The G650 GS Thread

[Valimagdon]

Originally Posted by alfabc

I've started having the "hot start" issue on my new 2012 G650GS, and it's annoying at best. I do have a sealed battery, forget the brand, and it does have the required oomph to overcome the decompression issue and fire after about 3-4 tries. I'm sure the stock battery would give out before the sealed style. I have about 2200 miles on the bike. I had mentioned this to the dealer, and they told me that BMW wanted to see the bike AFTER it accumulated 2000 miles. So, I guess I'll look for a dryish day and plan to take the bike to the dealers. Or, I can "get stranded" near my house, call for assistance and they can flat bed it to the dealer. It's too new for this shit to be happening in my opinion. I for sure want this fixed before next summers "off the beaten path" trips.

Bill

My dealer did the work @ 600 miles. If the issue is happening, then it is happening. Go back to the dealer, and don't take no for an answer. I told my dealer to look up the service bulletin, they did, and took it in the shop that day.
I've never had a problem since, 100% confidence now.

[reenmachine]

Does anyone have any identifying information for the service bulletin, e.g. an ID number, or even better, an electronic copy of it?

[bajafrenzy]

I had a similar issue to this on my bike as well. I thought it was a throttle position sensor issue as lots of 09's have that known problem. Started it how everyone recommends to prevent that problem from happening and I was still having issues. Checked battery cables, they seemed tight. Finally, I pulled the cables and the battery after still having issues and scrubbed the terminals then sanded them with some coarse sand paper. Haven't had an issue since, that was 6 months ago. I ride in rain almost every day, so apparently some oxidation built up. Couldn't really tell looking at the terminals but sanding them and reinstalling the battery worked the issue out. Very interested to hear what your problem ends up being. Keep us updated as to what the dealer figures out.

[dazz]

Originally Posted by reenmachine

Does anyone have any identifying information for the service bulletin, e.g. an ID number, or even better, an electronic copy of it?

I'd sure like to see that! My bike's birthday is 8/2012. Do you suppose they were putting the new part in by then? Who has the newest bike with this problem? I think you must look on the bike to see when it was really put together. My title says 2013?! You know BMW dealers have a long tradition of not knowing about ongoing problems.

[reenmachine]

Dealer says my bike is good to go, but they didn't look into the decompression lever issue.

They said that the fuse box was all corroded...they cleaned it all up, replaced the fuses, and claim problem solved.

I'm surprised that level of corrosion was there, as the bike is garaged and has never been on a charger since it's ridden daily, but we'll see. Time will tell.

[alter]

I had the exact same thing happen to me yesterday. It has the hot start issue, not normally a cold start one. But yesterday it wouldn't start cold at all, just cranked and cranked. We even took a video of it. I've only ridden this bike twice since the last time the dealer replaced the fuel injector too and its having problems again. I'm getting it towed to a different dealer this time, hopefully one that does a better job fixing the issue than the dealer in Barrington. This is the 3rd time I'm getting it looked at for the same issue in less than a year. Anyone familiar with motorcycle lemon law in IL?

Originally Posted by reenmachine

Well, today was the last straw. I got all ATTGATT and excited for an all-day ride and the bike wouldn't start. It would crank and crank (battery seemed fine) but just wouldn't light. This was stone cold (well, ambient was ~70°F), so it was a departure from my recent hot-start issues. I let it sit for a while, opened the gas cap at the request of my dealer, and still nothing. Called BMW roadside assistance to get a flatbed (still under warranty) and someone was there within the hour.

I tried to clue the dealer in to the decompression lever issues out there, so hopefully they will call BMW and investigate that.

I'll let you know what comes of all this.

This all comes right when I'm starting to plan my first big backcountry trip. Reliability issues like these will make it tough for me to cast off on such an undertaking. Hopefully they find a smoking gun and the fix makes the next 13,000 miles as great and trouble-free as the first.

