Martinjmpr
Wiffleball Batter
Hi, Folks. I haven't been very active on the MC board since I ride mostly on-road, but I know we have a lot of other BMW riders and I wanted to pick the brains of those of you who are knowledgeable about BMWs. I have a 2002 R1150R that I bought in 2013 with about 50k on it. It has around 62k on it now. It is an R1150R (naked/roadster) with ABS/Servo brakes and EFI (so, basically it's the "street" version of the GS.)
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The bike runs great and I've even done a couple of SS1000 (Saddlesore 1000, 1000 miles in 24 hours) rides on it. But this morning I went to go for a ride, since it's such a nice day, unplugged it from the battery tender, put the luggage on, put the key in, the lights and the servo motor for the brakes came on very briefly and then everything shut off. No lights, no sounds, nothing. Tried turning it off and back on, checked the kill switch, nothing. I left the key in and plugged it back into the battery tender and a couple of times it came on for a brief second but as soon as I touched the starter it shut off again.
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My immediate thought is: Battery. Yes, I've had it on a battery tender since I bought it but the battery tender connects through the powerlet on the left side, not directly to the battery. I know that even on a tender, no battery lasts forever. I've never had the tank off this bike, and I have to say I'm a little nervous about pulling it (I've heard horror stories about quick disconnects breaking, etc.) I know nothing about the history of the battery, for all I know it could be the factory original.
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I decided to ride anyway on my other bike (2002 Triumph Bonneville) and I left the BMW plugged into a different battery tender (thinking maybe I had a bad battery tender) but when I came back from an all day ride, it's still the same: Put the key in and turn it, nothing happens, no lights or anything.
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My questions for the group, (1) has anyone else had this happen to them and (2) is there something I should be looking at BESIDES the battery? Alternator or something? As I said, it does intermittently come back "on" so to me that means it's not likely to be a fuse.
.
Thanks in advance!
.
The bike runs great and I've even done a couple of SS1000 (Saddlesore 1000, 1000 miles in 24 hours) rides on it. But this morning I went to go for a ride, since it's such a nice day, unplugged it from the battery tender, put the luggage on, put the key in, the lights and the servo motor for the brakes came on very briefly and then everything shut off. No lights, no sounds, nothing. Tried turning it off and back on, checked the kill switch, nothing. I left the key in and plugged it back into the battery tender and a couple of times it came on for a brief second but as soon as I touched the starter it shut off again.
.
My immediate thought is: Battery. Yes, I've had it on a battery tender since I bought it but the battery tender connects through the powerlet on the left side, not directly to the battery. I know that even on a tender, no battery lasts forever. I've never had the tank off this bike, and I have to say I'm a little nervous about pulling it (I've heard horror stories about quick disconnects breaking, etc.) I know nothing about the history of the battery, for all I know it could be the factory original.
.
I decided to ride anyway on my other bike (2002 Triumph Bonneville) and I left the BMW plugged into a different battery tender (thinking maybe I had a bad battery tender) but when I came back from an all day ride, it's still the same: Put the key in and turn it, nothing happens, no lights or anything.
.
My questions for the group, (1) has anyone else had this happen to them and (2) is there something I should be looking at BESIDES the battery? Alternator or something? As I said, it does intermittently come back "on" so to me that means it's not likely to be a fuse.
.
Thanks in advance!