ttalleur
Nov 1st, 2006, 10:44 am
I had my R1200RT at the dealers yesterday in response to the recall notices re the ABS system. This was the first time I had it back to the dealer since I bought it in April 05.
1) ELECTRONIC INDICATOR ERROR LIGHTS. The first thing to report is that there's been a least 3 updates to this bike since it came out given my bikes configuration. These updates are for the ABS system and software upgrades for the onboard computer chip. I have everything on it except for EVS and the radio.
Problems: I had the "CAN-BUS" electronic failure light that came on WITH THE YELLOW TRIANGLE, and, an oil indicator light with an exclamation point. The former suggests that the bike is running on reduced power and could shut down at any time. With the software updates complete, these indicator lights went away.
2) BATTERY CHARGE. I was having a problem keeping the sealed battery in my bike charged up. Heretofore, without a fulltime tender, it would slowly discharge over the period of a few days. Again, the software update is reported to have solved this problem. Last night, I left the bike OFF the charger after the service ... and this morning the battery was at a full charge ... so the software update seems to have made a difference.
3) OIL USAGE. This is the first R bike I have owned/ridden since the 60's. I forgot what "normal" oil consumption on them is like ... and in my view R motors seem to chew a lot more oil than K motor bikes. At 2300 miles, I was down 2 quarts. The dealer reps report that 1 quart of oil usage per 1,000 miles ridden is "normal" for an R motor still breaking in.
Now, the indicator light showing that there is a need to add oil comes on (on my bike) when it is 2 quarts or at about 50% full capacity.
The moral of this story is to check your levels regularly while the bike is up on the center stand ... and check through the site glass on the lower left hand side of the bike. I wasn't doing this because I was relying upon the electronic systems to accurately report oil level status. I was wrong.
In the "old days" we had to check these things manually anyway and I am at a loss to explain why I broke this habit in the case of this bike. In any case, if any of you are doing this, you can learn from my mistake. There was no damage to the engine ... it still had 2 quarts of oil in it ... but I don't like running motors at 50% capacity either. Just carry some HD 10-40 weight oil around the house or on the bike just in case you need it.
4) HIGHWAY EXTENSION PEGS. I had ELF pegs added on for long trips. Haven't tried them on the road yet ... but they felt great when I tried them out on the center stand.
5) FUSE BOX FOR ACCESSORIES. I had the dealer install a 15 amp fuse box under the seat to power accessories such as the GPS, radar detector, etc. This unclutters attachments to the battery. The other issue is to circumvent the CAN-BUS system, which I understand has a 4 amp "trigger tolerance" (if the system senses a draw beyond 4 amps it will shut down) when an accessory is added.
The short story here is that the CAN-BUS system is still seems to be a challenge for most folks to deal with.
6) GPS Cable. BMW makes a special cable that attaches directly into the CAN-BUS system (the round outlet is in the nose of the bike and easy to access) that is designed to hook up the BMW-version of the Garmin GPS to the bike. Cost: A$135. It is about 15' long as I understand it. Apparently, a lot of "self installers" are interested in this cable to wire up there own GPS.
7) ACCESSORY SOCKETS/CHARGING BATTERY/HEATED GEAR USAGE. Remember my comment earlier about the battery? Well, one thing I learned early on is that one cannot plug in a Battery-Doc type charger plug into an accessory outlet to charge the battery (as we do on our K12's). You have to take the seat off and either attach clamps or a wiring harness to the battery terminals. Or, I have heard you can try to "trick" the CAN-BUS system into seeing the charger by switching on the system for a few seconds while the charger is plugged in.
Separately, I found out there's been some complaints from customers about heated gear not working either correctly or at all when riding two up. Apparently the Gerbing gear draws too much current for use via the builtin socket on the left hand side. The socket stops delivering current because the CAN-BUS system does not want to overload.
The other issue is, having an accessory socket in the rear of the bike for the passenger to use.
I had this problem solved by having the dealer put in two Powerlet outlets in front and back. Now I can charge the bike via the socket without taking the seat off ... and my lady can ride with her electric gear on.
8) RIDING. This bike loves to go. I suppose, in part, it is sum of the years of history and engineering behind this tried and true motor. I rode it up I-95 from southern Georgia to Maryland in 40 degree weather last weekend (9 hour ride on the average) and it happily chewed up the road. In fact, it is hard to keep this bike down to 80. Several times when passing I noticed the speedo up in the 115 range very quickly ... no problem ... and one has to make a conscious effort to set the cruise control to avoid "mph creep".
I mention this in part because I had the stock seat replaced with a Rick Mayer seat. It is wonderful and I recommend Rick and his work to all. It really makes a difference. I also had some leg cramping ... hence the ELF pegs.
