2002 BMW R1150GS

AS SOON AS I STARTED MY BIKE, I SMELLED RAW GASOLINE. I LOOKED DOWN ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF MY BIKE AND SAW A FLUID LEAKING ON THE GROUND AS IT RAN OFF MY TRANSMISSION. I SHUT DOWN THE MOTORCYLE TO INVESTIGATE. I STARTED IT THREE MORE TIMES. TWO OF THOSE STARTS PRODUCED A FUEL LEAK. THE LEAK ORIGINATED ON ONE OF THE FUEL LINES, ADJACENT TO THE RIGHT THROTTLE BODY. THE CRIMP-TYPE CLAMPS WERE LOOSE WHEN I TRIED MOVING THEM. ON THE THIRD START, THE FUEL LEAK STOPPED. I TOOK THE BIKE TO ALAMO BMW WHERE A TECHNICIAN RECRIMPED THE TWO LOWER CLAMPS. NO PROBLEMS SINCE THEN (8/31/02).*AK

FUEL LINE ON RIGHT SIDE OF MOTORCYCLE LEAKED APPROXIMATELY 1 TABLESPOON OF FUEL WITHIN A FEW SECONDS OF ENGINE STARTUP. ENGINE WAS STOPPED BEFORE ANY DAMAGE COULD TAKE PLACE. FUEL LEAKED FROM FUEL LINE ABOVE RIGHT CYLINDER, RAN DOWN THE SIDE OF THE ENGINE AND STARTED TO DRIP ONTO CATALYTIC CONVERTER. HAD THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER BEEN AT FULL OPERATING TEMPERATURE, THIS WOULD ALMOST CERTAINLY HAVE RESULTED IN A FIRE. I ONLY NOTICED THE LEAK BECAUSE I WAS DOING A PRE-RIDE CHECK OF THE BIKE, BUT HAD I NOT PAID ATTENTION, THE FUEL WOULD HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH A FULLY HEATED CATALYTIC CONVERTER WITHIN A MINUTE OR TWO.

THE FRONT AND REAR BRAKES ARE LINKED ON THIS MOTORCYCLE. WHEN BRAKING HARD ON ROUGH ROAD CONDITIONS, THE EXCESS FORCE APPLIED TO THE REAR BRAKE BY THE LINKED SYSTEM CAN CAUSE THE ABS TO MODULATE UNEXPECTEDLY WHICH HAS THE EFFECT OF ELIMINATING BRAKING AT A CRITICAL MOMENT. I AM CONCERNED THAT THIS EFFECT MAY CAUSE ME TO HAVE AN ACCIDENT AT SOME TIME IN THE FUTURE. I AM AWARE THAT BMW REDESIGNED THE BRAKES TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE FOR MODELS MANUFACTURED AFTER MINE WAS MANUFACTURED. REFERE TO BMW MOTORCYCLES SERVICE BULLETIN NO: 34 001 02 (012). *AK

WHILE GOING OVER A SERIES OF BUMPS, THE ABS SYSTEM IS CAUSING THE BRAKES TO RELEASE. THIS CAUSES AN EXTREMELY UNSAFE SITUATION. BMW HAS ISSUED A SERVICE BULLETIN REGARDING THIS BRAKING SYSTEM, BUT REFUSED TO REPLACE THE ABS COMPONENTS UNTIL THEY FAIL. BY THEN I COULD BE KILLED. PLEASE HELP FORCE THE MANUFACTURER TO REPLACE THESE FAULTY BRAKE COMPONENTS FOR ALL AFFECTED R1150RT OWNERS.*AK

TWO PROBLEMS RELATED TO THE INTEGRAL ABS SYSTEM: 1) THE REAR PEDAL IS TOO SENSITIVE AND GRABS THE FRONT BRAKES HARD, CAUSING UNEXPECTED STOPS AND CAUSED ME TO DROP MY BIKE ONCE ON THE LEFT SIDE. SINCE THEN, I HAVE HAD TO REFRAIN FROM USING THE REAR PEDAL COMPLETELY. 2) WHEN BRAKING HARD, ESPECIALLY ON DOWNHILL BUMPY ROADS, THE WEIGHT IS TRANSFERRED OFF THE REAR WHEEL, CAUSING THE REAR ABS TO CYCLE. OCCASIONALLY, WHEN BRAKING VERY HARD, WHEN THE REAR ABS CYCLES, THE FRONT ABS ALSO CYCLES CAUSING A COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED OUT-OF-CONTROL CONDITION. THIS HAS HAPPENED ABOUT TEN TIMES TO ME. I HAVE NOT YET CRASHED THE BIKE BECAUSE OF THIS, BUT I FEEL IT'S JUST A MATTER OF TIME. I HAVE RUN WIDE OFF ONTO THE SHOULDER OF THE ROAD A COUPLE OF TIMES, AND ONCE RAN WIDE OVER THE CENTERLINE INTO THE ONCOMING LANE AND WAS WITHIN A FOOT OF COLLIDING HEAD-ON INTO AN SUV. BMW HAS PUBLISHED A TSB (34-001-02 (012)) THAT IMPLEMENTS A REVISED REAR ABS MODULATOR AND CALIPER AND ALL NEW PRODUCTION BIKES GET THIS FIX. HOWEVER BMW HAS REFUSED TO UPGRADE ANY OLDER BIKES FOR SOME REASON. I FEEL THIS SHOULD BE A RECALL, AS IT'S A VERY DANGEROUS DESIGN DEFECT. IT SHOULD ALSO BE NOTED THAT BMWNA TREATS THIS TSB AS A SECRET AND HAS THREATENED TO SUE SOMEONE FOR POSTING A COPY ON HIS WEBSITE. I AM CURRENTLY AWARE OF AT LEAST ELEVEN OTHER OWNERS WHO HAVE COMPLAINED TO THEIR DEALER ABOUT THIS PROBLEM AND HAVE BEEN TOLD "SORRY, BUT WE WILL NOT FIX THE PROBLEM UNLESS THE PART FAILS". I HAVE A COPY OF THE TSB IF YOU WOULD LIKE IT.*AK