big boxy rattly noise at low speed on rough roads

[TomL]

Too noisy for me with the baffle removed. I still have the cat intact but I have disconnected the flappy device which means that it is fully open all the time. Gives a lovely sound at low speed between walls and buildings.

[Phmode]

Yer not only an 'ooligan, yer banned for bringing the site into disrespect 

Is this Tom's first ban?

[richtea]

> I don't think the Akra is too noisy; I rather like mine


I like your Akra too. It tells me when you're trying 

[Phmode]

👹

[Costas]

The plastic under the instrument panel is ment to move. The noise maybe comes from a forgoten screw under the nose there are far too many bolts there and easy to forget some if for the paint lob you took it  off . The best way to make frint silent is to change n batery with Li-Fe Po4 that is only 1 kilo. Such a change would provide a hole new experiance regarding noise and not only. 

[carl0s]

Well, I made a battery clamp today, and it made no difference.

Then I looked at the centre stand, thinking the springs might be weak. I was about to zip-tie it up tight for a test, then I realised I could wobble one side about 2mm in and out. The metal bushing and centre stand hole have worn and elongated by about 2mm.

So.. I thought.. that must be it! Removed the centre stand and.. Nope! Still sounds like a washing machine when going over rough surfaces :-(

I previously thought it must have been the radiator - one of the plastic shims that goes inside the radiator hole was missing. fitted a replacement a bit ago... no difference.

I did have the panniers on, so i'll try again tomorrow with them off.

It sounds really hollow and boxy.. like the headlamp assembly is wobbling - but I'm sure it isn't - it is clicked down on dipped like it should be.


What happens is that you go over rough surface like pot holes, and the front goes "cha-dump", and then the rear does the same, although the rear is much worse.

Steering and everything feels great, and apart from this, everything feels alright.

I have done quite a few things on it and really this was to be my keeper. I bought a well used example but thought I'd be able to make it good..

• discs rattled forward/backward - new discs and bobbins fitted. great, except at <5mph there's a squeak like a finger around a wine glass from the front. sounds like a wheel bearing but I'm sure it's the disc making harmonics
• both front ball joints replaced
• wilburs front shock put on because i thought the front one wasn't working. didn't seem to stiffen between comf/norm/sport anyway, and looks like a k1200 item that's been spliced in. and I thought this might be my main source of roughness/noise
• baffle insert for Remus Ti exhaust acquired
• OEM exhaust acquired
• barnett clutch plates put in
• clutch basket re-engineered/improved by that fella up near Leeds. I had him do as much as possible, including new damper springs and rivets.
• both mirrors replaced (£150 each) because the pin-detent had worn.. so the wind flopped them inwards
  
• the bloody indicator switch was flapping all over the place so £150 on a new left hand switch gear. Even new they are wobbly and crap, but at least it's how BMW meant it to be now
• new tyres of course
• updated/flashed DME and other ECUs with BMW ISTA/P

[Costas]

Swich gear is a recall and remains open , why they asked you to pay for it? Yes I know the answer they do that in UK.......
Is the bolt of the bottom ball joint tighten correctly?   :-

[carl0s]

Swich gear is a recall and remains open , why they asked you to pay for it? Yes I know the answer they do that in UK.......
Is the bolt of the bottom ball joint tighten correctly?   :-

They said it had already had it done..

The switches all worked, but the indicator button had wore away inside so it was extremely loose.

[markyates]

Does the BMW ISTA/P include diagnostics?

I have a similar thing for their cars (INPA I think)on my laptop... Don't have a bike compatible data cable though.

[carl0s]

Does the BMW ISTA/P include diagnostics?

I have a similar thing for their cars (INPA I think)on my laptop... Don't have a bike compatible data cable though.

You just need the "ICOM D" adapter cable, available from AliExpress for about a fiver I think, to convert your existing OBD plug into the round one. Then you can use all sorts of OBD2 scanners and also BMW stuff.

ISTA/D is the diagnostics side. It's extremely thorough and detailed. It's basically a guided workshop manual that communicates with the car/bike as it guides you. INPA is very basic by comparison - although a lot faster to use, and great for monitoring fuel trims and what not (only ever used it on an e46)

ISTA (ISTA-P meaning programming,  and ISTA-D meaning the diagnostics side.. two main totally separate parts to the app. You can install only the half you want, and then other entry becomes greyed out on the front screen if I remember correctly) is often called RHEINGOLD. Not sure why.. think that might have been a specific version.
You can do the diagnostics side with the USB INPA cable.. K-Can or whatever they call it. For the ISTA/P programming you have to use a proper ICOM gateway (ICOM A1 or A2). Both need the adapter to fit the bike (called an ICOM D cable). I put a post on an american i-bmw forum last year when I was tinkering with all that.

[Phmode]

There is a repair kit for the front shock wiring loom which is a known weak spot as the wires can break under all the twisting. Perhaps that was the 'splice' you saw!

[drumwrecker]

Is it HID an HID ballast worked loose in the headlamp?

[carl0s]

Is it HID an HID ballast worked loose in the headlamp?

Nah. Good shout though. I have fitted a HID, but I've done a pretty good job on the ballast mounting. It's on the right side of the frame.

[carl0s]

There is a repair kit for the front shock wiring loom which is a known weak spot as the wires can break under all the twisting. Perhaps that was the 'splice' you saw!

I'll take a picture of the old shock later and show you. Anyway the compression effort i.e. bouncing the bike didn't seem to change between comf/norm/sport, so I fitted the wilburs. When i did the same test on the rear, I could easily feel a difference in bounciness between the different modes (and I still do.. and also the bike rises/lowers with the helmet/pillion/luggage settings too).

[Phmode]

The K12 was not as easy to tell the difference, the K13 is much easier because the 'spacing' between the settings is greater.

However, if the cable goes open-circuit (which it can with time) then the shock doesn't change but, because the system is not a closed-circuit system (ie no feedback loop) the dash says it has changed even if it hasn't!

As a total aside, how smooth is your engine / transmission when you are running on the smooth stuff?