Its Bye Bye to the 1200GS time....

[hubarb spong]

I have been a member here for an age now but not posted much at all, the reason is mainly that I was so utterly dissapointed with the GS the time has come to get rid of it so I thought I would just say tata and just list a few of my reasons for being so fed up with the GS....(yes its a bit of a rant, sorry).

I chopped my VFR in 2 years ago for a 9 month old 1200GS with just about every option fitted to it

First impressions were good, nice upright position, easy going engine and easy to ride. I saw the GS as something I would keep for several years and use in al weathers with no worries......

This was not to be the case. It turned out to be the most unreliable bike I have ever owned and have the poorest quality finish and customer service too boot

In the 2 years I have only done 8k compared to an average of 6k a year on my VFR, I lost all faith in the GS. It broke down leaving me stranded at the roadside 6 times all of which were "common" GS faults; EWS, Ring antenna x 2, Fuel uplift pump x 2 etc etc The ignition barrel let water in and then froze solid when i dared to ride it in -8 temperatures, the front brakes also seized up 1800 miles after a service. The electrics of the BMW factory alarm also let water in and kept draining the battery to flat

Thats the reliability summed up, so how about the quality BMW finish? well not really, the sub frame rusted and was replaced, the front rocker cover has been replaced twice now. The bleed bolt corroded and snapped of at the dealers so the rear brakes were replaced. the fuel filler surround started to bubble and was replaced. The list goes on, and on as the powder coating on the swing arm and engine has started to blister too.

Alan Jefferies then told me that I had abused the GS by not jet washing it every 2 days in the winter (I actually washed it once a week but rinsed off the bike more often after salty roads etc) When I pointed out that jet washing the bike was against the BMW recomendations and could invalidate my warrantee they got all arsey with me and refused to replace any further corrosion as they claimed I had missused the bike (I had only had it 5 months at this point). So I wrote to BMW only for them to say the dealer has a lot of experiance they did not comment at all on the catch 22 that in order to correctly maintain your GS Alan Jefferies recomends that you void the warrantee


So there we have it,
reliability.....NO
quality.......NO
Service.......NO

Its a real shame, I had wanted a GS for years and quite fancied a GT after that but my whole experiance of BMW has been a massive letdown, so much so I dont think I would ever be tempted by one again. I have a few mates who have GS's but I seem to have faired the worst, they all have the common faults but my bike seems to have been a friday afternoon job at the factory as it had pretty much every failure possible.

So if any of you in the Grimsby area fancy a GS take a look at my old heap at George Petch Wheels but be warned its not a good one

Stay Safe out there everyone

 

[Slowdown]

36000 miles on mine in 3 years, ridden daily. It's not missed a beat. Hardly any corrosion on it - it's certainly better than the yamaha and hondas I've owned before. And certainly a damn sight easier to service.

One of us has been on the wrong side of the luck fairy, methinks.

 

[hubarb spong]

Certainly looks that way, one of my mates has an 05 1200GS and his looks showroom next to my 57 1200GS, infact you could swap the plates round and everyone would think that was right

I could have just about forgiven the poor build if the serive was there to back it up, but to say I neglected the bike by daring to ride it in all weathers stinks

 

[Greger]

Sorry to hear your tale, I have been considering the 1200 for a while but the conflicting reports make me wonder if I should stick with the old 650 - cheaper to run anyway.

I would be interested in what you get next and how that fairs as a comparison.

 

[Big Nick]

Whats the new bike then so everybody can start slagging it off ??

 

[nevil.jackson]

I purchased a new 1200RT late October 2007 but with the fairing off during the 600 mile service in the December, the dealer said he would compare it to "a bike that had been used continuously on salted roads for five years and never been washed". BMW claimed I must have riden through 'something' highly corrosive and refused any further dialogue. The highways, council and local authorities all disputed any knowledge of any spill of this nature and nothing had shown up in the water ways. That puts you in the catch 22 position of prove it or just shut up and accept it. Obviously, I have no way of knowing what really happened but reading some of the threads here, I think it would be fair to say that the poor quality and finish would most certainly have been an issue. Now I have a GS and I am paranoid. The bike is shampoo'd weekly, polished fortnightly and liberally sprayed with Scottoil 365 corrosion inhibitor. The bike is cacooned during the winter and doesn't come out of the garage until the spring. That's not what I paid for and it's all a far cry from the sales claims and BMW's yesteryear reputation of being solid and reliable. Sadly, I think this GS will be my last BMW motorcycle too :0(

 

[nevil.jackson]

Whats the new bike then so everybody can start slagging it off ??

As the saying goes... 'There's no smoke without fire'

 

[GSmonkey]

They do rust - like most bikes. I always recommend a winter hack.

