The answer to your question lies in the wording of the document itself. Read it.
In essence there are two versions.
Version one, is the Manufacturers warranty and its parallel European recovery. This lasts two years from the vehicles first registration.
Version two, is the Extended warranty and its parallel European recovery, that can be bought by the owner after the first two years has expired. This is different as it is an insurance backed document, whilst the first version comes straight from the manufacturer. In brief, the manufacturer's version is probably wider; BMW can do anything to help their customer up to and including a brand new bike, an insurer won't.
Nobody is obliged to buy the Extended warranty from BMW after two years. Some bods do, some bods don't. Some think it is too expensive, others think it is good value. Some bods have claimed on it or both, some bods haven't. Some bods have had a good experience, some bods haven't. In short, it's much like life itself. Though if I had to guess, more bods have been happy than unhappy.
Is Mondial Assistance, the AA or RAC's or Green Flag's European breakdown cover any better or worse? Probably the answer is maybe, depending on how lucky or unlucky you are. You have to remember that each of the three companies do not have fleets of pick-up trucks dedicated to motorcyclists, or tame garages ready to drop everything at the drop of a hat to fix whatever problem one of their patrons may have at any minute of the day or night.
Most often, any of the four and BMW will contract with the same pick-up company to collect the vehicle. That pick-up company will (most probably) be geared to deal with cars, not motorcycles. Why? The answer is easy: There are far more cars in Europe than there are motorcycles and cars are easier to deal with. Not least they usually have a wheel on each corner and do not fall over.
The pick-up company will most probably then take the vehicle to the nearest authorised dealer for the make and model of vehicle. Why? Again, easy: A Saab dealer is more likely to have Saab parts than a Honda dealer. The same basic rule applies to BMW motorcycles. That the dealer may be miles away is irrelevant.
Now we come to the tricky bit. Supposing it is five PM on Saturday evening, half way up a mountain when you breakdown. The pick-up truck arrives around the hairpins at 18:00, not bad. But the nearest official dealer is 50 miles away or two and a half hours travel. They are now shut, just as they would be in the UK. Sunday, tomorrow, shut; again not unreasonable and much as they would be in the UK. In France and Belgium many small enterprises are shut, at least for half the day, on Monday. It's just the way it is.
Do you want matey to leave your motorcycle outside a closed dealer's for 48 hours? I guess no. Why? Most bods panic about leaving it over night outside a hotel, so 48 will send them into an apoplexy of distress. So, the pick-up track man will probably take the vehicle to his garage (it may be his house in some rural areas) and then take it to the dealers when it first opens which may be Monday afternoon or Tuesday at the earliest. You in the meantime will probably be offered an hotel and the use of a free hire car. Why probably a car? Because hire companies hire out what their customers most often want.... which is cars, not motorcycles.
Now let's move on to Tuesday morning. The vehicle is sitting 50 miles away in the dealer's garage. They didn't know you were coming in, so have their regular customers (who may have booked in days earlier) to deal with. The garage will do its best to help but you may have to wait. Why? Put yourself in their other regular customers' shoes. You book your bike in to have its 12000 mile service, one day ahead of your holiday. All fine and dandy. You arrive back at four pm to find that they haven't done it. Now you are understandably cross. On enquiring why, you find out that it's because the garage downed tools to investigate a broken down bike owned by some bod from Scotland that appeared unexpectedly that morning.... Explosion time! All vague and nebulous concepts of 'fellow biker' kinship have gone out of the pram, along with all the toys. In short, any dealer will probably try to help everyone. It may not just be you at that moment.
On getting to your vehicle, the dealer discovers that the part he needs is not in the stores, so has to be ordered. Their deliveries are Wednesday (for parts ordered on Tuesday... but you were too late) and Friday (for parts ordered on Wednesday or Thursday). Your part will not arrive before Friday. That that has taken all of the days out of your holiday is too bad, but you have your free hire car and hotels, so you can carry on. That your mates are upset and want to go home is of no great concern to the garage, the pick-up track man or the recovery organiser.
Over the years I have claimed off BMW's recovery package, the AA's and the RAC's in places as far flung as Yorkshire, the French Alps and the Pyrenees. Each time the service has been as good as it can be, given the circumstances. I have also seen all three companies in action on behalf of fellow tourists. Again, very good under the circumstances. Maybe I and they are all just lucky?
Where things have gone wrong (see several threads on UKGSer) is most often where bods think they are cleverer than the recovery services (who do it for a living 365/365, dealing with maybe hundreds if not thousands of vehicles a week). Or those that expect the whole world to change their public holidays, days of the week, parts ordering schedules, hotel vacancies, hire vehicles (and not upset their snivelling friends who cannot cope with all the pressure, into the bargain) at eight PM on a wet Friday evening half way up a col.
I run a garage in the UK, and broken down people usually expect the world, unfortunately the realisation that they are not gonna get it often ends in tears. Its not that we are unhelpfull, but when you are watching TV or out for a meal on a fri evening, fixing their vehicle is not going to happen until 8am on a Saturday no matter what
