650gs twin 2008- Radiator hose problem- cracked head

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truman

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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 Chile and 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. Very interested to see if anyone has serious damage to their bike like we have and what warranty dept will have to say.
 
That's a bummer. The material of which the hose is constructed gets quite pliable when hot.

On the positive side I can't see how BMW could avoid fixing this under warranty; let us know how it pans out.
 
I am not sure about the reason but my wife's 650GS/twin had a similar issue with the cooling system two days ago - we were riding Olkhon Island in lake Baikal and my wife received a splash of cooling liquid onto her visor. The sensor indicated normal working temperature. I am not sure about the engine head as we gave the bikes in for railways transportation and to flew home. Have to wait their arrival and examination by the dealer.
P.S. no altitude - just a normal gravel road, nothing of extreme. Rode about one mile or so, no dust in the air. Air T about 20C - that was the start of the morning ride.
 
truman said:
the issue is with the weak top radiator hose, when ridden at altitude, over 4000m (something common in the Chile and the Andes). The radiator hose contracts to the point of restricting water flow to the motor.
Click to expand...

Maybe I am confused... (it would not be the first time...) but I thought the top hose was the outlet from the coolant pump and thus would be under pressure ... while the bottom hose being the inlet would be under suction and be the one at risk of collapse? :confused:
 
jimbob59 said:
Maybe I am confused... (it would not be the first time...) but I thought the top hose was the outlet from the coolant pump and thus would be under pressure ... while the bottom hose being the inlet would be under suction and be the one at risk of collapse? :confused:
Click to expand...

If you're confused then I'm doubly so. Logic would surely dictate that in a low pressure environment, at high altitude, a radiator hose would be more likely to expand than contract.
 
I suspect it had nothing to do with altitude and just worked it's way off like all the others :augie

As there are no mountain passes over 3000m in Europe I don't think we need to worry too much. :D

The top hose problem is well documented now and BMW are happy to fix it and any related issues it has caused.
 
formal recall notice?

Is there a formal recall notice out for the top hose?

If so, is it only on the F800GS & not the F658GS?

I have not pressed my dealer on it, so he might be in the loop... but I was expecting a recall notice..... and have not received one..........
 
jimbob59 said:
Is there a formal recall notice out for the top hose?

If so, is it only on the F800GS & not the F658GS?

I have not pressed my dealer on it, so he might be in the loop... but I was expecting a recall notice..... and have not received one..........
Click to expand...

There is no official recall. If you have the problem and let them know they will sort it out for free. If you don't have the problem then there is nothing to worry about.

It's the sort of issue that will make itself known after having the bike a relatively short time. Mine started coming off after 2000 miles.
 
Thanks!

I'll get them to put on the new better hose when they install the new water pump (mine weeps oil) ...

I do have the problem ... right now I have the spring clamp slid up the hose a bit and have a julbilee clamp in the stock location to keep things under control...

I am waiting for my black powder-coated jubilee clamps to come back from the shop to see if you can actually powder coat something like that... :rolleyes:
 
Tim Cullis said:
I had a recall for the top hose for my F650GS.
Click to expand...

Because it slipped off? It's different, I guess. My wife's GS is 2009 and has been free from any recall so far. Also, having it in my mind after reading a lot about the upper hose, I started every morning with visual check of the hoses, looked for any spot of the cooling fluid and checking its level. Everything was OK. And there was NO overheating.
So I have the following options so far: -an air bubble from production defect; - a thermostat failure; - a water pump failure.
 
easyman:

I started reading the thread but ... am gonna be late to work.... :augie

If you got to the end, what was the solution?
 
sickening

its gotton worse...the cylinder head is cracked. i guess the water pissed out from the hose, until the radiator was dry and thus cooked the engine. no warning light came on for overheating. this happened at the end of a ride day so it was impossible that the radiator was empty to start with.
i would love to know why there was no warning light. the rider of the bike assures me there wasn't one.
Bmw are not giving a warranty as it had a radiator guard fitted (touratech one too). work that one out. this was explained in a very brief email from them.
its about 6 grand to get repaired at bmw santiago. looks like we will be shipping our own parts and cylinder head for them to fit as the cost just for the head is about 2,400usd. its sickening.
 
does the TT rad guard really restricts air flow so significantly?
looks like just a kind of "casus belli" to me - any pretext for not to accept it warranty case. BMW do not offer any guard for F650GS and without a guard is impossible to ride gravels - so does it mean that F650GS/twin is not a GS? Then BMW just misinform the customers, imho.
 
I fitted the F800GS plastic radiator guard on my F650GS. Clearly Touratech doesn't believe their radiator guard affects the efficiency of the radiator and I should have thought you would be able to obtain a statement from the company to that effect.

The real test of whether a guard reduces air flow would surely be whether the fan comes on more often than before? You would probably have to blank off half the radiator for that to happen.

Given the amount of money involved you should take legal advice.
 
Tim,
did you experience any coolant issue with your 650/twin in Morocco? I suppose you had enough gravel/sand trails there.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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