[apehair]

The bike (02 R1150RT) is running with neither the high-frequency buzz nor the stumbling and shutting down at idle that it had when I got it. The surging at part throttle is also gone. It has a much nicer sound, now, and smoother, better midrange power. It's not as strong as an R1200 by any means, but it now feels and performs the way I expected it to feel and perform when I bought it with 22,000 miles a couple of months ago. Here's what I did:

1. Replaced my broken quick-disconnect fuel lines with the newer ones from BMW. Thank you, Beech, for sending me the better O-rings, but since the stock disconnects were busted, I saved them for future use.

2. Installed Power Comamnder PCIII USB.

3. Adjusted the valves - they were super, super tight.

4. Synced the throttle bodies - they were in pretty good shape; I only had to make a minor adjustment at full sensitivity.

5. Replaced the spark plus, which were Autolite something or other, with the plugs recommended by BMW.

6. Took the fairings off. Put them back on. Took them back off. Put them back on. Took them back. Put them back on.

Hopz was a big help, as were the instructions on the site. The valve job is much easier to do than to explain. Ditto for the throttle body syncing.

I'll change the oil this week, then get some Seafoam and see if my injectors benefit.

Ape

 

[Firenailer]

Wow, I'm impressed! Was this your first time, and are you experienced with this stuff or did you just give it a go?

 

[apehair]

Wow, I'm impressed! Was this your first time, and are you experienced with this stuff or did you just give it a go?

Firenailer,

First time on a BMW. I've always done my own service on my Harleys (don't currently own one), but this is my first time with BMW. And the first time I've done either throttle body syncing or valve adjustments. I never had to do that on my Harleys, and I was afraid to do it on my Ducatis. The instructions I linked to are thorough, but in reality it's much easier than the instructions make it sound like. Hardest part was getting the fairings back on. What I learned about the fairings:

1. Before you put on the fairings, make sure all the threaded clips are in the right position. Check again throughout the procedure. I wound up with two bolts that wouldn't go on because one threaded clip moved too far and the other fell off. I'm going to pick up a few extras from the dealer, gird my loins, and take the fairings back off again so I can replace those clips. But not just yet.

2. Put on both sides at once, starting with the gas tank and nose piece. Don't start screwing in the bolts until you get both fairings "hooked" into the gas tank and nose piece.

3. Don't tighten anything till you get everything on. That's par for the course with anything that has lots of bolts, but easy to forget with fairings.

It wasn't that difficult, really. Just do one thing at a time and study the directions carefully. I'm not a trained mechanic. I just stumble my way through things. Plus Hopz got me through some of the vague parts in the instructions.

It's really worth it to work on your bike. I've always enjoyed it. Helps me bond with the bike, LOL.

ape