Learn Me BMW R850R

That looks really good. I'm not sure I could wait for the battery to charge. I'd have it on the jumpers.

Was it stored on the side-stand for a long time? If so - sometimes oil can seep into the combustion chamber if it was kept full to the tippy top. Pull one of the plugs on the lean-to side and crank it to push it out before you fire it up. Don't panic if it smokes out the entire neighborhood for a minute or two :)

Battery at full charge, still no love. Guess ill be digging into it in the near future. What I know is: Fuel pump works, Believe its getting fuel because i can smell it as I crank it,fuel smells old,gas in tank is rust colored ( that on surprised me as the bike has lived indoors in Vegas and Sacramento all of its life )

I keep it on the center stand. It was just on the side stand while I snapped a picture.

Oops, ignore the rust colored fuel part... It seems BMW coats the interior of the tank with a red epoxy to prevent rusting... Learn something new everyday.

I'd get new plugs and try again. Once they get soaked in gas it's hard to get them going again.

Do you know if the fuel filter has been changed? That's an often neglected maintenance item on BMWs and doesn't exactly help starting when it's clogged.

I'd definitely either try to siphon out the old fuel or at least top up with fresh stuff.

Planning to pull the tank, drain the fuel, change the fuel filter and check for spark. Plugs are a good idea. It ran in October when the battery was replaced and again 3 weeks ago. It has sat for that whole time, so I cant imagine its anything major.

If it ran three weeks ago, have you played with the "choke" (it's really a raised idle)?

Yep, I tried the "choke", no change. I received the Service Records Friday. in going through them there was mileage and activity from 1999 thru 2007. After 2007 the next entry is Spring 2011 No-Run Condition. Pulled tank, drained fuel, cleaned injectors, add 3 gal new fuel confirm run and test ride. The next is Spring 2014, No-Run Condition. Pulled tank, drained fuel, new pump and filter, cleaned injectors, add 2 gal new fuel confirm run and test ride. The bike has not been "ridden" since 2007. Spring of 2017 would be 3 years since the last R&R. I'm betting its the same 2 gallons of fuel that was added 3 years ago.

I'm guessing that some fresh fuel and filters will fix whatever is wrong. Maybe a LIGHT shot of starter fluid spray just to kick it off. I've started several "ran when parked" bikes/lawnmowers/snowblowers/chainsaws like that.

My R1100 bought not running took a lot of cranking and fresh plugs to get it to fire. After it fired up the first time it has started fine ever since.

I never changed the gas, no idea how old it was.

Going on 9 days without an update. He must be out riding!

Huckleberry wrote: Going on 9 days without an update. He must be out riding!

Oh how I wish this were true.....

Unfortunately its been a busy couple of weeks so no time to play with the bike. Hope to get a little time with her this weekend!

Minor Update: Spent an hour with the R on Friday... I just needed a little me time in the shop. Drained the Fuel and added 2 gallons of fresh gas. Also replaced the spark plugs and confirmed spark. Cranked it and still no joy. So I pulled the injectors and instead of a nice spray pattern I get something resembling my kids squirt gun. I'm no engineer, but I'm thinking thats my issue. :-) Off to Radio Shack for parts to build an Injector Cleaning Station. On a positive note, while testing the injectors the bike tried to start while cranking with the right bank in and the left bank out. Odd, but encouraging.

So still no joy... I cleaned the injectors and coaxed it into running at idle briefly, but it wouldn't take any throttle. Time to pull the tank and take a look at the internal fuel lines that like to split...

sanyarcosean wrote: So still no joy... I cleaned the injectors and coaxed it into running at idle briefly, but it wouldn't take any throttle. Time to pull the tank and take a look at the internal fuel lines that like to split...

Well, it runs - that's something positive. The lines in the tank are def suspect. Also make sure that spiders have not set up shop in the vent lines and the pickup on the pump isn't shellacked over.

I don't recall if that era still had a manual shutoff but two of the bikes in my garage had gunk in them such that all positions were "Off".

So... Ruptured in-tank fuel line for the win... Replacing all rubber in the tank and we should be good to go!

The parts are here, the parts are here!! Hope to have it running Sunday!!!

Just sitting and waiting..

Quit slacking!

Made it to the Shop Sunday, Beautiful day to work on the ladies. Hooked up a Battery Minder on Jessica's Marauder, then turned my attention to the BMW. Rebuilt the fuel pump assembly, put it all back together and it started but still ran horribly.. wouldn't idle and was popping back through the intake. Pulled the injectors to check flow and both looked great. As I was sitting there trying to figure out my next step, I noticed that the right banks throttle cable was unseated from its adjuster screw holding that banks throttle open more than the other. Pushed it back in and it ran perfect. Took it for a quick spin around the block and I am IN LOVE!! Brought it back, changed the oil and started to clean it up. For a bike that sat for the last 10 years it sure is filthy...

Good Morning World

New fuel hose that will keep being fuel hose, even in ethanol.

A little cleaner

Cleaned up the rear a little, I think it looks much better this way. $0 mods are the best!

Before

After

Great to hear that you got it running OK now!

Discovered a leaking front master cylinder on the BMW last week. Before ordering a rebuild kit I decided to take it apart to see what the issue was. Seems the master cylinders on the early R1100/R850 bikes did not have anodized bores. This causes premature failure due to old fluid "eroding" the aluminum. Turns out my seals were fine. The brake fluid had crystallized a little in the cylinder causing the leak. A quick "hone" with 0000 steel wool and a good bath fixed it right up! Sorry didn't think to take any pictures

In reply to sanyarcosean:

Excellent! Because if you priced a new master you were in for some sticker shock.

BMW R bikes and horizontally arranged K bikes are exponentially better than the cars. I am not familiar with the R850 but have had some dealings with the R750 R1100 and K100. The things are very durable bikes. Can't wait to see what you do with it.