Main dealer - named and shamed!

However, before I do, one thing is to be made clear:-

There is no fault or blamed attached to the original owner.

Before posting the name of the dealer in question, I will post a few photos to gather other peoples opinions.

So here are the facts:-

Its a 1200GS 14 months old.

It has covered 5000 miles from new.

It has been very well looked after, in fact a credit to its original owner.

It had a annual service/inspection just over 600 miles ago.

Look at the first photo and tell me what you see?

Maybe this is a clue

How many miles do you think these pads have done looking at the wear rate?

More than 600..........

Hows that for uneven wear....do you still think that they have only done 600 miles

Oh.....I forgot to mention, these are the original pads from new.

Help ma Boab!!!

That's shocking! One of the fundamental things you'd think (hope) would be checked in a service...

Go on, I've got me coffee, and wouldn't come all the way over there to use them anyway, so you can tell me. Who was it ?

My mail to the dealer:-

Dear Mr ******,

Just to confirm our recent telephone conversation regarding the missing
rear brake caliper bolt from ***** ******* motorcycle, as detailed above.

See attached photos for more detail.

The bike has now done 5200 miles, not to sure what the mileage was when
the annual check was done, but it can only be a few hundred?

After looking at the photos, now tell me that these pads have worn like
this is such a short amount of time?

With regards,

And the reply was:-

Good Afternoon Mr Weaver

Thank you for your e-mail showing me the pictures of your brake pads and missing calliper bolt. Having looked at the pictures and got the job card out the service was done at 4,680 miles on the 06/10/06 We carried out an annual service which as per the service sheet you don’t check the tightness or security of the calliper bolts so if the bolt was loose unless it was hanging out we would not have noticed it looking at the wear that would have occurred in probably about that mileage or if not sooner. I suggest that the calliper bolt was not correctly tightened by whoever removed the bolt to remove the splashguard and fit the aftermarket bracket(touratech). I hope this sets your mind at rest that the service was carried out to the correct standards and guidelines set by BMW. A small point that I have taken on board and spoke to the workshop about is that if any aftermarket parts are fitted to the bike that they check the security of these components on future services carried out.

Many thanks for your time and bringing this to our attention.

Best regards

Found it, my last mail to them over a week ago.

Still awaiting a reply.....

Good morning ********,

Firstly many thanks for your prompt reply.

The issue regarding who removed the bolt, is of no real consequence because that can never be proven.

My point is that the bike has only done 620 miles since the annual service was conducted by ***** and a major critical safety point was clearly missed?

The bolt was not loose or even hanging out, it was complelty missing!!! As a result the calliper had rotated upwards due to the stresses of rear wheel braking, which also resulted in the braided brake hose being slightly kinked and fretting against the swinging arm. In fact now that the "missing" bolt has been replaced the brake hose is now in a normal straight position. The fretting left on the swinging arm, would again support that the calliper has been in this position for some considerable time?

Looking at the wear on the pads and the marks on the swinging arm, it is evident that the bolt has been missing for longer than the 620 miles since the annual service?

For unknown reason you seem to be in complete denial about this?

All I know is that I have just purchased a nearly new bike that came with a full service history so piece of mind, or so I thought?

I now need to replace the rear brake pads and buy a calliper mounting bolt from the brake circuit of all places!!

It is also fair to add that the bike is now booked into my local dealer to have a complete check over, in the unlikely event that other safety critical points have been overlooked.

Thank you once again for taking the time to reply, but none the less I am still going to write to BMW UK and report the incident, because I am still of the opinion that it should have been picked up?

With regards,

Alan Weaver

Not trying to be funny ...but .... anyone who can ride a bike for that amount of time, should really notice that the caliper is hanging off and a big bolt is missing. Did the previous owner clean it with his/her eyes closed.

you wouldn't let it lie would you....

Question?

who fitted the Touratech disk Guard?

could that person have removed "the wrong bolt" when fitting the guard?
surely the person fitting the guard would notice the missing bolt or.. wonder why they have a bolt left over?

questions questions questions



How much

motomartin said:

you wouldn't let it lie would you....

Click to expand...

No.........I have given the dealer concerned enough time to respond and he hasnt to my satisfaction.

how much said:

Question?

who fitted the Touratech disk Guard?

could that person have removed "the wrong bolt" when fitting the guard?
surely the person fitting the guard would notice the missing bolt or.. wonder why they have a bolt left over?

questions questions questions



How much

Click to expand...

