2007 BMW R1200RT

1539 Views 21 Replies 8 Participants Last post by Doctor T, 10 mo ago

dabbarach

Discussion Starter · 12 mo ago

Hi from NJ, USA.

I am proud owner of a 2007 BMW R1200RT. I have had this bike for 3 years now and have really enjoyed it.

Recently the dreaded ABS issue happened to me. The Brake Failure warning light which used to go off after riding a mile or so, stays on now. Is it safe to ride without getting it fixed? I am not a type who pushes the bike at high speeds or one who does long rides. Since the issue happened I have driven the bike a couple of times about 10-20 miles at a time. It seems to perform normally for my use. Just checking with all of you experienced riders to see if it is safe to continue riding like this. All my previous bikes didn't have ABS and I am comfortable riding without one. The bike has 47K miles on it and very likely the repair to fix the ABS will cost more than what the bike is worth. What's your advice?

Really appreciate your practical recommendations.

Thank you,

Chakra

1 - 20 of 22 Posts

Dalton 5

· #2 · 12 mo ago

My recommendation is to have it looked at. Only then can you make a rational decision as to how you want to proceed based on relevant information. Do you have any information to assume the most expensive worst case scenario?

The system has redundancy built into it and the brakes will/should work without the ABS function.
How old is the battery in your bike? Based on past experience with BMW bikes around that time or slightly older, a lit ABS warning was a strong hint that the battery was on its way out. I can't explain why that is but that's how it worked.

Reactions: 2

dabbarach

Discussion Starter · #3 · 12 mo ago

Thanks Dalton.

Really appreciate you taking time to reply.

The battery is new. I replaced it 3 weeks and have charged it fully using a trickle charger. The first time I rode after changing the battery, the "Brake Failure" went away after a half-mile. I even yelled with joy. However, i think it came back soon after I applied the brake the first time.

Thanks again,

Chakra

Reactions: 1

keith1200r

· #4 · 12 mo ago

Normally the warning light would go out after a yard or two. Could be a problem with the sensor gap, sensor connection or the sensor itself.

steveaikens

· #5 · 12 mo ago

I also have an 07. Currently my son has it and I haven't ridden it for some time, preferring my 15. The only issue I've had with the 07 is the damn fuel level sensor - which is again toast @ about 150K miles. Very good bike IMO.

I'm personally not that big on ABS but if I had an ABS warning light, I'd get it to a dealer to check it out and correct it.

dabbarach

Discussion Starter · #6 · 12 mo ago

steveaikens said:
I also have an 07. Currently my son has it and I haven't ridden it for some time, preferring my 15. The only issue I've had with the 07 is the damn fuel level sensor - which is again toast @ about 150K miles. Very good bike IMO.

I'm personally not that big on ABS but if I had an ABS warning light, I'd get it to a dealer to check it out and correct it.

Thanks Steve. Really appreciate your reply.

The only BMW shop that I know of is the dealership about 40 miles away. They seem to cost an arm and leg to do anything starting with even getting an appointment.

dabbarach

Discussion Starter · #7 · 12 mo ago

keith1200r said:
Normally the warning light would go out after a yard or two. Could be a problem with the sensor gap, sensor connection or the sensor itself.

Thanks Keith.

Any DYI way of checking sensor gap, etc. Any videos that are available?

steveaikens

· #8 · 12 mo ago

BMW shops have always been higher than other makes but with all the help we've gotten from COVID and other junk, it sure seems like just an arm and a leg is a good deal now...
¯\(ツ)/¯

Dalton 5

· #9 · 12 mo ago

There is a dealership in New Milford, CT that I have had great experience with. I cannot vouch that your experience will match mine but it might be worth a phone call. They also offer pick up and will deliver the bike back to your door once service is completed.

I am not affiliated, related or have any other connections aside from purchasing my bikes from them.

dabbarach

Discussion Starter · #10 · 12 mo ago

Thanks Dalton. Would have loved to take it to that shop just on your recommendation if was living anywhere nearby. It will be 150mile hike for me. If it were closer I would have certainly gone there. For any of my cars I usually try to find an independent shop and just stick with them. That approach has worked out very over the past 40 years.

