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Iron Horse Motorcycles 24/7/365 Emergency Service!
520-870-1673Don't let a broken alternator belt in Nothingopen, WY wreck the vacation you've been planning for the last 50 weeks. Iron Horse will ship parts to you anywhere in the USA anytime and anyway you like, FedEx, UPS or USPS. After normal hours, the cost of this service is the MSRP of the part plus 15% handling and actual shipping cost. If we receive your call during normal working hours, the 15% handling fee is waived.
With your parts shipment, Iron Horse can also send torque specs or any specifications needed to aid in getting the job is done correctly, no matter who is working on your machine.
If you are on vacation in Southern Arizona and have an emergency breakdown, we can send a truck & trailer to bring you and your BMW to our Service Department. If it is after-hours, we can also arrange to have a BMW Certified Technician on hand to get you back on the road. The cost of this after-hours service is $50 plus towing and normal cost of repairs. The same emergency number applies: 520-870-1673
Iron Horse will sponsor a full-day Team Arizona Skilled Rider Course. Cost is $80 and will include lunch. Participation is limited to eleven riders. Sign-up with Jim Strang, Parts Manager.
As I sat on my patio last night drying off from a dip in the pool, I felt cold for the first time in months.
My thoughts drifted to our upcoming riding season, and the end of summer.
Last night, Kevin and Julia Sanders from GlobeBusters gave a presentation on their record breaking
Trans Americas trip on a R1150GS Adventure, and the thought of adventure riding filled my head.We have a very full and exciting fall coming up. We are hoping to get our hands on an HP2 before the Arizona Adventure Rally November 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th. We will have much more information on the Rally in the next several weeks. There is also still room to take the skilled rider course on Sunday, the 9th of October. If you have questions, you can just give us a call.
We are also trying to schedule an Iron Horse RawHyde off road school for later in the year, or possibly early next spring. All GS riders who think that an enduro course may help them tackle the dirt roads that abound in Arizona with more confidence can come next Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. to meet Jim Hyde and hear a presentation on the adventure school he runs.
Last but not least, I want to organize an Iron Horse track day! If anyone is interested, please let me know asap.
Hope to see you soon - John
The 2006 model year bikes are currently being produced and will be arriving soon. We still have a good inventory of 2005 R1200GS's, R1200RT's, R1200ST's, and K1200S's. Come in for great deals on these bikes. We are also taking deposits on 2006 K1200R's and the highly coveted R1200GS-HP2.
With gas prices on the rise, these new more fuel efficient bikes make more sense than ever. With fuel consumption rates reaching 50 MPG and the power-to-weight ration of a Ferrari, you can't go wrong.
Check out our website for pictures from our recent
GlobeBuster's
event during the team's current travels across the Americas. Don't forget to take a look at our
Used Bike inventory while you're at the website!
BMW Motorrad USA offers two well designed soft luggage solutions ideally suited to a wide range of motorcycles. Choose a cavernous 51 Liter (54 quart) capacity bag; good for extended traveling or a weeks worth of groceries, or a smaller 19 liter bag for a weekend getaway. Both bags have versatile mounting options allowing them to attach to the seat and/or luggage rack of most BMW motorcycles.
Features common to both bags
- Top quality soft luggage perfectly matched to the look and design of BMW motorcycles
- An interior rain cover with taped seams keeps contents dry. Cover is built in and self-stows neatly for dry riding.
- Semi-rigid base and side panels help bags keep their shape, even while riding at ‘speed’.
- Extremely durable construction will withstand
years of use.
- BMW Motorrad identification on back of each bag.
- Each is delivered with 3 sets of tie-down straps in S, M, L (12 straps total). Once installed, straps may be left with the motorcycle when bag is removed.
Sports Softbag ‘51
- 51 Liter (54 qt) size with load compression straps to accommodate extra ‘stuff’.
- Outside pockets, handles and carrying strap included.
- Built in hitch points for quick mounting to rack and seat.
- Bag is constructed of a durable ‘tarp-like’ material.
- Dimensions: 22 x 15 x 17 inches
Sports Softbag 19
- 19 Liter (20 qt) bag is perfect size for most tail racks.
- Two outside pockets and carrying handle included.
- Hitch points offer quick, secure mounting on most motorcycles with versatile easy-mount straps.
- Ballistic Nylon construction shrugs off dirt and stains.
- Sleeve on under side of bag slides over K1200R rear rack for secure mounting.
By John Heibler (Ignition animation by Harb Lill)
CAUTION: Exercise Extreme Caution when working around ignition systems as used on automobiles, trucks and motorcycles. Severe electrical shocks can result by touching any of the ignition components, such as ignition coils, spark plug leads, spark plugs, especially when the engine is in operation. Even battery and coil ignition systems can produce dangerous electrical currents, usually between 20,000 and 40,000 volts, during engine operation. Electrical shocks can be very dangerous to persons using heart pace makers or other devices.
Routine readers of this Service section of the Newsletter may recall the past articles on Batteries and Engines. Both routine readers and those not so routine, may find it helpful to review same as a refresher. Numerous web-sites are available for those who desire more in depth knowledge of ignition systems, or as an alternative, a good library and or bookstore will also be helpful and informative.
