've seen hoses that have literally melted on old derelict bikes. The fuel is like turpentine, and the hoses come out smearing black goo on everything they touch. Same with the rubber fuel pump dampers. Bikes of the same age where the fuel stays fresh do not experience this. Thinking back to internal hoses that I've replaced, they are:
- bikes that have sat for years (generally older ones with less sophisticated vapor control where a lot of moisture gets into the tank)
- bikes where the wrong hose material was used inside the tank as a replacement for the original hose
That's about it. Your experience with a newer bike that presumably was in regular use, unmodified, is a real outlier. I can understand your feelings about checking the lines, but that situation is not representative of the general population of bikes in my experience.
It's good to do, but then make that an inspection on its own merit, not something piggybacked onto something else that doesn't really need to be done.
Sure an external filter can fail, but burst filters are pretty much nonexistent after the design changed from the crimped edge to the soldered edge many years ago. It would be much more likely to have a fuel leak from a cracked QD fitting, cracked distributor pipe, leaking external line or leaking flange. You're combining unrelated things for convenience. If the filter is safe outside the tank, then it's safe outside the tank. If you should go in to check the fuel lines, then you should go in to check the fuel lines. Changing the filter is easier when its outside the tank, period.
And most bikes can go pretty much forever on the original in-tank lines if the bike is in regular use. In the cases where they don't, it's damage caused by very old fuel or some sort of contaminant. Not mileage-related, so no correlation to 24k mile filter change interval.
...
Testing the fuel pressure (per BMW) involves observing the bleed-down of pressure. That will catch the problem you had. Sometimes the leak is so great that the system never gets up to pressure, and sometimes it just leaks down too fast. A good system holds pressure for quite a long time.
Phil said:Last Saturday my 2002 R1150RT suddenly started sputtering and backfiring while cruising down the freeway. The bike would not run above an idle. If I tried to give it more gas, it just sputtered. After eliminating a few other possible causes I found one of the hoses inside the fuel tank had cracked. Based on my experience I would recommend anyone with a fuel injected bike to change out the in-tank fuel hoses every five years or so. Since you've disassembled the tank you might as well change the fuel filter, strainer, and pump vibration damper. Below is a picture of the hose with the crack.
Hi all-
Just got back from a trek to Bob's BMW in Maryland. Had SS braided brake cables and bar-backs installed on my 1994 R1100RS--drove back and forth from east end of Long Island (about 600 miles)--when within 1/4 mile of my home, bike just stopped and would not restart--battery good, fuses good--cranks well but doesn't turn over--when turning switch on, I don't hear that familiar whirring sound of fuel pump bringing fuel line up to pressure--I'm assuming this is a fuel pump problem--bike has 40,000 miles--any other suggestions before I call Beemer Boneyard and others for a replacement? Thanks in advance for your input.
Tony
PS--Bob's is very good--worth the trip--traffic in that area is unbelieveable!