How reliable is the 1200 Gs?

[ktmmark]

I personally also know of two others who, despite loving the bike got shut 'cos they were so fed up with the bikes always being in the workshop & numerous others who've had one or often more warranty claims / breakdowns - glad I decided against one

Ade [/B][/QUOTE]

Very glad i made my own decision & got my GS 1200 it is ideal for me & would not swop it, but thats just me & my bike i can only go on personal experiance ( don't need glasses rose tint or otherwise)

 

[Hector]

Reliability 1200 GS

I have just reached the 6000 mile service.Absolutely no probs.I have been on ride- outs with two friends, one with an 04 bike and the other 05 . We would not change them!

 

[JayGee]

I really do feel for all you guys who've had problems but a thread with this title will get most posts from people who have had problems. Most of us who haven't are too busy riding. Mine is a July 04 bike with 10,000 miles on the clock and no problems worth mentioning so far. Trouble is with all the negative vibes on this site I could easily get paranoid, so if you're reading this thread just remember you're going to get the horror stories and not many good reports.
SO DON'T WORRY, not every or even many GS's have knackered final drives, sudden brake failure, masses of corrosion, clutch failure, alternator failure or any of the other horror stories posted on this site. Sincere condoalanses to those that have (I might be one soon, who knows) but let's keep the problems in perspective otherwise people like me will just stop logging on.

 

[Mr K]

What does it say in the manual about pressure washers.......?

 

[Mike Peers]

March '05 12GS, 6000 smiles.
The fuel sender went a few thousand miles ago which was fixed under warranty. Apart from that it's been fantastic. The most frustrating thing about the break down was the lack of a courtesy bike from the dealer, with only a car being available from BMW recovery.

 

[Poiderdman]

3400 miles and it's in the shop with a leaky transmission - love the bike but they need to have honda/susuzki/yamaha quality and durability

 

[Gipsy]

Further update. 6,000 miles, and still feel it is the best bike I've owned or ridden, I love it. However at the 6,000 mile service found I needed a new rear break caliper, and having a leaky fork seal replaced in near future, both under warranty. The dealership ( Ryedales ) are first class, and I've no doubt about their ability to sort out any problems that arise. However I've had 5 Hondas and other than an indicator lens falling off a blade, have had no problems whatsoever. Despite or because of all the previous postings I will keep my Gs as it is wonderfull, but I still feel the jury is out as regards long term reliabilty.

 

[Fitzy]

VERY....

......having just returned from a 2500 mile jaunt across Sweden, The Baltics, Poland and Germany without a glitch i reckon it's pretty reliable.

 

[Nye]

contacts @ customer services

I had a bit of spat with them recently - though now resolved (I got a new bike). From what I gather, UK is divided into sections with a number of customer service managers. I'll happily provide you with contacts I made if it will help, but to be honest possibly better to simply phone customer services and ask for the name of your regional manager (that's what I did - and it worked)

Good luck!

 

[Gipsy]

Having started the thread, I've decided not to post to it again, instead I'm going to wait for the Ride magazine reliability survey which is due out soon. Hopefully it will produce hard data on which to base decisions. Just out of interest is there a site for 1200 RS and 1200 RT riders, and if so are they having problems with the engines.

 

[Gramps]

About to go on hols end next week. Hope the recovery is good in Norway!
On the electrical issues, ie with respect to water ingress at various points has anybody used anything like Silicone Grease on conectors. There are a number of visible connectors that appear vulnerable. Pressure washing is bad news as the manual says.
It would be useful to know if some of the reported problems were made by every day users. Can a straw poll be made of these users v Dry weather, weekend, second/third vehical users?
On the comment of the Ride Mag survey I hope that all us satisfied (so far) users respond to counter the balance of opinion here. Also mention the good dealers.
Hope everyone gets satisfied very soon.

Gramps

 

[MATKAT]

scary stuff!!

As someone says maybe a poll to see how many bikes have had problems compared to those (who in the main get posted here) that have not !!
I have had my '04 March GS since 17th July. It had 6945 miles on clock, gearbox replaced 5400 miles. A new rear Tourance had just been fitted. BMW boxes, Givi topbox, Carbon hugger, NN horn. I fitted H&B crash bars, Tobinators, Rear mudgaurd extender, before trip. Yesterday I ordered LED rear light, and indicator lights and a Beak extension from NN.
After 5 days in Scotland the speedo now reads 8994 miles. The bike is fantastic, though I did blow a dipped 'blue' headlight bulb on the trip. The bike is doing well over 50 to the gallon overall with mixed riding. I have not seen 135 mph on the speedo, but on 'private' roads it pulls great to 125mph and on to 130mph. Between 50-100 mph it really flies. The handling and braking are superb, a wonderfully balanced machine.
Having now parted with my STX1300 and the VFR it seems, as i figured that I have a true all round bike that can hold its own with sports bikes on the twistys and of course fly up forest tracks.
I used about .4 litre of oil on the trip.
I rode it 521 miles back on Wednesday and apart from a slightly sore bum from the low seat and the need for lower pegs the bike was fantastic, though not quite as comfy as the Pan over that distance (A melvin hunter seat will sort that and give me a little more standover height).
Look for a report and pic's on my trip shortly !!!
10 days in what an incredible bike

 

[Gipsy]

Replying to my own thread now that I've been able to check out the Rider Power Survey. The 1200 Gs comes out very well with 4 out of 5 stars in all categories including reliability. I feel greatly reassured, and apologise to all those on the site who have either become fed up with this sort of whinging about reliability when I failed to accept their reassurances, and also to those whose anxiety levels may have been raised without reason.