► Radiator top hose failures

[Mister Mischief]

bloody hose

mt mate spotted a coolant leek tonight, he's a mechanic and told me to get the straight into a dealer to check the hose. coolant,
there appears to be a build up of pressure in the system which could be caused by a sticky temperature valve, which is causing the pipe to slip off,

ive got mine booked in for its 6000 service on monday, but im taking it down to the dealer first thing in the morning, this shouldnt happen on a less than 1 year old bike,,

he advised me that if the hose comes off it will destableise the pressure in the engine and may cause the engine to blow, gaskets etc,

will let you know the outcome either tomorrow or after the service,



on a seperate note, has any one had problems with changing up from 2nd to 3rd,, i also seem to be having a issue with the chain tension, meaning i am having to get a new chain and sprocket set fitted,


last thing, for now, what tyres are recomended ??? its curently got michelins on it,

 

[Malcolm Leick]

Had exactly the same problem last Saturday. I have the bike booked in for a 12000 mile service and Pidcocks in Nottingham say the hose will be replaced following a factory recall. Fingers crossed.

 

[BM_donator]

Had exactly the same problem last Saturday. I have the bike booked in for a 12000 mile service and Pidcocks in Nottingham say the hose will be replaced following a factory recall. Fingers crossed.

Finally after 5500 miles, my hose sprung a leak - 3 days before I am due off to France for week

Fair play to BMW customer services - the nice chap arrived within 45 mins and reseated the hose.

Interesting that Pidcocks of Nottm have stated this is a factory recall item - I bought the bike from them and have had it serviced/repaired there 4 times since and they haven't mentioned the hose.

Phone call tomorrow 9am

 

[BM_donator]

Contacted Pidcocks, my bike was now showing on their system as needing 8 items for "updating";

New Hose
Sprocket bolt torque settings
Brake Caliper Torque settings
Key Aerial Ring
Software update
Fuel sender
ABS cable routing
and someting else I can't remember....

Because I was off to France in 2 days they took the bike in same day, gave me a loaner (F800S - very cramped!) and had the bike ready next day.

Top service - looks like the dealers are finally responding to the noise in the press (see this weeks MCN)

 

[ninjasquaddie]

I was riding up to Donington for the Day of Champions last week, when as I signed in at Mallory Park, I noticed coolant spillage on the side of the engine. I saw that the hose was only just on, and when the day was over ( including 3 brisk laps of Donington ) I called the nearest dealer, Colin Pidcock in Long Eaton. They agreed to do the mod for me the next day. You can only image just how angry I was when I found out from them that Vines had signed the mod off on the 6000 mile service, which I had in Feb. The engineer at Pidcocks wasn't too chuffed either and said he would be calling Vines on the Monday. I was fortunate that this happened in the relative civilisation of Nottingham. While it was in, the mech noticed that my head bearings were very loose, and tightened them up for me. I had also reported this to Vines in Feb, and the bike came out worse than it went in.

To say that I am p1ssed off with Vines is an understatement.

I would also like to make known that I am fully appreciative of Pidcocks and the excellent service that they provided to me. Highly recommend them

 

[Dave Ett]

I'm rather surprised there's anyone out there who hasn't yet replaced the crappy BMW spring clips with proper worm drive clips.

The coolant pipes are only just long enough, but stay on perfectly well once fully seated and held on with a decent clamp.

If you haven't had yours done yet, then don't be too surprised when the hose pops off!

 

[Diamaduk]

Almost 7k since September, no drips, working lose, top hose just fine. A month ago the bike had it 6k service shortly after which I noticed a bit of seepage and the hose had definately crept forward. I suspect the garage had adjusted it to make sure it was sealed properly. Effing big Jubilee clip now fitted, hope it holds.



Jimmy

 

[Tim Cullis]

It won't (speaking from experience). It needs the longer hose.

 

[everywherevirtually]

It won't (speaking from experience). It needs the longer hose.

+1 I did a YouTube vid on fitting the jubilee clip and even with that and the original clip it came off.

 

[truman]

650gs twin 2008- Radiator hose problem

Unfortunately we have experienced a major fault with one of our new 650gs twins while operating a tour in Chile. The bike in question is now at BMW Santiago waiting on news of a warranty claim.

BMW Santiago say they have 3 BMW's in there suffering the same fate, the issue is with the weak top radiator hose, when ridden at altitude, over 4000m (something common in the Andes). The radiator hose contracts to the point of restricting water flow to the motor, unfortunately the motor has over heated, cracking the head. The water temperature sensor doesn’t indicate a problem as it is located on the cool water side of the restriction. Interested to see if anyone has serious damage to their bike like we have and what warranty dept will have to say.

 

[Diamaduk]

It won't (speaking from experience). It needs the longer hose.

You were right , out for a run last night I had to re-seat the hose every 60 miles, there must be a proper fix for this..