Reactions: 1

ktm-don

· #11 · 12 mo ago

I had a similar issue on my 2008 R1200RT, the light would go out, but return. Finally it stayed on all the time. Braking action seemed to be fine, so I assumed it was an ABS issue. Front sensor and wiring appeared intact. My wife and I finished a 13 day trip without any undue concern. I've ridden bikes without ABS for a long time.

Without a proper diagnosis, I would have been guessing at the cause. I considered taking the bike to the dealership, but I bit the bullet and purchased the GS-911 module from Ted Porter's Beemer Shop. After a bit of fiddling to set up the device, I was able to see that the ABS pump was causing several error codes.

Over the winter, I pulled the pump (takes a bit of patience to get out some of the fasteners) and shipped it to Module Masters. $250 for rebuild, with a warrantee. Turn around was quick, and they were professional in every respect.

Once re-installed, everything has been fine for several thousand miles. I hope your story has a happy ending as well.

-dhs

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dabbarach

Discussion Starter · #12 · 12 mo ago

ktm-don said:
I had a similar issue on my 2008 R1200RT, the light would go out, but return. Finally it stayed on all the time. Braking action seemed to be fine, so I assumed it was an ABS issue. Front sensor and wiring appeared intact. My wife and I finished a 13 day trip without any undue concern. I've ridden bikes without ABS for a long time.

Without a proper diagnosis, I would have been guessing at the cause. I considered taking the bike to the dealership, but I bit the bullet and purchased the GS-911 module from Ted Porter's Beemer Shop. After a bit of fiddling to set up the device, I was able to see that the ABS pump was causing several error codes.

Over the winter, I pulled the pump (takes a bit of patience to get out some of the fasteners) and shipped it to Module Masters. $250 for rebuild, with a warrantee. Turn around was quick, and they were professional in every respect.

Once re-installed, everything has been fine for several thousand miles. I hope your story has a happy ending as well.

-dhs

Thanks DHS. Really appreciate your comments.

Seems like that is pretty much the right thing to do. However I hardly do about 1K miles a year. I have been reassured that brakes work normally even with "Brake Failure" light on. I have ridden about 100 miles so far and the brakes seem to work fine. So I am going to let it be for now and have it looked the next time I go for service.

Doctor T

· #13 · 11 mo ago

Going over the BMW service history that the previous owner passed to me. It is noted on every service sheet for my 07 bike that the ABS wasn't working. These go back for 3 years. I've owned the bike for 9 months and ridden 5000 miles now and i find that the bike brakes well, even in emergencies. Without the ABS working, you still have the full power of the brakes.
To stop the light flashing in my face, which at night is a pain. I removed the clear plastic clock cover and with a dab of black paint blanked the light out.
To replace the ABS unit, BMW charge about £1500 plus fitting. A specialist charges around £400 to repair or in the UK we have the choice of a couple of Ford models that have the same unit and this sells for about £100-£150 at a scrap yard. Funnily the Ford units don't have any problems with their ABS units even though they are the exact same unit.

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tkohntopp

· #14 · 11 mo ago

dabbarach said:
Hi from NJ, USA.

I am proud owner of a 2007 BMW R1200RT. I have had this bike for 3 years now and have really enjoyed it.

Recently the dreaded ABS issue happened to me. The Brake Failure warning light which used to go off after riding a mile or so, stays on now. Is it safe to ride without getting it fixed? I am not a type who pushes the bike at high speeds or one who does long rides. Since the issue happened I have driven the bike a couple of times about 10-20 miles at a time. It seems to perform normally for my use. Just checking with all of you experienced riders to see if it is safe to continue riding like this. All my previous bikes didn't have ABS and I am comfortable riding without one. The bike has 47K miles on it and very likely the repair to fix the ABS will cost more than what the bike is worth. What's your advice?

Really appreciate your practical recommendations.

Thank you,

Chakra

Hi Chakra. I have a 2008 model year, for almost 4 years (15k mi). My ABS went out about 3 years ago. I rode for about 6 months with no ABS and no issues. Finally had the dealer remove the unit and they had me send it for a rebuild ($400+). Dealer reinstalled. I will have to search for the rebuild shop (on west coast, if I remember).

My problem is fuel strip failure. If I replace the current strip it will be the third time.

Tom

steveaikens

· #15 · 11 mo ago

My '07 has had seven fuel level sensors replaced [that I have recorded]. It's been out now for about two years and I found it's less hassle to just know how far the bike can go on a tank and use mileage to determine when I need fuel. I put a piece of electrical tape over the light and ignore it.