[reenmachine]

I just wanted to say thanks for all the guidance lately! Bike seems to be running and starting normally now after the dealer cleaned up the massive (worse than they had ever seen) corrosion problem at the fuse box. I'm going to replace the battery anyway for good measure and will probably spring for the Shorai, although that Scorpion AGM looks good too.

My Conti Trail Attacks will arrive today!

Also thinking about getting myself the Leo Vince pipe for Christmas. I ride in heavy traffic daily and would welcome a bit more noise. I'm not a fan of loud pipes, but often I feel a bit too stealthy around our grossly-inattentive SoCal drivers.

[pyoungbl]

Pete,
I saw a GPR muffler for the G650 thumper on ebay. The price was very attractive so I ordered it. I did not realize it at first but the seller was the actual factory in Italy so there were no middlemen at all. They shipped the exhaust air freight and I had it in about 5 days, free shipping and no import duty. The muffler was of very high quality and slipped right on (after I got the OEM monster off). With the db killer installed it was not super loud but I found it to be a little annoying on a long trip. In the end I went back to the OEM unit and sold the GPR to someone on www.f650.com. He appears to be very happy with it. The info can be found here: http://www.gpr.it/prodotti.htm?idTip...to&text=&page= You might be able to find the muffler advertised on ebay or you can contact the factory direct. I found them to be very easy to deal with and quickly answered my questions. I was concerned with the thickness of the stainless steel being used. It turned out to be exactly what the aftermarket folks are using in the US, not paper thin crap as some posters had predicted.

Peter Y.

[reenmachine]

Thanks Peter -- I recall reading your writeup when you posted it. Here's the Leo Vince setup I've been considering (looks really similar) and at $319 shipped for the stainless steel version the price is great:

http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/l...50gs-2011-2012

[pyoungbl]

Pete, for that price it's an easy decision. Place the order today and it will be under the tree in no time!

[chipsoars]

I bought a 2009 G650GS with 5300 miles at the end of October and have put 1k miles on it. Encountered the hot start problem and went into my dealer a week after taking possession. They pulled out a SB and ordered the parts. I'll post after I get it back.

Also, had a weird event the other evening. I started it up and after about 2 miles it ran rough. When I rolled off the throttle at a light, the damn thing quit. Quit again rolling up to a light; disconcerting for a relative newbie. Started up, but wouldn't stay running without keeping the rpms up.

Back to the house disappointed since it was a warm evening for December. Tried to start several times with the same result. Pulled the key, put it BACK on the battery minder. 20 minutes later, went out, put in the key, fired it up; and guess what, it ran. Went out for 2 hours with no problems. 3 more rides since then, nothing. Told the dealer about it. Any ideas appreciated.

[reenmachine]

First off, welcome!

Mmmmmm, love those unpredictable intermittent electrical problems...I'm in that mode myself. I had the hot start issue again today, which got me digging into my electrical system a bit. I started out with only hot start issues, then it wouldn't start at all, even cold, so there's more to my problem than just the decompression mechanism. I still want to get that fix, but you should check some other things as well:

My fuse panel was severely corroded. The dealer cleaned it all out and soaked it in some Coca-Cola and it looks brand new. That seemed to cure the problem and I had a week of trouble-free riding (I ride every day). Then today after riding to get new tires mounted, it wouldn't start within 3 minutes of shutting it off. It cooled while they did the tires and then fired right up.

When I got home I looked into the electrical system again (after doing some hot-start tests with all perfect starts). Some of the fuses were looking cruddy (like they had cleaned them vs. replacing) so I replaced them. Then I dug the battery out and it was basically completely dry. Poor maintenance on my part, I admit. I went to Auto Zone and got a jug of battery acid and refilled the battery.

It's pretty clear that a weak electrical system due to lack of proper preventive maintenance is at least a big part of my problem. Under certain conditions it just couldn't crank hard enough, produce a strong enough (or any) spark, etc. We'll see how it goes now that everything's up to snuff.

