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2005 K1200LT

11K views 190 replies 22 participants last post by  David Yerema 
#1 ·
I am negotiating on this bike. It seems flawless on the cosmetic side. It has 77,000 km or 50,000 miles. I know very little about these bikes, other than they get great ride-ability reviews from owners. The price is $2700 but the catch is the bike will not start. Sat since 2016. Turns over when jump started on the dead battery. I wonder if this is just a bad fuel issue. I am trying to get service records, but current owner bought from an estate sale and never rode this bike. Are there any particular concerns I should be aware of? Thanks for any comments and help.
 
#2 ·
Hi and welcome. Lots to look out for on these bikes but this is absolutely the best forum for answers and friendly conversation. My personal opinion is that I would look around for a bike that hasn't sat for so long since it's something you're not familiar with. For twice the price and less you can get a bike that you know runs, has upgrades and probably fewer miles. I know of two in my area right now. Great bikes. I really enjoy mine. Good luck with your search.
 
#3 ·
50K is not a lot of miles so that isn't anything to worry about. If you do your own wrenching and are a fair mechanic, I am sure with the help of this forum and a Clymer manual you could get it running again. If you have to rely on someone else to work on it, if you don't have deep pockets, it may not be the bike for you. They are great bikes to ride and I love mine. It is likely a fuel issue if it cranks and there are a couple things to look for.

First, do you hear the fuel pump run? key on and ear on the right faring, you should hear it run for a few seconds, then stop. This can be repeated by cycling the kill switch on the right handlebar. You should hear it run for 2 to 3 seconds to prime the fuel rail. If not, then you have a fuel pump issue to resolve. There are no sensors in the fuel system so even if you hear it running, that doesn't mean fuel is getting to the injectors. If it does run, then open the tank and look in with a good flashlight and repeat the fuel pump prime with the kill switch looking for any large disturbance or spraying fuel inside the tank. This would indicate a blown rubber line inside the tank and will keep the bike from starting. If neither of those things appear to be the issue, then purging the fuel system of old fuel and trying again might do it. The fuel regulator will allow fuel to cycle through the rail once new fuel is in the tank by doing the pump prime maybe 10 or 15 times. If none of that gets it going, it will take some in depth troubleshooting to figure out why it isn't starting. There have been several instances of varmints crawling up and chewing on the wiring harness and that too can be fixed should it be the case but requires significant disassembly to inspect.

$2700 for a running 05 would be a decent price but there are likely some maintenance items that would need to be looked at immediately like brake line replacement.

Let us know if you get it and we will help you get it running.
 
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#4 ·
I just bought this bike tonight, so my adventure begins now I guess. I can do my own wrenching for the most part. I just liked the bike and I have the sense that the previous owner, who was an elderly ex policeman, looked after this bike well. I bought it from someone who had no real interest in the bike, but he has owned it for just one year and never rode it.

I will get a new battery in it and start to play around.

I hope there is nothing crazy wrong.

Thanks for the comments. I am sure to ask a bunch of silly questions as I learn this bike.
 
#8 ·
I had one and I loved the bike, but there were issues with the clutch. If memory serves me correctly it had something to do with oil getting on the clutch, or something like that, and people had to drill a "weep hole" to eliminate this. I bought mine 2nd hand and it seemed fine, but just after I bought it the clutch started slipping and I had the dealer check it out and had to have a new clutch put in and possibly some other things, I can't remember. It was expensive, but can't remember how much. You might want to search for old threads on that. Sorry my memory isn't better.
 
#7 ·
If it is one built for the US market it will not display KM/h. I had one and even though I lived in metric land (Canada) the bike had been bought in the US so it only displayed mph. If you are talking about the speedometer itself, I believe there are metric readings displayed on the dial, in smaller print, so you would know what the needle is pointing at; i.e., when dial is at 60 mph, the metric reading is a bit past 100 km p/h. Not sure if this is what you were asking or not.
 
#6 ·
I owned a 2005 K1200LT for seven years - great bike - enjoy. There are some issues, like any bike, but this forum's 'experts' will give you the details. Best of luck.
 
#10 ·
Follow what Gordon told you. You can pull the full pump w/o having to remove the tank.
Worst that can happen is that the fuel pressure regulator is clogged and you have to remove the fuel tank to git to it. Might want to replace the air filter if you have to go that deep.
 
#14 ·
Fuel system cleaner is a good idea. I will do that.

Currently, it is snowing because Spring has not fully sprung in Canada and I have this bike parked in my front entrance of our house. My wife not so pleased but I thought a great place to diagnose.

I will roll the bike outside so I can turn it over well.

Is there any “throttle three times or a choke or it won’t start on the side stand” or anything else that will make it not start?
 
#15 ·
It is a fully automatic electronic fuel injection system. If everything is working right, you should not need to touch the throttle to start it, just push the button and it should start and idle.


