Fuel Tank Side Panel

[barryt]

Wish I'd read this before. I parted company with mine (LHS) on the M5 last Sunday just before Junction 6 South. Saw it later on on the side of the road as I was travelling in the opposite direction.

Fortunately somebody was selling a LHS panel on ebay - got lucky.

 

[dudlow]

This thread is a great example of the power of a good website.
I did not even know I had a (potential) problem with my side panel, and it would probably have cost me £135 to find out. Now I will go to SLM in the morning, then after spending £3 and 10 mins a saving of £132 !
Thanks guys.

 

[BMW TEKKY]

Panel

Oh something else I have got to look forward to then.....my side panel flying off up the M25.
Please Mr BMW designer, let me shake your hand. Ever thought of becoming a Kamakaze test pilot?
Unbelievable.

 

[dudlow]

Oh something else I have got to look forward to then.....my side panel flying off up the M25.
Please Mr BMW designer, let me shake your hand. Ever thought of becoming a Kamakaze test pilot?
Unbelievable.

BMW TEKKY............ all you seem to do is bleat on about how awful GS's are. Why the hell don't you just go out and buy a soulless Honda or something similar, or in fact anything apart from a BM. Why moan all the time on all threads ????
Maybe you are a BMW technician, in which case you should be grateful that people are happy to buy over 100,000 GS's so far, giving you plenty of overtime. I for one accept that the bike has irritating faults, but it is the best and most rideable bike I have had in 25 years. I have never held onto a bike as long as I have with this one. I am not a BM fan, just a fan of great bikes.

 

[BMW TEKKY]

Yes but Dudlow...........not everyone has an endless supply of funds to keep paying for these faults to be corrected.
There really is no escuse..........

 

[Paul Mac]

Yes but Dudlow...........not everyone has an endless supply of funds to keep paying for these faults to be corrected.
There really is no escuse..........

Well said TEKKY. You have to realise that most owners on this site are in denial and will not admit to any design fault in their 1200GS's. If you post a problem expect to be shouted down - unfortunately thats how it is on here. Maybe some BMW riders are now buying these bikes as lifestyle accessories and basically have no knowledge whatsoever of what good design should be. I don't know the answer to that, BUT I do know that I have never seen a forum dedicated to any vehicle that has so many problems and faults reported on it. FWIW my 1200GS side panel blew off on a motorway at about 75MPH and nearly had me off the bike - cheap bit of plastic fastener is just apallingly badly designed and NEVER should have been put on any vehicle in such a safety critical location. Simply unbelievable that this was designed in this way and equally amazing that owners are prepared to put up with it and make their own homemade fasteners to replace it. The 1200GS is without doubt a superb riders bike but unfortuntely very badly let down by poor build quality and in some areas very bad design. These issues sadly for me, ruin what is potentially the best motorcycle ever made.

 

[dudlow]

Well said TEKKY. You have to realise that most owners on this site are in denial and will not admit to any design fault in their 1200GS's. If you post a problem expect to be shouted down - unfortunately thats how it is on here. Maybe some BMW riders are now buying these bikes as lifestyle accessories and basically have no knowledge whatsoever of what good design should be. I don't know the answer to that, BUT I do know that I have never seen a forum dedicated to any vehicle that has so many problems and faults reported on it. FWIW my 1200GS side panel blew off on a motorway at about 75MPH and nearly had me off the bike - cheap bit of plastic fastener is just apallingly badly designed and NEVER should have been put on any vehicle in such a safety critical location. Simply unbelievable that this was designed in this way and equally amazing that owners are prepared to put up with it and make their own homemade fasteners to replace it. The 1200GS is without doubt a superb riders bike but unfortuntely very badly let down by poor build quality and in some areas very bad design. These issues sadly for me, ruin what is potentially the best motorcycle ever made.

I for one am not in denial, I am aware of the bikes design errors, and like anyone else I could sell the bike (great residuals in comparasion to the Yamaha my friend has just given away) and buy something that is reliable, comfortable, real fun to ride, holds its price well, gives me great dealer support, and pride of ownership. Until such a bike is born, for me the nearest to it is my GS. As for other people, safe in the knowledge that GS's are so awful, why oh why do they buy a GS, then seem to hold on to it for years. I think the reason is that they know a great bike when they actually ride the thing for any lengh of time. If they are so bad, why are residuals so strong ?

 

[barryt]

Well said TEKKY. You have to realise that most owners on this site are in denial and will not admit to any design fault in their 1200GS's. If you post a problem expect to be shouted down - unfortunately thats how it is on here. Maybe some BMW riders are now buying these bikes as lifestyle accessories and basically have no knowledge whatsoever of what good design should be. I don't know the answer to that, BUT I do know that I have never seen a forum dedicated to any vehicle that has so many problems and faults reported on it. FWIW my 1200GS side panel blew off on a motorway at about 75MPH and nearly had me off the bike - cheap bit of plastic fastener is just apallingly badly designed and NEVER should have been put on any vehicle in such a safety critical location. Simply unbelievable that this was designed in this way and equally amazing that owners are prepared to put up with it and make their own homemade fasteners to replace it. The 1200GS is without doubt a superb riders bike but unfortuntely very badly let down by poor build quality and in some areas very bad design. These issues sadly for me, ruin what is potentially the best motorcycle ever made.