Anyway, the point is that it would be worth checking your fuse box and battery, especially since you're not the original owner and thus don't know the bike's maintenance history. At the very least it'll let you cross those things off the list.

Good luck!

[Davidc83]

Originally Posted by alter

I had the exact same thing happen to me yesterday. It has the hot start issue, not normally a cold start one. But yesterday it wouldn't start cold at all, just cranked and cranked. We even took a video of it. I've only ridden this bike twice since the last time the dealer replaced the fuel injector too and its having problems again. I'm getting it towed to a different dealer this time, hopefully one that does a better job fixing the issue than the dealer in Barrington. This is the 3rd time I'm getting it looked at for the same issue in less than a year. Anyone familiar with motorcycle lemon law in IL?

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs...tection+Act%2E

[chipsoars]

Originally Posted by reenmachine

First off, welcome!

Mmmmmm, love those unpredictable intermittent electrical problems...I'm in that mode myself. I had the hot start issue again today, which got me digging into my electrical system a bit. I started out with only hot start issues, then it wouldn't start at all, even cold, so there's more to my problem than just the decompression mechanism. I still want to get that fix, but you should check some other things as well:

My fuse panel was severely corroded. The dealer cleaned it all out and soaked it in some Coca-Cola and it looks brand new. That seemed to cure the problem and I had a week of trouble-free riding (I ride every day). Then today after riding to get new tires mounted, it wouldn't start within 3 minutes of shutting it off. It cooled while they did the tires and then fired right up.

When I got home I looked into the electrical system again (after doing some hot-start tests with all perfect starts). Some of the fuses were looking cruddy (like they had cleaned them vs. replacing) so I replaced them. Then I dug the battery out and it was basically completely dry. Poor maintenance on my part, I admit. I went to Auto Zone and got a jug of battery acid and refilled the battery.

It's pretty clear that a weak electrical system due to lack of proper preventive maintenance is at least a big part of my problem. Under certain conditions it just couldn't crank hard enough, produce a strong enough (or any) spark, etc. We'll see how it goes now that everything's up to snuff.

Anyway, the point is that it would be worth checking your fuse box and battery, especially since you're not the original owner and thus don't know the bike's maintenance history. At the very least it'll let you cross those things off the list.

Good luck!

Thanks, I'll check the battery and fuse box. I hope Lucas wasn't involved (ex MG midget owner).

[Davidc83]

Originally Posted by chipsoars

I bought a 2009 G650GS with 5300 miles at the end of October and have put 1k miles on it. Encountered the hot start problem and went into my dealer a week after taking possession. They pulled out a SB and ordered the parts. I'll post after I get it back.

Also, had a weird event the other evening. I started it up and after about 2 miles it ran rough. When I rolled off the throttle at a light, the damn thing quit. Quit again rolling up to a light; disconcerting for a relative newbie. Started up, but wouldn't stay running without keeping the rpms up.

Back to the house disappointed since it was a warm evening for December. Tried to start several times with the same result. Pulled the key, put it BACK on the battery minder. 20 minutes later, went out, put in the key, fired it up; and guess what, it ran. Went out for 2 hours with no problems. 3 more rides since then, nothing. Told the dealer about it. Any ideas appreciated.

Weird, I have a 2009 G650gs which I bought new in April 2009 and I have never had the hot start issue, now with 31,000 miles on the ODO.
I have had the dying issue without keeping the RPMs up before (about 5 times during those 31,000). After a bunch of research and realizing what I did, while starting, do not tough the throttle, and when you turn the key on, wait until the yellow light stops flashing. If you even nudge the throttle when pushing the start button, you are telling the computer that idle is at the point of the throttle when you started, so when you then go to idle, the computer is reading below 0 and dies. The TBS (throttle body sensor) will reset itself after a certain amount of time, or you can force it by disconnecting the battery or resetting it by the throttle: turn key on, do not push start button, do WOT 2-3 times, turn key off, wait 2 minutes, then start the bike, should be good to go.