BMW G650X Issue Log (xCountry, xChallenge, xMoto)

[plumber mike]

Model: Xcountry
Year: 2009
Miles:1695

Went out for a ride and stopped 5 miles from home to put in 1 gallon premium fuel. Bike almost would not start at the gas station. Got it running but would not run past half throttle. Limped it to dealer about 20 miles away. The bike would not start for them in the parking lot,but they pulled it right in( Sturgis BMW,Yamaha,Suzuki ROCKS) It started right up for them and they pulled the codes which came back saying short to ground(Voltage was 14.3 going there)which I was told was probably not cleared from my recent battery change. Ran like a champ coming home. Dealer recommended drilling air holes in my newly installed skidplate as vaporlock may have been the cause( I told them others have the same skid with no ill effects)

It's going in soon as the bike now does not stay running with the sidestand down and bike in neutral.

This bike is becoming a love/hate relationship and I am not sure if I will trust it until the problem is positively found and corrected. A new Akro exhaust might cheer me up

[BarryM]

Originally Posted by Cosmickjack

Simple,
They have the same part numbers.

There's no need to get smart

Seriously though, that surprises me. I must admit I did take it at face value when I read that the Gs had a lighter crank in their quest for the extra 3hp. On reflection, I expect much of that comes from the lesser drag from the lower output alternator.

Good luck anyway.

[Cosmickjack]

Originally Posted by BarryM

There's no need to get smart

Seriously though, that surprises me. I must admit I did take it at face value when I read that the Gs had a lighter crank in their quest for the extra 3hp. On reflection, I expect much of that comes from the lesser drag from the lower output alternator.

Good luck anyway.

I totally agree Barry,
when I bought mine I was under the impression that the X had a re-designed
engine.
After two months of mooching around finding info and then
confirming the info with a friend at a BMW dealer(parts/service dept)
I have come to the conclusion that some
pulling of wool over eyes has been done by BMW.

Even the cams are the same,
also the piston ?
The engine cases however,
are different as is the lubrication system.

Paul.

[plumber mike]

Miles:1780

Back to the dealer today for loss of top end power and increase in decibels. Mechanic agreed something had come loose in the exhaust. Owner seems to be hellbent in thinking that skidplate is a problem(The noise is the skidplate resonating, the discoloration in the header is the lack of vent holes in the skid Oh and wherever I got that bad gas...Don't go back) Anyway the service manager(thinks it came loose when I "crashed" my bike even though there is not a scratch on the pipe) is ordering parts under warranty and will look into an upgrade. I told them to get some more comfortable chairs as I'm becoming a regular. I was also told it's normal for new BMW owners to be in often for the first 6 months, until the bugs are worked out

[DRONE]

Originally Posted by plumber mike

Miles:1780

Back to the dealer today for loss of top end power and increase in decibels. Mechanic agreed something had come loose in the exhaust. Owner seems to be hellbent in thinking that skidplate is a problem(The noise is the skidplate resonating, the discoloration in the header is the lack of vent holes in the skid Oh and wherever I got that bad gas...Don't go back) Anyway the service manager(thinks it came loose when I "crashed" my bike even though there is not a scratch on the pipe) is ordering parts under warranty and will look into an upgrade. I told them to get some more comfortable chairs as I'm becoming a regular. I was also told it's normal for new BMW owners to be in often for the first 6 months, until the bugs are worked out

Mike-Janet from Joisey had what sounds like the same problem with her exhaust and was able to upgrade to the Akra can for $600 using the warranty. Man, if you can do it, that's the way to go. The first mod I made to my bike when it was new was to get rid of that ridiculous BMW can. Do you know that the R1200 silencer is physically smaller than the G650X? What's up with that? Get rid of it!

[apullin]

So, I was just at the dealer yesterday. Apparently there was a recall on my 2007 Xcountry for a battery swap.
However, they were unable to resolve my stalling issue.
The bike has had the "pulse generator", or engine speed sensor, replaced for the stalling issue. Dealer claims it resolved the problem, which it did not.

When I start bike from cold, will run fine for ~20 seconds, then start to idle poorly, and then cut out. This will happen repeatably every time. Will only stay running if I warm it up.
Even when warm, bike will intermittently have poor idle, poor power delivery, and stall at a stop or while slowly turning.

