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My R1200S blew its engine yesterday

Burning1 said:
A rough break-in, no. A firm break in yes. Lots of pressure in the cylinders to seat the rings against the walls. Revs in the middle of the tach. If you rev the bike out or lug it down, it's going to break in poorly.

My BMW service guy commented that the bikes which were broken in on the gas almost always consume less oil than bikes that were broken in with kid gloves.

Demo bikes are almost always broken in by an employee of the dealer. Brake in practices will vary between shops.



As far as I know, all modern BMWs are also equipped with Oxygen sensors. The run a little lean for my taste, but the computer will automatically compensate for a free-flowing exhaust.



The last time I did that, I brought the mechanic a 6 pack of beer a week later. :laughing
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I agree with most of this. I'm not really sure which break in method is better- I don't really think that engine manufacturers are arranging an evil conspiracy to make our motorcycles burn oil- then again, the hard break in method has lots of devotees. Probably not actually so important in the long run. I'd guess that most of the break in happens in the first few thousand engine revolutions- i.e., the first minute or so. Other than that, just don't do anything stupid.

A couple other things- if the valve adjustment wasn't done correctly, it might lead to a burnt valve/valve seat. That's not the same as a dropped valve, and it won't cause major engine failure.

the R- bikes hold a lot of oil, as has been pointed out, and the OP had the oil at the correct place (middle of sight glass). If he had run it out of oil (just a "what-if"), he'd probably have a different set of symptoms- rod knock, or the engine seizing.

Anybody torn the engine apart yet? I'll be interested to see how far the damage went in there.

zak
 
I'm not even going to speculate as to why the engine failed. Engines don't usually go, but when they do there are so many different ways that it can happen.

I saw a Porsche 944 with a shattered cylinder. A bolt had made it's way through the intake, past a valve, and was embedded on the piston face when the engine was opened up.
 
Eek. That's not good.

A guy I used to work for, a great mechanic, told a story about a semi truck he worked on once- he was setting the injection timing, and so he had to find TDC on the #1 cylinder. He used a convenient tool- a round file. When he was cleaning up, he noticed that the tip of the round file was broken off- he figures it must have happened earlier, and he hadn't noticed. A few days later, the truck is back in the shop- low compression, etc. They open it up, and find a little worn down chunk of steel in the #1 cylinder. Everyone scratches their head about what it is and how it got in there, when he walks up and informs them it's a small chunk of round file. Did a lot of damage in there.
 
The R1200S is THE bike I want to get next...but stuff like this makes me PAUSE on getting a BMW...I am VERY excited to see how BMW handles this...

I am dealing with a Samsung DLP projection almost 2 years out of warranty that is having a known problem, and guess what? Samsung is covering it...service IN HOUSE...

Don't discount good companies...they back their products because they BELIEVE they are great products, and great products don't fail...but things can fail...and that is what standing behind your products means nowadays...

Brian Parriot and other racers... revs the piss out of those bikes and they just run and run and run...

My guess on the bike?

Ethanol in gas in the bike+water accumulation from the Ethanol =Too much compression=either valve or piston failure...

it's happening to bikes, cars, boats, small engines, etc...

Ethanol is the DEVIL...

use water filter seperators or at least Ethanol fighting fuel stabilizers people!
 
reidconti said:
Yeah, he's just makin' shit up w/r/t the motors. Bulletproof unless you had a Nikasil timebomb.

Now, the cooling systems.. :rofl
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my coolant reservoir cracked when i was driving and lost all my coolant and had to pull over and get the car towed :party
 
nvp said:
You made your point earlier and I had said I agree with you. I have not said anything outside of the objective truth surrounding the situation.
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I was responding to Climber, who didn't appear to have read the thread. Sorry for the duplicate.:nerd
 
The R1200S is THE bike I want to get next...
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Yeah, to be clear... I LOVE this bike - its looks, its build and the way it rides. It was an absolute pleasant surprise to discover how well it handled so many different types of roads. It's honestly one of the most confidence-inspiring bikes I have ever ridden. (And to note, I've owned 1000rr's, an R6, a 996, Multi 1100s, etc.)

Again, I'm nothing but a fan, which is why I am SO sad that the bike is disabled. Meanwhile I am commuting by car... which stinks.
 
louemc said:
Please tell us, it's not a Toyota that's making the news, now.
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:laughing:|

- Not so ironically I am driving a BMW.

- But... my wife drives a 2010 Prius (which will need new brake software)

Better than dealing with a stuck accelerator I suppose.
 
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Burning1 said:
I'm not even going to speculate as to why the engine failed. Engines don't usually go, but when they do there are so many different ways that it can happen.

I saw a Porsche 944 with a shattered cylinder. A bolt had made it's way through the intake, past a valve, and was embedded on the piston face when the engine was opened up.
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Yea, could be anything. I had a VW bus once with the Type IV motor. At around 50,000 miles and slowing accellerating away from a light, one of the valve guides pushed out into the cylinder a ways. The valve closed and split it into pieces which then proceeded to get chewed up between the piston and the head. Some pieces even made it over to the other cylinder. What a racket.
 
UPDATE

It chomped its valves on the right side. Cause yet to be determined.
 
Sounds like it might be the cam drive failed on that side.
 
your about the 3rd person i have heard about with this problem on the 1200 and all of them were 07s one guy fought with BMW and they took care of most of the repair, at best its worth a try to contact the district rep, have your maintenence records ready it will help your case
 
does the failure look something like this? 2005 K1200S

IMG_6896.JPG


IMG_6897.JPG


When this bike came in i was hella excited! Always wanted to ride one of these, but noooo someone had to blow the engine!
 
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nvp said:
It chomped its valves on the right side. Cause yet to be determined.
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Doesn't sound like the engine is totalled then...but I'd be worried about the valves on the left side after the repair!
 
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