Battery Problems

[Mark]

I had a disappointing weekend. My wife and I were going out for a ride, she on the F800ST and me on the R1200R, but unfortunately we only got 5 minutes down the road before her bike was dead. She had stalled it at the lights and then there was nothing. Minor amount displayed on the screen, dials trying to pull down, no start up test and then nothing. I had heard of the spontaneously dying battery issue with BMW's on or about the 12 month time frame but had not thought much of it until now.

Just as well I handed over the keys to her last month when I got the R12R.

Anyway, can people tell me if this is truly a BMW characteristic (or be it a product failure on the part of the battery?

Why is it such an instantaneous failure? All to nothing.

What would happen if this battery failed while riding? Is this possible, or is it only possible when it is trying to start one more time?

What does BMW think about this and why is it happening to so many people over such a number of evolutions?

Why is it at the 12 month period? Not everyone uses their bikes the same. This F800 had only done 5,000km in 12 months so not a lot of riding and not every day so it is not doing a large number of starts.

THE BIG QUESTION THOUGH - will it happen to my bike and can I stop it with some insights and planning, or am I doomed to the sad sight of my bike being loaded onto a transporter with all the public looking on saying - "I thought they were the best bike you could buy, guess not".

[celticus]

Mark, They are for my money the best motorcycle money can buy. At least mass production wise. I Don't think this battery failure is something you can count on happening to you. It has been reported on this site but is by no means the norm. Chin up, Despair not. We love our bikes and the people that our ownership puts us in contact with, our fellow BMW owners, a helpful intelligent group of people. I ride with BMW owners who ride and race BMWs from the 60s all the way up to current models ( although my group is a miserly bunch so my R1200R is the newest ) and these people take their patched together bikes to Mexico and Newfoundland.
I have had my own battery discharged down to 6 something volts due to some bad wiring on my part and after repairing the mistake ( 8 months ago ) the battery still lives. Not everyone will report such luck but I don't think you can count on your bike to be fundamentally faulty.

Mark, The real Mark

[Dan-A]

Anyway, can people tell me if this is truly a BMW characteristic (or be it a product failure on the part of the battery?

Last year my R1200R battery failed the same way. Worked one minute, failed the next. I was nearly 200 miles from my Sacramento home.

My wife brought me a battery she procured from A & S BMW and I swapped it out, no problems since.

The battery's price was refunded as a warranty item when I brought the battery back to the dealer. There was a rash of these last year. Don't know if your wife's battery is the culprit, but it sounds like it.

[boxerpaul]

Hi Mark,

I experienced battery problems starting in my second week of ownership of a 2008 model. I also live 3 hours from the dealer, so it was doubly frustrating. I started carrying jumper cables with me as I would have been stranded a few times otherwise. I timed a return trip back to the dealer to coincide with my 600 mile service. The battery turned out to be defective. The symptoms you described were pretty much what I experienced. Since the new battery it has started every time. A few other small issues, but nothing too major.

Paul

[ka5ysy]

Hi Mark:

You probably had the Exide thing that BMW is using, and which seems to be the weak link. I also experienced an instant failure at lunch one afternoon after having been riding all day running errands. Bummer.

Good news: If you have an Interstate battery distributor around you, their replacement is only something like $68.00 as opposed to the "new" BMW price of $180 or so.

Doug

[deilenberger]

Mark asked:

Anyway, can people tell me if this is truly a BMW characteristic (or be it a product failure on the part of the battery?

If you mean do all BMWs for all time experience a battery failure every year - I can tell you no. The battery crapped out, not the bike.

Why is it such an instantaneous failure? All to nothing.

The battery crapped out. FWIW - the Exide battery is actually an Exide/Yuasa battery, and Yuasa are known for failing this way.. have been doing it for years. Apparently the Exide labeled ones have picked up the ugly Yuasa habits.

What would happen if this battery failed while riding? Is this possible, or is it only possible when it is trying to start one more time?

I'm not sure I understand the question. If it crapped out whilst the engine is running, the engine should continue running off the alternator. If you stopped the engine you wouldn't be able to restart it.

What does BMW think about this and why is it happening to so many people over such a number of evolutions?

I have no idea what BMW thinks of it, and the reason it's happening is because it's an Exide/Yuasa battery. They do that. The bigger question is why BMW doesn't use VARTA batteries, since the VARTA company is the source of the original Quandt fortune (and the Quandt's own BMW..)?

Why is it at the 12 month period? Not everyone uses their bikes the same. This F800 had only done 5,000km in 12 months so not a lot of riding and not every day so it is not doing a large number of starts.

I doubt it it is always 12 months. Mine has 20+ months on it, and it hasn't done it - yet.

THE BIG QUESTION THOUGH - will it happen to my bike and can I stop it with some insights and planning, or am I doomed to the sad sight of my bike being loaded onto a transporter with all the public looking on saying - "I thought they were the best bike you could buy, guess not".

If you're worried what the public thinks, you should take up a new hobby. They already think you're a fool for getting on a 2 wheeled vehicle, and they can't possibly think less of you when the 2 wheeled vehicle craps out on you.

[mogu83]

THE BIG QUESTION THOUGH - will it happen to my bike and can I stop it with some insights and planning, or am I doomed to the sad sight of my bike being loaded onto a transporter with all the public looking on saying - "I thought they were the best bike you could buy, guess not".

If you think having the general public see your bike disabled is bad - how about my sad story. I was riding with a few Harley guys when my battery went belly up. I had to hitch a ride home on the back of a Harley and take the battery out of my Honda to get my new BMW home. Bottom line is anything can break, I once saw a Rolls being loaded on the back of a flat bed on the Garden State Parkway.

[deilenberger]

Someone pointed me to LOTS of battery info.. pretty decent info:

http://www.batteryfaq.org/ <- links to battery design/charging/etc info
http://jgdarden.com/batteryfaq/batbrand.htm#E <- who makes what (and what a tangled web THAT is..)

[nakk]

Had the same problem on my Sept 2006 R1200R while on tour in Scotland, (August 2008). Stopped at some temporary road works in the middle of nowhere and the bike died. Had to be recovered to the nearest dealer who initially diagnosed the problem as a faulty ring antenna, (part of the imobilizer system). *This is a known BMW recall on earlier models so get it checked if not done already* It was only after replacing this part that they realised the battery was the real problem. Shortly before it happened I noticed the tacho needle flicking down a few times - that's your early warning! Been through Spain and over Pyranees since then and the bike was fantastic, seems to love the mountain hairpins and actually gave more mpg on these than normal cruising, av 64mpg(uk).

[deilenberger]

nakk (real name?)

Do you happen to know what brand battery was in your R12R when it crapped out?