I've been riding a very long time and well recall the days when there was not such thing as a fuel gauge of any know on bikes. I actually liked the old style BMW fuel - on-off-res system.

dabbarach

Discussion Starter · #16 · 11 mo ago

Doctor T said:
Going over the BMW service history that the previous owner passed to me. It is noted on every service sheet for my 07 bike that the ABS wasn't working. These go back for 3 years. I've owned the bike for 9 months and ridden 5000 miles now and i find that the bike brakes well, even in emergencies. Without the ABS working, you still have the full power of the brakes.
To stop the light flashing in my face, which at night is a pain. I removed the clear plastic clock cover and with a dab of black paint blanked the light out.
To replace the ABS unit, BMW charge about £1500 plus fitting. A specialist charges around £400 to repair or in the UK we have the choice of a couple of Ford models that have the same unit and this sells for about £100-£150 at a scrap yard. Funnily the Ford units don't have any problems with their ABS units even though they are the exact same unit.

Thanks Doctor T. That is perfect. Getting recommendation from first hand experience like yours is exactly what I was looking for to set my mind at ease. One other thing we seems to lose with this issue is integral braking. But that isn't a big deal for me too. Thanks again for taking time to reply. Really appreciate it.👍

dabbarach

Discussion Starter · #17 · 11 mo ago

tkohntopp said:
Hi Chakra. I have a 2008 model year, for almost 4 years (15k mi). My ABS went out about 3 years ago. I rode for about 6 months with no ABS and no issues. Finally had the dealer remove the unit and they had me send it for a rebuild ($400+). Dealer reinstalled. I will have to search for the rebuild shop (on west coast, if I remember).

My problem is fuel strip failure. If I replace the current strip it will be the third time.

Tom

Thanks Tom. I will certainly do it if somebody guarantees that it won't cost me more than $400 all put. For ABS rebuild, I have heard very good recommendations about Module Masters. They seem to charge $20 for the rebuild.

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Module rebuilds for darn near everything: ABS Modules, Climate Control Modules, Instrument Clusters, Power Accessories, Powertrain modules and more.

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dabbarach

Discussion Starter · #18 · 11 mo ago

steveaikens said:
My '07 has had seven fuel level sensors replaced [that I have recorded]. It's been out now for about two years and I found it's less hassle to just know how far the bike can go on a tank and use mileage to determine when I need fuel. I put a piece of electrical tape over the light and ignore it.

I've been riding a very long time and well recall the days when there was not such thing as a fuel gauge of any know on bikes. I actually liked the old style BMW fuel - on-off-res system.

Thanks Steve. My fuel gauge has hung in there very well. Hopefully my luck will continue. I agree with you 100% on having a reserve on/off so that you know exactly how much longer you have. I guess its old school but having grown up with that, I am very much used to that way of doing it.

Doctor T

· #19 · 11 mo ago

dabbarach said:
Thanks Doctor T. That is perfect. Getting recommendation from first hand experience like yours is exactly what I was looking for to set my mind at ease. One other thing we seems to lose with this issue is integral braking. But that isn't a big deal for me too. Thanks again for taking time to reply. Really appreciate it.👍

ABS and integral braking are 2 different things. My integral braking still works without the ABS

dduelin

· #20 · 10 mo ago

steveaikens said:
My '07 has had seven fuel level sensors replaced [that I have recorded]. It's been out now for about two years and I found it's less hassle to just know how far the bike can go on a tank and use mileage to determine when I need fuel. I put a piece of electrical tape over the light and ignore it.

I've been riding a very long time and well recall the days when there was not such thing as a fuel gauge of any know on bikes. I actually liked the old style BMW fuel - on-off-res system.

A fellow in Denmark sells a bit that spoofs the gauge into showing full all the time so the yellow warning light goes out and the blinking low fuel icon disappears. I didn't want to tape over the yellow triangle as it can still show other warnings. A bonus was to find out the onboard computer still uses displayed average mpg to figure range of a full tank and I use that range compared to one of the trip odometers. For example 45 mpg X 7.1 gallons = 320 miles will show on instrument panel as range to empty. Monitoring the trip meter to 270 miles leaves a 50 mile reserve. The bit plugs into the harness that formerly plugged into the fuel pump cover.

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