BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

Road to the Moto GP in Le Man yesterday - no problem with journey, last mile in heavy nose to tail bike traffic and just as going up slip road from motorway ( walking speed ) engine died - would not start.  Hard to push it 350 meters where I was directed to a area for broken down bikes.  There was another 11 plate RT with the same problem
and same symptoms, Wondering if it got overheated. Oil lamp came on  and temp was riseing.  Engine tried to turn but sounded like a dead battery.  Left to cool down    6. hours later started ok and rode Back to lodgings  130 miles no problems.  Any ideas. Is bike ok.  Oil levels are fine. Need to know as have to ride back 250 mile to UK Weds. .
Told by another GS owner this is a common problem with Boxer engines overheating and stopping till cooled down as everything gets tight ?

Give BMW Assistance a call and try to talk to a techy. Maybe there is some sort of thermal overheat protection but I don't know.

I have known them to be left running at a standstill until the coils melted along with the plastic cover over the clutch.  So to my knowledge they have no  thermal cutout. Probably got so hot there was no fuel flow due to vaporisation, but that's only a guess. 

The Oil-can symbol (warning light), may have appeared due to insufficient engine oil pressure, possibly caused by the oil loosing it's viscosity because of the high engine temperature.

(Did you get the 'General' warning light (triangle), if so, was it yellow or red & did it flash or light up.)

What engine oil/viscosity range is in the bike?

Does the engine sound normal without any excessive or unusual noises.

If there are any doubts, could you have the bike & yourself recovered back to the UK.

Another good trick is to remove the oil filler plug and have a smell.  If you have burnt the oil it smells horrible and needs exchanging as soon as possible.

Looking at the Rider's Manual, don't know if this situation could be applicable.

Engine in emergency operation mode

Possible cause:
The engine control unit has diagnosed a fault. In exceptional cases, the engine stops and refuses to start.

Where are your lodgings, is there a local BMW Dealer who could run some diagnostic checks for any faults, that's if the mobile guys can't.

This link may help you find a Dealer if necessary, http://www.bmw-motorrad.com/com/en/indi ... o/dlo.html.

I would suspect if the ECU fails it isn't  going to start again when it cools down.  Another cause which happened to a lot of them in about 2008 was a failure of the loop antenna on the ignition.  These got effected by heat so killing the engine but normally after you had switched off.  You then coolant switch back on.  The solution then was to cool it down with cold water.    All were exchanged under warranty.

May be one for the future, apparently, BMW do have an oil cooler fan kit, and it's fitted to UK police bikes as standard.



http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showpar ... Id=17_0425

Thanks all for the replies, think it's running OK, ridden about 130 miles since and no problems, the guy that helped me out thinks its the oil cooler rad got to hot causing the warning lights and  and the engine just shut down.  It was to tight to turn the engine over, once cooled down it was OK.  He had the same issue with his GS.  Another RT also had exactly the same symptoms.  I,ll have it checked out once I get back to the UK either under my own steam or recovery. Thanks all for the response.  (. Now I know why the RT,s are water cooled )

Have you considered the immobiliser? Whilst in France 4/5 years ago my mate & I pulled into a service station. Filled up with fuel, and after which his bike wouldn't start. We pushed it to the side and whilst considering what could be wrong, another biker pulled up, and his bike wouldn't start either. Too much of a coincidence in our view. We looked up and noticed a huge mobile phone mast at the side of the car park. Out of curiosity we decided to push his bike out of the service station and along the hard shoulder for about 250yrds. It started straight away. We went back to tell the other biker of this. It worked for him too. This happened 4 times in France on the same trip.  Apparently these masts emit the same frequency as some immobilisers so if your too close, your bike ain't gonna work. Have a quick look on the internet about this problem...

Hi Chad, that is a possibility as where we cut out was near the Police Post  ?  Although when we left we had to ride pass it again.  Since the breakdown I have covered about 140 miles with no further problems/warning lights.  Just hope it remains so.  Symptons were -  Warning oil lamp flashed on then triangle warning then slight rise in temp then  finally cut out.  Engine tried to turn and sounded like flat battery.  Hours later when cooled down started first go and no problems so far.  Oil level is fine. 

I'll ring Alan Jeffries for you tmw and upload their comments.

Chad wrote: I'll ring Alan Jeffries for you tmw and upload their comments.

Thanks a million Chad. It's for the peace of mind factor. Packing up this evening ready to leave.  So far seems OK. Thanks again for your help.  Steve

Chad wrote: Have you considered the immobiliser? Whilst in France 4/5 years ago my mate & I pulled into a service station. Filled up with fuel, and after which his bike wouldn't start. We pushed it to the side and whilst considering what could be wrong, another biker pulled up, and his bike wouldn't start either. Too much of a coincidence in our view. We looked up and noticed a huge mobile phone mast at the side of the car park. Out of curiosity we decided to push his bike out of the service station and along the hard shoulder for about 250yrds. It started straight away. We went back to tell the other biker of this. It worked for him too. This happened 4 times in France on the same trip.  Apparently these masts emit the same frequency as some immobilisers so if your too close, your bike ain't gonna work. Have a quick look on the internet about this problem...

That happened to 3 of our group of 5 in France a few years ago.  Pushed the bikes out of reach & all 3 fired up no problem.

Steve, I contacted Alan Jeffries, who promised to ring me back- but didn't. I called Williams at Manchester, but was unable to speak to a mechanic, just a Service Adviser. I explained the details as you described but the best advice I was given was 'we'd have to plug it in and see what comes up'. I asked if this was a common issue if the bike overheats and I was told no- never known of it. I asked if they'd ever had any problems with mobile phone masts or other transmitters affecting the bikes and was told 'not to my knowledge'! Basically very little help I'm afraid to say.
But from my own first hand experience, I would put a wager on your problem being associated with a phone mast or other transmitter. It may be more informative if you contact your breakdown recovery service while your still there- they will probably be VERY familiar with this problem if it's a mast/transmitter that's causing the problem.