Replacing hall sensor on 99' R1100R...Any tips? Setting timing to retard?

[krash]

So the weather is warm enough where I can change the hall sensor also going to replace the battery...
Any tips on replacement of the hall? It looks pretty straightforward.
My biggest dilemma/issue is setting the timing. The original owner of my bike is a good friend (I was with him when he picked it out at the local BMW dealer). He did replace the hall sensor 10-12 years ago. I'm assuming that the timing was set incorrectly when the dealer installed the new sensor as I do get pinging in 4/5 gear at highway speeds...If I lay into the throttle hard at speed it'll ping even with high octane fuel...
f.yi... Bike has 28k on the clock, 24k has been done...Fuel filter and internal tank lines replaced(except for vent lines)...Valves adjusted, TB synch done...New left side tensioner done...
With all that in order, it must be the timing...Any advise on how much and far to retard the timing?
I've read that you could rotate the sensor plate to max retard and the bike would
run fine...Any help would be appreciated.

 

[gsaddict]

There is not enough range to cause any real issues. You can experiment with settings.
I usually mark them before removing but most are in mid adjustment from the factory.

Your pinging may be due to combustion chamber carbon buildup.(depending on its oil consumption)

More here:
https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthrea...all-Sensor-Plate-(Ignition-Timing)-96-R1100RT
http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/setting-ignition-timing-on-a-r1100gs.1082296/

 

[krash]

There is not enough range to cause any real issues. You can experiment with settings.
I usually mark them before removing but most are in mid adjustment from the factory.

Your pinging may be due to combustion chamber carbon buildup.(depending on its oil consumption)

More here:
https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthrea...all-Sensor-Plate-(Ignition-Timing)-96-R1100RT
http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/setting-ignition-timing-on-a-r1100gs.1082296/

The bike has 28k currently and burns very little, almost none between oil changes...
Find it hard to believe it's carboned up at 28k...More importantly, how do you get rid of the carbon?

 

[gsaddict]

The bike has 28k currently and burns very little, almost none between oil changes...
Find it hard to believe it's carboned up at 28k...More importantly, how do you get rid of the carbon?

Some have had luck with Seafoam treatments.
The only bulletproof way is to pull the heads and physically remove.

 

[69zeff65]

I would pull the heads if I were you

The reason is its almost twenty years old with pretty low mileage and I am sure your friend was very conscientious about service , riding habits and regular maintenance. That tells me the bike has probably been ridden gently and at rather low RPMS. With the fuel these days you really don't know what your getting at the pump, summer blend, winter blend, corn husk blend, E 15 blend or whatever is left over blend. In my opinion its a wise move to "Off with it's heads" clean & service them and gain a piece of mind that one won't burn a valve or worse.

Right now I have three gently used oil heads in my collection all with under 35,000 miles on the ticker and all gently run and with all proper service. I plan over the next year to pull the heads on all three for a proper inspection and service as needed not because I like to spend money or have it to burn, instead I would rather drop a grand (with the local dealer doing the work) than drop a couple or three grand because a chunk of carbon caused a melt down a thousand miles from home.

The expense is worth the piece of mind!

 

[pauls1150]

On my 97 1100, I reset the timing to almost fully advanced. Ran great.
Has your TPS ever been "properly" reset from the factory adjustment?
Have you set the valves to the factory spec? IMHO, that's a little bit too tight; others here will argue about that.

I like the occasional SeaFoam and Techron treatments; another possibility is to add some Marvel Mystery Oil (!) to the gas - it's very high detergent and may take some carbon out. (In my younger years, we'd sometimes pour a little directly down the throat of our cars' carbs while keeping the revs up - smoked liked a mosquito truck, but seemed to get the job done.) The down side is that if a little chunk of carbon comes off and gets lodged on a valve seat, you're in deep pucky.

You may be able to get a borescope - or at least an LED on a thin pair of wires - down the spark plug hole for a look.

 

[krash]

On my 97 1100, I reset the timing to almost fully advanced. Ran great.
Has your TPS ever been "properly" reset from the factory adjustment?
Have you set the valves to the factory spec? IMHO, that's a little bit too tight; others here will argue about that.

I like the occasional SeaFoam and Techron treatments; another possibility is to add some Marvel Mystery Oil (!) to the gas - it's very high detergent and may take some carbon out. (In my younger years, we'd sometimes pour a little directly down the throat of our cars' carbs while keeping the revs up - smoked liked a mosquito truck, but seemed to get the job done.) The down side is that if a little chunk of carbon comes off and gets lodged on a valve seat, you're in deep pucky.

You may be able to get a borescope - or at least an LED on a thin pair of wires - down the spark plug hole for a look.

TPS has never been touched to my knowledge... Factory paint marks are still there...I've been told if it's never been touched to leave it be...
Why would TPS adjustment affect timing/pinging?

 

[pauls1150]

The TPS is another voltage input supplied to the computer, and is one of the factors involved in the decision-making process of fuel mix and timing (the computer takes the input from the Hall sensors and juggles that; the plate is not a "direct" timing setting). It would be nice if the assembly line actually got them all right - but time has proven that they did not, and a check/verification would be appropriate.

There are several threads about the TPS - search "TPS" and "Roger04RT" (Roger is one of our fuel + ignition go-to guys); there is also info on the BMWRA tech site http://www.ibmwr.org/r-tech/oilheads/index.shtml . There is also a difference of opinion as to what the "zero" setting should be ... early articles indicated that "closed throttle" should indicate 0 volts (actually maybe 4 to 8 millivolts), but the Bosch spec shows that the "Closed" position should be set for 250 mV.

Of the handful that I've reset (on both 1100s and 1150s), some bikes immediately ran better, some it made no perceptible difference. Also keep in mind that a change will force the computer to re-learn (re-map) its fuel settings, not a big deal, just ride it.