Jimmy

 

[Mister Mischief]

the hose

i took mine back to my local bmw dealer, they replaced the hose, and since then did some other safety updates ( they dont like to use the name recalls ).

just had the rear tyre replaced under the puncture insurance, thought everything was ok, but came back with a huge rear wheel wobble, wheel buckled, and according to bm, wheels are not covered by the warantry, ( unless its cracked ) funny how it was ok before the tyre was changed,

having to have the spokes reset, all at my cost,

 

[everywherevirtually]

Unfortunately we have experienced a major fault with one of our new 650gs twins while operating a tour in Chile. The bike in question is now at BMW Santiago waiting on news of a warranty claim.

BMW Santiago say they have 3 BMW's in there suffering the same fate, the issue is with the weak top radiator hose, when ridden at altitude, over 4000m (something common in the Andes). The radiator hose contracts to the point of restricting water flow to the motor, unfortunately the motor has over heated, cracking the head. The water temperature sensor doesn’t indicate a problem as it is located on the cool water side of the restriction. Interested to see if anyone has serious damage to their bike like we have and what warranty dept will have to say.

The top hose issue has had a fix since February and I think it would be fair to say that riding over the Andes is a little out of the ordinary. certainly in Europe the highest passes are sub 3000m. High Altitude is punishing on most bikes and people. certainly reading Lois on the Loose highlighted the adverse effects of riding over the Andes.

At sea level the hose gives plenty of warning that it is working its way off and even when it does the few tell tale turquoise drips are enough to warn you to get it sorted. It is not on a recall but I believe BMW will fix it for free if a hose exhibits the problem. I had mine done at the beginning of the year and it's fine now.

 

[Diamaduk]

Following the poor attempt at replacing the spring clip with a jubilee clip I decided to use the original spring.
What I have now found that what is important is the position of the spring clip.
The nearer the end of the hose the better as in the first image, no slippage in this position.
The second image shows the clamp directly behind the ridge of the inner pipe, if the ridge was the full circumfrence of the pipe this would be the ideal location, sadly this ridge only covers the front face of the pipe. To add to the problem the rear of this pipe is tapered which provides ideal circumstances for the hose slipping.

Jimmy

 

[ide508]

Following the poor attempt at replacing the spring clip with a jubilee clip I decided to use the original spring.
Jimmy

Jimmy, why don't you get you're Bmw dealer taking care of this? They will do it for free but sometimes they're are side effects...

 

[Diamaduk]

Jimmy, why don't you get you're Bmw dealer taking care of this? They will do it for free but sometimes they're are side effects...

I didnt have any problems with this until the dealer did the 6k service, The bike is in tomorrow morning for some corrosion treatment, I will mention it to them.

 

[Pete the paint]

I've only become aware of this thread since I first discovered a moving hose problem in Nov 2009. Mine is a February 09 bike with the latest BMW hose, allegedly. Now I'm in Southern Portugal after having a temporary reseating of the hose done under BMW Assist. I've since had BMW in Faro fit a new hose, and am looking forward to the 2/2500Km trip home with some concern. My question is; Have all the problems that you lads out there had been resolved, or has everyone just given up on this thread?
I'm seriously thinking of getting rid of the bike if it can't be relied on to do a decent length trip!

 

[martin c s]

I've only become aware of this thread since I first discovered a moving hose problem in Nov 2009. Mine is a February 09 bike with the latest BMW hose, allegedly. Now I'm in Southern Portugal after having a temporary reseating of the hose done under BMW Assist. I've since had BMW in Faro fit a new hose, and am looking forward to the 2/2500Km trip home with some concern. My question is; Have all the problems that you lads out there had been resolved, or has everyone just given up on this thread?
I'm seriously thinking of getting rid of the bike if it can't be relied on to do a decent length trip!

Hi Pete,

I had a new hose about a year ago under warranty and it has been fine since .........so far!

 

[v8legend]

Mine was done before I bought it, and no probs since. Infact no probs at all, not a single one. Well that's if you don't include the service indicator coming on too soon. I've seen all the scares on here, but my bike is brilliant......fingers crossed and all that.

ps Hi Martin

 

[Ducksbane]

I had my top hose replaced under warranty with the new part which is made of a different rubber. This is all very nice but it is still too short! It leaked more than the original hose.

Solution is very simple ... just put a screw type jubilee hose clamp on the joint furthest from the radiator. I had to do this so I could ride my bike to the dealer to get its 20,000 km service. Strangely the dealer fix for someone with this problem is a jubilee hose clamp!

So far no problem ... just remember the reason that manufacturers use spring clamps is because they are self adjusting, so every now and then you should check that its tightened properly.

Most of the F800GS problems are easily fixed with a bit of common sense, with the possible exception of the rear wheel bearings that afflict some early bikes ... including mine.