Breakdowns and servicing

Following a relatively minor problem occurring on my brand new '07 1200gs I thought I'd share my thoughts about my strategies in case of braekdown in Morocco in the future.

The problem was a failed 'ring antenna' which speaks to the chip in the key. If it doesn't get the right answer it simply shuts down the engine management computer and the bike is going nowhere. We eventually managed to restart it but the problem reappeared occasionally over the next 48 hours. After various other causes were eliminated we arrived at a consensus after talking to a very helpful guy from Vines and BMW assist that it was probably the ring antenna.

There were 2 options:

1. Take the bike to Spain, find a dealer and get the part replaced asap and return to Morocco.

2. Find the BMW dealer in Casablanca ask if they were willing to replace the part (not a particularly difficult job) and join up with Firebird once they had (hopefully) done the job.

This was the Saturday of the Easter weekend and the dealer in Casa was closed until Monday so there was no way we could find out if they were willing to work on a bike. As shops in Spain are open on Easter Monday (except in Barcelona) I decided to go with option 1.

This led to my finding an appalling BMW dealership - Autos de la Sierra Blanca in Marbella. They refused to accept what I initially told them and when the fault happened after they had 'fixed' it I returned having given them 24 hours notice of my arrival to be told that they wold not look at my bike until Friday or Monday (this was Thursday) at the earliest.

In fact they didn't look at it until Tuesday and ordered the part then. It arrived on the Wednesday afternoon and the bike was ready on Thursday lunchtime, 9 days after I first arrived on their doorstep and exactly a week after my second arrival.

If the problem happened again I would do the following. Contact BMW in Casablanca and talk to them to see if they can help. Casa is a lot nearer than Algeciras. Also I have always found Moroccans to have a real 'can do' attitude. They want to help unlike the useless w*nkers in Marbella.

Unless I got a flat refusal to look at the bike my future strategy will be to go with Casa fist every time. You'll have to pay for the work (if your still in Warranty) but I'd take the risk that I'd get it out of BMW later and don't forget labour in Morocco is measured in pennies.

If you do have to go back to Spain find a better dealer than the one in Marbella. Whilst I was there an English guy turned up with his GSA having booked a service. His flight had been delayed and he was 30 min late. They told him they couldn't see him as he had missed his appointment!

I had a minor problem and took my 1200gs to the dealer in Casa on spec. They were brilliant, sorted the problem, and charged me peanuts. Would use them again and again and again, in fact might try to arrange a trip there next year to coincide with a service.

selmeston said:

Following a relatively minor problem occurring on my brand new '07 1200gs I thought I'd share my thoughts about my strategies in case of braekdown in Morocco in the future.

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I largely agree with you on the dealer issues. I had an oil seal fail on the differential on a K1200 LTSE. Casablanca BMW were extremely helpful but didn't have the parts and estimated it would take them over a week to obtain them. I elected to continue with the bike (on a recovery vehicle) to Spain and to BMW Marbella. They were also quite helpful but told me that they wouldn't be able to start for a few days because of their workload, so I flew home with the intention of returning when the work was completed.
So far, the only problem has been in contacting them due to the heavy recent flooding. The estimate of the costs was considerably less than I anticipated so no major problems as far as I'm concerned.
On a cautionary note, Moto Plus in Casablanca is a spares and accessories store with minor repair capability - they were not comfortable with working on a BMW!

Quick update. BMW Sierra Nevada in Marbella (I think it's actually in Puerto Banus) lived up to their reputation and left me with mixed feelings. There was only one guy in the bike department being able to speak English and he was very difficult to get hold of. The cost of the work turned out to be three times the estimate he gave me ( which I haggled down to about two and a half times the original estimate) and whilst getting my bike, he knocked over a police 1150 RT which dominoed onto other bikes.
If you have an option, try and avoid them. If not, cross your fingers. Please also note, that they siesta from 14:00 hrs until 17:00 hrs.
Their work however was fine and I rode the bike back to the UK without further mishap.

BMW Service in Casablanca
I had an oil change service on by 1200GSA carried out by BMW Smeia in Casablanca last month. I arrived at 3pm hoping to book the bike in for the following day but they got a mechanic working on it as soon as it cooled down and I was on my way again by 6pm. They had a Moroccan-registered 1200GSA in at the same time. The total bill was £63 including 20% VAT. Labour £11, filter £16, oil £36.

The guy in service reception speaks good English. The direct line for service is +212 22.40.15.11, email contact@smeia.com. GPS N33 35.881 W7 34.952

petcul said:

Brilliant service at Smeia and charged next to nothing. Great place.

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Tanger: I rode up to Tanger to meet Devon (Andy Shortridge) from the ferry, and spent a day visiting various spots around the town. I also used Tanger as my exit from Morocco. I have to say I still haven't experienced any problems in Tanger in eight or so visits. The worst Moroccan entry/exit point has to be Beni Enzar (Melilla/Nador) which is more like Mad Max.

Breakdown Strategies

Of course, the best option is to find out what bits commonly fail on the 1200GS and take them with you. Favourites are the ring antenna, the module that sits on top of the fuel pump, under the domed cover and ignition coils (if you drop the bike and manage to slightly dislodge the valve cover).

I took all these on my recent trip to Guinea-Bissau. Of course, they didn't fail, the ignition switch itself did instead!

There was this growing problem where nothing hapenned at all when I turned the ignition on. Several goes eventually brought the bike to life.

With the help of a very enthusiastic chap in a garage in Essouira, the problem was narrowed down to the micro switches that sit in a module which is screwed to the bottom of the ignition switch (one wire in, one out). Half an hour of careful cleaning and repair and I was on my way again for a trouble free 3000 miles in sub-Saharan Africa!

I do reckon that taking a spare ring antenna and fuel pump module is a good idea, as it will save a lot of wasted time and expense and being stranded for some days. However, a useful mod before departing on the big trip would be to drill out the ignition switch security bolts and replace them with orginary ones that you can get at with an ordinary socket. It occured to me that if the ring antenna had failed, I had no easy way of replacing it with my spare.

Craig

C

craigcc said:

I do reckon that taking a spare ring antenna and fuel pump module is a good idea, as it will save a lot of wasted time and expense and being stranded for some days. However, a useful mod before departing on the big trip would be to drill out the ignition switch security bolts and replace them with orginary ones that you can get at with an ordinary socket. It occured to me that if the ring antenna had failed, I had no easy way of replacing it with my spare.

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You don't need to replace it Craig. You move the wires from the antenna unit on the bike to your spare strapped to the handle bar. You then tape your spare key to this unit which now carries out the "key recognition function" with the ECU. Use your other key in the ignition switch to carry out the normal functions of the switch.