My new 2004 1150 GSA not happy

[Mister Tof]

Hi everyone,
I'm seeking advice regarding a fault that's driving me crazy lately on an 2004 Adventure with 80000 miles on the clock, bought end of last year. I'm located in the south of france and mechanics who can deal with this issue are very rare!

so... I'll try to describe the fault as well as possible, in case some of you have come across a similar issue! Thanks in advance!

Last night for example, after 40 miles without any problems on the motorway I slow down to negotiate the toll booth, waiting for the barrier to open, shifted into first gear, the engine decides to cut out!

I restart quickly and off I go again. But... as I approach a roundabout at reduced speed, the engine revving around 2,500 rpm, it starts to "sputter," and then as I exit the roundabout, when accelerating, the engine jerks, sputters, and backfires.

I have to go easy on the throttle then the engine recovers and restarts normally until the next speed drop.
The symptoms also appear when accelerating too suddenly, same lots of engine jerking, sputtering, and backfiring!
Very often, the engine cuts out when I'm at low revs or in traffic... really annoying and can be dangerous!
But it's periodic and doesn't happen systematically every time!
I read on a forum that one cause of a backfiring engine could be a faulty fuel pump. My fuel pump makes quite a squeaking noise when the tank in nearly empty. Could this be it?

Any ideas what the problem could be?

 

[KMD]

My thoughts would be fuel pump or the fuel pipe which is U shaped on it. Maybe split and letting fuel pressure drop.

 

[Mister Tof]

My thoughts would be fuel pump or the fuel pipe which is U shaped on it. Maybe split and letting fuel pressure drop.

Thank you! It did cross my mind because of the mileage and the squeaky noise the pumps makes, I’ve got a non OEM emergency fuel pump I could fit! I’ll try that soon and keep you posted! Cheers

 

[J biker]

Fuel. As per post above, pipe or pump.

 

[Mister Tof]

Fuel. As per post above, pipe or pump.

Thank you for your reply! Fingers crossed will keep you posted! Cheers!

 

[Paul Young]

The ‘U’ shaped pipe is a special part that is quite expensive for what it is, but don’t be tempted to try and use normal pipe and bend it as this doesn’t work. Buy the proper part and replace it even if it looks OK as this will save you from being stranded when it fails unexpectedly. You’re going to the tank anyway…

I would also look over the plug leads and coils to check for any damage/arcing. I had a bad misfire that I traced to a very small cut in a plug lead. It was particularly bad in rain, obviously.

 

[Mister Tof]

The ‘U’ shaped pipe is a special part that is quite expensive for what it is, but don’t be tempted to try and use normal pipe and bend it as this doesn’t work. Buy the proper part and replace it even if it looks OK as this will save you from being stranded when it fails unexpectedly. You’re going to the tank anyway…

I would also look over the plug leads and coils to check for any damage/arcing. I had a bad misfire that I traced to a very small cut in a plug lead. It was particularly bad in rain, obviously.

Great advice, thank you Paul! Is this the U shaped pipe you're referring to?

 

[albatross]

Great advice, thank you Paul! Is this the U shaped pipe you're referring to?

That’s the one

 

[NeilDD]

That's the one but your has been replaced by something in the past.
It does not have the BMW fuel line crimps

 

[Mister Tof]

That's the one but your has been replaced by something in the past.
It does not have the BMW fuel line crimps

Hi Neil, thanks for your response, my fault I should have said I'd found the attached photo on the net, not my pump!

 

[Steptoe]

It’s not unusual for the fuel pump to squeal when fuel is low, my GS has done it for the last 15 years.
Before fucking about checking the fuel tank internals try checking the main coil caps
Before you go spending money on people guesses here’s a simple test .
Disconnect the plug caps of both secondary/lower spark plugs on both sides.
Then start the bike and see if it runs on both sides on just the main upper coils. .
If runs on only one side reconnect the lower plug cap on the non running side and see if it improves/runs.
If it doesn’t fire up and run put both lower secondary plug caps back on and see if it then fires up an runs
The main coil caps are notorious for failing/breaking down under load.
This test cost you nothing and only takes 5 minutes

 

[Mister Tof]

It’s not unusual for the fuel pump to squeal when fuel is low, my GS has done it for the last 15 years.
Before fucking about checking the fuel tank internals try checking the main coil caps
Before you go spending money on people guesses here’s a simple test .
Disconnect the plug caps of both secondary/lower spark plugs on both sides.
Then start the bike and see if it runs on both sides on just the main upper coils. .
If runs on only one side reconnect the lower plug cap on the non running side and see if it improves/runs.
If it doesn’t fire up and run put both lower secondary plug caps back on and see if it then fires up an runs
The main coil caps are notorious for failing/breaking down under load.
This test cost you nothing and only takes 5 minutes

morning! thanks for this... I will give it a go! I have replaced the two ignition coils (see photo attached) last week though... the old ones seems to have been the original ones.

 

[Steptoe]

morning! thanks for this... I will give it a go! I have replaced the two ignition coils (see photo attached) last week though... the old ones seems to have been the original ones.

Anything else that’s highly relevant you haven’t told us ?
Save people wasting their time typing out replies

 

[Mister Tof]

Anything else that’s highly relevant you haven’t told us ?
Save people wasting their time typing out replies

My intention was not to waste anyone's time .... I'm sorry I'm no mechanic and this issue is doing my head in, hence me posting as a last resort (also can't find a decent mechanic in this area let alone a BMW specialist, they are all cowboys down here)...

I understand it's not an easy fault and could be caused by many different things! plus since I have changed two ignition coils the problem persisted so I didn't think it was worth mentioning

 

[Wrigsby1]

Always worth mentioning all the symptoms and things attempted... Steptoe et al who fix these thing for a living will have had these conversations a thousand times so they cut to the chase sharpish... This place is full of experience and you'll get your fix eventually amidst the good advice and a bit of Mickey taking...

 

[Steptoe]

My intention was not to waste anyone's time .... I'm sorry I'm no mechanic and this issue is doing my head in, hence me posting as a last resort (also can't find a decent mechanic in this area let alone a BMW specialist, they are all cowboys down here)...

I understand it's not an easy fault and could be caused by many different things! plus since I have changed two ignition coils the problem persisted so I didn't think it was worth mentioning

Christophe, don’t take it seriously, I was taking the piss.. good to hear from you .. have you still got the airhead ?

 

[Steptoe]

Maybe a TPS problem, how’s your fuel consumption ? Has it Increased recently ?

 

[Mister Tof]

Always worth mentioning all the symptoms and things attempted... Steptoe et al who fix these thing for a living will have had these conversations a thousand times so they cut to the chase sharpish... This place is full of experience and you'll get your fix eventually amidst the good advice and a bit of Mickey taking...

Thank you! Will let everyone know when this problem is sorted! cheers!

 

[Mister Tof]

Maybe a TPS problem, how’s your fuel consumption ? Has it Increased recently ?

great fuel consumption, did a trip recently and used 5.5L for 100KM (sorry don't know MPG) and haven't noticed an increase in fuel consumption recently.

 

[Mister Tof]

Christophe, don’t take it seriously, I was taking the piss.. good to hear from you .. have you still got the airhead ?

No worries... I'm just fed up with this fault and I'm not enjoying riding that GSA! "The old girl" died in a wild fire back in 2021 sadly sad day it was! I seriously miss it, great fun to ride!