Breakdown recovery!!

[stev]

my 08 gs adv broke down after 5000 trouble free miles, Hearing all the horror stories and reliability problems, i thought 'wont happen to me' yeah right.
ring antenna went, but, when bm sent a local recovery they delivered it to the nearest bm garage, but with 1500 quids worth of damage done to it on transit-at least a month before i have it back!! Heated grips knackered, and rear frame has to be replaced, also, have you heard about front shock being replaced under warranty?? well mine is, anyway thought id share my grumbles with you guys, still not put off bike, but reliability is becoming a very! very!:serious problem when i come to change bikes next time.

 

[DrFarkoff]

Hi Stev

Lets get real the ring antenna went but it wasn't BM's fault that the recovery outfit sent a numpty! Or he plain outright made a mistake

If you had listened to the warnings and the hype and had one of these with you you could have been mobile in 10 minutes!

Fuel pump controller and a ring antennae Simple carry them like you carry a puncture kit when you have a 1200

Good luck on getting her back soon and tell them your keeping the loan car till you get the bike back (THat might make em buck up their ideas??)

 

[iftikartaxis]

How the heck did the jelly head strap it down
sounds like he/they used a JCB

Were they sent from BMW.
If so they need training on how to fasten bikes properly hope it gets sorted

"Praise the lord and pass the Ammunition"

 

[WindyChuffer]

Hi Stev

Lets get real the ring antenna went but it wasn't BM's fault that the recovery outfit sent a numpty! Or he plain outright made a mistake

If you had listened to the warnings and the hype and had one of these with you you could have been mobile in 10 minutes!

Fuel pump controller and a ring antennae Simple carry them like you carry a puncture kit when you have a 1200

Good luck on getting her back soon and tell them your keeping the loan car till you get the bike back (THat might make em buck up their ideas??)

Thats a bit harsh. FFS - you shouldnt have to carry round a bunch of spares to make up for BM's incompetencies. Where does it end?

 

[oldenoughtoknowbetter]

Reliability

5000 miles seems to be about the time when these things go wrong. My EWS ring failed around that time plus a gearbox seal leak or two as well. I didn't have problems with damage when recovered; just that I was stranded in W Ireland for 4 days before recovery could find me! so you've had some bad luck in that respect. My '07 GSA's now on 23,000 and nothing broken since so stick with it. Getting rid will be cutting off your nose to spite your face and you'll never have a better bike. Also realise that yours isn't run in yet. It'll take around 15000 for everything to become smooth and sweet.
But it does make sense to carry spare EWS rings and a FPC. Also to remove your FPC each spring and autumn and give it a good clean with ACF50 and you'll probably find that it'll never fail.
But good luck with the repairs. It's just an unfortunate blip in GS ownership!

 

[DrFarkoff]

Thats a bit harsh. FFS - you shouldnt have to carry round a bunch of spares to make up for BM's incompetencies. Where does it end?

YEs Windychuffer I agree totally BUT I don't build the bikes and I don't assure the quality and I most certainly wouldn't want to wait around for 4 hours (when 10 minutes could get me mobile!) while someone comes to tow away my pride and joy and wreck it!

There has been so much hype everywhere about these items failing would it not seem prudent to you to carry them??? (Edit and the tools and required method to fit them??)

The design of the fuel pump controller is a laugh are the idiots that designed this fuel system and ring antenna even acquainted with the outside world and what a motorcycle actually has to cope with?

So in that Vein I totally sympathise with the Stev fella but I can't do anything but offer advice and mine is carry the spares or get an older bike!!!!

They fail too but it's rare to see on on the back of a transporter!!!! They usually get you home !!!

 

[John Armstrong]

Known problem areas and most of the time they work just fine. If the bit fails and you have a spare, you're on your way in minutes If not, could be hours of waiting and other trauma

Shouldn't happen, but sh1t does. I personally bought a spare antenna and FPC, and guess what, the ones on the bike haven't failed

 

[GS TRV]

I might carry the spares if BMW pay for them - if not - they can pay to collect me - seems fair considering its an 11k bike

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

I might carry the spares if BMW pay for them - if not - they can pay to collect me - seems fair considering its an 11k bike

Too true

You spend £12.5k on a new 2008 12GSA and you have to buy spares for known ongoing and well documented total failures and fit them yourself by the roadside

Are you guys for real

How many ladies with new BMW Z4's , carry an immobiliser for a potentially known problem and fit it themselves by the roadside

None..........zero.........zilch


If it's crap, BMW should fix it and fast

How to lose faith in a brand

FPC and EWS are hardly 'wear and tear' failures, like bearings and seals

 

[Gringo-Loco]

Hi Stev

Lets get real the ring antenna went but it wasn't BM's fault that the recovery outfit sent a numpty! Or he plain outright made a mistake

If you had listened to the warnings and the hype and had one of these with you you could have been mobile in 10 minutes!

