New member with R1200S and stalling problem

[danate]

Hello everyone! I've been lurking for a bit as I bought an R1200S a couple weeks ago and found this the place for info. I am absolutely in love with the bike and it's everything I ever wanted. The only other sport bike I've ever had was an SV1000 and the 1200S is so much more refined. Otherwise I commute on my RT daily and love it dearly as well.

My new 1200S came to me very pre-loved with 24k on the odometer and lots of upgrades. It has the full Remus Ti exhaust, Ohlins upgrades and 6" wheel, HID lights, Corbin seats and a booster plug already installed.

The only problem I've had has been a few stalls when the clutch is pulled in. Twice while coming to a stop and once while splitting traffic and had to clutch in as a car was changing lanes in front of me. Both times I had to shift the bike into neutral to restart and it was back to normal. When I pull in the clutch, the RPMs occasionally appear to drop to around 900 or 800 before coming up to 1100 or so at idle. This moment where it dips seems to be where the engine dies, though I have a hard time telling when it has stalled because it's so quiet at idle anyways. Is it safe to bump start it while rolling?

The bike will never start while in gear even with the clutch pulled in. Is this normal? My RT will start in gear if I pull the clutch in and the kickstand is up. Maybe the clutch sensor is bad.

Anyways, I've done a lot of searching and found a few answers such as bad coils and a possible software recall to change the idling rpms at certain points. I plan on visiting my dealer soon (SJBMW) to get some advice on it. It's a very intermittent problem though.

I'm glad I found you guys as this seems to be the premier place for R1100/1200S folks.

Here's some obligatory pics:

[signit98]

Here is what you do:

Take the booster plug out and then go and have the Throttle Bodies synched... since you just picked her up, without much knowledge of service records, etc. have the dealer do a once-over... valves, fluids, air filter, etc.

After that, you'll see what she does... if she runs good and reliable, put the booster plug back in... I personally favor a fully tunable fuel management tool, like the techlusion or PC


Have fun with that bike... a blast.

[danate]

The bike came with records from the 24k service from a reputable place. I'll try running it without the booster plug and see if that makes a difference. I do my own maintenance, so if I went to the dealer it'd be just to make sure the software is up-to-date and if there are any recalls pending.

[signit98]

You can not do TB synch in idle by yourself, unless you have the BMW computer/software...

[danate]

Is the TwinMax not an acceptable way of syncing the throttle bodies? If the dealer method is superior, I'm ok with paying for it. Just don't want to have it done redundantly.

[signit98]

You can do the twinmax for the under-load-above-idle settings... but the idle is controlled by stepper motors (another idiotic BMW adaptation on bikes) and you can't do that manually...

[danate]

Alright, I'll add the TB sync to my dealer visit. Thanks for the help.

[Bob Hancock]

Back about 1200 years ago I was having the same problem. It's recorded on this forum under my thread, "FRK and the sprockets" I think it was. This is a long thread with good to mediocre information and even some contention, so executive summary is that I had the dealer set everything as Ralf suggests and it still did it. I then got a modified FRK plug from Robert Foster that finally solved the problem. A friend with a basically stock R12S still has the same problem that you are having. (It goes bloop-stall coming to a stop, not all the time but just often enough to annoy.) So unless you can get hold of Foster and tell him to sell you an FRK just like mine, then your next best option will be the tunable system as Ralf suggests.
Good luck and tell us how it goes.

PS. SJBMW is a good one to solve this. Chris H. won't sell you a load of poles. Do what he suggests.

[Supersteve]

Hi Guys,
This might be constructive feedback, it might not, But I had the same issue on my F800S.
The bike was bone stock with about 18000km on when it started and we tried everything, eventually it turned out to be a fault on the fuel pump.
It was overheating due to being a faulty unit and only got hot enough to cut out if I spent alot of time on the bike, i.e. traffic and long trips and hot days.
Perhaps it could be something to consider, I don't know if the 1200 shares a similar pump.
I hope you get it sorted soon and carry on enjoying the bike.

[John Lyon]

Originally Posted by signit98

You can do the twinmax for the under-load-above-idle settings... but the idle is controlled by stepper motors (another idiotic BMW adaptation on bikes) and you can't do that manually...