I removed the charcoal canister & solenoid (following directions on this forum) in an attempt to alleviate this problem. It did not help. I asked the dealer to read the codes on it; it only showed:
"0443 - Timed valve tank breather, open circuit or output stage overloaded". Dealer said that remove the canister causes technical malfunctions with the bike. Dealer also said it is normal for the G650 line to run poorly and stall while cold. So pretty much they charged me $50 to warm up my bike for me... and that was even while they were making free money off recall repairs.

I'm going to try and contact BMW Motorrad directly and get a definite answer to whether or not the bike is designed to be able to idle when cold.

Hopefully I'll be able to borrow a GS911 unit and do some logging to figure out what is going on.
I'm going to reinstall the charcoal canister and solenoid to eliminate that variable.

[plumber mike]

Originally Posted by DRONE

Mike-Janet from Joisey had what sounds like the same problem with her exhaust and was able to upgrade to the Akra can for $600 using the warranty. Man, if you can do it, that's the way to go. The first mod I made to my bike when it was new was to get rid of that ridiculous BMW can. Do you know that the R1200 silencer is physically smaller than the G650X? What's up with that? Get rid of it!

The pipe is a goner either way.I think they should replace the head pipe too since it has now turned a blackened bronze color. I'll either get an Akro upgrade from the dealer or I'll get a brand new stock pipe that will sit on a shelf in my garage and have to buy a pipe(which will not make me happy) Or I can leave the stock pipe and go bug them every few months or few thousand miles. The dealer said they would give me like $4500 if the bike was in good condition which they consider mine not to be I've decided to ride it like I stole it for 3/36

apullin-Why did your dealer charge you $50? I would be pissed. It's funny how they never mentioned that the bike was a POS when you bought it.I don't think the dealers know any more than the guys on this forum. If they did they would be able to accurately diagnose and correct the problem. I am not buying the "bad gas" theory that I was told. I have now made it a point to buy gas from a different place each time.

[dakardad]

07 X-
No problems, nada.
TT tank, canister removed.
I dont even know for sure what kind of battery it has.
It starts every time and isnt weak. Year two.
7k. Valves at 6k, perfect.
Frequent oil changes-Lucas synthetic 20-50 motorcycle specific.
I even bent my shifter, bashed it back with a rock, didn't break.
Golden bike, I love it.

[slide]

Originally Posted by plumber mike

The pipe is a goner either way.I think they should replace the head pipe too since it has now turned a blackened bronze color. I'll either get an Akro upgrade from the dealer or I'll get a brand new stock pipe that will sit on a shelf in my garage and have to buy a pipe(which will not make me happy) Or I can leave the stock pipe and go bug them every few months or few thousand miles. The dealer said they would give me like $4500 if the bike was in good condition which they consider mine not to be I've decided to ride it like I stole it for 3/36

apullin-Why did your dealer charge you $50? I would be pissed. It's funny how they never mentioned that the bike was a POS when you bought it.I don't think the dealers know any more than the guys on this forum. If they did they would be able to accurately diagnose and correct the problem. I am not buying the "bad gas" theory that I was told. I have now made it a point to buy gas from a different place each time.

I'd be concerned that the added back pressure which burned your head pipe also put some excessive wear on the exhaust valve.

I would not accept the bad gas theory either. Anyway, it's immaterial. Filling up with fuel is normal ops. If the gas were really bad, you are still due warranty. BMWNA can sue the fuel vendor if it can prove the gas is bad. It's not up to you to carry a fuel tester with you.

[plumber mike]

Originally Posted by ...SINGLE BOUND

2007 X-Challenge, Bought 8/2007 Problems began shortly after 6000mile service, Surging ,Erratic idle, Poor throttle response. My dealer has replaced parts. Roughly 700miles between incidents. After failed attempts to solve the problem I tried a different dealer who replaced same parts, All told I would say this bike has been at the dealer total of 60 days, And to think I'm still paying on loan and insurance. I just came from my dealer, He says the tech rep, requests changing out the wiring harness, Do I feel this will solve anything, Don't know, But the fact that my riding season is done simply says I'm filing for lemon law protection. Granted everything has been under warranty, but trying to account for lost riding time, I am beyond words. In my circle of friends and coworkers they feel I've held up pretty well. My self I say Enough, I GIVE UP!

I do feel your frustration and am sorry to hear about it. Keep us posted. I took some advice at the beginning of summer and bought a cheap back up bike. Why do I need a backup bike when I just bought a brand new bike. I'm frustrated too.I'm interested in your dealings pertaining to the lemon law protection(hoping it dosen't go that far, but knowledge is power)

[Snuffy]

07 x
4500 miles
One bad battery

Other than that, she's a keeper.

