brand new bike and valve failure

In all my time riding bikes and driving cars, I only know of ONE person who had a dropped valve. I burnt a valve out on my first car (probably due to unleaded fuel and my constant thrashing it).

Here we are in 2012 and the only vehicles it seems to happen to are BMW bikes.

You must live in..............la-la land:blast
 
Make that another one!! :friday

2004 R1200GS 11,916 miles checked oil started her up and went a wee run to warm the oil before changing it and doing the service

About a mile up the road and not having exceeded 4000 revs I do a right turn into a junction and come all the way round to head back down my road

clutch in for second and clatter clatter clatter!

DSC01666.jpg


DSC01664.jpg


Did NOT Make Oi Larf!
 
Rasher you only ever post on here now when there's a problem with someone's bike, you bought a tenere good luck to you I hope you have loads of trouble free miles blah! Blah! We all know about certain problems on the odd bike here and there but many people still buy them including me 2012 bike 4500 miles no problems yet, it's great that people share there problems as to benefit other folk but if you don't like the bike or the brand buy something else like rasher.
 
this is the first example of the problem i've heard of on the twin cam. anyone know of others?
 
My Triumph Dolomite 1850HL had a valve / piston interface thing (cam chain went).

My XS250 burnt a valve out.

My XL250 dropped a valve.

:D

Any more for any more?

Andres
 
My Triumph Dolomite 1850HL had a valve / piston interface thing (cam chain went).

My XS250 burnt a valve out.

My XL250 dropped a valve.

:D

Any more for any more?

Andres

Well obviously you'll have problems if the cam chain/belt snaps. I've heard of plenty of cambelts snapping. That's NOT a dropped valve though.
Burning a valve out is NOT dropping a valve.

The oldest vehicle I've owned was a 1976 Fiesta 1100. That's the one that burnt a valve out.

I thought these bikes were meant to be modern?? :nenau:nenau
 
Well obviously you'll have problems if the cam chain/belt snaps. I've heard of plenty of cambelts snapping. That's NOT a dropped valve though.
Burning a valve out is NOT dropping a valve.

The oldest vehicle I've owned was a 1976 Fiesta 1100. That's the one that burnt a valve out.

I thought these bikes were meant to be modern?? :nenau:nenau

:thumb

Despite what you say though, it IS a very rare occurrence on these bikes and given how lean they run I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often so, in that way I guess, they are very 'modern' as you put it ie they can run so lean, put out so much power (relative) and yet remain reliable :nenau

AND....................and this is a very personal point of view, I STILL class WMB's as old skool bikes that still need a bit of owner involvement and the odd bit of TLC here and there.It's part of the attraction to me and what gives the bike character..........the opposite of a Super Ten I guess (great bike on paper but ultimately soulless and bland). I don't mean that as an excuse for burnt out valves, more that, I guess, I don't have high expectations in the first place as I grew up with bikes that always required a bit of involvement and were often flawed in some way (but all the better for it IMO).

I think a lot of peeps who know no better have come to the latest R series bikes without that grounding in bikes. They have come straight from reliable, sewing machine bikes and have expectations set for them by the MBW marketing guys, not by their own common sense :nenau

I'll shut up now, I'm rambling.............:rob

Andres
 
Well obviously you'll have problems if the cam chain/belt snaps. I've heard of plenty of cambelts snapping. That's NOT a dropped valve though.
Burning a valve out is NOT dropping a valve.

The oldest vehicle I've owned was a 1976 Fiesta 1100. That's the one that burnt a valve out.

I thought these bikes were meant to be modern?? :nenau:nenau

That's the fact though "THEY ARE MODERN" the use modern materials and techniques to produce an engine which makes significant amounts of power. I think that BMW are sort of trapped in a situation which is fully their own making. The had the stupiudity to make a twin cylinder engine back in nineteen canteen which they continually insisted on improving over the years. Worse still they blatantly ignored the warnings given out by a bike buying public who could not get enough of these heaps of shite and continued to fuel the demand. I mean what is wrong with these tossers in Munich they just keep turning out the most sought after twin cylinder dual purpose motorcycle ever made, without the thought that there may be an occassional failure in a component. Then to put the cherry on the cake they go and make the engine even more powerful and water cool it to further improve the wretched thing! Why did they not just say to the thousands of people who buy this bike year in year out for the past eight years "that's it this bike is a heap of shite has been for years we have been taking the piss for long enough we are going to make an entirely new bike with an engine that simpley never goes wrong and a shaft drive that can withstand a nuclear detonation. The answer is simple they know what their customers want and have done for many years .. a bit like Ducati but the are genuine dung:D
 
Perhaps its just coming on here where everyone moans about them breaking down ....;)

"I have no problems" is not news and neither is it something that would motivate most people to post. " I have had a problem" is something that would motivate people to post. The result is that the forums for any vehicle give a very skewed idea of the frequency of problems. whether it be BMW bikes or BMW cars or electronics.

On my second 1200GS. Quite prepared to accept that they are less good engineering quality than my previous Honda but unlike the Honda they do have some character and are much nicer to ride. So I take a slightly greater risk for slightly greater fun.
 
A friend of mine bought a brand new C4S and the engine let go within 6 months - what does that prove :comfort
 
what puzzles me is that its always the RH exhaust valve and looking at previous photos its about the same point on the stem

it's almost certainly the point where the head is welded to the stem.
 
I like 1200 GS'. I think they're a good bike. My current 2011 GSA has now done 18k miles without incident including lots of long miles in North America with Bilco.
What I increasingly fail to understand is what the UKGSer website is for now? I conclude its most vocal members want to just knock the bike or be negative generally - which seems rather perverse to me.
I fist joined to get technical assistance (which was good) and to do some open invite trips (which I have enjoyed and met some great people through). Increasingly though, to me, that positive community part of the site seems to have diminished and the negative posts have increased. Or perhaps I've missed something or previously saw something that wasn't really there.
:rob
 
:thumb

Despite what you say though, it IS a very rare occurrence on these bikes and given how lean they run I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often so, in that way I guess, they are very 'modern' as you put it ie they can run so lean, put out so much power (relative) and yet remain reliable :nenau

AND....................and this is a very personal point of view, I STILL class WMB's as old skool bikes that still need a bit of owner involvement and the odd bit of TLC here and there.It's part of the attraction to me and what gives the bike character..........the opposite of a Super Ten I guess (great bike on paper but ultimately soulless and bland). I don't mean that as an excuse for burnt out valves, more that, I guess, I don't have high expectations in the first place as I grew up with bikes that always required a bit of involvement and were often flawed in some way (but all the better for it IMO).

I think a lot of peeps who know no better have come to the latest R series bikes without that grounding in bikes. They have come straight from reliable, sewing machine bikes and have expectations set for them by the MBW marketing guys, not by their own common sense :nenau

I'll shut up now, I'm rambling.............:rob

Andres

I'm no an expert but I would defo say that the engine in that picture was not running weak prior tp the valve hitting the piston far from it! I know a lot of oil has found a home on top of the combustion deposits but the valve seat and all look fine. My guess would be badly made valve allied to poor lubbing of stem leading to a stuck/ slow returning valve and hey presto contact. Remember that valve has to flow back and forth without the slightest hinderance the piston only needs to kiss it and its f'd.
 


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