Gas has been replaced and it won't even fire with ether sprayed in the airbox and plugs are wet when immediately removed. I have clear fuel line and you can see fuel in the line. I dropped the bowls a couple times when this first started (I could get it started but not idle) and there was always fuel in them. Now it won't fire at all.

Don't fixate on teh igntion system.
 

Once you have spark I'd be checking

Fuel? Are the spark plugs wet after trying to start it? Too wet = flooding. Too dry = no choke or no fuel in the float bowel.

Compression? Are the valve clearances set correctly? If too tight then the bike will be very hard to start. In particular check the exhaust.

I don't see how it could be fuel since I couldn't even get it to fire when I sprayed ether in the airbox and the plugs were wet immediately after.

It will be the hall sensor, had the same problem with my R1150GS! Expensive but easy to fix.

Remember these bikes are 20 to 25yrs old now. When I restored my 1989 R100GS-PD last year I was shocked at the state of the electrical connections with the build up of corrosion. How the bike worked in that state, I don't know. I cleaned each and every connection using a needle file and steel wool, and sprayed the connections with cleaners, but was only partially successful. In the end an electrician friend replaced the BMW connector blocks with new bullet connectors and shrink wrapped them. Everything then worked again.

Wouldn't a failed Hall Sensor cause it to not have a spark at all? When plug is out or with a sensor I can see both are sparking.

Well, if the timing isn't a mile off - and there is no reason why that should change anyway then it can only be a weak spark (but you would expect at least some sign of firing when you crank it) OR it's compression related such as valve clearances too tight or some sort of valve timing issue. Does it sound 'normal' when you crank it over?

How would the timing be off? Isn't the timing just the sensor by the bean can that senses the spot on the crank shaft and sends the signal to the ITU?

I threw on a new coil hoping the spark wasn't powerful enough but that didn't work.


I guess my next step is to reconfirm the valve clearance which I set a couple weeks ago and then check the compression.

It sounds like it always has when cranking.

It does fire a little but won't really start.

So did mine! Its easy to pull the front cover off and have a look!

I did have a look and it all looked good. Is there a way to test it? What am I looking for?

BMW R100GS electrical problem
 

Well after reading the clymer instructions again last night I believe the coil test that failed was checking for proper voltage from the battery. Now I need to start tracing wires....

The bean can can be rotated to set the timing - it could have moved also the bean can bob weights could be stuck in the fully advanced position.

The ignition amplifier could be faulty in some way causing a weak spark.

I'm sure you've already checked/changed plugs, caps and HT leads.

Is that something that would happen while riding? My problems started while riding when it stopped wanting to idle and eventually got to where it won't really start.

The weights could stick in the fully advanced position whilst riding - It's not something I have experience of but I would say it's worth checking.

The amplifier (ICU) is pretty reliable but could develop a fault at any time, again if you can swap one out from a known good bike it's worth trying.