K1300Gt Ball Joints / Hot Start / Pidcock

[Nookles]

I just thought I would let other members know of my recent experiences.
Bought my K1300GT with 8k on the clock in London in June 2015 and road it back to my home town Derby.
It was liking riding a pregnant hippo with three legs.
Despite there being relatively no wind the bike felt as though it was being buffeted on both sides of the bike.
It also felt was as though I was in a groove in the road and didn't have total control of the direction.
At very slow speeds it was impossible to keep the bike in a straight line.
You know everything is wrong but you keep telling yourself its me or I need to get used to the bike.
Foolishly I took the bike touring in France and noticed that I also had a hot start problem.
On my return I booked the bike into Pidcocks at Long Eaton, Derbys.
Now the fun starts!
I described my problems and their mechanic takes it for a test drive.
I get a phone call to say there is nothing wrong with it and it rides like any other BM.
You can imagine my reply.
I researched ball joint problems and emailed an article from another forum which described my problems exactly.
I had to insist they change the ball joints for which I was quoted £250.
Low and behold both ball joints were shot and needed replacing.
Of the two ball joints sent from Germany one was damaged and had to be sent again.
On replacing the bolt holding the trailing arm the female thread needed re-cutting.
A tap was ordered by Pidcock from Amazon which took nearly four weeks to arrive.
During one of many phone calls the price of £250 was once again clearly stated.
After two months I got the bike back but now the price is in excess of £500
Strangely there is no record of the quoted £250
In the end I managed to negotiate the cost down to £380.
Not bad for missing half of the summer and losing the cost of tax & insurance while it was in.
On the bright side the hot start kit was free but not the labour however Pidcock threw this in also.
I was given a courtesy RT 1200 for the last couple of weeks with a full tank of fuel.
Well it wasn't a full tank as I ran out of gas 200 yards from home.
Luckily I had a can in my shed and was able to get on my way pretty quickly.
On the bright side the staff were always polite and Liam the mechanic was particularly apologetic.
Would I use Pidcock's again, hmmmm possibly I'll decide the next time the bike has to go in.
It would be interesting to know why the Hot Start kit and ball joints aren't recall issues.
Both affect the bikes safety and judging from forums are a relatively common problem.
Mike

 

[kennyc]

Thought the hot start was a customer led recall?? You complain they fix? The ball joints IMHO is down to supplying dealer if you raised the issue in a reasonable amount of time then the bike was not fit for purpose. And a quote is a quote!except when it's an estimate

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

 

[Nookles]

Don't tell me Kenny you work for a BMW dealer.
My thread was to highlight ongoing problems with the bike which have been mentioned on other forums too.
Hopefully anyone experiencing problems with ball joints will not be fobbed off by the dealer in the same way that I and others have.
Its not good enough to take a bike in with serious problems which affect the handling and be told there is nothing wrong.
I'm the customer not the mechanic and I expect the experts to tell me not the other way round.
I can't believe BMW are not aware of this problem in which case Dealerships should also be aware.
Fair enough the hot start kit was a freebie but why as a customer does it need a complaint to get it fitted without cost.

My disappointment is exacerbated by the fact this is my first BMW and I had high hopes.
Maybe I have just been plain unlucky it happens sometimes.

Since I started this thread the left hand indicator has packed in and I have just been quoted £300 plus for a replacement.

Checking forums it seems this another ongoing BM issue.

Seems to me this will be my first and last BM, I will stick with Honda's in future.

At least I'm not riding round with an empty wallet!

 

[andysdad]

Welcome to UKGSer.

If you look the www.eurokclub.bike forum, you'll find there's lots more faulty fun to be had with a K - though usually the K1200 not the 1300. There is a thread listing all known recalls for K1300.

Hot start was a recall I thought (done on mine before I got it) so no labour should apply. Ball joints I haven't heard about but nothing surprises me about modern BMW "quality". Blocked radiators (like K1600 after it) are another issue, plus cam guide on earlier models, plus corrosion on the final drive etc. etc.

I presume you didn't buy from a Dealer as their Used Warranty would apply; if another brand of Dealer - Sale of Goods applies although touring France before the repair might negate your argument a bit.

Not sure of the rules but it might pay to contact BMW to see if you can take out an Extended Warranty. I have and it's paid for itself already this year on an '09 12K mile bike....check your rear wheel bearing is all I'll say on that.

Has it had the rear disk carrier recall?

I like my K1300GT but like many recent BMW models it appears that you cannot trust it further than you can throw it.

