Fuel Pump Whine

I went to the dealer last Saturday . They recorded a video and opened a warranty case . Every body with this issue should alert BMW so BMW start doing something about it .
 
Is anybody saying that this is some sort of reliability issue? I agree that the noise isn't super-duper, but to my ear anyway, BMWs typically (and the R18 specifically) sound like whistling sewing machines anyway, even without the fuel pump whine.
 
Yesterday I heard a little whine when stopping in front of my garage ...

Lets wait and listen, my R18 is around 5400km now
 
PhilBret said:
Yes off course ! May be your ears are damaged in the high frequencies . This happens often with age . ;)
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Oh I definitely hear it at idle and low speeds. I was just asking if anybody is saying that this is an indication that the pump is somehow not working correctly or likely to fail. The noise may, or may not be an indication of anything.
 
Right, it may works normally whith the noise, but to my eyes, it's definitely ruining the pleasure to ride
 
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Since all bikes make this sound for a few seconds when powered on prior to start, clearly it's an operating mode that is "normal" for the pump. It's just that some bikes, in some circumstances, make the noise continuously after startup. To me, that's not a pump issue, but an issue with whatever is commanding the pump to operate in that mode. In my case, it doesn't start immediately, but happens after a few minutes of riding.
 
Gerard said:
Right, it may works normally whith the noise, but to my eyes, it's definitely ruining the pleasure to ride
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Completely agree. Mine seems to be getting worse and has sapped my joy of riding the bike. Cannot hear it over the engine and wind noise (half helmet) at cruising speed, but stop at a traffic light and the piercing sound comes right back to the forefront. Dealer said they have to hear it in person before filing a warranty claim. Will run it over this coming week.
 
Finally got the bike to my dealership yesterday. Feedback I received from service dept was that a fuel pump whine is normal and that “all fuel pumps make noise”. Very frustrated by that response. I‘ll call the other dealer in town this week to see if they have had any cases of this yet. With so few R 18s on the road, I don’t expect that many dealers have dealt with this yet.
 
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Michigan Tim said:
Finally got the bike to my dealership yesterday. Feedback I received from service dept was that a fuel pump whine is normal and that “all fuel pumps make noise”. Very frustrated by that response. I‘ll call the other dealer in town this week to see if they have had any cases of this yet. With so few R 18s on the road, I don’t expect that many dealers have dealt with this yet.
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Yea, that's a BS response. You bought the bike on the promise that BMW would come through on top-notch quality--rides like a great bike and sounds like a great bike--that shouldn't include the 'feature' of a piercing whine. BMW needs to come up with a fix for this because it cannot be only in the FE R18s--they probably are using the same pump in all the subsequent editions.
 
Hello Tim,
i think, you dont have to accept that.
The dealer have to record it and send it to the headquarter.
The headqurter will give a yes or no.
Interesting thing is, that some members have information about a software update to solve this problem.
I wonder if that info is right.
Try again.
If some pumps have this problem. We have to wait until BMW have solved this.
My second pump starts whining again.
 
PhilBret said:
If that bike had make that noise while drive testing it before the buy , for sure , nobody would have gone for it !
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True! However, a lot of folks have mentioned, me included, that they didn't start hearing the whine until after the 500 mile mark. I distinctly remember around that mark that I seemed to be hearing cars or trucks around me with the whine, then it suddenly occurred to me that it was coming from the bike. It's a little intermittent too which made it not so obvious at first but now it happens almost all the time.
 
Dane said:
True! However, a lot of folks have mentioned, me included, that they didn't start hearing the whine until after the 500 mile mark. I distinctly remember around that mark that I seemed to be hearing cars or trucks around me with the whine, then it suddenly occurred to me that it was coming from the bike. It's a little intermittent too which made it not so obvious at first but now it happens almost all the time.
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On mine it started at around 2000km as well. Before that it was all good . Still good now, but above 60km/hr only, bellow it s.... . hopefully they will look into it and find a solution quick .
 
There is a typical thing, specially in Harleys. The bike sounds louder and louder with more ride because a degradation inside the mufflers. I don't know exactly how to explain technically, but the more you ride the more it gets louder. Reading some comments in this post, maybe what is happening is something like that.
 
Luis said:
There is a typical thing, specially in Harleys. The bike sounds louder and louder with more ride because a degradation inside the mufflers. I don't know exactly how to explain technically, but the more you ride the more it gets louder. Reading some comments in this post, maybe what is happening is something like that.
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I don't think so. The volume is the same level and doesn't get louder over time...it's identical to the fuel pump sound when you power on the bike before starting it. It's just that over time, this sound begins to be present after the bike has started, and becomes more frequent it seems as the bike accumulates miles. I'm not convinced that it's mileage based and not temperature based (the warmer weather and higher mileage happened to coincide in my case.) As to the comment above that nobody would have purchased the bike if it made the noise on the test ride, I'm the exception to that rule. Really, once I realized it wasn't an indication of mechanical failure, I just stopped hearing it unless I listen for it. It's no more annoying than the air intake sound to me, and I just associate that with the bike.
 
So, has Anyone actually had a fuel pump malfunction on an R18, or, is there just a lot of whining going on?

This is what a malfunctioning, leaking, fuel pump looks like.
No whining what soever, just gasoline running between your legs at 80mph, 130kph.
K1600B. Replaced in 2 hours and on the road again, no big deal.
 

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Yesterday I gave my R18 to the 10.000km service at the BMW-Dealer.
Actually there is no official information about a solution from BMW in correspondence with my FIN-Nr. of the Bike.
BMW will be stay quit untill there customers get louder.
 
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