Fuel pump controller and a ring antennae Simple carry them like you carry a puncture kit when you have a 1200

Good luck on getting her back soon and tell them your keeping the loan car till you get the bike back (THat might make em buck up their ideas??)

Here catch Jaythro... Gringo Loco throws life-belt to Jaythro.....

I bet you were being sarcastic and it went over the collective heads at UKGS'er...

 

[LittleMark]

The thing that baffles me is that the BMW recovery service offers a loan CAR? I don't even own a car license so what use it that to me? (or do they supply a loan driver for the car as well?)
Think I'd best order some spares.

 

[Slowdown]

Too true

You spend £12.5k on a new 2008 12GSA and you have to buy spares for known ongoing and well documented total failures and fit them yourself by the roadside

Are you guys for real

How many ladies with new BMW Z4's , carry an immobiliser for a potentially known problem and fit it themselves by the roadside

None..........zero.........zilch


If it's crap, BMW should fix it and fast

How to lose faith in a brand

FPC and EWS are hardly 'wear and tear' failures, like bearings and seals

Go and buy a Honda then... Don't take it out on us.....

I've spent enough on lottery tickets - I should *demand* a win next Saturday.

Oh - hang on - That ain't going to happen either.

 

[Paul Wakefield]

BMW should fix it and fast

They do appear to have fixed the EWS. Has anybody had a failure of the latest version?

Now the FPC is a different and much longer running story.........................................


But at least it's down to carrying only 1 spare now.

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

Go and buy a Honda then... Don't take it out on us.....

I've spent enough on lottery tickets - I should *demand* a win next Saturday.

Oh - hang on - That ain't going to happen either.

Not taking it out on anyone

I've been there and had a 12GSA

The EWS and FPC affair is just beyond the pale.................only ones laughing are the Recovery companies

Why sit there and take it - do you normally accept that kind of failure rate without question on everything you buy

Are you just buying the badge

 

[Rushy]

Just out of interest ............what's the cost of buying a spare EWS and FPC ?

 

[DrFarkoff]

Here catch Jaythro... Gringo Loco throws life-belt to Jaythro.....

I bet you were being sarcastic and it went over the collective heads at UKGS'er...

Nope Don't need Life-Belt I have an 1100!!!!

I'm serious If I had enough money to buy a 1200 I'd pretty much insist as part of the deal to get those 2 parts well at least the Antenna ring as there is NO workaround for that fecker

Situation it's COld it may be raining your bike stops You're faced with a 4 hour wait (possibly) for someone who doesn't fix bikes and is pretty assured not to have the spares, and then you have to fark about sorting loan cars bikes or whatever?? 10 minutes even with cold hands to change either ???

I know what I'd be doin and all the whinging in the world ain't gonna make the teutonic twats sort it out! Cos that would be them admitting they made a mistake!

It's not even a rant it's a plain and simple fact 1200's have a high frequency of breakdowns caused by these 2 failures!

 

[wilbjr21]

Jaythro

Don't be in the slightest concered over "clever sh*te" comments - the usual knockers are bound to surface in threads such as this. Certain members, who may have even owned a problem-free 1200 previously, can be relied upon to give a negative "opinion"

As for the "principle" of not carrying spares ................. empty vessels make most noise"

 

[[email protected]]

RECOVERY

HAD MINE 3 WEEKS AND HAD TO CALL OUT RECOVERY FOR A FLAT BATTERY(IT WAS KNACKERED AND SHOULDNT HAVE BEEN SOLD WITH THE BIKE) RECOVERY CHARGED THE OLD BATTERY TO GET THE BIKE GOING, HE THEN WENT AWAY AND GOT A BATTERY FROM THE NEAREST DEALER (30 MILES AWAY) AND RETURNED TO MY WORK AND FITTED THE NEW BATTERY SEVERAL HOURS LATER TO ENSURE THAT I WAS NOT STRANDED AGAIN- NO PROBLEMS SINCE GOOD SERVICE AS FAR AS I CAN SEE, HE ALSO GAVE ME ADVICE ABOUT PROBLEMS WITH THE BIKE, MAYBE BECAUSE HE WAS A BLUNT SPEAKING YORKSHIREMAN AND IT COST ME NOTHING.

 

[Old Man]

Hey Neil, you really should unglue that uppercase button before we all go deaf.....

 

[Ralph]

Hi,

I'm curious '10 mins to change the Ring Antena'?

I've had a looked at the maunal on changing this and it indicates removing the handlebars, forkbridge etc.

Is there a quickway?