I hope this update helps.
1) ELECTRONIC INDICATOR ERROR LIGHTS. The first thing to report is that there's been a least 3 updates to this bike since it came out given my bikes configuration. These updates are for the ABS system and software upgrades for the onboard computer chip. I have everything on it except for EVS and the radio.
Problems: I had the "CAN-BUS" electronic failure light that came on WITH THE YELLOW TRIANGLE, and, an oil indicator light with an exclamation point. The former suggests that the bike is running on reduced power and could shut down at any time. With the software updates complete, these indicator lights went away.
2) BATTERY CHARGE. I was having a problem keeping the sealed battery in my bike charged up. Heretofore, without a fulltime tender, it would slowly discharge over the period of a few days. Again, the software update is reported to have solved this problem. Last night, I left the bike OFF the charger after the service ... and this morning the battery was at a full charge ... so the software update seems to have made a difference.
3) OIL USAGE. This is the first R bike I have owned/ridden since the 60's. I forgot what "normal" oil consumption on them is like ... and in my view R motors seem to chew a lot more oil than K motor bikes. At 2300 miles, I was down 2 quarts. The dealer reps report that 1 quart of oil usage per 1,000 miles ridden is "normal" for an R motor still breaking in.
Now, the indicator light showing that there is a need to add oil comes on (on my bike) when it is 2 quarts or at about 50% full capacity.
The moral of this story is to check your levels regularly while the bike is up on the center stand ... and check through the site glass on the lower left hand side of the bike. I wasn't doing this because I was relying upon the electronic systems to accurately report oil level status. I was wrong.
In the "old days" we had to check these things manually anyway and I am at a loss to explain why I broke this habit in the case of this bike. In any case, if any of you are doing this, you can learn from my mistake. There was no damage to the engine ... it still had 2 quarts of oil in it ... but I don't like running motors at 50% capacity either. Just carry some HD 10-40 weight oil around the house or on the bike just in case you need it.
4) HIGHWAY EXTENSION PEGS. I had ELF pegs added on for long trips. Haven't tried them on the road yet ... but they felt great when I tried them out on the center stand.
5) FUSE BOX FOR ACCESSORIES. I had the dealer install a 15 amp fuse box under the seat to power accessories such as the GPS, radar detector, etc. This unclutters attachments to the battery. The other issue is to circumvent the CAN-BUS system, which I understand has a 4 amp "trigger tolerance" (if the system senses a draw beyond 4 amps it will shut down) when an accessory is added.
The short story here is that the CAN-BUS system is still seems to be a challenge for most folks to deal with.
6) GPS Cable. BMW makes a special cable that attaches directly into the CAN-BUS system (the round outlet is in the nose of the bike and easy to access) that is designed to hook up the BMW-version of the Garmin GPS to the bike. Cost: A$135. It is about 15' long as I understand it. Apparently, a lot of "self installers" are interested in this cable to wire up there own GPS.
7) ACCESSORY SOCKETS/CHARGING BATTERY/HEATED GEAR USAGE. Remember my comment earlier about the battery? Well, one thing I learned early on is that one cannot plug in a Battery-Doc type charger plug into an accessory outlet to charge the battery (as we do on our K12's). You have to take the seat off and either attach clamps or a wiring harness to the battery terminals. Or, I have heard you can try to "trick" the CAN-BUS system into seeing the charger by switching on the system for a few seconds while the charger is plugged in.
Separately, I found out there's been some complaints from customers about heated gear not working either correctly or at all when riding two up. Apparently the Gerbing gear draws too much current for use via the builtin socket on the left hand side. The socket stops delivering current because the CAN-BUS system does not want to overload.
The other issue is, having an accessory socket in the rear of the bike for the passenger to use.
I had this problem solved by having the dealer put in two Powerlet outlets in front and back. Now I can charge the bike via the socket without taking the seat off ... and my lady can ride with her electric gear on.
8) RIDING. This bike loves to go. I suppose, in part, it is sum of the years of history and engineering behind this tried and true motor. I rode it up I-95 from southern Georgia to Maryland in 40 degree weather last weekend (9 hour ride on the average) and it happily chewed up the road. In fact, it is hard to keep this bike down to 80. Several times when passing I noticed the speedo up in the 115 range very quickly ... no problem ... and one has to make a conscious effort to set the cruise control to avoid "mph creep".
I mention this in part because I had the stock seat replaced with a Rick Mayer seat. It is wonderful and I recommend Rick and his work to all. It really makes a difference. I also had some leg cramping ... hence the ELF pegs.
I hope this update helps.