Guzzis also control idle with stepper motors and mine was way too high (2,000 or so) until I did a TPS reset. For Guzzis and Ducatis, one can download free software (ducatidiag) and buy the connectors on ebay to do the TPS reset yourself. Is there no such software out there for BMWs?

Some also say that the charcoal cannisters and/or bad venting valve from the fuel tank can cause idling speed issues when a stepper motor is part of the equation.

[Bob Hancock]

I have a GP911 that does the stepper motor thing.

[blackcatbob]

I have the same experience when I got my R1200S, engine would virtually stall when I closed the throttle making gear down changes rough and general low speed riding a pain. I understand BMW sets the over run mixture extremely lean to get passed emission regulations, so lean in fact that the motor stalls if the throttle is close very quickly. Fine at high revs and speed but a right pain in town traffic at low revs.

I finally installed the Wunderlich Performance Controller and what a difference, even with just the the default set-up. Lower throttle response is much improved, gear changing smoother because I can now blip the throttle and get a response and the motor does not die on closed throttle over run. Pick up from low revs is better making the bike much more tractable around town.

This PC is quite expensive, but was easy to fit and has transformed the bike from a disappointment into a very nice road sports bike which I am very happy with. Pity the bureaucrats stop BMW getting it right from the start!

[kpolito99]

When I purchased my R1200S it had a Remus system with Booster plug and it behaved similarly to how you have described. I have since upgraded to an HPE exhaust and eliminated the Booster plug and see runs fantastic.

I have not had any of that slow speed stalling any more. I even experienced issues while riding through school zones at 20 mph in first gear. After a few hundred yards the bike would load up and eventually stall when I rolled off the throttle.

Good luck getting her sorted. I am happy now but still contemplating going with a Rexxer tune to try and richen up the fuel map in select areas that the factory may have leaned for emissions.

[danate]

Thanks for all the replies. I've been super busy at work and haven't gotten to tinker yet. The guy I bought the bike from added the booster plug to try and fix the problem and he said it reduced it dramatically, but did not fix it.

My plan is to go to SJ BMW when I get the chance. Vehicle situation has been busy lately as I'm in the process of having my Jetta bought back by VW and my garage space is taken up by my buddies RT that's awaiting a repaired drive shaft from Brunos.

I'll be sure to post an update about what SJ BMW says.

[ATA]

OK, I'm a n00b in BMW bonanza and I own 11S, not 12S, but ever so similar problem had resolved by 1- balancing of throttle bodies and 2- replacing fuel filter... step nr1- will have to be re'done again, because of re'setting computer or a change of an filter...
Best of luck!

[Droptarotter]

Mine was doing the exact same thing.

The cure for me was a new clutch switch. I still can't figure out why it would stall when coming to a stop and pulling the clutch in.................then having to find neutral to restart.

Does your bike start in gear with the clutch pulled in? If not first try adjusting the clutch switch. There is a little grub screw that loosens the switch for adjustment.

Or swap the front brake switch with the clutch switch..........they are the same part............and see if that cures your problem..........it did for me!

Cheers

[danate]

I played with the clutch switch a bit. The switch appears to be in great shape (opened it up, the brass was all shiny and had a very positive contact). I adjusted it to I could hear it click when I pulled the clutch in, but still no go. Next step is taking it on in to SJBMW.

[Droptarotter]

Originally Posted by danate

I played with the clutch switch a bit. The switch appears to be in great shape (opened it up, the brass was all shiny and had a very positive contact). I adjusted it to I could hear it click when I pulled the clutch in, but still no go. Next step is taking it on in to SJBMW.

I could here mine click also..........even tested it with an ohm meter, but it was still intermittent............just try swapping the clutch switch with the brake switch.

Cheers

[OwenM]

If you get a GS911 diagnostics tool you can see what the clutch switch and everything else is doing in real time.

The dealer diagnostics will also show any problems, so may as well tell them to check it.

[Droptarotter]

Originally Posted by OwenM

If you get a GS911 diagnostics tool you can see what the clutch switch and everything else is doing in real time.

The dealer diagnostics will also show any problems, so may as well tell them to check it.

Owen;

Thanks for giving my old brain a nudge.........using the GS911 was how I figured out my clutch switch was working intermittently.......with the GS911 I could see on the computer screen if the clutch switch was working ( or not) every time I pulled the clutch in.......

The GS911 is certainly a handy tool to have in the kit.

Cheers