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R1200RT 2013 engine misfires

5K views 30 replies 9 participants last post by  6speedTi 
#1 ·
As the title says, I’m having a serious misfire on the low end and also while shifting. At highway speeds the bike runs perfect. If a pull the clutch in the bike dies. I can start it right back up. And it’s only intermittently. Some days it runs perfect. Bike has 45,000 miles. Last service was at 42,000. I went ahead and replaced the spark plugs but no change. It does do it more when it’s cold than hot. My valves were within spec and same with throttle body sync. I have a 911 and I have no codes. I thought it might be the coils but I’ve read that they just go out and are not intermittent failure. So at the moment I’m at a loss. Thanks
 
#2 ·
Recalibrate the throttle:

  1. Ignition off, turn the throttle fully open and hold.
  2. Turn on the ignition (do NOT start).
  3. Cycle the throttle full-min-full three times (I'm not sure about the number of cycles but three has worked for me).
  4. Ignition off.
  5. With the throttle at idle, start the engine.

I had a similar situation last year. Then, I added some Seafoam and that seemed to help. This time it running rough and cutting out (no backfire though) and I think was due to my fiddling with the battery. It was corrected immediately after I did the above procedure.

It's not clear to me that will fix your problem but it can't hurt and takes all of 5 seconds to do. Try it before you go buy some Seafoam.
 
#7 · (Edited)
I did the sea foam about 2 weeks ago. It helped for couple days then back to engine miss.

This weekend I’ll troubleshoot the stick coils. There is a pretty good write up over on advrider.

Last night I checked the operation of the exhaust flapper and it’s working correctly. I did notice that it was really black and sooty(if that’s the correct term. Lol). At the last service it was a light brown. And I visually checked the fuel pump controller for obvious signs of corrosion/wear and it looked brand new.

Just letting everyone know what I’ve done so far. Thanks again for everyone’s help.
 
#9 ·
Yes. Do keep us informed. These kind of posts inform anyone that may one day have similar issues. Also, please be sure to follow up with your final resolution. It's very common that folks will post a question about a technical issue but not tell us later what it turned out to be.

As I mentioned, I had a similar issue last year that resolved itself with the Seafoam but for all I know it may still be lurking. I'm going to file your findings away in case it recurs.
 
#8 ·
I second the idea that it is the coils.
 
#20 ·
I went out today to troubleshoot some more and the bike ran perfect. Imagine that. So unplugging and replacing the coil had the expected change in engine performance but didn’t tell me that was a definite problem of a coil being bad.

However, I hooked the GS911 back up and checked the o2 sensors and the graph is all over the place. Way too rich and bottomed out on way too lean. The graph wasn’t very uniformed either. Very erratic pattern.
 
#23 ·
Update.

Just to let everyone know that I got a deal on coils and oxygen sensor from the company that Beech recommenced. So I replaced all 4 coils and both oxygen sensors. And there was no change. It’s still misfires. Pretty bummed out at the moment. I went about 40 miles and it only does it random. I can’t replicate the problem.
 
#26 ·
Update. Since January I’ve been riding at least once a week. The problem seems to have gone away. I’ve had no issues. I can only guess that when I first replaced the coils and o2 sensors, the combustion chamber wasn’t getting a clean burn and had to be burned off. Just a guess.

Thanks everyone for the help.

JJ
 
#28 ·
Just my Two cents! If it ever happens again.
it’s easy to buy bad fuel especially if they are filling the in ground tanks.
it very common to get a little water in fuel!
“Heat” the yellow bottle about half of it to a full tank every season can make a big difference. The gas tank can very easily get a condensation buildup too.
 
#31 ·
Seafoam is very good. You have to use the proper amount and you have to burn it out. Don't let the Seafoam sit in your fuel tank for a long time. Basically if someone's using Seafoam for troubleshooting a fuel problem or routine maintenance most run the tank of fuel through quickly.
 
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