Gearbox problems new RT water cooled

[Tom R1200RT]

Lifted from a Blood Bike Rider on another forum problems with above and a bit on FJR's to boot :

"Thought you might want to know about serious gearbox issues on the watercooled RTs. I'm a blood bike rider and my charity has 5 new watercooled RT-P blood bikes, 2015 and 2016 models. Out of the 5 bikes, 4 bikes have had new gearboxes and clutches, completed under BMW warrantee. Granted our bikes do high mileage of about 25 to 30k a year but there is a serious problem with the gearbox. Combined with the gearbox problem, we've also had significant problems with the emergency lights and sirens (only an issue on RT-Ps which have a different wiring loom). They come on whilst riding and some lights stop working without input from the rider. These issues have mean bikes off the road for long periods, in some cases 6 to 7 weeks whilst electrical problems are investigated. Police/paramedic/blood bike riders might want to let their fleet managers know. The older air/oil cooled RT-P bikes which we've owned for a long time have been great. The problem has been so bad that our charity has decided to switch to new FJR blood bike. Such a shame. BMW have really slipped up. "

 

[Stevie4scoops]

Nothing new there. My GS LC gearbox was horrible to use.

 

[casbar]

You might want to also lift the piece about the job bikes that have had no issues with the gearbox. Like I said on the other thread, there must be hundreds of RTP in service all over Europe, so really not sure how much of an issue it is, or is it isolated to a batch of bikes. Also all Blood bike groups are being encouraged to swap to FJR once their RT's are out of service, this is because, currently the only Home Office approved bike for Blood biking is the FJR. Yamaha were first to get their bike approved.

 

[Martyn H]

You might want to also lift the piece about the job bikes that have had no issues with the gearbox. Like I said on the other thread, there must be hundreds of RTP in service all over Europe, so really not sure how much of an issue it is, or is it isolated to a batch of bikes. Also all Blood bike groups are being encouraged to swap to FJR once their RT's are out of service, this is because, currently the only Home Office approved bike for Blood biking is the FJR. Yamaha were first to get their bike approved.

Is there any "Home Office approval" for Blood Bikes ? I'm not saying if there is, or isn't, just that it's a new one on me; but I'm always willing to learn.
My local Group, the management of which I liaise with quite closely, have a mix of bikes, but the BMW is favoured because of BMW's generosity in giving very good discounts on ex-demo, & even new, bikes.
And I further understood the FJR is being dropped in Europe soon, as it's non-compliant with Euro 4 requirements, so that seems to be a blind alley to be setting off down.

 

[casbar]

Is there any "Home Office approval" for Blood Bikes ? I'm not saying if there is, or isn't, just that it's a new one on me; but I'm always willing to learn.
My local Group, the management of which I liaise with quite closely, have a mix of bikes, but the BMW is favoured because of BMW's generosity in giving very good discounts on ex-demo, & even new, bikes.
And I further understood the FJR is being dropped in Europe soon, as it's non-compliant with Euro 4 requirements, so that seems to be a blind alley to be setting off down.

There is absolutely home office approval for blood bikes, and as stated the FJR is the only one at the moment, although BMW and Kawasaki are also seeking approval. Its all linked to the Blood bike groups getting Section 19 approval to be able to exceed speed limits, if they have appropriately trained riders. But Section 19 approval has been ongoing for a year or more and still isn't agreed. Not sure about the FJR being dropped, but guess it doesn't matter as a new model would have to go through approval, so groups with existing FJR and blues fitted would be ok. I would think BMW will soon be on the list, can't be a lot different to the current RTP. Just get your fleet manager to speak to NABB, they were involved in the approval.

I have just found this article by Northumbria Blood Bikes, which explains all about approval - http://www.northumbriabloodbikes.or.../published/201605 Newsletter May 2016 (1).pdf