There is a reset procedure you can do if the battery has been off for a long time. It helps the motronic relearn the idle position.
Turn the key on but do not start.
rotate the throttle form 0 to full and then release to 0
repeat that process 3 times
key off
then turn key on and push start but this will not keep the bike form starting so once you get the other sorted if it doesn't idle correctly at first start, then you may try that. Sometimes it does take riding it for a while for it to re-learn the idle position though after a dead battery or replacement.
 
#19 · (Edited)
Is the the fuel priming sound the only sound when the key is turned?
I ask because I have a brief 1 second (ish) whine/whirring sound when I turn the key to on. I think this is the fuel priming sound.

Is there any “throttle three times or a choke or it won’t start on the side stand” or anything else that will make it not start?
Best to use the kill switch after you turn on the key to listen for the fuel pump as Gordon said. The iABS unit also cycles the servos at key on as a self test and the noise will cover the fuel pump sounds.

All the safety interlocks that prevent the engine from starting are all tied to the starter. So if the engine is turning over they are not a factor. Even the immobilizer in the alarm kills both the engine electronics relay and the starter.
 
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#18 ·
Use the kill switch with the key on. You should hear the whirring for a second or two each time you turn it on. It is a time based thing and not a pressure thing so it will run every time whether there is pressure in the line or not. If you hear it, look in the tank to see if there is a disturbance or spray. The fuel may move a little as if no busted hoses as the return from the regulator comes in at the bottom but that is not much disturbance. Having a half tank would make seeing a leak easier as the hoses would be above the fuel level.
 
#20 ·
Using this “kill switch method”, I know that what I thought was the primer...is not. But I did manage to hear the much more subtle sound of the primer pump.

I also did find a blown fuel fuse. Replaced it and nothing changed. And then blew another fuel fuse (10a on this 2005). And now this fuse seems to not blow, but still no start.

I am attempting this on the side stand with bike in neutral.
 
#21 ·
And, I think the tank should have 10litres of fuel because I pumped it (dry I think) and only added 10l of fuel treated with sea foam.

I cannot see any excessive movement of the fuel in the tank.

Given that I found one and then blew another fuel fuse, I suspect I have a bad pump BUT I am concerned because the fuse clearly doesn’t blow reliably, do that makes me wonder why that might be.

Is is the fuel pump that is responsible for priming the fuel rail? If so, the pump should be good.

Is there a relay that somehow interrupts between the priming if the rail and the fuel pump working? If so, whatever that is. Might not be reliable.
 
#22 ·
The fuel pump is responsible for priming the rail. It turns on for a few seconds and then if the engine is not turning, it shuts off the pump. This is a safety feature so the pump does not continue to run in an accident that may cause a ruptured fuel line and drain the tank on the spot if the key is on.

What fuses did you blow. If it is blowing fuses, something needs to be looked at.
 

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#26 ·
You are going to have to get into it a bit deeper to diagnois what is going on. Have you undresses her at all yet? This can be a task all unto itself with lots of screws of different lengths and some hidden under things.

Quick question, when it was sitting idle, where was it kept? Could a mouse have gotten in and set up housekeeping somewhere? have you ordered or gotten a Clymer manual yet?
 
#27 · (Edited)
I have a generic K1200lt manual in PDF from bmw. Not great detail.

I have the right side naked and I have confirmed with electrical meter: power to pump for priming is happening (2seconds). Power to pump is constant when starter is engaged.

My plan is to strip the left side and assess a spark plug for fuel.
 
#31 ·
Most who have had Minok chewing on the power cables had no idea until they pulled the fuel tank and got a look at the wiring harness. Not saying this has happened but at least you need to get into it and start diagnosing things like the fuel pump to start with. If you have straight hose connectors between the pump and the tank, inserting a fuel pressure gauge is much easier than with quick disconnects unless you have a spare set of quick disconnects but a fuel pressure test would be in order. The pump may be shot and blowing fuses but there is not much way to test it if it is partially working other than to replace it. The fuel filter could be clogged with water as the E10 can separate over time and the alcohol is hygroscopic and will take on water separating and will clog the filter in a minute. The hoses will be clamped with Oetiker clamps ( one time use) at the pump but they can be removed and other hoses put on to test the pump output. Be aware, one of the lines on the bottom of the pump is open to the inside for fuel return and if you remove that, it will drain right out so either drain before hand or have a bucket ready. The pump side is OK to remove and won't leak much from inside the tank. It is a constant flow pump and will create pressure in excess of 50PSI so make sure if you dead end it with a pressure gauge that the clamps are tight. 50PSI is the working pressure of the system.
 

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#32 ·
And another update:

Spark plugs seem wet with shitty fuel. They were quite gummed up. I cleaned them and tested each one. They all sparked nicely on external test.

Now I know spark is good.

The only two options I can envision now:

1 the pump is not pumping strong enough; or
2 the pump is pumping bad fuel that won’t burn.
 
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