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Engine stall when moving off at traffic light

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31K views 44 replies 20 participants last post by  IntoGS  
J
#1 ·
BMW GSA 1200 2016 model:
Hi,
i experience engine stall/die off when i was about to move off from traffic light.
anyone experience before? What is the remedies?
 
#2 ·
Stalling

There is no specific remedy for this so it's hard to offer suggestions. You could start by describing:
How does the bike go under all other conditions?
Does the bike display any other symptoms?
How good is the quality of the fuel you are using?
Are you riding in RAIN or ROAD mode?
Could it be as simple as an "operator error"?
 
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B
#8 ·
Looks like this is the case.

Here is one guy who installed it on his GS:


There seem to be all kinds of good reviews on this thing.
The bike at factory setup is not the best for riding experience. It is obviously set up at some kind of compromise setting between riding exp/environment protection regs.
No wonder Inuits hate Greenpeace.
But I suppose the old dogs here already know all about this AF-Xied thing?
 
B
#24 · (Edited)
I believe I solved this problem by changing original IAT sensor with Italian mod. It makes the mixture richer at low rpm.
belinassu.it

Italian site can easily be translated.

Tested it around the house. Looks OK. Twenty-something screws (4 types) have to be removed to uncover right-hand side of plastics.
Exchange is simple.
 

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B
#11 ·
Well, I am not sure, 2-3000 Rpm. Most of the time, I just listen to the sound.
When I try to make it as quiet as possible, thing just dies on me sometimes. Last time it died when I tried to start and turn right at the same time. Needles to say I dropped the bike. Contributing factor to this drop was, as I figured later, a fact that I was going from higher ground (out of parking lot, over pedestrian footway to the lower street surface. When the bike died, I leaned to the right and could not find the foot support because where my foot was supposed to touch the ground there was even lower drainage channel. So by
the time I found the foot support the bike was leaned too far to the right and too heavy to hold. :surprise:
 
#13 ·
Hopefully your problem is riding style rather than bike defect. A slight slipping ( or feathering) of the clutch on my '05 and an initial rpm of 1500 - 2000 with a throttle increase as it rolls ensures my smooth launch. I will admit that low rpm launches have caused me to embarrassingly chug to a dead stop. These motors are tight and look for a reason to chug. I find that admirable as opposed to low horsepower low torque bikes that require a high rpm launch. A low speed 2nd gear roll causes a desire to chug and stall. This was my first boxer motor bike and took a slight adjustment in style. 2 years later it seems 2nd nature and normal.

PS;
Now that you have dropped it, you are in the club with the rest of us.
 
M
#14 ·
It happened to me the first time since I own the bike!
Simple explanation.... not enough throttle opening.

Never happened to me on the R1200R LC and not on the GS until today.
I just did a 2,000KM trip through Tasmania and did not have one issue.

Goes down in the chapter "Rider Error" Simple as that.
 
J
#15 ·
Guys ... its not rider error. You shouldn't need to rev the fanny out of a motor to get it rolling. The tuning on the LC is lean and has a definite flat spot just off idle which makes it prone to stalling from stand still. None of my other bikes have been this bad and its a real disappointment that I have to spend more money to fix it. The latest AF-Xied I am told by Nightrider will be available in 4-6 weeks which will work with the latest models. I'll be forking out for it cause I want a bike with some reliable grunt off the bottom. As a by the way ... I rode this bike overland from Dubai to Australia and it was super reliable , however what a handful fully loaded with gear , wife and hair dryer through the Himalayas of North India. Zero low end grunt at altitude. Love the bike but the warts are annoying which I expect will be removed as models are updated.
 
B
#16 ·
I was about to "like" this post. Then I realised there is no "Very very like" button here which this post deserves! But I will "like" it.

To suggest to just add more throttle on start is the same as suggesting to aid start by pushing it a little bit. No one should be doing this. This is a flaw which should be fixed. Period. Those vehicle manufacturers are pushed by ridiculous characters like GreenPeace loosers to ever higher standards of exhaust air quality. The technology just can not keep up with this. Therefore VW lies on diesel emissions etc...
BMW produces bikes which you have to push to get going or look ridiculous by adding disproportionate amount of throttle. It is just not right.
Italian smart IAT sensor apparently works on water cooled new GS. (unless anybody here has other experience). It sends a signal of lower intake air temperature (more (lower) on high, less on low air temps) which richens the mixture and makes the engine work normally.
 
B
#19 ·
Throttle response

Yesterday I added SAE connector directly to battery terminals. Not without problems.
After reconnecting the battery, did time and date setup. Also, I did something a guy on youtube suggested and that is "teach the computer" about throttle min and max position. I do not know if in 2017. model 1200 GS it should be done or not, but I did it. Now my throttle response seems to be better. There is no that much initial throttle delay. Is this real or just my imagination?
 
#21 ·
BMW said:
Yesterday I added SAE connector directly to battery terminals. Not without problems.
After reconnecting the battery, did time and date setup. Also, I did something a guy on youtube suggested and that is "teach the computer" about throttle min and max position. I do not know if in 2017. model 1200 GS it should be done or not, but I did it. Now my throttle response seems to be better. There is no that much initial throttle delay. Is this real or just my imagination?
Click to expand...
Did the Youtube video show the throttle learn procedure being accomplished with a GS911?
 
#20 ·
My out of the dealer ride collected 11,000 miles on a new '17GSA. No way to quantify roll outs from a full stop but let's call it plenty. I can recall perhaps half a dozen chug outs and felt at the moment they were all due to relative throttle inattention. It's so damn easy with the hydraulically operated wet clutch to post sufficient rpms and modulate the clutch for a smooth take off.

