BMW R80 RT Motorcycle - poor cold starting

[Retired]

Hi,

Wow; 1986 with only 20K on the clock; has it ever been ridden in anger because over this number of years such mileage would have been clocked up just wheeling it in and out of the garage. (Sorry Andy).

I would go right through the bike and yes certainly pull the carbs off and give them a good clean both inside and out; remove the jets and check these are the slides still operating smoothly; have a good look at the carb diaphragms for pinholes; take a lot of care to really check the carbs over and don't forget Jamie's favourites the chokes.

Check all electrical connections for corrosion especially those associated with ignition; are plug leads and caps in good condition.

Once everything is checked Andy I would take it out for a good blast along a nice winding road putting a few miles on the clock; I also wonder what the combustion chambers are like and perhaps adding some "Redex" if still available into the tank to clear any carbon out.

Sitting here it is so easy thinking of everything that could be at fault but it will be totally different for you Andy actually having the bike.

Bikes are like cars insomuch they hate short journeys; when I traded my first R75/5 into Allen Jeffrey's his son Tony told me my bike was the loosest he had ever ridden when he took it for a spin. I used to do a return journey Wakefield to Walthamstow in a morning; there are some sharp bends down the M1 with the needle off the clock. Of course these days speeding is severely frowned upon by the men in blue but my bikes never suffered from a flat battery or poor running.

What mileage do you do on the bike in a year Andy because regular use might help a great deal. As I said before it's a great bike and if the climate wasn't so bad I could enjoy biking. I loved both my BMW's and was proud to own them.

Can you change gear quietly? I never mastered it as I always ended up with a solid clunk. Did you master the gear change David?

Kind regards, Col.

[Yorkie]

Can you change gear quietly? I never mastered it as I always ended up with a solid clunk. Did you master the gear change David?

The gearbox on mine was really positive and smooth.

I bought it from Alan Jeffries as a 'retirement present' to myself in 1994. It was a 1989 bike with 4,000 dry miles, and like new. I made quite a lot of improvements to it, such as fitting panniers and a top box. It rarely saw the rain and when I sold it in 2008 it had done just 17,000 miles - just under 1,000 a year in the 14 years I owned it, which was the reason it really had to go. I've been so very busy since I retired, that I found few days when I could just go off on a frolic for a day on the moors, with so many other things to do.

Although in motorbiking circles the R80RT tends to be seen as the motorbike equivalent of the Morris Minor, it used to go like the wind, and 0-60MPH was just over 4 seconds. It would purr along all day cruising at 70, and with the tall screen and full faring, had great protection from the wind and rain. During the time that I owned it, I was both a magistrate and chairman of an NHS Ambulance trust. This had a very sobering effect on my driving style, as I neither wished to end up in court nor the back of an ambulance, apart from the fact that I'm too old to have an accident and too young to die! I'm away from home just now, but when I get back tomorrow, I'll try to post a couple of pics of the bike, which was a sort of gunmetal colour.

Happy days!

David

[glowinganode]

Do you turn the petrol taps off when leaving the bike? Could be a float valve leaking and flooding the carb.
What state are the plug tips?
Rob.

[ex 2 Base]

I have a couple of friends who had BMW motor bikes, one had a flat horizontal twin I think 1000cc, it had a series miss fire. They changed almost every thing they could think of including the battery, from Yorkie favour spot, Moto Bins. I was asked if I could think a reason for the miss fire, I asked had they changed the spark plug leads, no they hadn't, so I swopped over the leads and the miss fire was now on the other cylinder. They still weren't convinced until I borrow a pair of leads from another friend. The second one has 4 cylinder water cooled machine, again a miss fire, I tested the ignition coils and one of them was faulty, the primary was I think a fraction of an ohm. We used to go to Spalding fairly regularly and I have collected electrical spares from Moto Bins for the local BMW enthusiasts. They used have tested used spare or brand new. I can recommend them. Ted

[Yorkie]

Crikey, that's woken up an old thread!

I see that in my post on 16 April 2011 I promised to post some pics of my Beemer, which I never did, so I've belatedly added some below.

My 'leathers' were made to measure by a local firm who supply the police leathers.

It was a lovely bike to own and ride.

I fitted the panniers, top box and taller screen during the time that I had it. (The first pic shows the original screen - the later pics show the taller screen).

I wonder where it is now - the chap who bought it was a chicken farmer from Preston.

I could have sold it ten times over.

[Tedzed1]

Can you remember the registration number David, I should be able to find out if it is still on the road.

[Yorkie]

Can you remember the registration number David, I should be able to find out if it is still on the road.

Here you go Paul - I nearly posted this pic earlier!

It was registered in 1989, I bought it in 1994, and sold it in 2008.

(In an earlier post I said I had it 16 years, but in fact it was 14).

In all the years I had it,  it only saw the rain on two occasions.

Showroom condition when I sold it, but it made sense to let it go - I spent far more time fussing over it than using it.

[Tedzed1]

Good news David, it's still on the road

[Yorkie]

Thanks for digging that out Paul.

Interesting to see that an 800CC motorbike is £80 a year tax, whereas my 1.6L Skdoa Fabia car was tax free the first year and £20 a year after that.

(The 2015 Fabia  - this year's car of the year - is tax free).


I blame the parents.