“What new owners have experienced instability problems

[Engineer]

How many miles did your old bike have on it ? - you are comparing a new bike with an old one - even down to riding on brand new round tyres rather than square ones.

I'm sure it's a better bike but is the geometery / suspension much different to a twin cam ? Not convinced the handling can be a lot better

My old twin-cam had 27,000 miles on it when I traded it in; my previous 2005 1200 I had for 45,000 miles, they were both brand new when I got them and have had many sets of tyres - I did lots of experiments with the manual suspension adjustment on both bikes - I know what a 1200 feels like - this new one is a big step up in both performance and handling. The reasons are several, new steering geometry, new tele-lever, different frame design, longer swing-arm (cardan tunnel), different mass centre, wider tyres. The result is that it changes direction more easily, holds a line through the bends far better than the old one (and that wasn't half bad!) feels like it has far more grip all round.

P.S. mine is the standard manual suspension not the fancy electronics one - not sure how much better that makes the handling of mine, I haven't ridden the dynamic suspension version.

 

[Mad_Accountant]

No you wouldn't, you're buying a Camper.................remember

You've just disposed of a perfectly good GSA with only 400 miles on it, so why are you harping on about buying another

I'm sure the guys at Bike magazine, in reality.................don't give a fuck about what your opinion is

Yes I am and my plan is to save for the LC for March of next year. If my current Airhead becomes unviable before then I shall bring forward that date but I am trying to avoid loans.

I think these bikes have been in public domain now long enough for instability reports to be coming in if, indeed, there is any foundation to them.

For sure an incident occurred but I was not there and neither were you, so we will never know. But well done to Bike for undermining the launch of BMW's most important model for ages.

Time will tell.......

 

[cookie]

well done to Bike for undermining the launch of BMW's most important model for ages.

so they shouldn't have mentioned a tank slapper so violent that it broke the lock stops off the frame?

Bike docked it 1 star for a question mark over the stability. i think bmw got off very lightly.

 

[Mad_Accountant]

so they shouldn't have mentioned a tank slapper so violent that it broke the lock stops off the frame?

Bike docked it 1 star for a question mark over the stability. i think bmw got off very lightly.

If you believe that report don't buy one.

I have ridden the bike, BMW testers have ridden zillions of miles, potential customers have ridden them and many have bought them. Where are the real life reports of tank slappers coming in?

What particularly bothers me about this report is not what is said but what was not said.

I'm sure this will run and run and whenever someone f***s up and prangs an LC you can be sure who they'll try and blame. Anyone but their stupid selves would be my guess.

 

[APE]

I'm with the Accountant on this one - cant stand Bike magazine and haven't read the article but where's the evidence the problem is with the bike.

 

[cookie]

I'm with the Accountant on this one - cant stand Bike magazine and haven't read the article but where's the evidence the problem is with the bike.

maybe it was in the article you haven't read?

i've got nothing against the new GS. sounds great to me, and i might buy one when the adventure version appears. the problem is clearly not widespread, but to deny the problem's existence or even possibility seems pretty ostrich like to me.

 

[Nutty]

If you believe that report don't buy one.

I have ridden the bike, BMW testers have ridden zillions of miles, potential customers have ridden them and many have bought them. Where are the real life reports of tank slappers coming in?

What particularly bothers me about this report is not what is said but what was not said.

I'm sure this will run and run and whenever someone f***s up and prangs an LC you can be sure who they'll try and blame. Anyone but their stupid selves would be my guess.

You are spot on Hundreds of members of the public have now ridden it, and not one tank slapper. But two pissed up journos riding one handed at 70 over potholes, and the world stops

 

[wust588]

If you believe that report don't buy one.

I have ridden the bike, BMW testers have ridden zillions of miles, potential customers have ridden them and many have bought them. Where are the real life reports of tank slappers coming in?

What particularly bothers me about this report is not what is said but what was not said.

I'm sure this will run and run and whenever someone f***s up and prangs an LC you can be sure who they'll try and blame. Anyone but their stupid selves would be my guess.

