Came home tonight on a recovery wagon!

Like the joke about HD - 85% of HD's ever made are still on the road, the other 15% made it home !!

And your point is???????


Other than HD's been far superior to any "New" style BMWs.

GS1200 - xxxxxxxxxxxxx
 
Is it naive to suggest the above?:rob

It is arguable that the front forks, which take a lot of grief from road salt etc etc, should soon become cosmetically poor. BUT the engine case?????

One does not expect to take the engine out after a couple of years to re-spray it the way it should have been done in the first place.

P1000803.jpg


Surely forums such as these.... and general complaints.... should lead BMW to change their spraying production processes. This state of affairs has been going on for some time...both this forum and Boxertrix have numerous threads going back years about this.

Why do they not listen..... OK end of rant.

I was very surprised not to get any response from the guys behind this site to my previous post:augie

Stuart
 
I was very surprised not to get any response from the guys behind this site to my previous post

I have just picked up on this thread Stuart. I don't normally come in here as I ride an 1150, but I will try to answer your question.


Why do they not listen..... OK end of rant.

We know that BMW do keep an eye on this website and other forums dedicated to their bikes. The likelihood of them putting technicians forward to answer questions such as yours though is somewhere between slim and zero I think.

BMW would like all sites and forums to be officially sanctioned by them and under their ultimate control. That will never happen with this site.
 
Thanks Aidan.

Stuart - I missed your post earlier but Aidan has answered just as i would.

Dahoum
 
Thanks to you both. I guessed that would be the BMW response.:blast

I believe a state of arrogance, possibly complacency can set in when they have had years of very loyal following. (Me for one).

I hope they are reading this one then..... other manufacturers are catching up!!

Cheers

Stuart
 
A question I have asked before but never got an answer is...
Do the faults that appear on the 1200GS fuel pump, final drive etc happen on other R1200 models using the same components?

I know this is a GS forum, but it would be interesting to know if the faults are across the board or just GS specific.
 
Reading with interests all the comments re fuel pumps. My 11 month old 1200GSA broke down on me on a very dangerous stretch of twisty country road. BMW engineer new what the problem was before even looking at the bike. They had been told to expect this problem and carry spares. Below is the responce I got from BMW customer service. They obviously dont think they have a problem so why would they want BMW technicians on this site??


I can advise you that, although BMW do not recognise the problem you describe as an inherent design fault, we are constantly striving to improve the quality and design of our vehicles. BMW monitor customer feedback and are involved in an ongoing improvement process to ensure that our motorcycles deliver cutting edge performance and the quality and reliability BMW are famous for.


If you suspect that your particular motorcycle is suffering from a manufacturing defect, I would recommend that you contact your local Approved Dealership. The Technicians there will be able to offer you advice with any technical queries concerning your vehicle.
 
I am typing this one handed cos i'm touching a LARGE piece of wood with the other. I've not had any of the reported faults occur on my 06 1200GS ( 7500 miles).I WILL,however, be taking a list of Questions to bombard the Technical Types with, to the BMW Stand at the NEC Bike Show.
 
take the LH tank side cover off, then the round slotted cover from the fuel pump (pulls off).

unplug the two connectors on the top of the fuel pump energiser/relay. you might need a small screwdriver to undo the catches, which are a bit hard to see.

undo the 2 torx screws that hold the unit on.

the relay is connected by two wires at the bottom, these are the bits that seem to corrode from what i've read (not occured on mine). this happens when the o ring around the relay leaks & allows water to fill the well that the connector sits in.

check all is dry & connectors etc. are in good shape. check you have the latest o ring, identifiable by colour. can't remember what latest colour is :eek: but i'm sure someone else here knows.

i undo the lower connector to check, then give it a squirt with ACF50.

a dab of silicone grease on the o ring, and replace unit making sure you don't squeeze the o ring out of place leaving a gap replace screws & plug in wires.

a further spray of ACF50 on upper area to seal the lot.

replace covers.

that should stop the common corrosion problem. not tested yet, as i'm the only person i've ever heard of giving it a check. when mine fails, i'll know i've wasted my time, but not much :D


there may be some other issue with the relay? there have been 2 different units fitted in production (later ones have angled fins). my tip only helps the corrosion problem.

Eeeek. If I wanted this kinda bike surely I would have bouught a 1971 Triumph?
 
A question I have asked before but never got an answer is...
Do the faults that appear on the 1200GS fuel pump, final drive etc happen on other R1200 models using the same components?

I know this is a GS forum, but it would be interesting to know if the faults are across the board or just GS specific.

I haven't heard of any fuel pump problems on the RT (basically the same design but more sheltered from the elements). The oil leak problem exists just as with the GS. Don't know about the final drive - haven't heard of any but I may not have being paying attention :).
 