Just to correct my post - after having a closer look at the other panel I realised that I had not secured the side panel correctly after putting a bagster tank cover on my bike - basically my fault and nothing to do with poor design.

 

[Paul Mac]

I for one am not in denial, I am aware of the bikes design errors, and like anyone else I could sell the bike (great residuals in comparasion to the Yamaha my friend has just given away) and buy something that is reliable, comfortable, real fun to ride, holds its price well, gives me great dealer support, and pride of ownership. Until such a bike is born, for me the nearest to it is my GS. As for other people, safe in the knowledge that GS's are so awful, why oh why do they buy a GS, then seem to hold on to it for years. I think the reason is that they know a great bike when they actually ride the thing for any lengh of time. If they are so bad, why are residuals so strong ?

Well Dudlow it all comes down to perception. People perceive BMW to still be the quality manufacturer that they always were and therefore think that they are getting a quality product - hence higher than average residuals. In time though unless BMW gets it act together this advantage will decline as the market will realise that BMW no longer make quality products and residuals will fall. I bought my 1200GS as a keeper having owned loads of BMW's previously and at the time ran the GS along with 3 other BMW bikes - all of which were superb motorcycles. My bike, bought brand new, was a late 2004 model and in all honesty it was not a good bike at all. The ownership cost me £4000 pounds in depreciation and thats what hurts me as I really loved it as a riders bike - the best I have ever ridden. I bought the bike to travel around Eastern Europe into the Carpathian Mountains on an extended trip. Sad to say there was no way I could trust that bike to do this sort of journey as it was just too unreliable so sadly I had to let it go. In all honesty I really should have bought an 1150 GSA as in my opinion this is a far superior and more workmanlike bike to the 1200.

 

[Paul Mac]

Just to correct my post - after having a closer look at the other panel I realised that I had not secured the side panel correctly after putting a bagster tank cover on my bike - basically my fault and nothing to do with poor design.

Barryt - Sorry but that's not the point it shouln't be possible to mess up securing the tank panel. This is a safety critical area and it should be fail safe in design with a positive lock mechanism that can't fail.

 

[barryt]

Barryt - Sorry but that's not the point it shouln't be possible to mess up securing the tank panel. This is a safety critical area and it should be fail safe in design with a positive lock mechanism that can't fail.

I'd love to blame BM but in this case they didn't make me stupid - I blame my parents!!

 

[dudlow]

Well Dudlow it all comes down to perception. People perceive BMW to still be the quality manufacturer that they always were and therefore think that they are getting a quality product - hence higher than average residuals. In time though unless BMW gets it act together this advantage will decline as the market will realise that BMW no longer make quality products and residuals will fall. I bought my 1200GS as a keeper having owned loads of BMW's previously and at the time ran the GS along with 3 other BMW bikes - all of which were superb motorcycles. My bike, bought brand new, was a late 2004 model and in all honesty it was not a good bike at all. The ownership cost me £4000 pounds in depreciation and thats what hurts me as I really loved it as a riders bike - the best I have ever ridden. I bought the bike to travel around Eastern Europe into the Carpathian Mountains on an extended trip. Sad to say there was no way I could trust that bike to do this sort of journey as it was just too unreliable so sadly I had to let it go. In all honesty I really should have bought an 1150 GSA as in my opinion this is a far superior and more workmanlike bike to the 1200.

Paul, your experiance with your 1200 is a shame. I did not own an 1150 prior to the 1200, but I did ride several, and was always put off by the workmanlike feel of the bike. I would have no hesitation in an extended trip on my bike, and do 2 or 3 trips abroad each year with 2-3000 miles in each trip. I guess its a case of one mans meat etc.

 

[Brian ROSEN]

Just as I thought

'....but I suspect that a lot of the troubles were caused by incorrect refitting by owners.' as I said some time ago. Us old boys who have in our time dismantled bikes and cars down to the last nut are not necessarily qualified to carry out some simple jobs on modern plastic contraptions. Take an electric drill or an iron or a telephone to a repairer - and in a flash he will have it apart, knowing where all these little tabs are sprung. I am amazed at the rapidity with which the young mechanics will do these jobs - whilst I would be fumbling with pliers and lamps etc. ( And yes, I WAS a real rocket scientist!)

 

[the civil one]

50c Cure

This is my take on the Problem ,
http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=131703

 

[Brian ROSEN]

Barryt - Sorry but that's not the point it shouln't be possible to mess up securing the tank panel. This is a safety critical area and it should be fail safe in design with a positive lock mechanism that can't fail. Come along now, be reasonable. By 'fail safe' you mean 'fool proof' ....and that would mean locking and sealing almost everything on the bike.