Rough idle after dirt road romp.

[butcherandthelamb]

Hello. So as the title says I ended up on an extended detour due to a bicycle race with police escort. Part of the detour was a 15 mile dirt road that was pretty mellow but did have a few bumps here and there. Later in the day I noticed the bike idling funny but it runs fine when on the throttle. I just moved down to South Florida to work for the winter and took it to the dealership in Ft. Lauderdale to get serviced and have them look at the issue.

They did the service but couldn't figure out what was up with the idle. I didn't have the best experience there, another guy rolled up wanting a new set of tires and I feel like they rushed me out so they could get on to the next guy. It seems like they didn't check the simple fixes.... as I was checking out and the mechanic was handing the manager the paperwork, he mentioned checking the air filter..... so they asked me to come back when I had more time. Their thought was I had a throttle body going bad. They did check for air leaks.

I decided it's time to roll my sleeves up. I ordered a manual and am looking at the twinmax. I checked the cables for any debris and pulled the #5 fuse to reset the motronic device, but no luck. Where should I start looking next? I'm somewhat mechanically inclined, but this is my daily driver so I'm a little hesitant to pull something apart and not be able to get it back together.

Any information is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

It's an '04 r1150r

[towerworker]

It's very easy to dislodge the throttle cable. Check that it is seated correctly into the screw adjuster by the right throttle body. Possibly during the rough ride the outer part of the cable got lifted so it sits ONTO instead of INSIDE the adjuster, thus throwing things out of kilter and making it sound and run very roughly.

[butcherandthelamb]

I checked on that and it looked like everything was seated correctly. It looks like the places where the cables attach to the throttle bodies go all the way back and touch the bolts they rest against.

Should I pull the tank and check where the cables split or should I start looking elsewhere.

Thank you for your help.

[towerworker]

Yours is an '04 correct? I'm now wondering if one the "stick" ignition coils may be failing. Are they the original coils? My '04 did very much the same--ran rough at idle but seemed pretty much ok when into the throttle. Found one of the stick coils had failed. That's the primary coil built into the plug cap. During idle I would pull the secondary plug cap (one on the bottom of the jug-under the removable cover) and if the engine quit then I knew that particular stick coil had failed. Bad part is they're not cheap--around $130 or so for one. And if one has failed it's not uncommon for the other side to not be far behind. The newer style coils are better designed in regard to heat protection.

[Dr. Strangelove]

your air filter isn't clogged is it?

[butcherandthelamb]

I did check the air filter and it seems fine.

Tower,
I pulled the connector for the right side while the bike was running, and no change, still idling rough.
I pulled the connector on the left side, and it ran rougher.

Am I correct to assume the right side is failing? I'll go to the dealership tomorrow and get new ones, or order some online. They are both the same, there isn't a left and a right one, right?

Is this what I'm looking for? http://store.bobsbmw.com/product/igniti ... -hex-heads

Thanks for taking the time to help me out.
-Chris

[towerworker]

Yes that's the one. And you're correct---when you pull the right and it doesn't change then that's a clear indication that one's not firing well or firing at all. When you pull the other side and it either dies or runs even rougher then that shows it's working. At that point you're only running on the lower plug and it will run poorly at best.

And yes they're both the same. Let us know how you do.

You know at first glance you would think that the dusty road conditions would somehow be at fault but your test shows that one is not working, just a coincidence I reckon. That being said I've emailed CycleRob who is the BMW ultimate authority and have asked him to chime in. I don't want you to spend $200+ just on my advice. I'm reasonably certain I'm correct but I want Rob to look this over as well.

Wayne

[CycleRob]

Wayne,
I doubt if I'm the ultimate BMW authority, but 55+ years hands-on experience and learning about mechanical/electrical devices means I make a lot less bad calls.

butcherandthelamb,
Yes, it is a bad stick coil on the right side. The 15 mile ride on the dirt road very likely caused the failure because the bike was going slower and maybe revving higher in the lower gears, generating the fatal heat energy transferred from the sparkplug tip that the coil's internal terminal is attached to. You should buy 2 stickcoils and replace both, keeping the still operationally good left coil for a spare.

My `02 R1150R was a single spark and never had a coil or spark failure issue. Twin spark OilHead riders that like to keep the engine revving in the lower gears are the ones asking for stick coil failures. An honerable shadetree mechanic on another website created the solution to prevent these failures by seperating the coil from its' heat source and relocate it outside the sparkplug tunnel with a connecting secondary sparkplug wire. Here is the link to a successful, simple, clean, almost easy relocation:
http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread ... ost3778322

.

[butcherandthelamb]

Rob, that looks just a little out of my comfort zone for the moment, but maybe one day. Thanks for the link

Just an update guys:

I called the closest dealer up in Miami and just my luck they had two in stock but we didn't discuss price, I just assumed they would be in the $120-$140 range. While I was checking out, they charged me $147 for both of them. I think it was accidental, my moral compass chimed in for a minute and honestly I feel a little guilty but......

I came home and switched them out right away, starting with the suspected bad side. Boom, she purred like a kitten again. I did the other side and took out for a spin and couldn't believe how responsive she was.

I did ride it with the faulty coil for a couple hundred miles(not all at once, but commuting 20 or so miles at a time) thinking it just needed some sort of adjustment. Is there anything else I should check out that I may have harmed? Theoretically, if I rode thousands of miles what would be the outcome?

I can't thank you guys enough for the help and what would have probably been a pretty costly repair and hours lost if I had taken her to the dealer. It's given me the confidence to at leas try and troubleshoot some of the smaller tasks. Up next I plan on taking off the charcoal canister.

[towerworker]

So glad for you!

Amazing what good spark will do for a bike. As afar as what you were charged......maybe they've come down in price, who knows?

What's even better is the shot in the arm your wrenching confidence gets! Congratulations!!