BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

Big shout of thanks to gr8ridn for explaining the tools to do the timing on a WetHead!  And I would have never known my timing was off or what to do about it without you and your great posts and pictures.

R1200GSW Cam Timing Adjustment

Another big shout of thanks to Jim Baden And JVB Productions.  I do not know if without a tech session, and seeing this in person if I would have ever done this.    The DVD was clear and concise and was a great reference and was great for a visual leaner like myself.  How about a coolant one as the clock is ticking.  When I asked my dealer about service on it he said "oh, it is lifetime". 

As to the tools they are very nice but you pay for it.  Knowing how to use them is very important and one must do a bit of reading to get all the information gathered you need.  Researching for the torque specs of various things is worth beforehand to have ready when you need them.

This was my 12K a bit early 11,600 on a 15 RT.  I had previously done the brake flush using the GS-911, and installed speed bleeders in all three calipers. Three different sizes I might add!  I had done the air filter when I was in doing some wiring and had to remove Tupperware almost to the filter and said bag it I will do it then.  About 10,500 miles. 

Nothing new under the sun for the valves.  Jim's tip on bending the feeler in a arch is an important tip.  It works very nice giving you reliable readings.

Left  Intake 13 13  Exhaust 37 37 Tight        Right  Intake 14 14  Exhaust 36 37

As to the timing, it was off.  A lot IMHO on the Left, and not so much on the Right.  But both were off.  Both had to be adjusted.



I used the tools as described by gr8ridn and it all worked flawlessly! The cam chain tension tool is without a doubt one of the coolest tools I ever used!  3 Clicks you are there just too cool.  The TDC tool is pretty sporty also but as I said you do pay for the privilege to lay hands on these tools.  Also I thought I might lend them out so others could use them but I have shut that down.  Only because if you do not understand them or ham fist them I think there is the potential to break them.    At the very least loose parts of them as the cam chain tension tool is 3 pieces alone.  I will however help someone in my garage.  If someone knows how to check valves and can turn their own wrench I would share my tools with them.  Make sure you have a 3/8" torque in the right ranges to cover the ranges you work with here.  From like 10 Nm for the valve cover bolts to 65 Nm for the cam gear bolts.  I did not, I do now.  The 16MM crows foot works well on those cam gear bolts.

Only other thing I did was install Iridium Plugs.



Well I did change the oil, oil filter,  and final drive fluid too.

It was a good day of turning wrenches today!  I had a long good day learning a bunch of stuff and it was way cool. 

Just a follow up and a final thought or three.

I was lucky and the Service Manager gave me a set of their DVD Repair Manual as he had gotten a new set.  Now mine does not get updated over the internet but it is fine.  It has the hours for services and a whole lot of stuff I do not use including a bunch of bike models.

I had 4 Sources on this.

The information here Using any GSW Special Tools? | Page 12 | Adventure Rider, the Haynes, the BMW DVD for RT's and the above mentioned DVD's.

The dealer acquired DVD shows this entire process with every tool and how to do it.  I just never looked as I would have never thought I would need to check, let alone set my timing.

I would say that this is the procedure EVERY dealer should be using to check valves and set timing.  I will bet that not many if ANY are doing this on valve inspections on guys bikes for service.  And that is why I get pissed at dealers.  They charge you top dollar but give you half service.

Guys need to start telling the dealer that this is the way BMW says to do valve and timing checks.  Dealers who guys support should be doing it this way.

I would say the average guy has no clue about this and is paying for part of a valve check not the correct and true way to check valves.  On Sunday at our club breakfast I mentioned to a GS guy who is having valves checked if the dealer was checking timing?  His eyes glazed over and and he had no clue.

Checking valves using JVB Productions DVD is fine no issues.  The area of the cam lobe is forgiving enough that timing being off does not really affect the valve readings.  And that is my point at least.  If your dealer or you do not go through a timing check you will never know about timing.  You might fuss over vibes or rough idle, but all in all unless you have timing set you will never know and just say well that is the character of the Boxer motor.

I ran the bike on the center stand and ran up through the gears and down quite a bit to get the oil hot to change and the to warm the FD fluid a little to drain.

Just from that, what I heard was a EVEN amount of noise on each side of the bike.  It did not sound that way before.  The bike just made a bit of noise and since my first Boxer I accepted that.  Walking from each side of the bike it sounds like the noise is the same on either side now.  I even held the stethoscope on each cove to make sure I was hearing right.  I mean there were small tone differences but on a whole they sound, for lack of a better word, balanced.

With the valves being so close to each other spec wise on each side, timing would be the only reason for more noise or uneven sound levels from each side.

