“What new owners have experienced instability problems

I understood the stability issues to be pre-production bikes missing the crimps and having subsequent headshake issues as things came loose with "enthusiastic" testing.

While it may cause angst for some on here if the reports are subsequently negative, it would be a lousy journalist who had such an issue and didn't mention it. Having a rosé-tinted view of BMW is not going to stop a legitimate story.

It didn't stop me ordering, like any new bike it will have issues and they will get fixed.

Ultimately, it's just a toy anyway, if you want something safe and sensible then buy an anorak - no bike is ever going to be the safest transport compared to alternatives.




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I still want further detail and more observations from owners - I ride my bikes at generally higher speeds, on a regular basis and do not want a bike that is likely to end in a tank slapper - I've ridden enough flighty sports bikes that needed steering dampers and don't expect the same on a slower, heavier steering GS.
 
It's not my understanding that the stability issues and the crimping are connected.

Please confirm your source.
 
This thread is about getting the facts and experience of owners regarding the new GS.

It is not about denial. If a journalist reports a tank slapper then so be it. If only one tank slapper is reported then that's what is reported. The fact that the slap per was reported is good news, how it is reported is the choice of the journalist, good, bad or indifferent......the Press Commission did not interfere!

As owners it is in our interest to understand how this bike performs in the hands of owners over time.

I judge BMW have been less than transparent over alterations to my bike pre-delivery so trust in the bikes integrity is still an issue for me.

I want the bike to succeed but need to know it is fit for purpose.
 
Mad_Accountant said:
It's not my understanding that the stability issues and the crimping are connected.

Please confirm your source.
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I was talking with the dealer yesterday and mentioned it, he went straight to a new GS and showed me the crimps now done, said that some early preproduction bikes had missed this and that caused it as effectively the forks loosened and had play.

I've no idea if this is 100% or not, I can see how the two things link logically of course.


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Mad_Accountant said:
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.
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How depressing :(

I joke about not having come to terms with MBW ownership but have to say that sums up all that I find worryingly boring about the marque and some of the owners.......................

Mad_Accountant said:
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
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C'mon then, give us the low down on your conspiracy theory. What agenda does Bike magazine and one of it's most experienced riders/testers [1] have :nenau

And I thought hippies were bad :rolleyes:

Andres

[1] MFG also has a history of championing the GS whilst the rest of the biking press was still in bed with sports bikes and long before it became 'the bike' to have.................
 
Outtomunch said:
How depressing :(

I joke about not having come to terms with MBW ownership but have to say that sums up all that I find worryingly boring about the marque and some of the owners.......................




C'mon then, give us the low down on your conspiracy theory. What agenda does Bike magazine and one of it's most experienced riders/testers [1] have :nenau

I would think that given the amount of advertising revenue that Bike earn from BMW, that they would have had the odd internal battle about whether to include the Tank slapper incident.........Respect to Bike for writing a proper preview of the bike. I understand that other journalists on the South Africa trip had similar problems and we still don't know what Caused Kevin's accident.
It will be interesting to read the full review when it is published.
Click to expand...
 
chasbmw said:
I would think that given the amount of advertising revenue that Bike earn from BMW, that they would have had the odd internal battle about whether to include the Tank slapper incident.........Respect to Bike for writing a proper preview of the bike. ......................
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Exactly.

Andres
 
Outtomunch said:
How depressing :(

I joke about not having come to terms with MBW ownership but have to say that sums up all that I find worryingly boring about the marque and some of the owners.......................




C'mon then, give us the low down on your conspiracy theory. What agenda does Bike magazine and one of it's most experienced riders/testers [1] have :nenau

And I thought hippies were bad :rolleyes:

Andres

[1] MFG also has a history of championing the GS whilst the rest of the biking press was still in bed with sports bikes and long before it became 'the bike' to have.................
Click to expand...

Got it in one, I think Mad Accountant has summed up his name quite aptly:D
 
Still no report of anyone experiencing instability, from owning or a test ride?
 
JohnnyBoxer said:
Got it in one, I think Mad Accountant has summed up his name quite aptly:D
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Oh dear, what a smart reply.

It's rider error, pure and simple.

But let's how Simon Pavey gets on with them at the Off Road School, I think he can be trusted to tell us straight :pullface
 
Mad_Accountant said:
It's rider error, pure and simple.
Click to expand...


that'll be why bmw stayed in south africa trying to reproduce the problem then :blast

are you a chassis engineer? have you even ever had a proper tank slapper? just wondering as you appear to be something of an authority on the subject. perhaps you could advise us on what we can do to avoid tank slappers?


...and if it's rider error that causes the problem, why don't the older GSs appear to suffer any well reported tank slap issues, or indeed any production bike at all really since the TL1000?
 
cookie said:
that'll be why bmw stayed in south africa trying to reproduce the problem then :blast

are you a chassis engineer? have you even ever had a proper tank slapper? just wondering as you appear to be something of an authority on the subject. perhaps you could advise us on what we can do to avoid tank slappers?


