BMW G650X Issue Log (xCountry, xChallenge, xMoto)

Model: xChallenge
Year: 2007
ABS: yes
Mileage at time of issue: 17K
Date of occurrence: last few weeks
Modifications (if any): Leo Vince exhaust, canistectomy, hand guards, lots of minor tweaks
Description of Failure(s): rear brake drags & squeaks when applied
Resolution (if any): Attempted to bleed rear brake, but only succeeded in introducing more air to system. After inspecting the dirty, corroded condition of the mouth of the rear master cylinder, I believe the air was being drawn in here. Removed and cleaned master cyl. Filed down the offending casting seams that caused the poor seal. Pumped fresh brake fuild through it, reinstalled. Sealed the boot to the housing with RTV. Added a small vent hole near the pushrod end of the boot. Bled rear brake with additional proceedure of cracking the fitting on top of the ABS motor. So far, so good. The rear rotor is worn and slightly warped. EBC MD810C on order. If needed I may also order this: http://www.oppracing.com/product_display/30832-brembo-oe-rear-master-cylinder-ps13c-black-wpush-rod This appears to be the BMW rear master cylinder, without the BMW price.

Hi Colebatch!

KTM part nº 58440026000 cost me 75€

I have a 2008 Xcountry and was having an intermittent stalling problem right after start ups for about a year. If I started the bike and get on it right away and take off without warming up for a few minutes the bike would stall exactly at the same spot ½ a city block away from my house. I’d pull the clutch in and push the starter button and it would always fire right back up and not stall again until the next time upon a cold start up and a fast get away. If I’d let the bike warm up for about 30 to 45 seconds without taking off the bike wouldn’t stall at all. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
Earlier this year I was teaching my 14 year old son to ride the bike and he was doing low speed maneuvers cruising around in low RPM’s. The bike stalled and wouldn’t start. We tried to pop start it with no luck. Pushed the bike home put it on the charger and it was fine until last week. I had to go to the bank and I was in a hurry. I cold started the bike after it had sat for a few days. I got to the same EXCACT spot as usual and the bike stalled. I pulled in the clutch hit the started button and it fired right back up with no problem. The bike ran fine the next 10 miles on the way to the bank. I pulled up to the drive window and shut the bike off. I did what needed to be done with the bank and turned the key, hit the button and nothing. The bike wouldn’t start. Figured I’d let it sit awhile because I’ve read sometimes if you let some of the Xbikes cool down they’d start. After cooling down still nothing, the bike wouldn’t start. Turns out I replaced the battery the next day after needing a pickup truck to get the bike home. After replacing the battery the bike seems to be running smoother with more balls. Got on the bike this morning in a hurry and took off without stalling. It appears the new battery chased the gremlin away

Sposed to be leaving on week long ride in a coupla hours, bike is DOA. I need help taking the bottom half of the ignition switch apart. I can see that the round bottom seems to separate. How do I get it apart.

Thanks!!

It's been awhile since I inspected mine, but I thought it just snaps together. I used a couple flathead micro screwdrivers to release the tabs and then it separates. At least, that's my recollection. My wires/solder joint were fine.

Thanks Butters you are right. I am pretty good at breaking little plastic things so I wanted to be careful. One wire is completely separated, no wonder it didn't want to respond!

Congratulations on solving your dilemma and getting back on the road!

The G650X is VERY dependent on its battery! If you review this and all related threads, you'll find that many agonizing and perplexing problems have been solved with a new, high-quality battery.

I soldered the disconnected wire and now it runs through the pre-sequence MOST of the time, not all the time. That's confidence inspiring. I'll head out and hope it lasts....

Although I doubt the battery has anything to do with the stalling (at least until the battery actually fails). But I would not trust that Exide battery one bit! There's a reason they went with Yuasa, Exide just couldn't fix the issue. This was a couple years ago, so maybe the newest Exide is OK. But having been stranded by a failed Exide already, I would swap it out if even at my own expense.

What country are you from?

You know, it's often not changing the battery that fixes these little gremlins. For instance, mine plays up occasionally, the other night she kept stalling but what you need to do is stop the bike and then turn on the ignition. Once the lights have finished flashing open the throttle all the way and the close it again. Then turn off the ignition and turn it back on again. This resets the computer and normally fixes everything. That might be why swapping the battery fixes the gremlins, you're effectively resetting the system but the throttle trick is a built in reset you can do whenever you feel like it.

finally with battery changing all the problems were solved

I think what you are actually doing is resetting the throttle idle point. Mine often fails to run correctly/stalls and over time it seems to be caused by the throttle not being in its normal rest position when starting the engine or starting the engine too quickly after putting on ignition and not allowing the throttle to reset itself correctly.
In my case, sometimes I forget to unscrew the throttle lock when I stop the bike.

Opening the throttle as you describe simply has the effect of ensuring the throttle is in its correct position when you turn the ignition on the next time so allowing the bike to correctly set that as the idle position.

Mike

What logo?

Here is Drone's "gold standard" of XCountry procedures to reset the throttle positioning sensor (TPS) or idle or whatever the hell it is doing to try and minimize the cold stalling issue:

From: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16974151&postcount=5702

I'm not trying to be picky but the TPS position is set EVERY TIME the ignition is turned on so parts of this 'gold standard' are redundant.

Mike

Model: xChallenge
Year 2007
ABS: no
Mileage at time of issue: 14000
Date of occurrence: 9/13/2012
Modifications (if any): Remus Exhaust, uniflow filiter, rg tail tidy
Description of Failure(s): I was riding along the freeway at about 70 mph and the motor cut. After getting to the side of the road, I was able to start it again, but the second the engine was under power, it would die. Then I got it to idle for about 5 min, and it died on its own. Then after getting it started one more time, when I shook the bike around it would die the further it was leaned ot the right. Also, when leaned to the right one time the over heat light came on while trying to start the bike.

The bike is new to me and never had a real problem of starting, had one time i can recall abotu amonth ago where the bike stalled on its own, and it may have been a little slow to start that evening, but that was about it.

Resolution (if any): Swapped out the battery, now using a Full Spectrum Power Pulse 2 battery (A123 type) I'll let you know how it goes!
Reference Thread

I am asusming it is the battery, but do you have any other recomendations?

Battery in top condition is a must. I was saved enormous effort on my X when I read on one of these threads that 90% of electrical gremlins can be traced back to faulty ignition switch.
The solder joints are prone to failure. They allow intermittent operation for awhile causing (me) great puzzlement.
I bypassed the key switch entirely with a rocker switch and all of my previous symptoms have disappeared.
Hope this helps. An inspection of the switch mechanism is worth doing IMO.

Anyone know if these (Shorai LFX14A4-BS12) help or have a bad reaction in a g650x? The Yuasa YTZ10S makes it run better but won't last if it doesn't start right up!

My Shorai is a "summer battery", both of the two that I've sampled. Soon as the temps go anywhere near cold let alone freezing point, problem arise, and it seems to take forever for the battery to really wake up and start the bike. Takes like 15mins or so, and I do know the drill required. Unfortunately, cannot promote Shorai for Xchallenge.