I have a 2003 BMW R1150GS Adventure that I bought about a year ago to replace an aging and tired Honda V65 Sabre. So far I've been very disappointed in the BMW from a reliability point of view. Clutch slave cylinder blew out shortly after starting out on a modest 2000 mile trip, fortunately it was still under warranty at that time, and BMW fixed it.
Now, a much bigger problem: First appeared after crossing the Baja peninsula from the "cool" pacific side to the warmer (about 80 deg.) Sea of Cortez side in March. The bike just died, and would not start again. After waiting about 5 minutes, it started and ran fine. It did this a couple more times, and I started taking things apart: checking and reseating all electrical connections, pulling a plug to check for spark (OK), etc. Bike started after this, but only because it took some time to do all this. Now started riding it again in So. California, and it's hot 100+ deg. Bike would run for an hour or so, then die. It would take anywhere from a few minutes to hours of waiting before it runs again, and then sometimes for only a couple of minutes.
I am guessing that it is a thermally dependant problem with fuel injection electronics, but since it is an intermittent problem, you can't really test anything. Taking it to a dealer would probably result in me paying for all sorts of very expensive replacement parts on the off chance that maybe one of those was bad - and I still wouldn't know if the problem is fixed, until I wind up stuck in the middle of some desert... again.
Has anyone here ever had this kind of problem, or have any suggestions?

At this point, I don't want to use this bike for any long trips, as I have no confidence in the BMW, and think I made a HUGE mistake in buying one!

Hi Mate,

You might already know about the site but www.ukgser.com is a good source of info for the GS. They seem to know what they are talking about and should be able to help you.

Regards
Gazzr

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Gazzr
www.theworld-ismyoyster.com

I had the same problem with a Volvo.. it had a nasty habit of stopping at the M5/M6 interchange leaving me in about lane 3 of 6 parked with lories whizzing by on both sides... The crunch came when I had to take along trip to rescue my daughter who had broken down, when I got to teh drive, I went back into the house and took the keys for my wifes Fiat Panda. It was so lovely not to break down I changed the Volvo a week later for a diesel Citroen, and swore blind I would never own anything with an electronic engine management system again. Even if that means getting a diesel enfield

You should have stuck with Honda .

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"Adventure is just Bad Planning" - Roald Amundsen

Thanks for the tip on ukgser.com - I'll give that a try.
Yeah, I would have been happy to get another Honda, but they don't make a practical motorcyle anymore: Just crotch rockets suitable for monkeys with hemmoriods, cruiser bikes for guys that dont want to lift a gut more than a few inches off the pavement, and bikes like the XR650, which I've owned for riding in the dirt, but are really brutal on long road trips. Now, an Africa twin, or the Transalp would be more like it, but Honda marketing weenies and political bureaucrats have conspired to make sure those can't be bought in the US.

The key here is the thermal bit...

You can use some water to cool the hot bits and see where the fault is ..

The 1150 use the same Hall Effect device as the R80G/Ses (non EFI but electronic Ignition) of over 20 years ago .. and suffer the same problems ... they can (and do) fail when hot. Cooling them with water will get you going for a short period of time - eventually they fail hot or cold! They are under the front engine cover - pull the cover off and spray some water around ( the sensors are sealed so won't suffer from the water). Note that this failure will affect the tacho, spark and fuel .. when you press the starter - does the tacho respond? There is a page on this for the oilheads - links from the American site Adventure rider.. The R12 uses a different sensor - suffers teh same problem.. as do cars .. some VWs (and other cars) use the same hall effect sensor ...

Other things - the EFI box ... also sealed so spray that with water too if the Hall Effect test did not fix the problem.

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Regards Frank Warner
motorcycles BMW R80 G/S 1981, BMW K11LT 1993, BMW K75 G/S

Thanks for the info on hall effect sensors. Think I found the pdf on these you mentioned. I didn't pay any attention to the tacho when attempting to start, but I did pull a plug to see if I was getting spark, and I was, so this may not be the problem. Tried cooling things down by scooping water out of a drainage ditch with an alu pannier, but could not pinpoint anything nor get to sensors under covers, or EFI unit hidden up under the gas tank. I'll try taking along a spray bottle when I go to get the bike from where I left it.

I know, I was just pulling your leg a little. I've got a 05 ST1300, which is a pretty good bike,,,,but as far as dual sports from Honda,,,,here in the US,,,,naaaw, nothing.....
Take Care

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"Adventure is just Bad Planning" - Roald Amundsen

I had been salivating over the ST1300 since they were first announced, and was real close to buying one, but I couldn't stand all that useless plastic, no place for bungees, and seems like it would be even worse on a dirt road than the Sabre. If the BMW doesn't inspire a little bit of confidence in the future, I may still go there...

Well I am going terribly here, but what the heck...

I wouldn't even consider trying to take the ST on dirt at 750 lbs with fuel. I've got 16K on the bike since last August, and here is what I have found:
It has an incredible smooth and strong V4 engine that pulls from about 2500rpm all the way up. With a 7.1 gallon tank, and about 46-48 mpg the range is decent. It it very smooth on twisty stuff, being as heavy as it is, but it is not a sportsbike, nor does it feel like one. As with most bikes, stock seat sucks, factory suspension could have been better, riding position puts you a little forward leaning (I use risers). It's a bike I'll never get rid of. Just for sucking miles on the slab, this is my choice. For anything else, well I am still waiting for Suzuki to announce the 07 V-Strom 1K . Had my wife sit on one (she rides a VTX1300),,,no go,,, we were lacking about 3 inches in order to reach the floor. She was majorly pissed. When I told here right there on the showroom floor that she was gonna have to ride with me to Prudhoe Bay on her VTX w/knobbies, her demeanour (sp) turned downright nasty. After weeks of reseach, we have found the bike for her, and she can reach the ground: BMW F650GS,,,,,and she likes it too.

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"Adventure is just Bad Planning" - Roald Amundsen

To continue off-topic: the st1300 appealed to me cus I really like my V65 Sabre, despite the fact that it is even heavier, and handles poorly on anything put straight roads, or wide sweeping curves. One gets used to all that power, so the st1100 seemed really anemic - kinda like the GS. On long trips, I love to find some old logging road to follow for a bit and just camp for the night away from road noise and lights. The Sabre wasn't that hard to pick up if it fell over, nothing to scratch up, so it doesn't matter. But, at over 20 years old and 100,000 miles, it's just not up to it any more.