DavidHale
Registered user
And this time next year you'll be a millionaireBut please don't stop the PM's, some of them are a great source of amusment and may appear in my forthcoming book of technical questions and answers .
Simple remedy to an 1150/1200 servo problem.
- Thread starter Steptoe
- Start date
Best way to become a millionaire is to start out as a billionaire and set up an airline...
patwil
Guest
Hi all
I support Steptoe and his concerns about giving his info away. I just wish there was a solution as I am half way around the world away (SA) and I have the back brake dragging problem. BMW says change the Servo and in our currency R20 000.00 is a lot of money (1/4 value of the bike) I want to however keep my ABS. Bike is a 2004 1150 GSA.
Regards
I support Steptoe and his concerns about giving his info away. I just wish there was a solution as I am half way around the world away (SA) and I have the back brake dragging problem. BMW says change the Servo and in our currency R20 000.00 is a lot of money (1/4 value of the bike) I want to however keep my ABS. Bike is a 2004 1150 GSA.
Regards
Hi Steptoe
I just thought I'd try one last apeal before I pull out my Servo/ABS to cure my dragging rear brake and intermittent abs problem before my holidays next month.
As I've said I'm willing to pay you whatever you consider reasonable to pass on your information as a pm?
Whadaya say?
Tech Info
Hi Steptoe,
How about putting it on a step by step DVD, only easy fixes and a few little technical need to knows, things that can be done at home or at the side of the road type of stuff (FD, Hall Sensor, Servicing). Seen a few DVD's on the net, think they were from the States. The clips I've seen weren't that technically great, in filming that is. I know it's not for the dosh but for the love of your fellow GSers. Could be a few quid in sales off here from far and wide, for those that cannot make it to your workshop.
As for scumbags making money off you, I'd rather donate my few quid to the original source as long as the knowledge is worth it. I'm sure anyone with one of these sort of bikes can afford to pay the going rate.
Always good to see someone in action, seeing my old Enfield Bullet stripped down that many times gave me a fair bit of confidence to do a fair few jobs myself. Don't think I'll get the same knowledge out of a book, thats when the bike gets delivered to me in Thailand to carry on my RTW.
The information I have gleaned off yourself and this site as a whole is invaluable. God help me if I have to use it.
Thats my begging over,
John RTW
Hi Steptoe,
How about putting it on a step by step DVD, only easy fixes and a few little technical need to knows, things that can be done at home or at the side of the road type of stuff (FD, Hall Sensor, Servicing). Seen a few DVD's on the net, think they were from the States. The clips I've seen weren't that technically great, in filming that is. I know it's not for the dosh but for the love of your fellow GSers. Could be a few quid in sales off here from far and wide, for those that cannot make it to your workshop.
As for scumbags making money off you, I'd rather donate my few quid to the original source as long as the knowledge is worth it. I'm sure anyone with one of these sort of bikes can afford to pay the going rate.
Always good to see someone in action, seeing my old Enfield Bullet stripped down that many times gave me a fair bit of confidence to do a fair few jobs myself. Don't think I'll get the same knowledge out of a book, thats when the bike gets delivered to me in Thailand to carry on my RTW.
The information I have gleaned off yourself and this site as a whole is invaluable. God help me if I have to use it.
Thats my begging over,
John RTW
Cheek
I think there are an awful lot of very cheeky people on here, if you want it fixed take to the expert, why on earth should anyone expect such information from a business?. Can't see you getting much joy for a BM dealer can you?, so either pay up or shut up and be thankful for all the help and trouble Neil takes with free advice and don't take the piss anymore.
Dave GS
I think there are an awful lot of very cheeky people on here, if you want it fixed take to the expert, why on earth should anyone expect such information from a business?. Can't see you getting much joy for a BM dealer can you?, so either pay up or shut up and be thankful for all the help and trouble Neil takes with free advice and don't take the piss anymore.
