I don't see how. I have a laundry list of electronics plugged into the faring Canbus outlet.

Kill switch maybe?

 

Side stand sensor?

Is it the "engine fault" light that comes on? If so, probably not that.

 

Side stand sensor?

Good thought, as they can be wet or go bad.

 

Does this happen in motion? (That would be an incredibly dangerous problem - if the engine unexpectedly dies while leaned over in the middle of a turn the bike may dump you - I once experienced a false neutral while negotiating turn 11 at Laguna Seca and very nearly ran off the track!)

 

Does this happen in motion? (That would be an incredibly dangerous problem - if the engine unexpectedly dies while leaned over in the middle of a turn the bike may dump you - I once experienced a false neutral while negotiating turn 11 at Laguna Seca and very nearly ran off the track!)

It sure has. Twice on the freeway. No fun at all trying to coast to the side and dodge cars with no power. Usually when I turn the key off and back on it will start fine. Sometimes it takes several turn off and ons before it will run.

 

Holy mother of heck. Ok, I'm going to test ride a GTL and GT back to back today to compare and I am going to be very wary. Stop riding that thing immediately and get it to a dealer by tow IMHO - this is a fault that can kill you dead if it happens at the wrong moment, it is very difficult to prepare for this short of riding extremely slowly and carefully and away from traffic. Note further that with the engine off the ABS may not be working either.

 

Holy mother of heck. Ok, I'm going to test ride a GTL and GT back to back today to compare and I am going to be very wary. Stop riding that thing immediately and get it to a dealer by tow IMHO - this is a fault that can kill you dead if it happens at the wrong moment, it is very difficult to prepare for this short of riding extremely slowly and carefully and away from traffic. Note further that with the engine off the ABS may not be working either.

It was towed to the dealer yesterday. Computer showed no faults yesterday. Another interesting event. I pulled the clutch in turned the key off and back on while it was moving after it shut off. It did not like this at all. In fact, after getting to the side of the road it would die as soon as I put it in gear. It did that several times then finally started and kept running for a while.

 

Does this bike have a tip-over kill-the-engine sensor? That and the side stand sensor are notorious culprits in these sudden-death scenarios.

Who knows about the engine fault light and if that's significant? With the bike moving and the engine being killed by the computer, who knows if it fires that light or not?

(That's a rhetorical "who knows" by the way...although I'm sure someone does.)

With the computers involved, our troubleshooting instincts developed over the years of riding hard-wired systems can sometimes lead us astray.

 

What did it do when you turned the key back on coasting?

 

It would not start. Then after stopping and turning the key off and back on it would quit as soon as I put it in gear just as if the sidestand was down but it was not.

 

It would not start. Then after stopping and turning the key off and back on it would quit as soon as I put it in gear just as if the sidestand was down but it was not.

Classic side stand switch failure symptom. With that info, your dealer should be able to trace it to the failure point.

 

Finding an intermittent open can be difficult but not impossible.. Just let them keep it until they know for sure it's fixed. I bet one of the pins backed out of a connector.
I once had a fuse give me intermittent problems. Dam thing drove me nuts.

 

Who's the dealer near Redlands? Is there a shop nearby? (My mother in law owns a house there where we used to live and I miss it - have thought of moving back. But the closest Triumph shop was in Brea down in OC, painful to get service without a loaner with the dealer that far away.)

 

Who's the dealer near Redlands? Is there a shop nearby? (My mother in law owns a house there where we used to live and I miss it - have thought of moving back. But the closest Triumph shop was in Brea down in OC, painful to get service without a loaner with the dealer that far away.)

There is a new dealer that opened last year in Riverside. However, I purchased mine From Brown's in Pomona because of prior experience with them.

 

I was doing about 100mph overtaking a car going uphill and then suddenly it was as if I had braked. The engine check light came on and the engine had no power although it was still running. The engine did not shut off though. Downshifted to 3rd and I had the throttle WIDE OPEN..full max throttle in DYNAMIC mode but only was doing 40mph. Continued like that till I reached a safe spot to stop at a rest area which luckily was about 1 mile away. Switched off the engine waited for about 2 minutes and started without any problems. The check light is gone too and I continued my journey for another 100 miles. Prior to that I had quite a few runs at wide open throttle going at 240kmh on the speedo (230 on the GPS).

The next day , I continued my journey. After about 60 miles , same thing happened again. This time it was on level road while overtaking in ROAD mode.Speed was about the 100mph=160kmh also. I had a brief run before that at 200kmh. So, it seems the problem persisted. Fortunately I wasnt far away from a dealer. So, I made a quick stop for a diagnose. He said it was the electronic fly by wire throttle system which wasnt in sync. So he did a reset and all is hunky dory..well for now at least.. continued my journey for another 300 miles home with spirited runs with no probs at all.

He did give me a tip though, just in case if it happens again.
1- switch on the ignition only without starting the engine.
2- twist full throttle for 3 seconds and then release.
3- twist full throttle AGAIN for 3 seconds and then release.

and the throttle system is reset.

Hope this helps anyone that has ever or going to experience this

 

He did give me a tip though, just in case if it happens again.
1- switch on the ignition only without starting the engine.
2- twist full throttle for 3 seconds and then release.
3- twist full throttle AGAIN for 3 seconds and then release.

and the throttle system is reset.