That said, during the first third of my ride I dropped the bike three times. All three were when I was coming to a stop on uneven terrain and couldn't find the ground with my foot. The worst of the three was making a left turn into the Grand Coulee dam parking area. The lane is slanted way left, no oncoming traffic and a camper turning ahead of me came to an abrupt stop. Brake, put foot down into thin air and over she went. I think (?) after that I got my brain in sync with terrain and my foot and avoided any more problems.

I am in total disagreement with anyone that doesn't think vehicular pollution controls are necessary. Call me a loser........
 
B
#26 ·
This is the google translation from Italian. Sorry for mistakes. Do not have time to fix this now.

Please see if it makes sense. It looked believable to me.:

"A typical FAQ is how effective a SMART IAT is, and how the LAMBDA probe behaves after changing carburetion in this way. The common objection is that the Lambda probe "becomes aware" of the modification, canceling the benefit initially obtained after a while.
Specifically, many have asked me: "... but after a while 'signal Lambda does not report the carburetion to the factory by nullifying the fattening obtained with the SMART IAT?"
The answer is obviously "NO" otherwise it would not have made sense all the disquisition up to here produced. The reasons are essentially two:
1) The operating environments in which these two probes work (iat and lambda) are different. The Lambda operates only in certain regimes and especially in "closed loop", when the engine is at constant regimes and constant gas openings, while the IAT gives its most contribution in the "open loop", in the "open and close". That is to say when we ask for or remove power or we ask for more fuel to the injection system (and the lambda signal is temporarily ignored by the ECU). Put simply, calibrating a gasoline increase through the IAT is a rational operation, doing it through the modification of the NO lambda. With this point I also made it clear why I DO NOT MODIFY THE LAMBDA, nor do I think it makes sense.
2) The modification of the carburetion obtained with the SMART IAT is cmq relegated to a precise "range". We are working on an engine that works in stoichiometric conditions. We are not increasing the "nose" petrol as you would with a fixed resistance or with potentiometers, but we are acting in a precise way so as not to go beyond the optimal level of air / fuel ratio which returns the best performance. And with this point it is also unveiled why someone claims to the sword that modifying the iat is stupid or an urban legend. Those who have tried with resistors, potentiometers or incorrect NTCs, have modified the power "ad minchiam" (as the Romans used to say) and sooner or later the lambda feedback intervened, which smoothed everything that had been done inconsiderately on the IAT signal. Understand now why the additional modules require the disabling / modification of the Lambda (and someone wrongly implements only that)?
With this paragraph I hope to have definitively thwarted doubts and skepticism about the relationship and functions of lambda / iat."
 
B
#28 ·
Calvin&GS said:
I have a 2017 GS and I have not stalled it yet during 600 miles - half of it in town. I did many gentle starts.
Assuming my bike represents a typical sample, I tend to think it's a matter of getting used to how the bike likes to be gas-ed?
Click to expand...
Which brings me to the following conclusion:

Not every bike is absolutely same as the other one, even if it is the same make and year. There will always be statistical differences in how any bike behaves. They come from the sum of statistical differences in the performance of their parts of which they are assembled.
For example, take the IAT sensor. It has a range of characteristics within a certain specification. Same is with lambda sensor and any other part. Like the drive by wire parts: Position sensors, motors, ECM. So bikes will be different by design. All those differences are probably small, but when you add them up the result is a spectrum of products (bikes) with different characteristics. Some are at the limits of the spectrum. Some are in between. Mine could be near one end of the spectrum, and someone else's near the other end.
It follows that everybody is probably right. Those who complain and those who do not.
So there are no winners here :).
 
#30 ·
I have stalled my bike taking off from stops.

Reason #1 -- I'm an idiot. While you can start in 2nd gear from a stop it takes a lot more clutch slippage. It really does help to start in 1st gear ;)

Reason #2 -- On my bike ('13 wethead) clutch disengagement is variable. By that I mean where in the lever throw the clutch disengages varies, possibly due to different engine or engine oil temperatures. It makes 100% smooth clutch operation very hard. Because of that sometimes the clutch engages sooner than I expect with engine RPM too low. This is the most annoying flaw with my GS. I understand BMW made improvements over time.
 
C
#31 ·
Well, almost everyone speaks highly of hydraulic clutches compared to the cable operated counterpart.
I myself like the clutch on 2017 R1200GS for its ease of actuation (low effort), but I am still learning its engagement characteristic (after 600 miles, ½ in town traffic). And the full grasp (pun intended) of its engagement profile seems somewhat elusive. I have not stalled the bike, and I’ve done several 2nd gear starts without problem. But compared to my last bike (F700GS ridden for 20 kmiles), the “feel” is a bit more vague and doesn’t seem as linear. I’m pretty sure with more time I will be closer to being “one with it”. Just curios how other folks feel about the two.
 
#32 ·
The clutch on my 2017 GS is so much better than my 14 Harley Road King. Like different planets different. The GS's clutch does "change" a little depending on if its hot or cold. Not a lot but it does change some.
 
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#34 ·
i noticed the same thing

curious at first and started analysing. Dawned on me after a while - after I'd checked everything. I'm getting porkier.
More throttle kicking off.
Solved.
Not having a shot at OP and not suggesting there isnt a problem, but often the bike will be fine - after all theyre a big weight to get moving from scratch.
Hope your panzer is ok
cheers
Greg
 
J
#35 ·
Having watched various techs (mechanics) move bikes and load on trailers at both Harley and BMW dealers, I notice that they always give it enough gas to insure that they don't stall the machine. They ride a lot of bikes in the course of a day. I take my cue from them...

You can be cool taking off with little throttle and very little sound, or, if that doesn't work, you can practice picking your bike up. Maybe not so cool.
 
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