Dave GS
I think to accuse people of being cheeky may be a bit harsh Dave. You're right in that some people will always want something for nothing but many of these that posted in this thread have offered to pay for the knowledge. Of course it's next to impossible to control where the information goes once it's in the public domain and I know that Steptoe has been bitten by this before and fully understand his reluctance to give away his technical expertise (as I posted above).
But I'm also sure that for some people it's just distance (the poster above who's got servo problems but is in Scotland for instance) - it's not so easy to 'pay up or shut up' if you're 300 miles away with a broken bike? But I guess, there's no way around geography - we need to clone him and dot Steptoes all over the country
Don't pay don't get, simple.
Well said MattW, like you said all or most of the above are willing to pay. Being on the road in a strange country having the info could make a big difference. Not all mechanics in the world are competent in all fields, so a little help from the rider could get him back on the road that little bit quicker.
John RTW
Well said MattW, like you said all or most of the above are willing to pay. Being on the road in a strange country having the info could make a big difference. Not all mechanics in the world are competent in all fields, so a little help from the rider could get him back on the road that little bit quicker.
John RTW
I agree. Its tough on those who live far from London, but as MattW says, that's geography.
Steptoe's freely given a lot to this site and the GS community - nobody could accuse him of being a tight-wad on that score, a miserble git, perhaps, but not a tight wad
Steptoe's freely given a lot to this site and the GS community - nobody could accuse him of being a tight-wad on that score, a miserble git, perhaps, but not a tight wad
I agree. Its tough on those who live far from London, but as MattW says, that's geography.
Steptoe's freely given a lot to this site and the GS community - nobody could accuse him of being a tight-wad on that score, a miserble git, perhaps, but not a tight wad
Absolutely.
I've benefited from his advice on here, as have many and I can't believe there's anyone who wouldn't pay for an hour of his time to try out the ABS fix he's developed.
It's a shame that he can't pass on his knowledge about this (for payment or for free, that's his choice) while protecting his intellectual property, but if there is a way, I can't think of it...
Is it being cheeky? Steptoe posted
"I'm still deciding whether to post up the pictures and "a how to cure it" "
Is he asking our advice or touting for business, I suppose it depends how much he needs the work and money he might make on it. Others use their skills, knowledge and experience to give advice to others, after all this is what the "Help and Advice" section where this is posted, is for. Should we all just keep information private in case we or others might profit from it?
Depends on you point of view. I believe that Steptoes info might well be of great use to people away from home on trips, most people who live local to Steptoe would still take it to him to fix so I believe there would be very little to loose.
"I'm still deciding whether to post up the pictures and "a how to cure it" "
Is he asking our advice or touting for business, I suppose it depends how much he needs the work and money he might make on it. Others use their skills, knowledge and experience to give advice to others, after all this is what the "Help and Advice" section where this is posted, is for. Should we all just keep information private in case we or others might profit from it?
Depends on you point of view. I believe that Steptoes info might well be of great use to people away from home on trips, most people who live local to Steptoe would still take it to him to fix so I believe there would be very little to loose.
I think to accuse people of being cheeky may be a bit harsh Dave. You're right in that some people will always want something for nothing but many of these that posted in this thread have offered to pay for the knowledge. Of course it's next to impossible to control where the information goes once it's in the public domain and I know that Steptoe has been bitten by this before and fully understand his reluctance to give away his technical expertise (as I posted above).
But I'm also sure that for some people it's just distance (the poster above who's got servo problems but is in Scotland for instance) - it's not so easy to 'pay up or shut up' if you're 300 miles away with a broken bike? But I guess, there's no way around geography - we need to clone him and dot Steptoes all over the country
Thanks for your support Matt.
As I have said I'm willing to pay but it looks like I'll need to remove my servo/abs to make sure my bike is going to be reliable for my trip to europe next month, despite the fault being intermittent and possibly something that could easily be repaired with the right info, I cant take the chance it will fail again and ruin another trip.
Google maps say I'm 491 miles away from Stepto or believe me with his reputation I would happily have him servicing and repairing my bike DaveGS, but a round trip of nealy 1,000 miles makes that impractical.
