BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

Good afternoon. My name is Bill Rhegness and this is my first post to this board. I ride a 2005 R1200RT.
Today, after repairing a faulty headlight plug using a new pigtail and reassembling the Tupperware, I started the bike to check the function of the headlights. The previously great running bike jumped to a 4500 RPM idle. I had removed the negative cable from the battery prior to the headlight repair and didn't have to disconnect anything else electrical. I've checked my throttle cables for binding, I've tried to eyeball everything I removed to replace the headlight plug and I can find nothing which appears out of place. I know the throttle pulleys are made of plastic and have been known to break but I don't think that's my ghost here. The hand throttle appears to operate normally and I can detect no binding. I did the required ritual of cranking the throttle open and closed a couple of times after hooking the battery back up to set the throttle sensor and nothing else. I have about 40,000 miles on the bike and take pretty good care of it.
Does anyone on the forum have any suggestions regarding a fix? My nearest BMW dealer is about 170 miles away and I'd like to avoid that trip if possible.   

Tried resetting the throttle sensor again..........

Thanks, but I've tried going through the reset procedure four times. Still got the ghost. I'm sure it's something simple that I'm overlooking. At least I hope it's something simple.

Found the ghost. Turns out it was my own fault. When I was splicing the new headlight plug pigtail, I had to move the cruise control module out of the way. On reassembly, the edge of the cable housing on the cruise control throttle actuator cable got caught on the edge of the rubber dust cover which protects the cable. That caused the throttle to remain partly open. Not something I could easily see as it was caught on the bottom side, but in trying to try to check everything I had touched, the cable released itself. I'll know next time. .

Rhegness wrote: Found the ghost. Turns out it was my own fault. When I was splicing the new headlight plug pigtail, I had to move the cruise control module out of the way. On reassembly, the edge of the cable housing on the cruise control throttle actuator cable got caught on the edge of the rubber dust cover which protects the cable. That caused the throttle to remain partly open. Not something I could easily see as it was caught on the bottom side, but in trying to try to check everything I had touched, the cable released itself. I'll know next time. .

Glad you found the problem - though I preferred the "haunted" explanation!

Haunted seems to be rather accurate. I'm an old guy and remember well the days when I could repair, readjust or otherwise cajole a problem into submission on the side of the road with a handful of easily available tools. These days, such requires a backpack full of diagnostic equipment, spare parts and a degree is electronic engineering to begin to track a problem down. I'm not entirely convinced this is progress.

Rhegness wrote: Haunted seems to be rather accurate. I'm an old guy and remember well the days when I could repair, readjust or otherwise cajole a problem into submission on the side of the road with a handful of easily available tools. These days, such requires a backpack full of diagnostic equipment, spare parts and a degree is electronic engineering to begin to track a problem down. I'm not entirely convinced this is progress.

I used to enjoy working on vehicles, not anymore. Electronics killed it for me, seems like "progress" is just another way to get money out of your pocket.

Regards, Roger.