Boxer smooth as silk (as much as a lumpy twin can be)

[Beemeridian]

11

[KHaynes]

I've suspected for a while that my '04RT has an intermittently failing stick coil. The miss generally occurs during the warm up period and can come and go between each set of traffic lights. The bike seems to run fine but occasionally has a lumpy idle. I think I'll take a trip tomorrow and get a pair of stick coils even though I know that it will do some damage to my wallet.

It would be interesting to see if heat, as CycleRob suggests, is a major issue in promoting failure. I expect it is. If that is the case we might expect to see a [perhaps slightly] higher incidence of failure in the hotter climates or hotter weather.

[KHaynes]

(See my previous post.) I've just replaced the stick coils. What a difference!
The bike is smooth and starts so much easier.
It's raining and I can't risk getting the bike dirty on a road test so I'll report back when the roads are dry and the sky is clear.

[brem]

I get the impression that this might be happening to me, because the bike's idle has gotten noticeably more lumpy in the past week or so and is also occasionally a little harder to start than I would expect. The information in this post is great, but how do you access the stick coils? Are they something you can get to just by pulling the plug wires or do I need to take the valve covers off?

[duke]

Nope, no need to take the valve covers off.
Use the supplied tool to extract the coils once you remove the plastic covers.
Ideally you want to remove the cable from the connector beforehand as hard yanking can result in some damage.
You can gently (I said GENTLY) help by adding a screwdriver as a lever in the channel where the cable normally goes.

Make sure you do this with the IGNITION OFF!!!

Cheers

[brem]

Very cool. I'm looking up the part numbers for this (because my dealer has a tendency to treat me like the yokel that just fell off the turnip truck if I don't do a lot of research before I go in). Looking at the parts microfiche "Diagrams 12_1226 IGNITION SYSTEM, DOUBLE IGNITION," it looks like #3 is the part you're talking about. The number is 12 13 7 671 896. Would someone mind confirming or not that that's the right thing?

[http://www.ascycles.com/Illustrated_cat ... meset.html]

[duke]

Confusing ... try:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do ... g=12&fg=05

Seems like 12137671896 matches what you are looking for ...

But then - usual disclaimer applies ... if it does not fit - do not blame me

[brem]

No worries, I take responsibility for my own stripped bolts. Thanks for the assistance. I'll post the results when I get around to buying one from the dealership and putting it in. I have to say you all are brilliant; I broke a QD earlier this year while getting the bike out of storage, and it was a piece of cake to fix after getting all the information off this board. Many thanks.

[KHaynes]

Get yourself a Marc Parnes removal tool for the stick coil. It makes the job easier and may save you a breakage.
The plastic one in the bike kit can make the task a struggle. The price is good and mine made it from the USA to Australia in 4 days.

http://www.marcparnes.com/BMW_Plug_Tool.htm

[riceburner]

Get yourself a Marc Parnes removal tool for the stick coil. It makes the job easier and may save you a breakage.
The plastic one in the bike kit can make the task a struggle. The price is good and mine made it from the USA to Australia in 4 days.

http://www.marcparnes.com/BMW_Plug_Tool.htm

I've found that a strap around "crossbar" the plastic coil remover makes it work a LOT better - they're a really poo design imo.

[brem]

So I've replaced the right-side coil after attempting to diagnose which of them it might be, and it appears to have helped slightly, but it certainly hasn't cured the problem. I'm going to just replace the other coil as well, as it sounds like if one is cooked the other is probably not far away, and see if that solves the problem.

The opinions here of the plastic coil puller are dead on. It did finally pull the coil after I figured out how to twist and squeeze on it correctly, but it certainly wasn't a smooth process. The Marc Parnes tool looks pretty nice but $1.60 for the plastic one is hard to beat.

[Beemeridian]

11

[brem]

....aaaaand it's done. Despite A&S taking near to two weeks to deliver the second coil (4 days for "processing"??), it's here, it's in the left cylinder, and it's like having a brand-new motorcycle. I fear I broke some speed limits this afternoon.

Thanks for all the help with this, everyone. I wish all repairs were as simple as this one.