Dodgy switchgear

[docnvv]

I could only find one post relative to this. So forgive me if it is old news!
After a 110 mile ride last Friday, of which around 76 miles were in the monsoon on the M25, I got home and parked the bike in the garage. I put the bike on the trickle charger as I was not going to be using it until Thursday because work had taken me to Perth, Scotland. Come Thursday I did my usual pre-ride check only to find that nothing on the left hand switchgear is working! 8 Functions gone. Amongst them indicators and hooter. The roller switch for selecting the SatNav functions are also dead.
The dealer was not surprised and said it has happened with "a few bikes". 45 Minutes and a cup of tea later and it will be fixed..............if there were any replacement switchgear!!!! Which of course there isn't! They had kindly ordered the new part but I was warned that it is coming from Germany and they have absolutely NO idea when it will be here. The friendly man told me that a customer has been waiting for 2 months now the replacement switchgear on his S100RR! And there are apparently many others? Looks like this switchgear is now universal on all their models?
I'll have a moan on Monday to BMW Customer Support (Has anyone ever had any joy form this? Please give me some hope!) My bike is 3 months old and around 7000 miles (Can't be exact as the switchgear isn't working!) I paid just over £16k for it. And it will be parked for any length of time. Doesn't happen with their cars (I think!) Will there tin box customers accept this?
Almost bought a second BMW F700GS today as a back up. But then thought again: Surely this can't be right: Spending £16k on a bike and another £8k just in case it breaks? Unfortunately I need a bike for my kind of work and I have to be able to ride it everyday (except when the white stuff comes!)
Perhaps the Triumph Tiger 800?

 

[DING-DONG]

You have got off lightly fella if only the switchgear is playing up in 7000 miles, easy fix until new switchgear is fitted, if you follow the wires that go into the switchgear you will see a small section of the plastic Stroud that unclips, remove this and spray some contact cleaner/wd inside the housing this should sort it for now.

 

[Nutty]

Take your bike to the dealer. They will replace the switchgear under warranty. Stop moaning.

 

[MikeO]

Aren't each of the switchgear units independently fused? I'm pretty sure I have read that here...

 

[JayC]

Almost bought a second BMW F700GS today as a back up. But then thought again: Surely this can't be right: Spending £16k on a bike and another £8k just in case it breaks? Unfortunately I need a bike for my kind of work and I have to be able to ride it everyday (except when the white stuff comes!)
Perhaps the Triumph Tiger 800?

A few hundred notes will get you a good Kwacka GT550.

 

[Deleted account 251212001]

Take your bike to the dealer. They will replace the switchgear under warranty. Stop moaning.

Its not moaning when as per the original post the op uses the bike every day for work and the parts are on backorder, its very poor given the initial cost outlay and tbh the dealer should have offered to loan a bike free till its fixed.

 

[Nutty]

Its not moaning when as per the original post the op uses the bike every day for work and the parts are on backorder, its very poor given the initial cost outlay and tbh the dealer should have offered to loan a bike free till its fixed.

I understand that, but the parts are readily available, from my experience. I ordered new switchgear on the Monday, and it arrived by the Thursday. I'd also like to ask the OP, why put the bike on trickle charge for 4 days? I've left bikes for weeks without an optimate, and they have fired up first time.

 

[docnvv]

Looks like you missed part about "switchgear not available"? If as "in your experience" it is "readily available", please share the secret, as I am desperate to get to work tomorrow! As for the trickle charge: What is wrong with that?

 

[Nutty]

Looks like you missed part about "switchgear not available"? If as "in your experience" it is "readily available", please share the secret, as I am desperate to get to work tomorrow! As for the trickle charge: What is wrong with that?

There were no delays getting the switchgear when Vines ordered mine. They came from Germany, so arrived within the quoted 5 days. That was a couple of weeks ago, so there may be delays now, I guess?

Re the trickle charge, unless the bike isn't being used for weeks or months at a time, these batteries are quite robust. I didn't ride my HP2 last winter (probably about 4 months), and didn't put it on charge, and it fired up first time.

 

[MikeO]

Have you checked the fuses?

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?351942-Help!-Dead-control-stalk

 

[Bahnstormer]

Switch gear has been the cause of some major embarrassment along the corridors of BMW UK, Berlin & Munich. Whilst I can't check the availability today contact either branch shop on Monday and we'll see how soon the latest version (as fitted to the 2014MY GS) would be available as both switch clusters are likely to be replaced on a 2013 MY bike.

 

[docnvv]

Further to the advice received earlier I had just finished following the wire to its destination: It goes into a black box, plus minus the size of a packet of 20 cigarettes, (pardon the ignorance, as I would not voluntarily attempt working on any automotive machinery under normal circumstances!!) on top of left side's pot (Left when sitting on the bike!) I unclipped the wires from the socket, sprayed electrical contact cleaner and tried again. For a very brief moment I could select the functions again (Noticed that I have done 7136 miles to date!) and briefly had indicators (could select left & right but wouldn't switch off), could see in which mode the ESA is and even hoot (although this got stuck!). But then it stopped and nothing was working again. I also tried disconnecting the battery terminals for 1 minute (to apparently reset the CPU?) and scaring the neighbourhood with the alarm that was set off!). Whilst the indicators etc were briefly working, a noise was coming from the mentioned black box as if there was a relay (or more!) not engaging and making a rapid open and closing tap.

Thank you to everyone for their advice. Looks like it will be off to the dealers and let the clever people have a look. Unfortunately my closest dealer (Who supplied the bike) has just moved to Guildford and could only give me telephonic advice. But this is starting to look like the switchgear is not at fault?

There is NO quick fix. And now I have to figure out how to get to work tomorrow.

I'll add to this thread as soon as there is a conclusion. Perhaps it could help someone else in future.

 

[dave hendy]

What was the outcome of your problem? I had my left hand switch gear replaced 3 weeks ago and went out today for the 3rd ride since then only to find my cruise control has packed up, everything else on that switch assembly seems to be working and it worked ok yesterday. So is this another dodgy switch assembly or something else?? Looks like another trip to the dealers although Jim wont be in a hurry to take it in!

 

[miked]

Cruise control button fell off last week, left hand switchgear replaced in 1 week, by BMW Nice.

2014 switchgear feels a little more substantial...

 

[dave hendy]

Cruise control button fell off last week, left hand switchgear replaced in 1 week, by BMW Nice.

2014 switchgear feels a little more substantial...

Is yours a 2013 bike, thought the 2014 switch looks different? When they changed my LH switch assembly it looked the same as the old one I wasn't even sure it had been done

 

[miked]

Bike is 2013, switchgear looks the same, just feels more solid.

All worked fine, but the button just fell off.


2014 GSA looks the same as well to me, apart from a picture of a shock on the ESA button

 

[Neil W]

When I first looked at the WC models I remember thinking the switch gear looked on par with the cheap crap fitted to Chinese 125's (great on a £12000 plus bike) looks like it probably is

 

[miked]

When I first looked at the WC models I remember thinking the switch gear looked on par with the cheap crap fitted to Chinese 125's (great on a £12000 plus bike) looks like it probably is

And the point of that post was??

 

[autogs]

And the point of that post was??

obvious i would have thought,but there ya go

 

[miked]

obvious i would have thought,but there ya go

As was my sarcasm, I would have thought?