I'm an honest person and if I have said to Steptoe that his information would go no further then I'm good for my word and dont "take the piss". I would also be the first person to help anyone in any way I could (and often do) if they were in my neck of the woods.
No worries though, I've tried, I'll drop it now and get the spanners out
hank
Registered user
BigBugger.
I removed my ABS unit a few weeks ago for the same reasons as you.
I have since been on a 3,000 mile trip to the Pyrenees and have had no problems with the now simplified braking system.
The bike definitely feels lighter (well it did before I loaded it up for the trip) and I am at last able to modulate the brakes for slow speed manoeuvres. Overall the brakes feel just as good as before with the added bonus of feedback from the road.
I just need to get used to having non-linked brakes again, which won’t be too difficult as I rode normally braked bikes for years before I got my Beemer.
My biggest problem was bleeding the back brake, because I had drained the circuit there was an airlock in the master cylinder. Having watched Blue Peter when I was a boy I found the solution to my bleeding problem in an old washing up liquid bottle; and me being a good boy,I asked permission first and I didn't work on the good dining room table.
After washing out the remains of the washing up liquid and drying the bottle I drilled out the hole in the cap to 6mm and screwed in one of the now redundent bleed screws from the servo/abs unit.
I then fitted a length of plastic tube to the nipple before replacing the cap, I squeezed the bottle and used the suction within to drain out the fluid reservoir and then reloaded the bottle with some clean fluid. The other end of the tube was then attached to the bleed nipple on the rear calliper and the bottle inverted, it took a bit of squeezing and tapping to get all the air out of the tube and into the bottle before I could open the bleed nipple and squeezed the fluid in to the calliper. Keep an eye on the fluid reservoir wile pumping the fluid in as I only just stopped before it overflowed. This cleared the air lock and I was able to purge the little bit of air left in the system using the traditional methood of tube and jar.
Oh, and I used a relay to save changing the brake switches.
Heres the parts list and wiring I used for the absectomy on my R1150R. Wiring on the R1150GS is the same and as far as I know should also be the same parts.
(Part numbers are from Motorworks.)
BRA50965 Brake line splitter
SS00470 Stainless steel bleed nipple M6 to replace the original one in the rear calliper because it will probably break
SSA00475 Stainless steel carrier for M6 nipple (SS00470)
BRA63072 Copper sealing washers you will need 6
A four pin or 5 pin change over relay, or if your into reusing parts you can use the 4 pin ABS light relay which will be removed from the bike in order to extinguish the warning light.
Wiring
When the plug to the ABS unit is removed you can access the wiring loom by cutting the cable tie on the back of the plug and unclipping the cover, undo the insulating tape and pull back the braided sleeve.
Locate the following wires.
Tail Light = Gray / White wire and Gray / Black wire, connect these two together and you have a taillight.
Front Brake Switch - = White / Yellow and the Rear Brake Switch + = Yellow / Green. Connect these two together to link the switches.
Earth. = Brown there are 3 of them check that the one you choose goes to earth. Connect to pin 2 of the BMW 4 pin relay, or pin 85 if using 5-pin relay.
Brake light = Gray / Yellow. Connect to pin 4 of the BMW relay, or pin 87a if using 5-pin relay.
Front brake switch + = White / Blue. Connect to pin 1 on the BMW relay or Pin 86 if using 5-pin relay.
12Volt+ =Green
Rear brake switch - = Yellow / Black. Connect both this one and the 12 volt + = Green to pin 3 of the BMW relay or pin 30 if using a 5 pin relay.
You should now have a working tail and brake light.
Hope this helps.
I removed my ABS unit a few weeks ago for the same reasons as you.
I have since been on a 3,000 mile trip to the Pyrenees and have had no problems with the now simplified braking system.
The bike definitely feels lighter (well it did before I loaded it up for the trip) and I am at last able to modulate the brakes for slow speed manoeuvres. Overall the brakes feel just as good as before with the added bonus of feedback from the road.