Hope this helps anyone that has ever or going to experience this

Interesting. This is the same procedure used on my K1200GT to reset the throttle position sensor. I guess it's reasonable that BMW would keep the same method on the fly-by-wire throttle, just for continuity.

 

This might be worth a try
Next time it cuts out do not switch it off. Get it towed to the dealer with it still on. The dealer should then be able to get the fault from it.
That sounds scary
hope you get it sorted soon

 

Yes, if the engine dies only when you're in gear, but not when you're in neutral, then the only possible cause is the side-stand switch (or a clutch problem, but that's less likely).

 

It makes sense because a sidestand switch cut-out wouldn't cause any code to register. It's just a safety feature.

When this occurs on the GS, there was an easy way to line-out the switch. Maybe it would allow you to prove one way or the other on the K16. But then, the dealer should be able to make the same determination easily.

 

He did give me a tip though, just in case if it happens again.
1- switch on the ignition only without starting the engine.
2- twist full throttle for 3 seconds and then release.
3- twist full throttle AGAIN for 3 seconds and then release.

and the throttle system is reset.

This is the reason I frequent the forum....information like this is invaluable.
Thanks for posting.
Gyro

 

Behrler,
Please check the plug connection of the throttle body, the plug should stick in completely .

 

This may be a good observation. The only faults found were a throttle body fault and a high draw on the fuel pump on two different occasions.

 

Could someone kindly post a photo of that connection for us less adept types.
Thanks, Gyro

 

Crappy pic below, but I believe the connector on the top is for the throttle blade servo motor and the electronics on the side of the throttle body:

 

Thanks for the pics Mark,
That helps clarify things. I will check mine for proper seating also.
Gyro

 

So far no solution to the engine dying. Dealer had the bike for four days and it never died on them. On the ride home from the dealer it died on me. It's been into the dealer three times for this issue and nothing is pointing to the problem on the faults. So far two faults have shown up. One was excessive amperage draw for the fuel pump the other was a throttle sensor synchronization. This is very frustrating. I have a bike I have zero confidence in.

 

That sucks! Of course it never happens when the tech guys are there and starts up when they leave, just like IT support. I hope they get this sorted for you.
-Ted

 

They have the option of opening a PUMA case.

 

They have. No definitive answer yet.

 

Two words for you: video evidence. If necessary, use a helmetcam or something else to record your riding so you can show it happening - they should not be insisting on a fault code if your dealer can show BMW this is not made up.

 

I've had a bike quit on me on a busy interstate. I feel you brother, it is NOT fun. Fortunately, mine was a bad fuel pump on a bike with 102,000 miles, so no big surprise there. However, if I were in your shoes, I'd take the bike back to the dealer and have them give me a loaner and tell them to keep that bike until they've put a couple hundred miles on it. Let the tech, or sales/general manager keep it and ride it back and forth and even encourage them to take it for a nice weekend ride to put some miles on it and see if they've fixed it. Believe me, when they have the same issue with it on their watch, they'll find a cure ASAP.

You'll sacrifice a some precious miles on the odometer, but it's an acceptable price to get the bike running properly. Also, I'm prone to agree with the sidestand circuit being the culprit since it dies when you put it in gear. I don't think a loose/faulty TB plug would sense a shift from N to 1st.

 

You'll sacrifice a some precious miles on the odometer, but it's an acceptable price to get the bike running properly. Also, I'm prone to agree with the sidestand circuit being the culprit since it dies when you put it in gear. I don't think a loose/faulty TB plug would sense a shift from N to 1st.

I thought the side stand switch was a good suggestion too. I went for a ride and pushed the side stand down until it shut off the engine. The check engine light did not come on as it does when it quits on me. Now what?

 

I'd go with pushin9s suggestion. Give the bike to the dealer; let them use it, until the problem occurs.

A quick question. When this problem occurs, are you doing anything with the computer? Were you talking on the cell phone, changing iPod playlists, scanning FM stations ... etc?

This could be a software glitch; something specific to your bike. Just because the factory installed the software does not mean it installed properly.

 

I'd go with pushin9s suggestion. Give the bike to the dealer; let them use it, until the problem occurs.

A quick question. When this problem occurs, are you doing anything with the computer? Were you talking on the cell phone, changing iPod playlists, scanning FM stations ... etc?

This could be a software glitch; something specific to your bike. Just because the factory installed the software does not mean it installed properly.

If the engine quits on the technician as it does on me and there is no specific fault listed how is it any different than my bringing the bike in after it quits on me. That's the problem. They must have a specific fault that indicates what the problem is before BMW will authorize a repair. They suspect a fuel pump but their hands are tied by BMW. No specific fault no payment for service.

I'm doing nothing other than just riding the bike.

 

So if the exhaust fell off and there was no fault code, they would say no repair? I don't think so.

This is a case of BMW behaving as if it does not believe there is actually a problem, and no fault code is their way of saying "if you can't quickly and easily reproduce it in the shop or have evidence of it other than the customer's word, we won't repair it." I recently had a similar experience with Audi. Bring them video evidence.

 

I agree with JimInSF. There are many possible mechanical failures that are not even tied to the electrical/fault code system. This seems odd that BMW would take this tact or maybe your dealer is not fighting hard enough for you. Maybe you need a second opinion. JMHO