 

[dakarDude]

ACF50 is your friend in terms of corrosion prevention, covered mine and commuted in our recent fairly grim Winter and not a spec. of rust is on it.

Sorry it didn't work out, I think you just dropped unlucky though IMHO.

 

[E. Buygum]

36000 miles on mine in 3 years, ridden daily. It's not missed a beat. Hardly any corrosion on it - it's certainly better than the yamaha and hondas I've owned before. And certainly a damn sight easier to service.

One of us has been on the wrong side of the luck fairy, methinks.

Similar story here. 2 years, 21,000 miles and no problems at all (08 1200GS) whereas my VFR had to be recovered twice (fuel pump both times-still loved it, though, but my wrists didn't). Come to think of it, both my CG125 and C90 let me down a few times...perhaps it's just me and Hondas.

Funny old world, isn't it? (sorry- no consolation at all, I know, hubard).

Corrosion isn't particularly a problem and not much better/worse than other bikes I have had although I am glad I have one of Mark Hooton's crud catchers fitted to protect the front. (Exception is an XJ600 which corroded awfully through a single winter). I ride in all weathers above freezing and wash the GS every month or so with Halfords own brand car wash then go over it with a bit of ACF50.

 

[Pukmeister]

My old 2004 GS did 40,000 miles in 5 years with everything except a faulty FPC fixed under warranty (did it myself in 5 mins). When sold, the bike was almost showroom despite being used all year round (although it was garaged and regularly cleaned).

I liked it so much I bought another.

 

[elefantman]

rode mine all year,bar 2 weeks when i couldn't open the shed door for snow,went around euro land in feb covering 1700mls in snow,sleet,ice,freezing rain and in belgium they use more salt than i,ve ever seen in my life,like salty clag stuck to your bike,during that trip it stayed outside,in a damp underground garage and worse of all in amsterdam it stayed in a hot store room still covered in salt and crap,but when we got back a bottle and a half of sdoc gel and it was good as new,then sprayed with acf,gun oil,spray wax and its ready to go again,its how you prepare them to get dirty as much as how you clean them

 

[GSband]

... in belgium they use more salt than i,ve ever seen in my life,...
... then sprayed with acf,gun oil,spray wax and its ready to go again,its how you prepare them to get dirty as much as how you clean them

I have to agree on this one : this winter Belgian road services salted the roads too much at the start, and didn't have any salt left later on...

And also true : You have to prepare your bike for upcoming weather. ACF is the magic word.

But it does sound like you got a bad 'un. You have my sympathy, you paid top prices just like we did.

 

[JPB]

+ 1 most of the responses to your post. Really sorry to hear you've had a bad experience but most of us find our GSs superb.

 

[Hexme]

+ 1 most of the responses to your post. Really sorry to hear you've had a bad experience but most of us find our GSs superb.

+1 me also

 

[Davy F]

I have a few mates who have GS's but I seem to have faired the worst, they all have the common faults but my bike seems to have been a friday afternoon job at the factory as it had pretty much every failure possible.

Or it's a case of you reap what you sow.............

 

[ultrasound]

I am afraid I will have to agree with the OP.

24000 mile 05 GS, output shaft oil seals, cluthc and subframe (Rear) replaced.

33000 mile 06 GSA used all year round rinsed daily oct to march.
1 x final drive replaced, front cover and assorted other corrosion problems.
1 x EWS
2 x recalls (FPC and brake hose).

The final straw was the failure of the recall replacement FPC leaving me stranded.Just left it at the dealer and told them t write me a cheque.

Have a 954 blade now which I can service myself, heated grips and scottoiler and will perform all the road based functions the GS could manage without car park hernias.

 

[elefantman]

I am afraid I will have to agree with the OP.

24000 mile 05 GS, output shaft oil seals, cluthc and subframe (Rear) replaced.

33000 mile 06 GSA used all year round rinsed daily oct to march.
1 x final drive replaced, front cover and assorted other corrosion problems.
1 x EWS
2 x recalls (FPC and brake hose).

The final straw was the failure of the recall replacement FPC leaving me stranded.Just left it at the dealer and told them t write me a cheque.

Have a 954 blade now which I can service myself, heated grips and scottoiler and will perform all the road based functions the GS could manage without car park hernias.

so would the world be a happier place if we all just bought a honda

 

[chad]

so would the world be a happier place if we all just bought a honda

to dream the impossible dream eh

 

[gipsymagpie]

Dealer means everything

I have to say my GS experience is probably typical in that it has let me down spectacularly on a few occasions (valve dropping into cylinder and FPC) but with a liberal FS365 coating and not much other maintenance it looks great and I love it. But what really made it for me was helpful staff at my local BMW (Bahnstormer). Never had a problem with their work. Shame crap dealers put people off an essentially great bike. (30000 miles and climbing rapidly - car rusting away gently through lack of use).