I just need to get used to having non-linked brakes again, which won’t be too difficult as I rode normally braked bikes for years before I got my Beemer.
My biggest problem was bleeding the back brake, because I had drained the circuit there was an airlock in the master cylinder. Having watched Blue Peter when I was a boy I found the solution to my bleeding problem in an old washing up liquid bottle; and me being a good boy,I asked permission first and I didn't work on the good dining room table.
After washing out the remains of the washing up liquid and drying the bottle I drilled out the hole in the cap to 6mm and screwed in one of the now redundent bleed screws from the servo/abs unit.
I then fitted a length of plastic tube to the nipple before replacing the cap, I squeezed the bottle and used the suction within to drain out the fluid reservoir and then reloaded the bottle with some clean fluid. The other end of the tube was then attached to the bleed nipple on the rear calliper and the bottle inverted, it took a bit of squeezing and tapping to get all the air out of the tube and into the bottle before I could open the bleed nipple and squeezed the fluid in to the calliper. Keep an eye on the fluid reservoir wile pumping the fluid in as I only just stopped before it overflowed. This cleared the air lock and I was able to purge the little bit of air left in the system using the traditional methood of tube and jar.
Oh, and I used a relay to save changing the brake switches.
Heres the parts list and wiring I used for the absectomy on my R1150R. Wiring on the R1150GS is the same and as far as I know should also be the same parts.
(Part numbers are from Motorworks.)
BRA50965 Brake line splitter
SS00470 Stainless steel bleed nipple M6 to replace the original one in the rear calliper because it will probably break
SSA00475 Stainless steel carrier for M6 nipple (SS00470)
BRA63072 Copper sealing washers you will need 6
A four pin or 5 pin change over relay, or if your into reusing parts you can use the 4 pin ABS light relay which will be removed from the bike in order to extinguish the warning light.
Wiring
When the plug to the ABS unit is removed you can access the wiring loom by cutting the cable tie on the back of the plug and unclipping the cover, undo the insulating tape and pull back the braided sleeve.
Locate the following wires.
Tail Light = Gray / White wire and Gray / Black wire, connect these two together and you have a taillight.
Front Brake Switch - = White / Yellow and the Rear Brake Switch + = Yellow / Green. Connect these two together to link the switches.
Earth. = Brown there are 3 of them check that the one you choose goes to earth. Connect to pin 2 of the BMW 4 pin relay, or pin 85 if using 5-pin relay.
Brake light = Gray / Yellow. Connect to pin 4 of the BMW relay, or pin 87a if using 5-pin relay.
Front brake switch + = White / Blue. Connect to pin 1 on the BMW relay or Pin 86 if using 5-pin relay.
12Volt+ =Green
Rear brake switch - = Yellow / Black. Connect both this one and the 12 volt + = Green to pin 3 of the BMW relay or pin 30 if using a 5 pin relay.
You should now have a working tail and brake light.
Hope this helps.
Another servo removal how-to:
http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=232002
Just for information - not done this myself.
http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=232002
Just for information - not done this myself.
Thanks very much guys,
Between DaveH's post and Hank's additional info I'm sure I'll get the job done.
Between DaveH's post and Hank's additional info I'm sure I'll get the job done.
So you'd trailer your bike 1000miles to try out a fix that Steptoe says might not work?
I don't think anyone, least of all Steptoe would expect that.
No, but the fault is intermittent (IIRC), if the bike was rideable it would be worth a punt, if it can't be fixed I'd get him to remove/replace the servo.
It's not touting for business. It's that other businesses will make money from my endeavours. As has happened before.
I'm offereing a hint that a certain problem can possibly be repaired ( only a very small percentage can be easily repaired, it's not a cure all) instead of spending £1K or more.
People will just have to use their own gumption in working out the fine details.
Unless any of the other independants that tout for work on ukgser want to offer advice, you might have a wait as they haven't on any subject so far.
I don't see any offering their free advice [URL="http://www.ukgser.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=123"]HERE[/URL]
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