50.000 Km report

[Marco]

A french magazine (Moto Journal) did a 50.000 km test with a R1200GS; here are the results:

very positive report, the GS is almost new despite some well known problems (ABS faulty at 15.900 Km, replacement of the rear drive at 18.750 Km and gearbox at 37.900 Km...);
the cost price (everything including 3.000 litre of petrol) is 0,133 Euro per Km;
in 50.000 Km they had to change 2 sets of front brake pads and 4 for the rear, 2 H7 bulbs, 5 front and rear tyres, 5 oil filters, 4 spark plugs; the overall oil comsumption is 19,75 litre; the overall cost for the revisions to the dealer is 1.082,60 Euro;
they opened the engine and found that the valves were worn but no replacement was necessary; the camshaft is new as the cylinders; the clutch is OK; no rust on the bike just some very small corrosion; the compression of the engine is fine; the rear disk needs to be replaced.
After 50.000 Km the bike has lost a very little bit acceleration; the overall petrol comsumption is 6 litre/100 Km and 0,1 litre/1000 Km for the oil;

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

very positive report, the GS is almost new despite some well known problems (ABS faulty at 15.900 Km, replacement of the rear drive at 18.750 Km and gearbox at 37.900 Km...)

I try very hard not to get involved in the 'R1200 lack of reliability threads', I just go out and ride mine which has so far been totaly reliable, but........................

.......I have to say that the above does not instill the greatest confidence in the long term reliability of my bike. Sort of makes you want to get as many miles on the bike as possible to get a new gearbox / drive shaft / ABS/Servo before the warranty runs out

Andres

 

[thornley]

A french magazine (Moto Journal) did a 50.000 km test with a R1200GS; here are the results:

very positive report, the GS is almost new despite some well known problems (ABS faulty at 15.900 Km, replacement of the rear drive at 18.750 Km and gearbox at 37.900 Km...);
the cost price (everything including 3.000 litre of petrol) is 0,133 Euro per Km;
in 50.000 Km they had to change 2 sets of front brake pads and 4 for the rear, 2 H7 bulbs, 5 front and rear tyres, 5 oil filters, 4 spark plugs; the overall oil comsumption is 19,75 litre; the overall cost for the revisions to the dealer is 1.082,60 Euro;
they opened the engine and found that the valves were worn but no replacement was necessary; the camshaft is new as the cylinders; the clutch is OK; no rust on the bike just some very small corrosion; the compression of the engine is fine; the rear disk needs to be replaced.
After 50.000 Km the bike has lost a very little bit acceleration; the overall petrol comsumption is 6 litre/100 Km and 0,1 litre/1000 Km for the oil;

within its first 24,000 miles (37,900Kms) its needed a new gearbox, replacement rear drive and developed an ABS fault. That is not a favourable report, is it?. The rear drive lasted about as long as a chain and sprockets with a scottoiler (12,000 miles/ 18750 Kms) Love the bike but reliability has to improve if second hand values are to be maintained.

 

[Marco]

Yes my advice is that we all have to ride as much as we can in order to kill the gearbox, the rear drive and the ABS before the warranty expires !

 

[SQD8R]

Boy they did worse than I did on my 50,000 km report but this seems to follow the trend of lemon or winner out of the box, that we see posted occasionally. The valve wear is a new one, since it is likely that no one has taken their engine down to that level. I'm wondering if this was an acceptable amount of wear for a motorcycle or GS or was it worse than other bikes or previous models? That's the real measure of the engine, IMO, since we know of the longevity of the previous models and other makes that would be more relevant. I'm also assuming their maintenance schedule was by the book. I would think so, in order for them to give a fair review, but some magazines are notoriusly negligent in this aspect of bike ownership.

I'm going to hit 100,000 km by the end of the 2006 season or early in the 2007 season, just before the warranty is up. My plan this year is a tour of Western Canada, down the Pacific Coast, and across the US back to the Ottawa. In 2007 I've planned a trip to Baja, to take place in May of 2007, just before the warranty/roadside assistance expires, in June, so it will be interesting to see what my results are and of course I'll share them here.

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

I'm going to hit 100,000 km by the end of the 2006 season .

Well, that's certainly getting 'as many miles as possible' on the bike before the warranty runs out - enjoy

Andres

 

[Marco]

Boy they did worse than I did on my 50,000 km report but this seems to follow the trend of lemon or winner out of the box, that we see posted occasionally. The valve wear is a new one, since it is likely that no one has taken their engine down to that level. I'm wondering if this was an acceptable amount of wear for a motorcycle or GS or was it worse than other bikes or previous models? That's the real measure of the engine, IMO, since we know of the longevity of the previous models and other makes that would be more relevant. I'm also assuming their maintenance schedule was by the book. I would think so, in order for them to give a fair review, but some magazines are notoriusly negligent in this aspect of bike ownership.

Well sorry for my poor english; I do not know the technical words; it was not really a valve wear (even if the valves need re-adjustment but not replacement); they noticed that it was "the hole in the cylinder head where the valve sits (the one for the exhaust)" which is bigger (diameter) but this was not really a problem as it was still "waterproof" or "airtight" (hope you understand what I mean); so nothing to worry about;
yes they followed the maintenance schedule

 

[birdseye]

Boy they did worse than I did on my 50,000 km report but this seems to follow the trend of lemon or winner out of the box, that we see posted occasionally. The valve wear is a new one, since it is likely that no one has taken their engine down to that level. I'm wondering if this was an acceptable amount of wear for a motorcycle or GS or was it worse than other bikes or previous models? That's the real measure of the engine, IMO, since we know of the longevity of the previous models and other makes that would be more relevant. I'm also assuming their maintenance schedule was by the book. I would think so, in order for them to give a fair review, but some magazines are notoriusly negligent in this aspect of bike ownership.