More or less the same problems were found at the time of the R1100RS press tests in the early 90's.
If my memory serves me correctly, on one of the launches, some journalists actually ended up in ditches caused by tank slappers.
Of course, the problems were eventually sorted.

 

[Wilsdorf]

More or less the same problems were found at the time of the R1100RS press tests in the early 90's.
If my memory serves me correctly, on one of the launches, some journalists actually ended up in ditches caused by tank slappers.
Of course, the problems were eventually sorted.

What were the problems John?

 

[needlongerlegs]

May Bike Mag

Just drop through letter box.

They rate the bike as four stars,

Reserving final judgement until the question mark on stability is resolved.....

I truly think Bike has lost it and should be sued

One twat gets a tank slapper and they use this to knock a bike

I've had lots of tank slappers / nasty weaves over other years mainly because I've got it wrong or was messing around.

Makes you wonder what the Bike scribe was doing at the time and is to embarrassed to admite?

 

[needlongerlegs]

Forgot to say,

Same was said about the K series back at launch, mine was great never a weave or wobble whole time I owned it.

 

[Jumblemo]

More or less the same problems were found at the time of the R1100RS press tests in the early 90's.
If my memory serves me correctly, on one of the launches, some journalists actually ended up in ditches caused by tank slappers.
Of course, the problems were eventually sorted.

Many of these journos are experienced aggressive riders more than willing to push the bikes to the limit in exotic locations on multi-day trips wined and dined at the expense of the manufacturers. It seems a fair trade that the journos get this opportunity and the manufacturers get a ready supply of beta testers.

Few of us will push our bikes to the limit, these guys will, and sign a liability release to do so. So if they find and exceed those limits they do so with free will. And ultimately we consumers get insight and a safer bike. Seems a good system to me

 

[Mad_Accountant]

Many of these journos are experienced aggressive riders more than willing to push the bikes to the limit in exotic locations on multi-day trips wined and dined at the expense of the manufacturers. It seems a fair trade that the journos get this opportunity and the manufacturers get a ready supply of beta testers.

Few of us will push our bikes to the limit, these guys will, and sign a liability release to do so. So if they find and exceed those limits they do so with free will. And ultimately we consumers get insight and a safer bike. Seems a good system to me

We actually get safer bikes because of the excellent design and testing BMW put into their bikes.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe BMW were the first manufacturer to offer ABS in bikes and they also crash tested their K100 models and designed the tank so that in a frontal the rider would pass over the bars without leaving his nuts on the instruments.

The reason I don't spend my hard earned on GXRs ZZRs and the like us that BMW have an altogether more grown up attitude to their customers and their safety.

And on that matter I am more interested in feed back from my dealer (Vines - because they rode it before us on the Dealer Launch) and other customers than sensationalist inaccurate bullshit from twerps I wouldn't trust to empty my bins.

I have been around bikes since 1966, owned BMWs since 1992 and I am deeply suspicious about this damaging article, as I said in an earlier posting there is so little detail about this incident that it is conveniently not possible to point the finger at rider error.

That article was very clever in that it praised the bike extensively before dropping the bombshell of the tank slapper, conveniently without enough detail to be meaningful, neatly camouflaging whatever agenda or bias was in the mix. A tank slapper strong enough to shear the lock stop but the rider stayed on? Really? Was anyone else around to see this mini miracle?

Total hogwash IMHO

And shabby

 

[bikerking]

We actually get safer bikes because of the excellent design and testing BMW put into their bikes.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe BMW were the first manufacturer to offer ABS in bikes and they also crash tested their K100 models and designed the tank so that in a frontal the rider would pass over the bars without leaving his nuts on the instruments.

The reason I don't spend my hard earned on GXRs ZZRs and the like us that BMW have an altogether more grown up attitude to their customers and their safety.

And on that matter I am more interested in feed back from my dealer (Vines - because they rode it before us on the Dealer Launch) and other customers than sensationalist inaccurate bullshit from twerps I wouldn't trust to empty my bins.

I have been around bikes since 1966, owned BMWs since 1992 and I am deeply suspicious about this damaging article, as I said in an earlier posting there is so little detail about this incident that it is conveniently not possible to point the finger at rider error.