Classic motorcycle owner

Eeeek. If I wanted this kinda bike surely I would have bouught a 1971 Triumph?



Agreed, barring the obvious, the need to reach your destination & return home under your own steam why should you fork out £40-£50 for spares & carry half a toolkit for a motorcycle purchased at a premium with a supposed reputation for high quality engineering. Once you start carrying spare parts & specific tools where do you stop ?
 
Originally posted by HORIZONTALLYOPPOSED:

Agreed, barring the obvious, the need to reach your destination & return home under your own steam why should you fork out £40-£50 for spares & carry half a toolkit for a motorcycle purchased at a premium with a supposed reputation for high quality engineering. Once you start carrying spare parts & specific tools where do you stop ?

What if you wish to travel to places without the backup available at home..............?? Prudent people carry spares.

It's got nothing to do with a "premium" price and the Engineering is definately high quality. But sh*t does in fact happen and as Cookie outlined above, preventative maintenance can help. Can't see anything wrong with that?
 
We know that BMW do keep an eye on this website and other forums dedicated to their bikes. The likelihood of them putting technicians forward to answer questions such as yours though is somewhere between slim and zero I think.

BMW would like all sites and forums to be officially sanctioned by them and under their ultimate control. That will never happen with this site.

Yes they would take Dahoum's moderation a step further and pretend there really isn't a problem, when of course we all know otherwise....are you reading Herr Beemer?;)
A £12k bike and you need to carry spares for normal use:eek:
 
160 miles - so far no problems :D

Thousands more to go :thumb2
 
i use my bike normally, and don't carry spares.

living on the edge or what? :cool
 
I am not so naive as to think that all the responses would be "up front" but we are all expert at reading between the lines.

Is it any surprise that BM haven't got stuck in on a forum when it appears they are doomed from the start? :blast

No disrespect intended Stuart but you appear to be saying that BM will lie so to countetrract that you'll interpret what they say whatever way you want.:augie

There have been some unacceptable design problems with a new bike, that much is obvious. The manufacturers are Germans so they'll never admit there was a problem. Even if they did it wouldn't help as you've already bought one so its too late.:blast

If it works, ride the thing. If it doesn't, get rid and move on.:D

2005 GS12 (fuel pump failure & final drive change) Going like a bloody train now though!:clap...............at least for the time being
 
Piebaps...... No offence taken at all.

I do not think BMW would lie... It would not be worth their while if they were then found out..... What they would say is manufacture speak for,... this is not a manufacturing or design fault, but a piece of bad luck. We would all know what that meant.... especially if it happened to many as is apparent with the problems being discussed here.

These problems are clearly not a batch problem, nor I presume a dodgy worker on the production line. The point is they would take notice and hopefully do something. Again I agree They would not own up to it... but they would do something if this forum and others such as ADVrider put on customer pressure.

Of course, forums would have to and no doubt would change over time to "support" a manufacturer being on line. Perhaps there would/should be manufacturers lobby group invited by BMW to fill in questionnaires. If the manufacturer had some control over this...it would work.

The forum must still have it's other free for all sections.... otherwise it would not be "our" forum.

I am retired now (early).. but have worked for major companies in quite senior positions.... and the pro-active use of a forum/working group/market research section (for free) would be a great advantage.... customer profiling , product snagging on the cheap.

IMHO

Wilbjr21.....

I think you are being a little disingenuous here..... we are not talking about the odd mechanical failure... because as you say ... shit happens.... we are talking about systemic failure over a long period of time with the apparent failure of the manufacture to fix the "problem".

You would not expect to carry spares in a modern car these days nor would you expect them to repeatedly fail after such short mileages, as in some cases. So why should we expect it from a motorcycle... often costing more with less moving parts and often less sophisticated technology.

I am still going to buy a 1200 Adv and I will still spanner it myself... but I do expect the manufacturer to listen when I and many others indicate problems.

Shit that was a long one.

Stuart :rob:clap:hug
 
What if you wish to travel to places without the backup available at home..............?? Prudent people carry spares.

It's got nothing to do with a "premium" price and the Engineering is definately high quality. But sh*t does in fact happen and as Cookie outlined above, preventative maintenance can help. Can't see anything wrong with that?


If you were travelling to a place with no backup I would tend to agree but 100mls up the road on a blast!!! as I stated where do you start & end carrying prudent spares for relatively local runs, my experience with my 1150 would make this a difficult choice, touch wood it ain't gone wrong, so tend to carry only basics, cable ties, gaffer tape spare fuses & handtools, carrying relays & fuel pumps et al appear to be mitagating a known design fault rather than being a preventative maintenance issue. Maybe ignorance is bliss in my particular case, I bought a Beemer thinking travel the world with confidence, this has proved to be the case in my limited experiences, of course flying sh*t will happen, I must be lucky most of it has missed me, now wheres my lottery ticket..
 


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