Found a nice surprise this morning, and a question for you

Good morning everyone,

I've been lurking here since last year when I got my '03 RT (26k, Biarritz Blue). These forums are a wealth of information, and I am very appreciative. Just figured I would share my findings while performing service to my bike this morning. I had been following the forums and started to learn about the problem areas for the R1150RT. Well, this morning I tore into the bike. I was pleased to find that the play between the clutch disc and input shaft is minimal (<1/16" when rotating the disc through the starter hole). I was even more pleased when I examined the hall sensor wiring and found the individual wires are in great shape underneath the outer sheath. I had been expecting the worst after reading many of the other posts, and I had my materials assembled (Hi temp wire from McMaster-Carr, etc) to address these issues. I'm going to re-install the hall sensor and continue with the rest of my plans, which include: SS braided brake lines, new pads, Ohlins front and rear, tires, battery, fluids, belt, flush ABS, adjust/service rear pivot bearings. It was a weight off my conscience to finally get a look at the known problem areas. I have to confess I only did an oil change after purchase and put about 5k on the bike last year, but it ran great regardless.

One thing that surprised me was that the hall sensor wiring looked a little different from what I had been seeing online. The HES plate was definitely Bosch, with three wires coming out of each sensor. Those six wires ran all the way through the sheath into to a sealed rubber junction, about four inches from the harness plug. Only four wires exited the junction, terminating at the plug (which was oval, not flat). There was no braided wire sheathing. On all the diagrams for HES repair I had seen, the sensor wires were spliced close to the plate itself. Another good thing is that the outer sheathing for the wires was loose, so I was able to slide the grommet and sheath and examine the full length of the individual wires. I was expecting a tight fit and having to cut the outer sheath, but it wasn't necessary. I am wondering if my HES is a replacement or upgrade of some sort. The bike's production date was 10/02. Any ideas? Thank you in advance.

Anthony

Evening Anthony

You have a BMW 1150 motorcycle. Don't confuse the parts with the BMW 1100 motorcycle. While they are alike in many ways they not alike in others

Very few (if any) 1150 HES failures as BMW changed the HES design on the 1150 engines. (the connectors were also changed from the early 1100 design)

No way to really tell if your HES is original but due to the very few 1150 HES failures my guess is it is still original. When doing ANY repairs on the BMW 1150 bike be sure that you are researching & using 1150 repair procedures & using 1150 diagrams & pictures.

Thank you for the advice dirtrider, it is appreciated.

I was aware that there that there were changes/improvements to the part at some point, but was unsure when the exact cutoff point was. That is why I provided the build date. I have the plug you depict in your post. My concern is that on my bike, I observed crumbling sheathing in other areas of the harness, specifically the wiring to the handlebar switchgear. Fortunately, it was limited to the exterior sheathing, which I repaired. Given that, coupled with the observation that other 1150 owners seem to be sending their units out for preventative rewiring (to GS Addict and others) there was no way that I was going to be working in the vicinity of the HES without at least having a look at it. I was prepared to repair it if needed. I'm glad I don't have to at this point.

I understand that the instances of failure may be lower with the 1150, but hearing so many horror stories about roadside strandings from HES and input shaft spline failures, I think it is reasonable to consider them both areas of concern for owners of what are, ultimately, old bikes.

Anthony

Hi Ant. Yes, with age comes deterioration and indeed the plastic and the fabric insulation sleeving /tape definitely does deteriorate. The HES wiring itself holds up well. I guess over the fullness of time all the insulation will give up!

Enjoy the 1150. It's a lovely bike and there is loads of experience to call on on this forum.