DeeTee's GS-A Year in the Life

Chris Terry · Aug 22, 2007

Sgt Bilco said:
Some people however just like to bitch, whinge and generally whine about the slightest aggrevation and instead of trying to sort it out, get on this site and try to slag of the brand no matter what has happened.

If they really aren`t happy with the brand, why don`t the go up the road to buy a crappy jappy contraption?? They won`t because they know the GS is a blinding bit of kit and would whine about it being too hot/cold/wet etc if they didn`t have a bike.

I know plenty of S owners who don`t have any issues, in fact, non of the many people I know who have one have any isues worth bothering about so if you don`t like `em, don`t buy `em. and eff off and leave us in peace. It`s a free world.

It`s been a long day and I`m now off to ride my brilliant GS1200A and smile

"crappy jappy contraption??" :rob

(did'nt somebody at BSA say that!) come on keep it real

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You may not like Jap bikes but their engineering is on a par with any manufacturer :nono

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BMW have a good product in the GS but if they do'nt keep improving they will lose customers. I own a GS because I think it is currently a good (if a bit expensive) bike. When I come to change I'll try all makes. I will not be blinkered and only look at :bow

BMW's. Maybe the japs will clone the GS and sell it at 1/2 the BMW's price :aidan

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Engineer · Aug 22, 2007

riderbob said:
5% was just a figure I plucked, but unless someone has some stats to back up the argument the point is moot. Perhaps it is 0.5% or 0.05%, the fact is no one knows (I presume) except BMW

It is difficult to get accurate statistics but it is clear from the various forums that there is an emerging set of issues that seem to be more than simply random failures. In the car world I'm sure that no one really knows the exact statistics for the Land Rover Freelander K series engined head gasket fails, BUT everyone 'knows' that they have a very real problem! it even made it onto Wikipedia!

We all know that manufacturing is not perfect, however some of these 'fault's have been going on for years and still have not been satisfactorily addressed, e.g. the gearbox/engine seal issue. Take a look at the American Adventure Rider site where a new occcurence of just this one issue is reported almost daily.

The 1200 is a great bike and I cannot think of any other bike that I'd rather own - BUT BMW have a long way to go in improving their Quality Control before they can honestly say they are in the top league.

riderbob · Aug 23, 2007

I agree with what you are saying. I also trawl through ADVrider on a daily basis so the issues are real. From my prespective I am trying to get an understanding of how big the issue is. Since BMW have sold just over a 100,000 GS/GSAs it would be good to know the stats but I guess we may never find out. :confused:

There are a lot of Chicken Littles out there so while I accept there is an issue, the sky isn't falling. So I suspect we are saying the same thing.

Having said that it's good to read a positive thread amongst the doom and gloom that seems to pervade this place sometimes.

Engineer said:
It is difficult to get accurate statistics but it is clear from the various forums that there is an emerging set of issues that seem to be more than simply random failures. In the car world I'm sure that no one really knows the exact statistics for the Land Rover Freelander K series engined head gasket fails, BUT everyone 'knows' that they have a very real problem! it even made it onto Wikipedia!

We all know that manufacturing is not perfect, however some of these 'fault's have been going on for years and still have not been satisfactorily addressed, e.g. the gearbox/engine seal issue. Take a look at the American Adventure Rider site where a new occcurence of just this one issue is reported almost daily.

The 1200 is a great bike and I cannot think of any other bike that I'd rather own - BUT BMW have a long way to go in improving their Quality Control before they can honestly say they are in the top league.

SALTY BALLS · Aug 23, 2007

WindyChuffer said:
why buy something and not use it???

1200 miles in 2 years !!!

would have been cheaper for you to hire a bike !!!!

my mistake in original post should have been 12,000 miles, :augie

rdover · Aug 23, 2007

Re complaints:
this is a case of self selection, ie the people most likely to post here and on advrider are the one with questions/problems and they are from all over the world AND they often post on both sites.

My 12GSA has done 16k miles in 12 months and has a number of issues:
paint flaking on timing case, screen supports, fuel filler
gear indicator
fuel gauge display

HOWEVER
I've owned loads of bikes including an 1150GS and 1150RT and without any doubt this is the best bike I have ever owned. It is fast enough, handles really well, looks great, is comfortable, practical and gives me the horn every time I ride it. So it has flaws? So ****, that amounts to character and nothing else.

The real problem can be with BMW customer service and that in my experience is better than most. I'm with Dee Tee - the bike is bloody brilliant.

DeeTee's GS-A Year in the Life

Chris Terry

Registered user

Engineer

He/Him - Guitar Student and Electronics Engineer

riderbob

Registered user

SALTY BALLS

Registered user

rdover

Registered user

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