My advice is hold your dealers hand over the flame, make him check your valves AND timing.  It is a called out procedure with a prescribed methodology that needs done.

YMMV 

These are the tools to do a Cam Check on a WetHead.

So today was a 15 GSA with all but 12K only a few miles short.

Everything was perfect!  The jig went on left and right very snug but it went on.  The cam lobe sensor was dead on also.

I have another GSA to do then will hunt down some more to check. 

So to recap:

15 RT 12,000 miles, Left off real bad, right off also. Cam sensor on.
16 GS 12,000 miles, Right side off pretty well and left side off. Cam sensor way out.
16 RT 6000 miles, Right dead on, Left off. Cam sensor on.
16 RT 12,000 miles, Dead on both sides. Cam sensor on.
15 GSA 12,000 Miles, Dead on both sides.  Cam sensor perfect.

So 3 out of 5 needed adjusted so far.  This is more promising and restoring a bit of faith in BMW to a point.

The only reason I say that is 3 out of 5 is not bad since 1 of those was off only on one side and only a bit but still off. 

I would like to get 10 or 15 bikes done to see if there is any rhyme to the reason.

Will post up on the next one I do.  My hope is to see enough people to inspire them to get the tools and check others bikes out also.    This way we can get a lot of bikes done and see just how big or little the problem may be.

Well I got to check a 14 RT with 5000 miles on it today.

Both sides in time perfect. Cam sensor dead on.

Complaint on the bike is needs 2nd attempt to start, surging, and perceived lack of power.

I felt I could help with the 2nd start, but cam position sensor was dead on. 

Since it has never been on the computer except at 600 mile we both feel the software is the issue on this bike.  I seem to remember surging and a software update.  It is scheduled for a computer hook up so we will see on tha

I recommend some Techtron and copious amounts of riding the snot out of it  ^-^

So the recap:

15 RT 12,000 miles, Left off real bad, right off also. Cam sensor on.
16 GS 12,000 miles, Right side off pretty well and left side off. Cam sensor way out.
16 RT 6000 miles, Right dead on, Left off. Cam sensor on.
16 RT 12,000 miles, Dead on both sides. Cam sensor on.
15 GSA 12,000 Miles, Dead on both sides. Cam sensor perfect.
14 RT 18,000 Miles , Dead on both sides. Cam sensors dead on.
14 RT 5,000 miles,  Dead on both sides.  Cam sensor perfect.

Great write-up  :thumbs:

I got invited to Alexandria VA for a tech day hosted by Jim VonBaden who produces technical reference service DVD's for BMW's.  I got to do a demo on checking cams. I used his bike.

Must have been 40-50 bikes there easy!  What a great time and the scope of work that was done was amazing.  Just about anything you needed done or wanted done could have been on the spot.  Had three bikes in the garages, a Harley, KTM, and a BMW GS, one directly outside of the garage, and then Jim's bike to the left of the garages for the cam check.

The door prizes were crazy.  A GS-911, ezCAN's, and I won a set of full blown Skene P3 lights that can be programed to do just about anything!  Hex, Beemer Bone Yard, Skene Lighting, and so many more vendors contributed door prizes that were out of this world. 

What a great time!



Anyway the results.

A 2015 GS with 11,500 miles on it.
Both sides were off not a lot but off, and the cam position sensor was off.  Only complaint was two push of button to start sometimes.
I put them in time and adjusted the cam position sensor
Valves matched the 6K check

So the Recap:
15 RT 12,000 miles, Left off real bad, right off also. Cam sensor on.
16 GS 12,000 miles, Right side off pretty well and left side off. Cam sensor way out. Adjusted
16 RT 6000 miles, Right dead on, Left off ever so slightly, Adjusted. Cam Position Sensor on.
16 RT 12,000 miles, Dead on both sides. Cam sensor on.
15 GSA 12,000 Miles, Dead on both sides. Cam sensor on.
14 RT 18,000 Miles , Dead on both sides. Cam sensors on.
14 RT 13,000 Miles, Dead on both sides. Cam sensor on.
15 RT 87,000 Miles, Dead on both sides. Cam sensor was off. Adjusted
16 GSA 1,688 Miles Right dead on. Left off ever so slightly, Adjusted. Cam Position Sensor on.
17.5 GS 56 Miles Dead on both sides Cam Position Sensor right on.
18 GS 905 Miles Dead on both sides Cam Position Sensor right on
15 GS 11,500 Miles Cam Timing off slightly both sides.  Cam Position Sensor off a lot.

Looks to me still the older bikes need set while the newer 17 and 18 bikes are good.  Like I say must be they got the production floor fixed.