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I've got an older BMW in fantastic shape, runs perfect ... just hard starting. Battery is fully charged (new gel) new plugs, only 26,000 miles on bike.
I have to hit the starter button about 15x to get it to start. More when its cold. Points were new about a year ago.
Any suggestions?
I have to hit the starter button about 15x to get it to start. More when its cold. Points were new about a year ago.
Any suggestions?
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California
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Re: hard starting 72 BMW R60/5
Sat, February 2, 2008 - 1:35 AMWhoa! What a SWEET Ride!!!
I've got a '78 R80/7 in far from perfect shape, just under three times the mileage and it can be finicky-starting too.
Suggestion:
LOTs of choke!
How long have you had it? Over time, you'll figure out the necessary li'l superfluous superstitious routines to add. For instance, I do this brief side-to-side wriggle (something vaguely to do with hazy ideas about being sure the gas is well in both carbs) and a kind of preparatory quasi-flex things with my hand in start position at the controls.
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Re: hard starting 72 BMW R60/5
Sat, February 2, 2008 - 9:58 AMhaha ... yeah, I've got some start up moves going on .
no chokes on the 72's ... its got these "tricklers" that you push on to release a little fuel. That actually seems to make it worse however. I cant figure out if I need more gas ... less gas or its some other problem.
The closest BMW expert is about 50 miles away in Ventura or I would just take it in. -
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Re: hard starting 72 BMW R60/5
Sun, February 3, 2008 - 12:13 PMDid you check compression? -
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Re: hard starting 72 BMW R60/5
Sun, February 3, 2008 - 6:32 PMDidn't check compression... but the bike has only 26,000 miles on it and has always had plenty of power. Don't these things go over 100,000 miles no problem? -
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Re: hard starting 72 BMW R60/5
Mon, February 4, 2008 - 11:00 AMwhaddya mean "no" ? several people have told me that ... including the guy i bought it from :) -
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Re: hard starting 72 BMW R60/5
Mon, February 4, 2008 - 3:30 PMThe bike is from 1972. I've owned a 1970 for 20 years, so I have some experience. Since I'd only been riding for about a year when I got mine, and it was my only bike for 10 years(of NYC riding and longer touring), I was rather hard on the clutch and brakes. Metals used in cables have changed over the years. Splines wear. Age alone will cause seals, gaskets, any rubber parts to disintegrate. The way a bike is ridden affects the life of the engine.
These bikes are pretty tough, but they do require maintenance. And they are very re-buildable. -
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Re: hard starting 72 BMW R60/5
Mon, February 4, 2008 - 4:28 PMI was referring specifically to the compression question ... the rings / bearings / pistons are virtually indestructible and will last a mucho long time with an oil change here and there. other parts of course are not as durable.
But thanks for playing :) -
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Re: hard starting 72 BMW R60/5
Mon, February 4, 2008 - 5:00 PMrings are not indestructible. pistons can warp. Get a leakdown test.
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Re: hard starting 72 BMW R60/5
Tue, February 5, 2008 - 2:31 AMRegular maintenance will keep your fine German road machine on the road longer.
Rubber parts are notorious for leaking, like intake seals, etc. Plus, you gotta remember your bike is... um... 36 years old. Think of a '57 chevy in 1993!! (I shouldn't do that, makes me feel old!!) You could have an air leak in there somewhere.
And while they are well engineered, parts do wear out, cylinders that sit get small corrosion pockets that not only cost compression but can abrade the rings, or even the cylinder walls. Unless every time it was not ridden for 6 months it was preserved and picked (oil in the cylinder, etc) it'll have these issues, until eventually, poof, bad compression. Valves and valve seats, too, are not immune to this phenomenon, and refacing valves and seats used to be a mechanic's bread and butter. -
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Re: hard starting 72 BMW R60/5
Tue, February 5, 2008 - 6:15 AMI'm still not buying the compression (or lack there of) theory. I'm thinking points or maybe even timing.
any bets? :)
I'll let you know what I find out.
Thanks! -
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Re: hard starting 72 BMW R60/5
Tue, February 5, 2008 - 9:11 AMWell, hey, you can easily eliminate the compression question by putting a compression tester on it. A compression test is easy to do with a tester and only takes a few minutes. It is nice to eliminate certain possibilities so that you can focus on the other aspects. As for me, I would definitely be checking all things electrical, especially the plugs, cables and coil to make sure there is strong spark. Points is of course worth checking. Timing is less likely the issue since once it starts you say it is running pretty well. As far as fuel and flooding goes, you can always smell the what is coming out of the exhaust. Good luck.
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Re: hard starting 72 BMW R60/5
Wed, February 20, 2008 - 9:41 AMYeah, they're known to be relatively long-runners and fairly bulletproof. But it's always the exceptions that prove the rule, eh?
Still, if it's going strong, chances are that it ain't a compression problem. I'd first guess mix and maybe spark. Do you use your center or sidestand?
These things have one really annoying characteristic, in that on side-stand all the oil goes to the "downside" head and fouls the plug and chamber up, if it's physically possible at all. I've had to either spend a few minutes blue-smoking out that chamber before I ride and even had to pull the plug and clean and dress it back to firing condition again.
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Re: hard starting 72 BMW R60/5
Wed, February 20, 2008 - 10:09 PMif you check the BMW tribe you'll see quite a bit of verbiage on my starting problem. Basically I checked the points and air cleaner ... perfect, looked brand new. Changed the oil, pulled the pan... cleaned everything out. Damn, that oil was black! ... Replaced the hot end on the battery cable. It was cracked halfway through. although I thought this really could be the problem, replacing it didn't seem to make much difference.
I then spent a lot of time adjusting the carbs ... I also cleaned the soot off the plugs with some steel wool and lacquer thinner. Even though the plugs were only a couple weeks old all the starting and carb adjusting had fouled them out slightly. I then rode the bike around and adjusted the carbs again. So somewhere between changing the oil, adjusting the carbs and replacing the battery cable end I lucked out and now the bike starts first time every time. Even after sitting for a few days.
Next I tackle the valve adjustment ... need to buy a torque wrench first.
Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions. -
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Re: hard starting 72 BMW R60/5
Thu, February 21, 2008 - 8:43 AMWhen the bike is running, spray some carb cleaner around your carb rubber parts. (specifically between the carb and cylinder)
If the RPMs go up then you have a leak. Rubber is the first thing to go on these old bikes (even german rubber)
Even uncracked rubber can leak if it gets stiff.
A leak throws off the air/fuel mixture so you can adjust for easy starting but it will run like crap or visversa.
You might also check your coil or upgrade to a hotter coil for better spark.
skid
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Re: hard starting 72 BMW R60/5
Thu, February 21, 2008 - 11:53 AMBeen following on BMW as well and it seems that you took all the right steps. Main thing, perseverance! Happy Riding! Shine up, grease down.
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Re: hard starting 72 BMW R60/5
Thu, February 5, 2009 - 5:10 PMAdjust the valves! The valve clearance on old BMW's is critical for easy starting especially cold. All the aluminum in the engine shrinks when the engine is cold but the steel valves and iron lifters dont shrink nearly as much.... Soooooo if your valves are tight to begin with they will hang open slightly when the engine is cold. Having your valves hang open when cranking makes for low compression and hard starting.
Please dont ask me how I know this.
P.S. tickle the carbs until fuel dribbles out when cold. Dont tickle when the engine is warmed up
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