That article was very clever in that it praised the bike extensively before dropping the bombshell of the tank slapper, conveniently without enough detail to be meaningful, neatly camouflaging whatever agenda or bias was in the mix. A tank slapper strong enough to shear the lock stop but the rider stayed on? Really? Was anyone else around to see this mini miracle?

Total hogwash IMHO

And shabby

I couldn't agree with you more - well said

 

[Wrinkly]

Lets look at this from a slightly different angle !

So, BIKE magazine have 1days testing on this new machine, their test rider experiences a life threatening situation which he thinks is down to the bikes design.
He then jumps off the bike says what a great bike apart from this possible life threatening fault with the steering and promptly gives it four out of five stars.

If you look at the pictures of the broken steering stop, it's evident that a not inconsiderable amount of force was needed to do this damage and if it was a tank slapper it was one hell of a tank slapper.
Lets be subjective here.A tank slapper that is so violent it causes that amount of damage is without doubt life threatening and indeed he has done very well not to ditch the bike.

If that was me I would have been straight onto BMW to tell them to come and pick the bike up as I was not prepared to continue to test a potentially lethal bike,but to experience this and then to give the bike 4 out of 5 stars in your final analysis is ludicrous

I don't know what happened to this bike, but I have serious doubts that it went the same way as the BIKE tester has led us to believe.

The new bike will by now have done hundreds of thousands of miles with real people in the real world and not one sniff of any instability.

Be interesting to see how many copies of this month's BIKE magazine has sold ?

Steve

 

[alp]

May I suggest that, since very many owners have ridden this bike, in addition to the God knows how many miles BMW test riders rode it, without any hint of trouble even when trying to provoke a repeat by trying to clobber the worst road/farm track surfaces we could find (well me anyway), that we agree to close this subject?
I expect this will bring a howl of protest from those always looking for trouble where there isn't any, we've all met them in life, but give us a break, please.

 

[Wrinkly]

May I suggest that, since very many owners have ridden this bike, in addition to the God knows how many miles BMW test riders rode it, without any hint of trouble even when trying to provoke a repeat by trying to clobber the worst road/farm track surfaces we could find (well me anyway), that we agree to close this subject?
I expect this will bring a howl of protest from those always looking for trouble where there isn't any, we've all met them in life, but give us a break, please.

Whilst I understand what you say, there will be many that wish to keep an eye on or contribute to this thread,and at the end of the day we all have the choice to visit which threads we choose.

Steve

 

[Mad_Accountant]

Thank you Steve and Bikerking

I was expecting more of a flaming for my remarks but it's early days yet.

I salute all the owners of the new LCs and commend them for their excellent taste - I hope they have years of pleasure from their bikes.

 

[Socalrob]

I get the front to go light on my GSA... but then I'm not your average rider

I practice small wheelies on my 07 GSA a time or two about every other ride. Hope the new WC wheelies a bit easier, as it is always fun.

 

[Nutty]

We actually get safer bikes because of the excellent design and testing BMW put into their bikes.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe BMW were the first manufacturer to offer ABS in bikes and they also crash tested their K100 models and designed the tank so that in a frontal the rider would pass over the bars without leaving his nuts on the instruments.

The reason I don't spend my hard earned on GXRs ZZRs and the like us that BMW have an altogether more grown up attitude to their customers and their safety.

And on that matter I am more interested in feed back from my dealer (Vines - because they rode it before us on the Dealer Launch) and other customers than sensationalist inaccurate bullshit from twerps I wouldn't trust to empty my bins.

I have been around bikes since 1966, owned BMWs since 1992 and I am deeply suspicious about this damaging article, as I said in an earlier posting there is so little detail about this incident that it is conveniently not possible to point the finger at rider error.

That article was very clever in that it praised the bike extensively before dropping the bombshell of the tank slapper, conveniently without enough detail to be meaningful, neatly camouflaging whatever agenda or bias was in the mix. A tank slapper strong enough to shear the lock stop but the rider stayed on? Really? Was anyone else around to see this mini miracle?

Total hogwash IMHO

And shabby

You've hit the nail on the head