I'm going to hit 100,000 km by the end of the 2006 season or early in the 2007 season, just before the warranty is up. My plan this year is a tour of Western Canada, down the Pacific Coast, and across the US back to the Ottawa. In 2007 I've planned a trip to Baja, to take place in May of 2007, just before the warranty/roadside assistance expires, in June, so it will be interesting to see what my results are and of course I'll share them here.

I'm curious. We see occasional posts from N Americans who have done whar are (for us) high mileages. How do you get on re-selling a bike with these sort of mileages? Believe it or not, typical mileages over here are 3 to 4 k miles or 8k kilometers per annum!

 

[GSmonkey]

Yes my advice is that we all have to ride as much as we can in order to kill the gearbox, the rear drive and the ABS before the warranty expires !

....i tried, warranty expires today, unlike the gearbox and final drive

 

[SQD8R]

I'm curious. We see occasional posts from N Americans who have done whar are (for us) high mileages. How do you get on re-selling a bike with these sort of mileages? Believe it or not, typical mileages over here are 3 to 4 k miles or 8k kilometers per annum!

Short answer, we don't

I don't subscribe to the 'holding value' theory too much since I take a hit, as you can imagine, when I exceed the industry recognized 5,000 miles/year in a 2 month period. But here are some figures to mull over.

Purchase price on my bike, in June 2004, was $17,000 CAD. I don't count taxes etc. in this scenario since it only makes the numbers look that much worse when figuring out a trade- in.

In the spring of 2005, when I had a brief, ill-advised love affair with the ST , I asked, for arguments sake, what my trade-in value would be. The number had dropped to a maximum of $12,000 CAD, but the cash outlay would have been another $10,000 for the ST, so no deal. Mileage I believe was about 30,000 km. I pretty much knew I'd be keeping it then since it's only going to get worse.

Today, March 10th, 2006, I decided to call to see what it would be worth against an HP2. Now with 60,000 km and a HP2 costing $22,000 CAD or $26,000 OTD (I do count taxes then ) my trade in is probably $10,000 but an HP2 will cost me another $16,000 and realistically will cost me the same hit in a few years if I do the trade in dance then.

Now some may say it's a ridiculous hit I take but consider this; who's going to go buy a 2 year old 12GS with 60,000 km on it? Who's going to buy a 3 year old one with 100,000 km on it? I wouldn't and I know the rider. But I bought it to ride not sit and look pretty so when you consider the kms involved I'm sure my pennies lost per km is far less than most. Smiles per km certainly exceeds the trade in value too.

 

[The Machine Cat]

i'll keep my 1200gs until it dies under me. I am 44 and it may well be my last bike.

 

[tiller269]

i'll keep my 1200gs until it dies under me. I am 44 and it may well be my last bike.

Me too! Now I am getting worried. Only 12000 miles in the two years, warranty just expired....Bike's been perfect. Looks like it's all downhill from here!!

 

[Flip]

44.......................Last Bike........................Fek That!!!!!!!!!!!

45.......................Loadsabikes go at yet.............................

 

[bustupbiker]

44.......................Last Bike........................Fek That!!!!!!!!!!!

57........got my bike in May 05 been bikin from 16 and it's the best i've ever
had. New FD at 5000 but Ho! Hum!, i intend to ride like a 20 year old for as long as i can
Lyn.

 

[The Machine Cat]

44.......................Last Bike........................Fek That!!!!!!!!!!!

45.......................Loadsabikes go at yet.............................

Well, we have this stupid legal limitation in France on horsepower (no more than 100 Hp) that will keep me away from sport bikes. On the top of it I only really like big road-trail bikes. If I add the fact that BMW is a brand that I respect and that my BMW dealer is now a friend , what are my options ?

I will kill my 04 1200GS in a few years and buy a new GS when this one will be dead.

A GS is my last bike

 

[piebaps]

But I bought it to ride not sit and look pretty

Well said that man!

 

[SQD8R]

Well sorry for my poor english; I do not know the technical words; it was not really a valve wear (even if the valves need re-adjustment but not replacement); they noticed that it was "the hole in the cylinder head where the valve sits (the one for the exhaust)" which is bigger (diameter) but this was not really a problem as it was still "waterproof" or "airtight" (hope you understand what I mean); so nothing to worry about; yes they followed the maintenance schedule.

No apologies required, thank you for posting, much appreciated.

Thx for the explanation, that puts my feeble mind @ ease.

 

[UKBasque]

Well, we have this stupid legal limitation in France on horsepower (no more than 100 Hp) that will keep me away from sport bikes. On the top of it I only really like big road-trail bikes. If I add the fact that BMW is a brand that I respect and that my BMW dealer is now a friend , what are my options ?

I will kill my 04 1200GS in a few years and buy a new GS when this one will be dead.

A GS is my last bike

I know we have this stupid limitation, but how often is it observed and enforced?

I read somewhere that there are, in practise, very few places in France where they can actually test the HP - so everyone derestricts the bike as soon as they buy it.

Wouldn't mind a little 150hp runaround!

As well as the GS of course

 

[The Machine Cat]

I know we have this stupid limitation, but how often is it observed and enforced?

I read somewhere that there are, in practise, very few places in France where they can actually test the HP - so everyone derestricts the bike as soon as they buy it.

Wouldn't mind a little 150hp runaround!

As well as the GS of course

The real issue here is the way French insurance companies behave. As soon as there is a big (read costly) accident, they start trying to find a way to evade paying anything...
The first thing they check is horsepower

 

[Flip]

Fair doo's, Top man! Carry on!!!!!!!!!