Fuel Pump update

[Patrick Coleman <pdcolema@xxxxxxxxx>]

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about a fuel pump failure on my R1100RSL. Some asked to be updated, so here is my update.

I believe the failure was caused by the fuel pump ingesting some stray strands from the disintegrating fuel strainer. I haven't broken open the old pump to confirm the cause of death yet, but others have commented that is common killer of these pumps. 

I found a new fuel pump on Ebay that is cheaper, slightly smaller, and has what appears to be a cloth fuel strainer. Maybe, if this strainer disintegrates, the fuel pump may be able to digest it without failing. I decided to give it a try. This link should take you to an Ebay auction that shows the pump I purchased  http://tinyurl.com/3croq9

While the bike was apart, I decided to do some other things I've been wanting to do, including braided steel  brake lines  and a new, slightly longer throttle cable to go with the tubular handlebar project I have  been working on. All the various parts arrived just before a long scheduled long weekend of dirt riding, so I left the BMW in pieces in the garage, and spent 3 days dirt riding with some friends. 

After another delay for Thanksgiving, I finally started on the projects. The brake lines went on with no problem. The throttle cable was more of a problem, I'm glad my first exposure to the throttle cable was in the garage, and not on the side of the road somewhere. 

To install the fuel pump, I had to cut off the stock ring terminal type connectors, and solder on some provided spade type connectors. I was a little reluctant to do that, if I have a fuel pump failure on the road somewhere, and all I can get is a OEM pump, I'll have to change connectors again. The fuel pump comes with a page of instructions describing the colors and sizes of the stock wiring, and the appropriate spade to match up with the new pump. It also comes with some fuel line and some screw type high pressure hose clamps. And a Bosch oil filter and a couple of Bosch spark plugs, for some reason.

When I started the bike, it ran really poorly. After it warmed up a bit, it got better, but it was really bad. After re-checking a bunch of connections, and looking for leaks, I finally noticed that in reconnecting the fuel lines I had pulled the right throttle cable out of the adjuster. I put it back in place, and the bike started easily, and settled down to a smooth idle. Connecting the TwinMax, I found that my initial throttle sync by eyeball was amazingly close. I'm due for a valve adjustment check, I'll do that and then re-sync the throttle bodies after the cable has had a little time to stretch a bit.