Exhaust Flap Valve stuck at around 1000 miles - is this a record?

[Hors Piste]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFFuICIEZz0

I feel his pain.  On my previous RT it stuck at around 5500 miles.

Why BMW continue to spoil a great bike by fitting this useless POS is beyond me  >:D 

[Levisp]

Wow that's a record. I presume on your RT1250 the exhaust valve is in the one piece down pipes as it is on my 2014LC RT. Dumb design indeed. I must be one of the lucky ones because as yet I have not had an issue, bike's covered 46k miles. On a new bike you must be really pissed off.


Sounds like the fancy navigation/audio/app/bike interface is poor too. User beta testing again ! Don't think I will be upgrading soon. Hope you get it sorted quickly.

[Hors Piste]

Thanks, but it's not my bike - it's the guy in the video (Highland Rider).  But yes, whatever genius decided to incorporate the flap valve in the entire header/catalyst assembly deserves a special mention

[Levisp]

Oops yes misread your post. Still as you say pretty piss poor.

[hammo]

Have to agree with all the comments on a 20,000 pound motorcycle its not acceptable , i personally would of written to the UK CEO of BMW to highlight the problem , i had mine replaced at 3500 mile all done under warranty but still it should be addressed by the design engineers , one can only hope this is looked at .

[Levisp]

But how long will that one last ? If or rather when mine goes I will replace the exhaust with a system without the pesky valve. Now I understand that the valve is there to get the bike through the regulations, which is why BMW must know all about it but still insist on the design. But why not make the valve in an interconnecting tube for easy and cheaper replacement. Building a potential problem into expensive exhaust headers is just bonkers !! German engineering is certainly not fool proof.

[MikeS]

Latest YouTube video from Highland Rider and the ongoing issue with his bikes exhaust flap.




https://youtu.be/LCiw3xcq9Oo

[Casbar]

But how long will that one last ? If or rather when mine goes I will replace the exhaust with a system without the pesky valve. Now I understand that the valve is there to get the bike through the regulations, which is why BMW must know all about it but still insist on the design. But why not make the valve in an interconnecting tube for easy and cheaper replacement. Building a potential problem into expensive exhaust headers is just bonkers !! German engineering is certainly not fool proof.

The problem with replacing without flap is, on Eu5 bikes it is now illegal to replace or mess with anything to do with emissions. Even to the point of if insurance is needed, they can now check. Also how long before bikes will be subject to emissions checks. I’m not sure how this impacts older bikes, but this flap problem has been around since 2014.

[hammo]

I have seen the guys update on his reply from BMW , the company are obviously quite prepared to sell there product with a known fault because its cheaper to do this than get the design engineers to address it , i also agree that motorcycle road testers for major motorcycle magazines never ever mention this either even though there have been numerous owners having this problem , come on BMW time to buck up and respond .

[jackronner]

Is this flap present on bikes sold in the U.S.?  Even in California they don't test motorcycles, so perhaps they left the pesky things off to avoid warranty expense?  Can I look forward to this on my 2009 RT??

[Levisp]

The exhaust flap issue has been around for ages. However the real problem came when the valve was incorporated into the downpipes requiring new downpipes to solve the issue. Prior to that the valve was in its own connecting tube which made it cheaper and easier to fix. I think the exhaust flap moves with respect to revs, it isn't as simple as fully open or closed. In the above video he mentions lack of lubrication of the valve by the factory. I cannot see how this part can be lubricated due to the heat it must get to being attached to the CAT. It gets very hot. Any assembly lubrication surely cannot last. Having inspected mine regularly keeping the outside of it clean and painting on some ACF for good measure I see no way of lubricating the valve. This is not a complicated piece. A simple flap that pivots in the exhaust tube controlled by an electric motor via cables. Do other manufacturers have any problems ? Whats it for ? Emissions or noise ?


Maybe the solution lies in kicking accountants out from running companies and replacing them with engineers.




Regards if it gets stuck closed. If you take the silencer off I would have thought its possible to force the flap open. Then disconnect the cables. Should be able to ride the bike then to dealer. Anyone tried this ?

[Casbar]

Is this flap present on bikes sold in the U.S.?  Even in California they don't test motorcycles, so perhaps they left the pesky things off to avoid warranty expense?  Can I look forward to this on my 2009 RT??

Yes the flaps are on all bikes worldwide, but the specific issue we are talking about is on the LC (water cooled) models both RT and GS. The big issue is, the flap is built into the headers, so if the flap goes south, it's new headers at around £1200

[Hors Piste]

On my 2019RT the valve did not actually seize, it simply became slightly "stiff" so that the servo was unable to rotate it a full 90 deg during the "ignition on" start up sequence. This immediately throws up the yellow engine warning light on the dash, which won't go away. But on looking inside (simple enough, just take off the silencer) I could see that the valve was fully open. I tried lubricating it with graphite and, at other times copper grease (this can only be done inside the exhaust pipe, and is fiddly to impossible on the upper part of the spindle),using my GS911 to turn off the dash warning. That would work for a while, but inevitably the warning light would re-appear before long.

[burridge01]

Surely if this flap goes and you have no warranty on the bike then just cut it out.I have taken the headers off my RT and replaced with a full Arrow system.Anyone need Ia working set of down pipes then pm me.

[Casbar]

The exhaust flap issue has been around for ages. However the real problem came when the valve was incorporated into the downpipes requiring new downpipes to solve the issue. Prior to that the valve was in its own connecting tube which made it cheaper and easier to fix. I think the exhaust flap moves with respect to revs, it isn't as simple as fully open or closed. In the above video he mentions lack of lubrication of the valve by the factory. I cannot see how this part can be lubricated due to the heat it must get to being attached to the CAT. It gets very hot. Any assembly lubrication surely cannot last. Having inspected mine regularly keeping the outside of it clean and painting on some ACF for good measure I see no way of lubricating the valve. This is not a complicated piece. A simple flap that pivots in the exhaust tube controlled by an electric motor via cables. Do other manufacturers have any problems ? Whats it for ? Emissions or noise ?


Maybe the solution lies in kicking accountants out from running companies and replacing them with engineers.




Regards if it gets stuck closed. If you take the silencer off I would have thought its possible to force the flap open. Then disconnect the cables. Should be able to ride the bike then to dealer. Anyone tried this ?

I have never heard of a flap sticking closed. They are always open, which is the resting position. If it sticks on bikes unto the 1250, there is no visible warning, just a code on the eco. 1250 onwards the helpful engineers linked the failure to an engine warning light, so you have to do something about it. The flap sticking open has no impact on the operation of the bike. There have been pages of discussion on the purpose of the flap, but it seems it is for noise emissions or was on early bikes, not sure if on the 1250 if it actually has any impact on exhaust emissions. You can whip off the end can and put some high temp grease on the spindles, but that will burn off. Having had two flaps fitted to previous bikes, even if it sticks and you free it, it will stick again. Taking the cables off will leave the flap open, but the servo will just spin and throw the error code, although one chap has taken the cables off and he assured me no error was shown on the eco, but that is the first instance I have heard of that hasn't thrown a code. You can take the cables off and fit a thing called a servo buddy into the cable that connects to the servo, that fools the eco. But if they start checking emissions going forward the only way will be to buy headers that has an improved flap and cat, but I don't think anyone makes those