LT going to the deal for tuning

[Alpac]

After about 2 weeks of ownership of my 1999 LT with 23,500kmiles I found the following problems:

• Throttle response hesitation when hot weather (Motronic issue, air temp
sensor??)
• Rattle/knocking noise around 1500/2000 rpm. Since this is my first BMW I
am not sure if it is normal or not for this bike.
• Front right rotor can get very hot. May be sticky piston.

[azpilot06]

Just out of curiosity, what kind / octane gas are you using?

For the hesitation, the conventional wisdom suggests that on your vintage of LT, the only things that can be done are installing the updated motronic (may be a big hill to climb getting BMW to authorize than on a 9-year old bike), or pulling the air temp sensor plug and committing to running premium unleaded.

For the brake thing...when you throw the bike up on the centerstand, can you somewhat freely rotate the front wheel?

Just knowing how expensive a trip to the dealer can be, it may behoove you to self-diagnose and troubleshoot some of these, before the dealer takes $300 of your money and gives the same answers.

Good luck!

[rando]

I would have to agree on octane. Try that first. I put a tank of regular in at last fillup and in the mornings, 65 - 75 degrees, it runs fine. Afternoons, above 80 degrees, it's got a noticeable knock. So no more regular till fall. And that could be part of the 1500 rpm issue.

That would be my first guess. You are coming up on a 24K service, which will be a good time to check fuel and air filters, plugs, valves, etc.

Is there a whoosh or sucking sound when you open the fuel filler? Other than the one coming from your wallet? lol Have you or do you know if bike still has the charcoal canister? My hesitation seemed to clear up upon removal of the canister (search canisterectomy on here).

Are you doing your own service or using Capitol BMW in Raleigh? I've visited, but never used their service dept. Carolina Euro in Greensboro has excellent service advisor, Richard, if you are so inclined. Or put together a tech session in your area and let the wisdon here help you learn to do your own. I've learned a ton from the guys here and wouldn't hesitate to let them help me. Of course, I am assuming that you are like a greaat many of us when we were new LT owners.

Good luck with it all.
Randy

[BecketMa]

Other than starting from a full stop, 1500 is way too low for the LT.

I had hesitation in my 00LT with premium fuel (got a new Motronic).

I run regular year round here--sumer temps are over 100F on sunny days.

Until you get used to the LT's engine, try running it between 2800 and 3800.

You will probably have to get used to the ABS brakes. I found a nice straight clean road and practiced "standing" on the brakes. My gut SCREAMED at me but the LT didn't waver.

Bob, Oh Oh LT

[Alpac]

Thanks for the answers and suggestion guys. I have owned and ridden a handful of bikes in the last 25 years, all Japaneses and mostly hondas. 2cylinders, inline 4 and v4. This is my first BMW and at first I was surprised by the knocking sound of this k motor. My VFR and Magna Honda v4 were very smooth with no knocking noise at all. Reading from this forum and other sources of information it looks like some knocking is normal for the K engine. I did all the maintenance on my previous bikes beside putting new tires. I intend to do most of the service maintenance in the LT but since I do not know this bike yet I am thinking about having the dealer look at it first and tell me what is wrong and what is not. I have been using premium gas.
This forum is really excellent. Thank to it and all of you I learnt more on my LT in 2 weeks than I learnt on my VFR or Magna in many years of ownership. It is true to that in 1992 when I bought my VFR there was no such thing as internet.

[Alpac]

So I left my bike at the local BMW dealer here in Raleigh Tuesday evening and got it back today. They found out that there was much too much oil in this bike oil. The previous owner overfilled it quite a lot. They said the engine was swallowing oil. They changed the oil and filter, checked the brake and test rode the bike. They also disconnected the air temp sensor and what a difference! The engine is smooth and no more throttle hesitation. It rides like a charm. I already liked the bike before but now I really love it. The BMW dealer's overall assessment of the bike is that it is in good condition. Since the bike has no services history I will bring it back to the dealer in a month for the 24k service. After that I intend to a lot of the maintenance myself. I got a very good first impression of the Raleigh BMW service department. They were fair and did not push me to do things that were not mandatory. They quoted me the 24k service (without the oil and filter change which they just did) around $600 which I found pretty good based on what I could read on this forum about other dealers price for this same service. Today I only paid $138.