Who fitted the what is of no importance as far as I am concerned, the fact that the bolt was missing and was not picked up by the dealer on the service inspection is my arguement.

Why do you pay the dealer for an inspection, if they do not inspect

you bought a second hand bike, it wasn't quite perfect.

get over it

The rider should be checking his own brakes. I check regularly and on a previous bike have found the same, but it'd only dropped out. I'm not sure its fair throwing it all at the dealer.

Are you sure that whoever took the spashguard off even realised he'd just undone the caliper bolt??

Overall nobody got hurt and the rider probably realised that whilst cleaning / polishing his bike, he should also be looking the thing he's cleaning and polishing.

Hmm

Oh aye, I check my brakes and things every time I clean the bike. Trouble is, I haven't cleaned it since last June Better go oot and get me toolbox open..

Who fitted the what is of no importance as far as I am concerned, the fact that the bolt was missing and was not picked up by the dealer on the service inspection is my arguement.

Why do you pay the dealer for an inspection, if they do not inspect [/QUOTE]


valid point! agree 100%


BUT

the caliper bolt could have fallen out after the inspection 600miles ago. the caliper would move to its new position upon the first firm bit of brake use.
also the greatly reduced contact area of the pad against the disk would cause accelerated/premature pad wear.......half the contact area = twice the wear rate!

to be honest i have done that much damage in a couple of hours when i have been off-roading and something significant has fallen off!




how much

I feel that this is a big oversight on the dealers part and their attitude is wrong.

The dealer considers it a small point to make sure that check/inspect brakes on a bike in future.

I think the offer of new pads and other related damaged parts would have been the correct reply. It may not have been the dealers fault due to whoever fitted the tt guard, but as BTBR highlights it was in for an service/inspection and they missed it.

Now they should be named and shamed as i'm sure Alan would not take this route if they dealt with this in a professional manner. It is only right that we as consumers of these products can place our trust in their workshops should we need to use them and we will more and more in the future as the bikes get more and more technological.

My 2p.

Y'all have a nice day now.

D

It is negligence for such a clear fault on a safety critcal component to be missed during a service.

The dealer must return the bike to the customer in a safe condition. We pay them to provide a professiional service. I would be suprised if the service schedule does not require a complete check of the bike for loose and missing parts.

If they had just apologised for the eror and taken it seriously I would let it go. As they have not and don't seem to care much about risking your life, I would report them to everyone, including the Health and Safety authorities, BMW UK the vehicle safety inspectorate all BMW internet forums and UKGSer.

i took my bike to my local bm dealer, had 24k serivce (in essence, a 12k service)....bike still under warranty.

had been riding through winter, bike covered in beoshield, and hadnt been washed recently. also, and very unlike me, i hadnt checked the pads for about 4 weeks.

so....picked bike up on sat, tappets et al adjusted, bike sounds different...as they do after a service, and it wasnt until wed that i found out where the "other" noise had come from.

rear pads were siezed...stripped them down, cleaned, freed up etc etc and all was well....apart from groove cut in disc, worn pads, and reason for pads seizing was failed seals on caliper.

emailed dealership expressing my disgust...esp in the climate of "servo assisted brakes are crap", and basically told them that the very least i would have expected from their service was "we didnt touch your rear brakes, but you might want to have a look yourself as they appear siezed, and one of you pads is almost down to the metal"

well...what a can of worms i opened...it was all kept within the workshop, and i was told that yes, that the very least i had expected was so far from what i should have got.

new disc, caliper, pads...were gonna charge for labour...but i kicked off again, and all was done foc as it bloody well shoudve been.

my other point is that whether these things get changed or not...there are some riders out there that ride for 6k, get bike serviced, trust that all is well on their bike, ride for another 6k, get bike serviced....and never touch their machines.

the dealership agreed with me, and also said that while the bike was under warranty, i was not to touch the calipers myself...which i explained i needed to as i ride all year round, dont have a car, and 6k intervals arnt short enough when there is 3 mm of salt and road debris all over you brakes.

so, whether i had damaged the brakes or it was down to wear and tear, we all agreed that when you have a service, just because it doesnt have a tick by the brake pad box on the service schedule, you do not ignore them, esp as they might not have been looked at for 6k miles.

so to cut a short story long.. i agree with BTBR...whether the bolt was missing/loose or not...2 wrongs dont make a right.