2026 1300 GS / gearbox issue

[kevin3030]

Hello, my name is Kevin and I am forum newbie. I am 64 and got my full bike license at the tender age of 17, although I did ride a FSIE in the days of 49cc motorbikes and pedals instead of pegs. I recently purchased a new 1300 GS Trophy Edition, my first Beemer (I have owned a few KTM's in my time and still have an 890 Adventure). A few days after taking delivery, I encountered a "soft clutch" issue: even with the clutch fully again the grip, the bike kept creeping forward when in gear. Hill Assist was turned off, btw. Despite stalling a few times in traffic, I managed to get the 1300 back to the dealer, where a technician quickly ascertained there was a significant issue with the gearbox and would have to take the bike in to be stripped down. Issue turned out to be a "pushrod / slave cylinder" failure, requiring new parts from Germany. Interested to know if anyone has encountered same issue - my bike has covered 200 miles before this failure.

 

[BusterDan]

How old is the bike..... I had a new GS die after 695 miles (Automatic Shift Assistant.... so clutch related, no gearbox). I rejected the bike and got a new one (without ASA). A new bike should not be failing after 200 miles and you have consumer law on your side to get a brand new replacement.

 

[kevin3030]

How old is the bike..... I had a new GS die after 695 miles (Automatic Shift Assistant.... so clutch related, no gearbox). I rejected the bike and got a new one (without ASA). A new bike should not be failing after 200 miles and you have consumer law on your side to get a brand new replacement.

Thanks. The GS was supplied new around 3 weeks ago now. No ASA. Failed after 210 miles. The dealer has had the bike for 10 days. I have also asked for a replacement bike, since this bike had other, PDI related, issues as well (missing trim screws, battery terminals not tightened). All have been report back to the dealer, and I have applied my short term right to reject under S23 of the Consumer Rights Act. They have yet to acknowledge but I am about to escalate to the dealer principal and, if necessary, BMW UK.

 

[BusterDan]

Yep absolutely escalate it to BMW... and it sounds like you have everything under control. In my case it helped that I had a video of the problem and it became apparent that others had the same issue. Subsequently, I think the number of bikes affected was small but I have never owned a new bike before that has had such fundamental issues.

 

[J biker]

BMW do at least resolve issues.
My problems were with KTM!…

One thing though, there are many R1300gs bikes out there that stop/go as they should, without issue. Mine included. Now showing a measly 8.5k of use/abuse.

 

[karlp]

Thanks. The GS was supplied new around 3 weeks ago now. No ASA. Failed after 210 miles. The dealer has had the bike for 10 days. I have also asked for a replacement bike, since this bike had other, PDI related, issues as well (missing trim screws, battery terminals not tightened). All have been report back to the dealer, and I have applied my short term right to reject under S23 of the Consumer Rights Act. They have yet to acknowledge but I am about to escalate to the dealer principal and, if necessary, BMW UK.

i would be not be surprised if your issues are dealer related

 

[Smartbazza]

Thanks. The GS was supplied new around 3 weeks ago now. No ASA. Failed after 210 miles. The dealer has had the bike for 10 days. I have also asked for a replacement bike, since this bike had other, PDI related, issues as well (missing trim screws, battery terminals not tightened). All have been report back to the dealer, and I have applied my short term right to reject under S23 of the Consumer Rights Act. They have yet to acknowledge but I am about to escalate to the dealer principal and, if necessary, BMW UK.

Hi Kevin, stick with the dealer and keep up the communication - in person helps immensely. i had my first 1300 replaced by the supplying dealer and they couldnt have been more helpful. they / bmw will rather replace your bike than go down the rejection route.

good luck

Barry

 

[BusterDan]

DId you get your bike from a local dealer?

I notice you are also in Kent, but I got my bike from Vines in Guildford and they really couldn't do more for me when it came to replacing my bike. BMW do drag their heels though.

 

[Clifton]

Curious what happens to the problem bikes that dealers or BMW have to take back? Do BMW through the dealers generally get them sorted then sell them as "gently used" motorcycles and if so must they disclose the problem history? Or does BMW have to take them back and do something with them?

 

[BusterDan]

Curious what happens to the problem bikes that dealers or BMW have to take back? Do BMW through the dealers generally get them sorted then sell them as "gently used" motorcycles and if so must they disclose the problem history? Or does BMW have to take them back and do something with them?

My bike was apparently sold back to BMW by the dealer..... it definitely went back on the road though

 

[Clifton]

My bike was apparently sold back to BMW by the dealer..... it definitely went back on the road though

Interesting. The dealer I frequent often has very low mileage (like 300-700) RT's and GS's for sale, some he mentions "came from our dealership" others he mentions nothing. Makes me believe some might be problem bikes that BMW bought back, repaired, then sold as discounted used to this dealer.

 

[the woodster]

I'm almost certain that dealers are under no legal obligation to tell customers of remedial work done on bikes to allow resale. After all, when you have warranty work done, you don't get a receipt. Having said that, when my engine casings were replaced last year, a handwritten entry was made in my service book. I've had quite a bit of warranty work on the three GSs I've had and this was the first time any record was made that a customer had access to.

 

[Martin GSA UK]

I'm almost certain that dealers are under no legal obligation to tell customers of remedial work done on bikes to allow resale. After all, when you have warranty work done, you don't get a receipt. Having said that, when my engine casings were replaced last year, a handwritten entry was made in my service book. I've had quite a bit of warranty work on the three GSs I've had and this was the first time any record was made that a customer had access to.

If it was the casing with the engine number stamp, then the DVLA will also need to be notified of the new engine number.

 

[roundincircles]

Hello Kevin, it's Kevin here!

I've had engine and gearbox changes on a couple of GS's. The latest 1300 has just had its gearset swapped out.

In my experience, the key thing is putting in an email describing the function and consequences of the issues to the dealer service manager. This allows them to forward your concerns to BMW along with their attempts to remedy.

In other words, make it easy for the dealer ( and difficult for BMW mission control to ignore ).

If the dealer service manager is busy, it helps to make it easy for them to communicate with BMW by providing a descriptive email.

Your dealer is on top of the issue, and that's reassuring!