Archive of BMW Motorrad Club Cape (2006 - 2019)

Hi Alf

If you buy a fuel pump from the dealers you must buy the whole fuel pump assembly from them, it is about R5000 (or more) if I'm not mistaken. I replaced the fuel pump on my F800GS about 2 months ago with a Bosch pump that fits exactly in ie OEM fuel pump housing for about R500. I still have the box in my garage and can supply you with a part number if needed.

If I can give you a tip, remove the 2 screws and the fuel line connector from the fuel pump housing instead of loosening  the clamp and removing the fuel line. The pipe fitting tends to become brittle over time and breaks easily, it is about R450 to replace that part. Also use a heat gun (or hair dryer) to heat the flex pipe that connects to the fuel pump housing and the fuel pump itself before removing it. I just fitted a stainless steel clamp on the pipe that connects to the fuel pump and the fuel housing for extra piece of mind. A good tip is to put a little vaseline on the seals of the fuel pump housing before putting it back in the tank, this will help prevent it from leaking.

What year model is your bike? On my 2009 model it wasn't the fuel pump that was actually faulty but the fuel pump electronic. The electronic is the little thing that looks like a heatsink where the 2 sets of wires connects to on top of the fuel pump housing. Earlier models had a aluminum electronic and in later models it was coated with a black coating for better isolation. This unit regulates the power that are supplied to your fuel pump. If you take out your fuel pump connect it directly to a battery and see it the pump is running (Only do this for a short while because these pumps don't like to run dry. 

Please feel free to contact me if you need any assistance if you would like to do it yourself or you can take the bike to Jandre, Alf or Kingtek depending on your locaation.

The long term solution is, for bikes out of warranty, to do the fuel filter modification.

It is a fairly quick process that gives you a fuel filter outside of the main tank that you can replace every 10000km when you do your normal services. It is also a BMW filter that you use.

You can read up about it here.

http://www.wilddog.za.net/forum/index.php?topic=142909.0

Thanks Carel,

Mine is a 2011 model that stood at ACME for a good 14 months before I salvaged it; some stuff aged from not being used I think.

I know for a fact the the fuel pump itself has gone (it doesn't run when I apply 12V direct to it's connections), but not sure about the electronic controller (or even how to test that).

Since I think it is exorbitant to replace the entire unit at R5k I will probably pay Andrew a visit, he did tell me on Monday he has spare pumps and can probably test the controller.

Thanks Warren,

I must say that looks rather extreme, I would have expected to be able to replace the filter along with the pump; even though the manual says the filter (and strainer btw) are designed for the life of the bike.

I'm going to replace the pump first and check the rest before making this mod. (I see the replacement pump, also shown elsewhere on this forum, comes with a new strainer at least).

Will let the forum know how it goes.

Hi Alf, then it surely sounds like your pump that is dead if ther is no "life" when you connect it straight to a 12V battery. 

I fitted a Bosch fuel pump (R600 from Goeie Hoop Parts in Brackenfell) about 2 months ago. The pump are exactly the same as the OEM pump that are in the  fuel pump assembly and is quite easy to fit. I am sure that Andrew will be able to assist you . I also have my old pump if you want to test it. I replaced the fuel pump and at the end of the day it was the fuel pump electronic that was faulty on my bike. It is easy to test if it is the fuel pump or fuel pump electronic that is faulty.

1) Connect fuel pump directly to 12v source and see if pump runs.

2) Unplug the wires that connect to the fuel pump electronic and check wit a multi meter it there is a reading when you switch the ignition on.

Feel free to contact me if you decide to do a DIY and I will give some "tips" on hou to remove the fuel pump from the fuel pump assembly (Oh ate two 321 36 double two). 

Also be very careful when removing the fuel line that goes from the tank to the throttle body. Rather unscrew the two screws from the plastic coupler on top of the tank and remove the house with the coupler attached from the tank. DO not remove the hose clamp and remove the fuel line from the coupler. It is a plastic coupler that breaks very easily and it will set you back another R480.

Ok so that was an interesting exercise!

I removed the fuel pump assembly last week and really struggled to get the curly pipe off. I eventually resorted to sawing off the broken fuel pump's connecting pipe and then drilling the plastic out of the curly tube.

Then I backwashed the filter, since it is designed for life and I had the whole thing out anyway I thought this would be a great opportunity to clean it out, good thing too, cause I think this was the cause of the pump failure, the filter was so clogged (see all the muck that came out of it) that it probably caused the pump to overwork itself and burn out. Anyways, after a good clean it has an easy clear flow through it again and should live up to its life-time claim. But I do wonder where I got such dirty fuel from? Maybe that backyard garage in Lesotho last year :-). So ja, maybe the post from Warren with the mod for external replaceable filter is not such a bad idea after all.

I then fitted the replacement bosch pump, really easy to do, then assembled the lot again, making sure the little o-ring is in the right place at the top of the filter, AND using some of those clever little crimp clamps to secure the curly pipe.

NOTE: BMW does not really sell these, even though they are on the parts list for the F650GS fuel pump assembly, which were available on back order only of course, BUT if any of you guys need some of those crimp clamps, you can get them at www.clamps.co.za they are on 4th Street Wynburg, Sandton and they work like a charm (Oetiker stepless crimp clamp) better than worm gear clamps.

Once done, fitted it all back and Viola! my 800 runs again :-)

Thanks Alf - great howto.  I did something similar with Mr.Badger a while ago.  Also used a car fuel pump (I think it is for a chevy or similar).

I got my crimp clamps from Andrew King at Kingtek - he carries a range of them.

I'm glad you managed to fit a new fuel pump. Sometimes it is nice to do things self on your bike and to "get to know" your bike. I used a heat gun to carefully heat up the curly pipe and then it came of easily.

Alf I am sure if you ask Trevor V nicely, he will help you with the fuel filter mod. He has done quite a few so is a bit of an expert now.

Its really one of the best mods to do and now you have seen why.

While you are messing around in there, you might as well add the shock block as well.

http://www.wilddog.za.net/forum/index.php?topic=110250.0

You can get this from the Flying Brick.