RT quit on me.

[dduelin]

After a problem the weekend before last that stranded me for the first time since I have owned my RT I believe I have set things to right. The problem made its presence known Saturday before last when the RT quit on me without warning 15 miles from home. It was 95F and I had been riding for 3 hours. It just shut off while accelerating through 70 mph onto an interstate entrance ramp. On the shoulder I got it started but it was sputtering and cutting out over 3000 rpm so rode 2 miles to a safe place to assess things. I had to traverse either of two long bridges to get home and did not trust the bike to continue running so I retrieved my bike on my utility trailer. The next day it ran fine during a 30 mile ride in the cool of morning. During the week I couldn’t find anything obviously wrong and sort of chalked it up to a stick coil breaking down under heat and load. The problem fit the symptoms of a bad upper coil, which is not unknown on higher mileage 2005-2009 boxers. Last Saturday I headed out on it to get a photo tag and at 30 miles it quit in the predawn darkness. On the center standt would start and idle and rev in neutral but as soon as I dropped it in gear it quit. A light bulb in my head lit up…. The side stand was up but it acted like it was down. I dropped the side stand and tried to start it in gear and it started in gear with the clutch in and the side stand down. It was if the switch was reversed in operation. I couldn’t ride it home with the stand down so I cycled the side stand up and down several times while wiggling the play out of it and managed to keep it running while in gear with the stand up. I gingerly rode it home, grabbed the NC and went for the photo tag. When I got home I examined the side stand switch in light of day. It was loose and just a gentle push popped it off the locating stud. Simple fix. The $2 circlip that holds it in place on the stud was gone allowing the switch nearly to fall off. It must have been working intermittently for a week. The local dealership had the clip and washer in stock and these secured the switch and fixed the problem. Rode it 92 miles today with temps 99-100F and it purred.

 

[Ron]

Amazing what you can see when you have enough light! You can't beat a cheap easy fix!

 

[dduelin]

Honestly I should have checked that switch when I was looking the bike over during the week but I was fixated on ignition breakdown as the problem. Check the easy things first, right?

 

[RobbieAG]

I'm glad you got it sorted out quickly Dave.

 

[Andrew Shadow]

It is always amazing to learn how quickly the simplest of things can make a very sophisticated piece of machinery in to a paperweight.

 

[Sadlsor]

This all reinforces the wisdom of:

KNOW THY BIKE!

I could never feel comfortable riding out of town on a bike I didn't understand at the very least on a rudimentary level.
I certainly could not afford taking it to a dealer every time it had a hiccup or odd behavior, as I ride too much for that, besides not having enough working motorbikes in my garage to do without it for a month.

 

[SupraSabre]

This all reinforces the wisdom of:

KNOW THY BIKE!

I could never feel comfortable riding out of town on a bike I didn't understand at the very least on a rudimentary level.
I certainly could not afford taking it to a dealer every time it had a hiccup or odd behavior, as I ride too much for that, besides not having enough working motorbikes in my garage to do without it for a month.

That is exactly why I'm sticking with my ST1300s. After 397,000 miles and doing my own maintenance on them, I can't see buying something else that I don't know. And since I'm no genius when it comes to mechanic-ing, I like the fact that there's not too much on these bikes I can't take care of...or swap parts with!

 

[Mellow]

I like the fact that there's not too much on these bikes I can't take care of...or swap parts with!

I feel the same about my '21 RT.. as I did the Super Tenere, Vstrom, Tracer 900... LOL

 

[dduelin]

Credit where credit is due. My dad was a master mechanic and I learned most of what I know from him working on not only our cars and motorcycles but other household stuff. He collected old wall clocks and most of them ran and kept good time after he overhauled the clockworks. I remember the first repair I did on a motor bike which was replacing the steering bearings on my MiniTrail 50. He showed me what to do but let me do it. If not for being able to do my own maintenance and repairs since riding a bicycle I simply wouldn’t have been able to afford to own some of the vehicles and boats I have been blessed with.

 

[SupraSabre]

I feel the same about my '21 RT.. as I did the Super Tenere, Vstrom, Tracer 900... LOL

LOL... but you're still young enough to want to try to learn on a different one. I'm not!

 

[Sadlsor]

LOL... but you're still young enough to want to try to learn on a different one. I'm not!

I won't really get old, unless I quit learning.

 

[SupraSabre]

I won't really get old, unless I quit learning.

I've got plenty to learn with putting in this yard. What I don't need is to be working on vehicles all the time!

I'd just as much rather get out and ride more!

 

[dbst1300]

While we are on BMW……my keyless gas cap on my 1250GS would not open yesterday (a common problem on the forums). It was not an issue as I was going to clean and lube the keyless mechanism (irony). So, I loosened all of the 4mm SW Motech Pro bag ring screws and the BMW gas cap Torx screws, cleaned/lubed everything up, and oh so carefully snugged everything back up. It works great again but a keyless gas cap is overkill technology to say the least.

 

[Sadlsor]

It works great again but a keyless gas cap is overkill technology to say the least.

Couldn't agree more.
ADVrider has a couple of threads covering the keyless gas cap, so there are fairly easy workarounds. Initially, many reports of gas cap malfunction were the result of operator error... which beautifully illustrates your point.
Needless complexity, IMO, but again this goes back to:
KNOW YOUR BIKE!
It would be horribly aggravating to have such a bike towed to a dealer, where they simply hold your plastic "spare" key in the little pocket under the seat, and open it in 15 seconds or less.

 

[Mellow]

Are you two kidding? I love the keyless ride, I want every bike I have from now on to have it.

 

[dbst1300]

Are you two kidding? I love the keyless ride, I want every bike I have from now on to have it.

Bah, humbug I’m am a riding Luddite!

 

[Mellow]

Bah, humbug I’m am a riding Luddite!

Lol..I think there are decals with that.

 

[Sadlsor]

Are you two kidding? I love the keyless ride, I want every bike I have from now on to have it.

Keyless ride?
Sure, no problem. (We hope!)
But keyless fueling?
It's fine, and works ok... until it doesn't.

 

[Mellow]

Keyless ride?
Sure, no problem. (We hope!)
But keyless fueling?
It's fine, and works ok... until it doesn't.

Lots of keyed bikes have gas cap issues with stuck caps and broken keys. Mine has been great.

 

[Mellow]

Lots of keyed bikes have gas cap issues with stuck caps and broken keys. Mine has been great.

That being said...I will make sure I have the correct torx bits to loosen the cap..