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R27 Cold Start Nightmare
- Worleybird89
- Posts: 40
- Joined: Mon May 29, 2023 11:14 am
- Location: College Station, TX
- Has thanked: 35 times
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R27 Cold Start Nightmare
Background and history: My dad bought this bike in 2015 and had Vech at Bench Mark Works do the majority of the restoration. He didn't ride it as much as he thought he would, and when I casually asked him to let me know before ever considering selling it, we quickly came to deal. He brought it to me from Cali last Spring (2023). We had a little trouble getting it running when he got here, but after replacing fuel lines and tightening up a few screws/nuts on the carb to slow the leaking, we had a blast riding it around my rural neighborhood for the next few days. The bike has not been registered since the restoration, so my goal was to keep riding it to work out any kinks, then get it inspected, titled and registered in Texas. Fast forward a few weeks, and the bike stranded me about a mile from my house. I got busy after that and gave up on it for a few months. Thinking it was ignition related, I dug into the headlight bucket and pulled the generator cover to see why I could not get it to fire. Only, I could. I was getting a pretty decent spark, so I put it all back together and it started right up. A week later, it would not start again. I know enough to deduce if there is spark but the engine doesn't fire, it must not be getting fuel, so that's when I decided to clean the carb. The float is good, but it is the old style with the metal needle in the center. The idle mixture adjustment is near the recommended starting point of 1 1/2 turns from closed. I put it back to exactly where it was when I took it apart (where Vech set it upon restoration). When I can get it running, this bike is a blast to ride, and I'd like to ride it a lot, but until I can figure out how to get it to start consistently, that just isn't going to happen. To my knowledge, the closest shop that knows anything about vintage BMW bikes is Austin Moto Works, 2 hours away from me. They are not currently accepting anything in the shop and have a wait list to start accepting appointments in January. I've tinkered with all kinds of engines all of my life, from two stroke model engines, to lawn mowers, dirt bikes, and all the way up to small block Chevy 350s, with success, so I am at a loss why this one is giving me such a challenge.
Thanks for any and all advice!
'62 R27, '67 R60/2 w/Steib S500 Sidecar
College Station, TX
USA
- schrader7032
- Posts: 9065
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Re: R27 Cold Start Nightmare
'78 R100/7 '69 R69S '52 R25/2
Fast. Neat. Average. Friendly. Good. Good.
- Worleybird89
- Posts: 40
- Joined: Mon May 29, 2023 11:14 am
- Location: College Station, TX
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Re: R27 Cold Start Nightmare
Just ordered a carb rebuild kit from Bing.
'62 R27, '67 R60/2 w/Steib S500 Sidecar
College Station, TX
USA
- r67boxer
- Posts: 77
- Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2022 8:04 pm
- Location: Pender Island, Canada
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Re: R27 Cold Start Nightmare
Kevin
Re: R27 Cold Start Nightmare
Carb overhauls, fuel lines, plugs, valve adj, wires, clean tank, change oils (of course)... on and on.
Major prob was kick starting only provided 1 thump. I made a paddock starter and engine would roll over much easier.
Tickling the carbs made the biggest improvement.
No more paddock starting needed.
Now I just need to fix my sciatica probs and I can get to riding again.
Good luck. Sounds like yer on the right track.
- Worleybird89
- Posts: 40
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Re: R27 Cold Start Nightmare
Gave this a try this evening. Didn't even fire. Turned the Idle speed screw in another half turn in attempt to get a little faster idle with no throttle but never got it to fire. Removed the plug to check. It's damp, but does not seem to be enough to be flooded. Spark seems weak. Plugged the battery into the charger and will try again in an hour or so. I'm working on getting some replacement/backup ignition parts (coil, condenser, points, plugs, etc.) as well as a carb rebuild kit.r67boxer wrote: ↑Sat Nov 25, 2023 10:55 amI've got a '58 R26. When I purchased it the PO gave me one bit of advice. With the ignition off turn on the fuel tap, prime the with the tickler (hold button down for several seconds), kick it over two or three times with the throttle just on a little bit and then again with the ignition on. Should start immediately. If I don't follow this procedure it can take many kicks to get it started or not at all.
Kevin
'62 R27, '67 R60/2 w/Steib S500 Sidecar
College Station, TX
USA
Re: R27 Cold Start Nightmare
My bike's been back on the road for about a year now & I had a host of similar problems to yours.
Make sure the carby's clean & go through the electrical connections, loosening, retightening & then checking every one.
Substitute components if you can to see what happens.
And persevere.
One strange problem I initially had was a lack of power. The best way I can describe it is the sensation of a multi cylinder engine with one cylinder not firing. No noises or stuttering, just a significant lack of power. Obviously with the one cylinder engine it isn't that. It came good in its own sweet time.
They're temperamental little bastards.
- VintageJim
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Re: R27 Cold Start Nightmare
If all else fails, I would definitely do this easy check of float function!
Jim
- Worleybird89
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Re: R27 Cold Start Nightmare
I've read about that happening with several of the old style bing carbs. That's not it on this one. Expecting the carb rebuild kit from Bing any day now.VintageJim wrote: ↑Tue Nov 28, 2023 6:28 pmI just finished a 1+ year nut and bolt restoration of my 1956 R26 and when doing the initial startup a few weeks ago had a similar problem with difficulty starting and gas occasionally flooding out of the tickler. I had sent the carb to Bing for rebuilding so was puzzled at why the float was not sealing off the gas and the engine was flooding. But when it would start it actually ran pretty good without gas leaking out the tickler. Then I found the problem!! I removed the top cover over the float and found that the float moved like it should and shut of the gas flow like it should. But when I installed the top float cover the gas started coming out the tickler. On further inspection I found the tickler rod was a little too long and when I put on the cover it would push down the float and cause the flooding! I shaved about 1/8" off the tickler rod and now everything is perfect and the bike starts and runs perfectly! I called the fellow at Bing to tell him the story and he had never seen this before. After his rebuild he checks with the cover off to visually inspect the float function and then drains the carb, installs the cover, and sends them out. He has never seen the tickler rod too long but it must have been from a different bike or carb.
If all else fails, I would definitely do this easy check of float function!
Jim
'62 R27, '67 R60/2 w/Steib S500 Sidecar
College Station, TX
USA
- Worleybird89
- Posts: 40
- Joined: Mon May 29, 2023 11:14 am
- Location: College Station, TX
- Has thanked: 35 times
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Re: R27 Cold Start Nightmare
'62 R27, '67 R60/2 w/Steib S500 Sidecar
College Station, TX
USA