New R1100S owner, few questions

[DesmoPilot]

Hello all. I've been poking around the threads looking for basic information, and just figured I'd start a new thread...

Just bought a 99 r11s, 15,000 miles. Rides fine, seems to have been taken care of very well. However, this is my first BMW and I'm kinda going into this a bit blind. Bike came without a owners manual, and I've looked for one (found a great link to a repair manual here) and haven't been able to find a "free" one to download. Got some basic questions, maybe someone can help me...

-What is this bike supposed to idle at...mine idles right around 2k, and that seems high.

-What is the switch/lever on the left handle bar...looks like a choke, but the bike is f.i. Doesn't seem to do anything when I mess with it.

-Bike is bone stock...anything a "must change" item on this bike? And yes, I know, get exhaust and ohlins! Anything a bit less expensive?...having a hard time convincing the wife I need more than one bike, esp on that "requires" a bunch of aftermarket parts.

-Known huge trouble spots on the bike...anything I should be looking at closely?

Thank you in advance for helping a new guy out. Have been a longtime Ducati owner, and though I haven't left that camp, I'm very excited to have a BMW now too. Thanks again.

[Highlander179]

idle at ~1050, there should be a sticker on the side of the tranny... right side of bike above the brake lever.

fast idle lever, increases the idle by ~300rpm for cold starting. dont leave it up

must change... pick any part on the bike, then use the search function here. most likely its been changed, no that it needed it.

known trouble.... mine's been flawless so I can't really say. others here may have somethin for ya

please fill in your profile so we know where we're talking too, thanks.


oh yeah, and Welcome!

[dee jones]

You'll find a lot of BMW and Ducati owners here. Great knowledge to be shared. Welcome!

[signit98]

Originally Posted by DesmoPilot

Hello all. I've been poking around the threads looking for basic information, and just figured I'd start a new thread...

Just bought a 99 r11s, 15,000 miles. Rides fine, seems to have been taken care of very well. However, this is my first BMW and I'm kinda going into this a bit blind. Bike came without a owners manual, and I've looked for one (found a great link to a repair manual here) and haven't been able to find a "free" one to download. Got some basic questions, maybe someone can help me...

-What is this bike supposed to idle at...mine idles right around 2k, and that seems high.

-What is the switch/lever on the left handle bar...looks like a choke, but the bike is f.i. Doesn't seem to do anything when I mess with it.

-Bike is bone stock...anything a "must change" item on this bike? And yes, I know, get exhaust and ohlins! Anything a bit less expensive?...having a hard time convincing the wife I need more than one bike, esp on that "requires" a bunch of aftermarket parts.

-Known huge trouble spots on the bike...anything I should be looking at closely?

Thank you in advance for helping a new guy out. Have been a longtime Ducati owner, and though I haven't left that camp, I'm very excited to have a BMW now too. Thanks again.

...Welcome!

the idle is definitely to high... MUCH to high... you need to either adjust that yourself or (better yet) have a stealer do that for you, if you don't know your way around that... it does involve Throttle body synchronization.

The only know HUGE trouble sport is that the bike invites you to "upgrade" or "Bling" it out... in the end, it works just fine in a stock form... but lends it self very easily to be individualized as well... which can set you back a little - financially

Yoou'll get into it and the more you do, the more you'll love it... it's an easy bike... easy to work on and easy to ride... and easily the most fun you've had in a while!

[BMW Atlanta]

on 99 USA spec'ed bikes (going on assumption here),.........in addition to the above, I would inspect the lower cross member left side transmission tab immediately in from the shift lever. Some 2001 and prior models have shown signs of stress cracks or sheared right off, it is fixable for relatively cheap.

Next I would change every fluid possible and remove the starter to inspect the bell housing for any contamination and probably remove the clutch slave cylinder for inspection and flushing/servicing. In light of the high idle, it's indicative that the bike needs a proper 12k service which will involve all the fluids except brake and clutch which I would strongly suggest flushing as well.