[apullin]

Originally Posted by ...SINGLE BOUND

I'm filing for lemon law protection

Good deal, that's what you should do. That should put the squeeze on BMW to figure out what's up.
Unfortunately, I can't do that, since I bought the bike used.

The dealer charged me $50 because, well, they wanted to charge me $102 for 1 hour of labor to "troubleshoot" the problem. I had request that they just read the ECU codes, but then they tried to troubleshoot it apparently.
Even though they did NOTHING; one serviceman claimed capping the line that went up under the intake box was a bad idea; I was under the impression that just went to a vacuum port on the TB? Oh well, I reinstalled charcoal canister now.

I realize that I put myself in a bad position by bringing it in without the charcoal canister installed.
And I'm a little annoyed that a dealership at which I've had several hundred dollars of service done (warranty & drop repairs) won't just read my codes gratis. Anyhow, I still have the papers, I'll attempt to get it refunded or comp'd somewhere in this epic saga.

So, I talked to a mechanic that fixes the Can-Am Spyders, which have rotax 990 engines; he says that the first thing he'd do is check the valve clearance. Will I void my warranty if I do that myself?

It seems like a number of people are having serious problems. I would say there is something endemic to this design. Maybe it's on Rotax's shoulders, maybe BMW. I'm going to have to totally re-engineer this bike to figure this issue out. Just have to get my hands on a GS911 unit.

[DRONE]

Originally Posted by apullin

It seems like a number of people are having serious problems. I would say there is something endemic to this design. Maybe it's on Rotax's shoulders, maybe BMW. I'm going to have to totally re-engineer this bike to figure this issue out. Just have to get my hands on a GS911 unit.

I'm not sure how many guys on this forum have a G650X but I remember at one time there were over 100 lined up to buy Muckpee's tank so I gotta guess based on that that there's 200-300 on this forum at least. How many have had a problem? Take away the bad batteries, which BMW has already acknowledged and issued a recall for, and how many are left? Not so many.

I've never heard of a motorcycle on this planet that doesn't have problems. And some problems are not the bike's fault what with all our mods and tweeks. IMO the G650X is no more or less prone to problems than any other bike you can name. (Other than Honda. As we know, Hondas are not really from this planet.)

[tbarstow]

G650XCh
2007
5500 miles

On the trail Sunday night, the bike repeatedly dies, then starts while in motion. At the second scheduled stop at the top of the mountain, it has issues when I turn the key. The dash lights up for a second or two, then goes dead. Several attempts later it, it lights up when I turn the front wheel all the way to the right. I start it and head out. 30 seconds later, it dies twice more. I wigggle the wire under the ignition switch, then it lights up and I continue.

I'm good for 20 more minutes, then it dies at a good stopping point on the trail. No dice on getting it moving again.

I end up taking off the seat, headlight, and fairing. We played with the fuses, nothing. The GPS still shows it has power supplied from the plug, so my battery isn't totally dead.

Eventually, I cram the ignition switch wires up into the switch housing and everything lights up, the fuel injection fires up, so I start the bike and slap everything together. As soon as I'm packed up to go, it dies when I straighten the front wheel. I stuff the igntion wires back up into the switch and it fires up and I restart the bike. I make it down the mountain with no further issues.

At home, I notice that I have ridden the last 25 miles with the key in the OFF position. The kill switch stops the engine, but turning the key does nothing. I pull the ignition wires down and it powers off. Just to confirm, I power it up and down a few times by playing with the wires under the ignition.

I took off the bottom of the ignition switich, opened it up and found one of the wires has a failed solder joint to the contacts and no sort of strain relief on the wires inside the housing. The solder joint looks like it wasn't done properly to begin with, so I'll see if BMW will cover a new one.

I'll get a photo of the part later.

[Mat84]

Hey guys, first post here after reading this forum for months on end.

My bike G650X Challenge 08/09 model.
9000kms.

Probs: 2 x faulty batteries replaced on warranty, latest battery was replaced with the Yuasa brand.

Fuel pump wiring harness. Riding along then completely cut out - 140km from anywhere had to fault find it and temp fix it with the horn spade terminal. The spade terminal in the plug onto the actual fuel pump had broken. New harness on way.

Otherwise very happy with bike.