• Welcome to the BMW R18 Forums. Member registration disables ads and allows you to post and share. Register Here.

Question What's happening?

  • <i class="fa--xf fal fa-check "><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" role="img" aria-hidden="true" ><use href="/data/local/icons/light.svg?v=1789222567#check"></use></svg></i> Discussion starter Discussion starter Felix
  • Start date Start date
F

Felix

New member
Joined
Oct 15, 2023
Messages
11
Location
china
Visit site
Bike
r18
Hi everyone, I was riding my R18b when the screen suddenly showed engine failure, so I pulled over. Then the hole in the picture leaked oil first and then gasoline. Does anyone know what kind of fault this is? What is the purpose of BMW designing this hole? (I have replaced the original fuel tank before this)611721182346_.pic.webp621721182372_.pic.webp截屏2024-07-17 10.15.50.webp
 
Fecking Jesus. That is quite a bit of oil.
Oil and fuel leaks should not be related. Not sure if the hole in the picture is the escape hole for some sort of vapour/excess fluid breather. Towards the back of the bike I am inclined to think it is transmission oil or whether the ducting is channeled towards the back if it were engine oil, but I would have thought this would have been situated somewhere in the middle rather than the back.
What does the message in the red warning says?
So sorry I can’t answer your questions.
I hope someone here more mechanical knowledgeable knows the answer but I would certainly contact the workshop if this was me.
 
Anibal said:
Fecking Jesus. That is quite a bit of oil.
Oil and fuel leaks should not be related. Not sure if the hole in the picture is the escape hole for some sort of vapour/excess fluid breather. Towards the back of the bike I am inclined to think it is transmission oil or whether the ducting is channeled towards the back if it were engine oil, but I would have thought this would have been situated somewhere in the middle rather than the back.
What does the message in the red warning says?
So sorry I can’t answer your questions.
I hope someone here more mechanical knowledgeable knows the answer but I would certainly contact the workshop if this was me.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your reply. The red warning means: serious engine control failure. You can continue to drive properly, but it may be damaged.
The vehicle has been sent to a local BMW repair shop.
 
Is that the crank case breather? Has it been serviced recently? The oil should be checked with the bike UPRIGHT. If the oil level is checked with the bike on the stand it will have too much oil in. I see that you are almost full of fuel and some petrol may have come out of the fuel tank breather when it was filled but it's not the same hole (as far as I know!).
 
widu13 said:
Is that the crank case breather? Has it been serviced recently? The oil should be checked with the bike UPRIGHT. If the oil level is checked with the bike on the stand it will have too much oil in. I see that you are almost full of fuel and some petrol may have come out of the fuel tank breather when it was filled but it's not the same hole (as far as I know!).
Click to expand...
Yes, I had just come out of the gas station and filled up with fuel before the breakdown, maybe there is a connection?
 
Felix said:
Yes, I had just come out of the gas station and filled up with fuel before the breakdown, maybe there is a connection?
Click to expand...
If you filled to the very top, then yes it is very likely that some fuel came out of the overflow/fuel breather. The oil is another thing altogether. What is your oil level like with the bike UPRIGHT (not on the stand)?
 
widu13 said:
What is your oil level like with the bike UPRIGHT (not on the stand)?
Click to expand...
I believe Felix had already taken his bike to the dealer. I too would be very curious to know what the oil level in the window with the bike upright, not on the stand. Felix stated that the screen warning stated "serious engine failure". If the oil was filled to window level with the bike on its stand causing a serious overfill, or the fuel in the tank was overfull...would that create that warning?

I make a routine of filling fuel while on the stand. Perhaps that is common practice? I have seen bikers fueling while sitting on the bike in vertical position and filling to the top. Maybe that could cause overfill when on the stand?
 
The fuel wouldn't give that warning, but excess oil would fire up the pressure sensor. My thinking is that on mileage is about about 200 miles overdue a service, which could be correct looking at the darkness of the oil. If oil was added on the stand and then checked at the sight glass whilst on the stand, there would be a significant excess of oil.

I often fill up with the bike upright and on the stand. If I am careless, then the fuel will indeed travel down the overflow.
 
Same here. I always refuel whilst the bike is on the side stand. Never have been tempted to squeeze an extra oz of fuel once the nozzle triggers off, that won’t add any extra range on the mileage.

Regarding to the oil, hopefully this was just a case of a top up that went a bit OTT and the bike decided to puke out the excess.
 
OP indicates the fuel tank has been previously replaced, shouldn't matter, but possibly a vent line was pinched or ? Also if overfilling it is possible to saturate the charcoal filter and this can cause problems. Not sure that is oil looking at the photos, unless there is something I'm missing in the 3 shots posted. It takes very little gas or oil to make up the size of this "spill" and petrol on macadam/asphalt will quickly make a "dirty" residue as they have a common DNA (oil base).

Regardless, easily fixed if human error when/if overfilling and/or if a hard part is damaged in the fuel venting-emissions system.

🍿
 
I always fill my bike to the very tippy top, while sitting on the bike in order to maintain it's vertical stance; I do however, deploy the kickstand in case I need to jump off of the bike in an emergency...

I thought about removing the charcoal canister; however, my fueling habits make me think I should keep it in place...

There are a couple of hoses that connect to the canister; perhaps, it's as simple as the fuel overfill canister is at capacity, which triggered the error code and drained the excess fuel on the ground.

Maybe fuel + charcoal looks like dirty oil...?
 
Star-Lord said:
I always fill my bike to the very tippy top, while sitting on the bike in order to maintain it's vertical stance; I do however, deploy the kickstand in case I need to jump off of the bike in an emergency...

I thought about removing the charcoal canister; however, my fueling habits make me think I should keep it in place...

There are a couple of hoses that connect to the canister; perhaps, it's as simple as the fuel overfill canister is at capacity, which triggered the error code and drained the excess fuel on the ground.

Maybe fuel + charcoal looks like dirty oil...?
Click to expand...
I refuel in the same way . Haven’t had the canister in place for over a year. No issues with overflow.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top