If the fast idle lever is doing nothing then the outer cable may be not seated correctly and is thus holding the fast idle on permanently. This could be at the handlebar end of the cable or the Bowden box end which is less likely and a lot harder to check.

Cheers,

Frank

[JimMoore]

Yeah, that idle is a little gooned up. It shouldn't be too hard to fix, though.

One thing you want to do is replace the torque arm with a torque arm from a GS. It is 20 mm shorter (365 mm vs 385 mm). It jacks up the rear end a little bit and makes it handle like a whole new bike. You can get them from beemerboneyard or from someone who is parting out a GS.

Before you do that, go measure your torque arm. It may have been swapped already. It is a pretty common mod.

[jduke]

+1 JimMoore - GS arm is the best bang for the buck.

[DesmoPilot]

Thanks everyone for all the great information! I'm sure I'm going to need quite a bit of help and advice for a little while.

Profile updated to show my location....Indianapolis, Indiana.

[BMW Atlanta]

and as for the original BMW Owner's manual and Owner's service manual , I think have a retail price of $20ish each and your local dealer can order for you. Then there is the option of the Service/Repair CD which has all of the nitty gritty service procedures and can allow to practically rebuild the bike from scratch which has a retail around $130ish IIRC.

[smallj]

Welcome from Franklin Indiana. Indy just got a shiny new dealership, openhouse this weekend. Hope to see you out on the roads.

[hawkeyejohn14]

Congratulations on the S, I agree with Bobby change all the fluids yada yada. I took care of my RT like that when I lived down there and never had a problem.

I should of have followed my own advice when I bought my S but I thought I was being green and frugal so I thought, later I felt a bearing going later that year, luckily I was sensitive to the problem and caught it before any damage was done. The bearing barely was damaged but it changed the feel. New race put in and no other problems. I love my S and am about to add the bags (sitting in my office) and Ohlins later this year.

[T.C.L.]

Originally Posted by JimMoore

One thing you want to do is replace the torque arm with a torque arm from a GS. It is 20 mm shorter (365 mm vs 385 mm). It jacks up the rear end a little bit and makes it handle like a whole new bike. You can get them from beemerboneyard or from someone who is parting out a GS.

Before you do that, go measure your torque arm. It may have been swapped already. It is a pretty common mod.

Any particular year GS? I had not read about this before and I am interested in this modification.

[bikerfish1100]

any year GS (at least up to the R12 series) is the same.
easier than measuing is just looking at the rear boot between drive shaft and rear end housing. if scrunched on top and stretched on bottom, you have the stock arm.
if top & bottom are pretty much parallel, you already have the short arm.
shocks are your next upgrade- Ohlins or Wilbers are the generally preferred units.

[JimMoore]

Originally Posted by T.C.L.

Any particular year GS? I had not read about this before and I am interested in this modification.

What BF1100 said. I can't recommend this mod highly enough!

[T.C.L.]

So does this just affect handling, or is there a power-transfer-to-the-rear-wheel element to this too?

[bikerfish1100]

quicks up the steering is about it. theoretically, it should de-stabalize (somewhat) the bike at speed, but i've never known mine to be anything but ultra-stable.

[T.C.L.]

Cool.

My "Turkish muscle" will keep it steady regardless. (That's what the Turks call a beer-belly, btw....god love the Turkish. Y'all should go to Istanbul if you have a chance. Great city. great food. awesome people. I was there about 2 years ago visiting my brother. had a great time. Saw the sights, enjoye....oh, wait.)

Sorry.

Back to the point.

Is this an example of the appropriate part for this modification?

http://www.beemerboneyard.com/33172314179.html

[bikerfish1100]

yup, that woulda been it, if'n you'd have gotten it.

[T.C.L.]

K.

Now I know what to steal off your bike....


I will be inquiring "within".

Thank you!