...and if it's rider error that causes the problem, why don't the older GSs appear to suffer any well reported tank slap issues, or indeed any production bike at all really since the TL1000?
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We haven't suffered a well reported tank slapper this time either. The article is very lacking in actual detail.

Enough people have ridden this bike, myself included, with not a trace of instability. What I said earlier, and I repeat now, is that I am unconvinced by this report. I would happily ride one again anytime or own one. If you disagree don't buy one.

As a matter of interest how many BMWs have you owned?
 
K100RS 16v *
K100LT
BMW c1200. *
R100R
BMW c1 200 *
R1100GS
R1150RT
K75 basic
R1100RT
R1200GS
R1200GSA *
R1200GSA (twin cam). *
R100R
F650GS SE *
R1200GSA (twin cam) *
C1 125

* denotes owned from new

I currently own the r100r and a 125 C1 ( plus technically the GSA until Vines sell it) I've been IAM Advanced (car and bike) since 94 and am currently qualified to drive St John ambulances.


Mad? Maybe. Expert? Certainly not. Inexperienced? Hardly!
 
Mad_Accountant said:
We haven't suffered a well reported tank slapper this time either. The article is very lacking in actual detail.

?
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Out of interest what detail do you think is missing?

The journo reported a violent tank slapper that destroyed the stops and posted a picture of the damage.

Other journo's have reported slappers in off road situations,,,,two american's from memory.

Surely you are not denying the reports or maybe you are.


I agree more detail can help......riding mode, esa setting, speed, road surface, dry or wet, gear selected and throttle opening, rider wieght and position on bike.......but when you have a violent slapper it is difficult to take notes!

So what is humbug about the reported tank slappers? Help me understand your point of view.
 
roundincircles said:
Out of interest what detail do you think is missing?

The journo reported a violent tank slapper that destroyed the stops and posted a picture of the damage.

Other journo's have reported slappers in off road situations,,,,two american's from memory.

Surely you are not denying the reports or maybe you are.


I agree more detail can help......riding mode, esa setting, speed, road surface, dry or wet, gear selected and throttle opening, rider wieght and position on bike.......but when you have a violent slapper it is difficult to take notes!

So what is humbug about the reported tank slappers? Help me understand your point of view.
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Thank you for the civilised reply.

I am the first to admit that my experience is all road (and that does not include track days) so my point of view is firmly as a road bike.

I agree with all the details you list but the ones I would want are road surface (an image of "the imperfection" would be nice" and, indeed , how many hands were on the bar. I am fairly "inner circle" with my dealer and am sometimes told things in confidence and would not dream of repeating them.

Actually, on that subject I rather feel that Forumers should keep private the details of their particular deals as they could cause great discomfort to the dealer and possibly distress to customers who have already purchased.

In this matter I dislike the anti BMW bias that some rags appear to embrace. Sometimes I feel they are publishing what their readers want to read.

Certainly their Bike Buyer Guide worry me, when their comments are so at variance with my experience.

This slapper is a massive event if it proves to be well founded and I'll be the first to apologise if that is the case.

Have you seen the video on the Hexhead thread of some guy ditching an Adventure in the desert. The bike in it's last moments was slapping impressively but clearly the guy got it wrong, he's not yet sued BMW as far as I know. :blast

All I have said all along is that I found no instability on my road test. I did try and provoke it at speed, letting go of the bars and hitting them etc. nothing about that bike worried me apart from how I was going to pay for one.

Considering the uncertainty and anxiety this has created I feel Bike Magazine should have been more forthcoming, and still could. BMW investigated and found no case to answer

And by the way - I HATE steering dampers. If they fit one I certainly won't buy the bike :ronno
 
Mad_Accountant said:
K100RS 16v *
K100LT
BMW c1200. *
R100R
BMW c1 200 *
R1100GS
R1150RT
K75 basic
R1100RT
R1200GS
R1200GSA *
R1200GSA (twin cam). *
R100R
F650GS SE *
R1200GSA (twin cam) *
C1 125

* denotes owned from new

I currently own the r100r and a 125 C1 ( plus technically the GSA until Vines sell it) I've been IAM Advanced (car and bike) since 94 and am currently qualified to drive St John ambulances.


Mad? Maybe. Expert? Certainly not. Inexperienced? Hardly!
Click to expand...

Not quite sure what that post is meant to indicate, but it certainly paints a picture.
 
Mad_Accountant said:
K100RS 16v *
K100LT
BMW c1200. *
R100R
BMW c1 200 *
R1100GS
R1150RT
K75 basic
R1100RT
R1200GS
R1200GSA *
R1200GSA (twin cam). *
R100R
F650GS SE *
R1200GSA (twin cam) *
C1 125

* denotes owned from new

I currently own the r100r and a 125 C1 ( plus technically the GSA until Vines sell it) I've been IAM Advanced (car and bike) since 94 and am currently qualified to drive St John ambulances.


Mad? Maybe. Expert? Certainly not. Inexperienced? Hardly!
Click to expand...

I didn't realise this was a pissing contest:rolleyes:
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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