Long, Long Time Ago…When there were only Glow Plugs…and Wicks for Carburetors
Back in the late 1800’s when the primary mode of mechanized transportation was still the steam engine, internal combustion engines were taking their first baby steps. And they were very basic steps indeed! In those days, carburetors consisted of wicks in hollow tubes. The fuel consisted of some form of solvent, and as the fuel vapors were emitted from the wick, they traveled down this tube into the cylinder where they were finally got ignited by a glowing rod called the glow plug. The only real timing device was the opening and closing of the valves, which regulated the flow of gas into and out of the cylinder head. At that point in time, the only ignition component was the “glowing plug”. Yet the engine was not a diesel since it did not run on compression alone. Compression ratios were at best right around 4:1! Certainly, in order to get more power from this very basic engine, engineers decided to improve the way the fuel charge inside the cylinder was ignited. But this primitive engine weighed much less than the steam engines (these steam engines used weight to gain traction for pulling freight and passenger trains) used in those days.
Tidbit: For example, the first aircraft engine designed in 1865 weighed in at 500 lbs. and produced only 3.6 horsepower, for an engine size of 19,200cc’s! Yes, it is correct: 19,200 cubic centimeters, which is approx. 7,500 cubic inches. It burned coal-natural gas and yet it was the most powerful aircraft engine of its time. But remember that steam engines were pretty much the standard in those days for transporting people and freight, as noted above, heavy engine weight was not a penalty, rather it was advantageous. Thereafter, Nikolaus Otto and Eugen Langen invent the 4-stroke engine cycle, also known as the OTTO cycle. Further development of this design into a high speed (engine rpm) and low overall weight (for its time period) by Gottlieb Daimler in 1883, broke into a whole new era of 4-stroke engine design. By 1910, Daimler managed to produce an engine with a Bosch high tension spark plug ignition system that produced 140 horsepower and was used to propel the first Zeppelins. It had a power to weight ratio of 7 lbs engine weight to each 1 horsepower produced. Can you imagine the challenges put forth for the design and use of aircraft engines? WOW. And of course Formula 1 racing engines! How far we have come!
It All Starts with the Battery…It supplies electrical current to all the components of the Ignition System
The battery supplies all the current needed for the ignition system to work properly. There is however the need to “enhance” or amplify the 12 volts of electrical current supplied by the battery. We will see how this is performed shortly. It is quite simple and is based on Faraday’s law.
For simplicity we will use the ignition system as used on the /5 and /6 series BMW motorcycles.
To start, trace the battery voltage (12 volts) from the battery to the ignition switch.
It is through this switch - when turned “ON” by the operator that electrical power/current is supplied to the ignition coil and other items which are part of the ignition system.
It is important to note that when electrical current is passed through a wire, a small magnetic field is produced.
This magnetic field actually surrounds the wire like a shield. Note that the electrical current enters the ignition coil on the primary side through connectors on the sides of the ignition coil tower.
The coil is composed of an iron core which is wrapped with two sets of wire.
The “primary” windings contain the low voltage current previously described as coming from the battery. The “secondary” windings are much finer and much more wire is wound around the iron core.
The “secondary" wire exits through the top of the coil tower through large wires which connect to the spark plugs.
These wires are called secondary leads or high tension leads. They are connected directly to the spark plugs via a metal cap/plastic cap which fits over spark plug thus completing the connection.
Note that the ignition points, condenser and spark plugs complete the electrical circuit by being connected to ground, usually to the engine block.
The ignition system is now “energized” and ready to do its magic.Its Really Not Smoke and Mirrors Type of Magic…It is Electricity At Work…Like A Professional Concert…Everything is In-tune and Sounds Great
Typically what we do when we want to go for that wonderful ride is turn on the ignition via the ignition switch and then either rotate the engine via the starter motor or on an older bike (/5 series) we turn the engine over via the kick starter. Please refer to the ignition points (see diagram) and note that the points open and close. This movement is caused by a spinning cam within the ignition points mechanism. When the cam lobe (bump) is under the points, it forces the points open…when the flat portion of the cam is under the points, they are allowed to close. This rudimentary system controls the flow of low voltage (12 volts) current into the coil. When the points are closed, current flows into the coil. When the points open, the current ceases to flow. This cycle occurs at very specific times and it is adjustable…more on that later. When the points are closed, low voltage current enters the coil, and since the primary wires are wrapped around the iron core within the coil, a magnetic field is induced (an electromagnet). As the points are forced open by the cam lobe, the current which has been flowing through the primary windings ceases and the magnetic field collapses. Through the magic of Faraday’s Law, a much stronger current is “induced” in the secondary windings of the ignition coil. Since the wires in the secondary windings of the ignition coil are much smaller in size and more numerous, the 12 volts which resided in the primary winding of the ignition coil is now “stepped up” or increased (like a step-up transformer) to any where from 20,000 to 40,000 volts. Wow.. what a change in electrical current. It is this high level of electrical current that now goes via the secondary leads directly to the spark plugs where it jumps the gap and ignites the fuel and air mixture at the correct time. This happens every other revolution of the crankshaft, so you can just imagine how precise the electrical components must work in concert even on the older bikes. Which means from a technicians’ stand point, all adjustments must be precise, correct and to specification. Stricter emissions laws and demands for more power have virtually eliminated this very basic ignition system. But it is easy to work on and is basically very reliable and easily repairable on the open road, as many old timers still riding a /5 or /6 will attest to. It gets the job done.
Next month we'll continue with some more basic information about early battery and coil ignition systems.