GS LC hopping away......

Ranger63

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Hello, I wonder if anyone can help. I have a 2013 BMW 1200 GS LC and sometimes find that when I pull away, especially on a hill the bike hops forward as I am letting the clutch out - can do this 4-5 times until I finally get going. It not only looks bad (embarrassing), it sounds bad and could potentially end with me dropping the bike. FYI - this is generally with half a tank of fuel, no panniers/top box or pillion and dry conditions etc. I asked the BMW dealer who said that they would need to look at the bike but did not offer any advice.

I appreciate it is difficult without being able to ride the bike in person but can any offer any advice as to why this is happening? Is it me ie, not letting the clutch out correctly? Is the clutch lever not set correctly for my type of riding? or could the clutch need some technical adjustment by the dealer?

I have owned and ridden some bikes that have had some twitchy throttles etc ie KTM 990 SM R and have never experienced this.

Cheers.
 
It does need a little more clutch slip than some other bikes. IMHO is a combination of the lightweight flywheel two high compression 600cc cylinders and fly by wire throttle control.

In short I recon they all do that sir it's normal.
 
I do recall such kangaroo hops on mine. It felt like I was trying to do wheele but bike electronics where preventing from it.
 
What "mode" are you using when you do this
Also are you trying to get away quick and use loads of right wrist? In rain mode if you try and gun it, the bike will bog down and kangaroo hop for example.
 
More info

Hello, Many thanks for your replies - much appreciated. Re-question from Titto - I am in road mode when this happens and no, not trying to gun it a way - just trying to pull away normally. Hate to think if this happened on a hill fully ladened (top box, panniers etc) and a pillion on the back - a little bit of a livener as Del Boy would say.

Cheers.
 
I found that my bike did the same............................ The cure............................ More throttle.

A bit more throttle, and slip the clutch out slowly = No hopping.

Good luck.
 
Gargy has hit the nail on the head for how I used to deal with it. My 2013 model did it quite badly. I have mentioned this before on another thread, and discovered this whilst on the Hardknott Pass so I turned Enduro mode on and it cured it! Equally, the Dynamic mode doesn't do it either. Rain and Road both did it.
The 2014 model I have doesn't do it though! I retested the road too only last week and the bike behaved totally calmly. Strange Indeed.
 
I had it down to the wet clutch.
If I was slipping the clutch slightly, and revved it up to get more power to launch, the clutch would grab ( even though I was not releasing the clutch).

Happened to me a few times too.
I find that they don't like too much clutch slip at all ( unlike the older dry clutch bikes that don't complain).
 
In that movie clip, I saw what I see as two seperate issues.
One is the low-rev cutout, where the bike will stall if the revs drop too low.
The second ( at the lights ) is what I am referring to - rev up while slight drag on clutch, and it grabs.
 
Titto said:
Gargy has hit the nail on the head for how I used to deal with it. My 2013 model did it quite badly. I have mentioned this before on another thread, and discovered this whilst on the Hardknott Pass so I turned Enduro mode on and it cured it! Equally, the Dynamic mode doesn't do it either. Rain and Road both did it.
The 2014 model I have doesn't do it though! I retested the road too only last week and the bike behaved totally calmly. Strange Indeed.
Click to expand...

Titto: from my experience, I concur. My '13 GS does exactly the same, but a demo '14 GSA I rode did not. In fact, it had one of the best wet clutches I've ever felt.
One thing I've noticed with mine is that engine and/or ambient temperature has little effect on the clutch action. Some times, it can shift perfectly. Other times, it feels like the clutch plates have corroded into the basket.
Puts me in mind of an abused Yamaha Thunderace. :mad:

From a mechanical perspective, I reckon it has nothing to do with electronics, but rather, poor design and/or 'generous' tolerances on the manufacturer's end - which have been addressed on the new model.
Oh, well. It was the first batch of a new vehicle. We always knew we were going to be Beta testers.
 
tecman said:
one of these were caught when ai tried to pull away after my engine cut out... http://youtu.be/DXv6zUg5Czk
Click to expand...

You just stalled it mate. I found I was stalling my LC GSA a lot, particularly from standstill around london. Now with 2500 miles of which 70% are city riding I rarely stall it. The LC seems to need a lot more throttle than the Hexhead and a lot easier to stall. I used to experience it pinking a bit too. The answer is more throttle. You get used to it.
 
trust me. it cut out. that happened on same day 10 mins apart. I had throttle reset and so far it didn't happen again.
 
Just a quick update - I was wasting time this morning before heading out a came across a video on Youtube posted Feb 2013 I believe. I think it is an official BMW video showing a computer generated breakdown of the LC engine with notes on each section. When it gets to the clutch its states that it is a wet clutch with an anti hopping system. Hmm....maybe they left this out on my bike - still on the shelf. Anyway on a more serious note - I am going to take it into the dealers for them to have a look at but I have a feeling they will say there is nothing they can do.

Maybe I should have waited for a later model with some of the new bike issues sorted out.
 
Well I reckon it's riding style when setting off that causes the TC to kick in and cut the power, I say this cos when I let my bro ride my bike he had the same problem and came back grumbling about it kangerooing when pulling away from the lights, and yet I have never had the problem. He has just bought himself an LC (last week) and has had the same issue with his new bike, so he tends to ride with his TC turned off.
If I ride his bike I don't have an issue, so although I would have thought that we rode very similar, we clearly have a different set-off technique, that causes the bike to react. I will add that my bro has done a lot of track work and is the quicker rider :comfort
 
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