 

[kennyc]

Welcome to UKGSer.

If you look the www.eurokclub.bike forum, you'll find there's lots more faulty fun to be had with a K - though usually the K1200 not the 1300. There is a thread listing all known recalls for K1300.

Hot start was a recall I thought (done on mine before I got it) so no labour should apply. Ball joints I haven't heard about but nothing surprises me about modern BMW "quality". Blocked radiators (like K1600 after it) are another issue, plus cam guide on earlier models, plus corrosion on the final drive etc. etc.

I presume you didn't buy from a Dealer as their Used Warranty would apply; if another brand of Dealer - Sale of Goods applies although touring France before the repair might negate your argument a bit.

Not sure of the rules but it might pay to contact BMW to see if you can take out an Extended Warranty. I have and it's paid for itself already this year on an '09 12K mile bike....check your rear wheel bearing is all I'll say on that.

Has it had the rear disk carrier recall?

I like my K1300GT but like many recent BMW models it appears that you cannot trust it further than you can throw it.

you'll find that the ball joints are covered in the eurokclub as several people have had to replace them. the BMW extended warranty is covered on that forum also.

 

[kennyc]

Don't tell me Kenny you work for a BMW dealer.
My thread was to highlight ongoing problems with the bike which have been mentioned on other forums too.
Hopefully anyone experiencing problems with ball joints will not be fobbed off by the dealer in the same way that I and others have.
Its not good enough to take a bike in with serious problems which affect the handling and be told there is nothing wrong.
I'm the customer not the mechanic and I expect the experts to tell me not the other way round.
I can't believe BMW are not aware of this problem in which case Dealerships should also be aware.
Fair enough the hot start kit was a freebie but why as a customer does it need a complaint to get it fitted without cost.

My disappointment is exacerbated by the fact this is my first BMW and I had high hopes.
Maybe I have just been plain unlucky it happens sometimes.

Since I started this thread the left hand indicator has packed in and I have just been quoted £300 plus for a replacement.

Checking forums it seems this another ongoing BM issue.

Seems to me this will be my first and last BM, I will stick with Honda's in future.

At least I'm not riding round with an empty wallet!

nope I don't work for anyone in the motor trade, I do ride a BMW and have done for the last 10 years, I did due diligence when I bought mine, and accepted it wasn't a Honda (although with the K12 camchain it could have been one of many Hondas from the past )I thought I was giving a bit of good advice, and you have stated that the hot start parts were covered FOC see this thread it would seem you left it far too late to complain to the seller about the ball joints and decided to bitch on here instead! as to the "quote" from the dealer was it a quote or an estimate? if it was a written quote then you should have refused to pay for any unauthorised overspend. as to running out of petrol, sorry thats on you! theres a petrol gauge on the RT and if its anything like the K's I would expect a warning on the display as well to say you are on the last knockings! did you expect them to pay for your running costs on their bike that they gave you presumably free of charge as a loaner as a goodwill gesture? I'm sorry you have had problems but that unfortunately is sometimes the case with mechanical items.

 

[Nookles]

I am sorry Kenny but I obviously didn't say I bought the bike privately.
I had it serviced immediately by Pidcock before the trip to France.
I got the bike at the right price and as is usually the case expected to have some issues the seller wouldn't have told me about.
The issue is that I had to insist Pidcock change the ball joints against their initial advice.
I believe them when they said they were not aware of this problem on the K Series.
My real issue is with BM as they must be aware of the problem.
Who would expect ball joints to last 8000 miles before needing to be replaced.
The 'bitch I am afraid is let others know of the problem because it isn't obvious.
I have read on forums of guys changing tyres before identifying the true problem.
The quote (not estimate) of £250 was confirmed a second time so I have no doubt that was an agreed price albeit over the phone.
Had they told me it was really going to cost in excess of £500 the figure before the negotiated reduction it would have paid me to take out an extended warranty of £360.
I agree I didn't do enough due diligence on the bike and was blinded by BM reputation for quality, lesson learnt there!
As for running out of fuel I wasn't to unhappy as I had a quick fix solution.
In part it was my fault as the temperature gauge and petrol gauge are next to each other.
The journey was only five miles to home but hey ho not a big issue.
With regard to the multifunction cluster switch these are a recall item in the USA but not here.
From what I have read it appears the American version of VOSA deem them to be a hazard if faulty.
Hence the recall over the pond.
It seems to me that BM are on a win win situation here.
Either buy the extended and expensive warranty or pay through the nose for known faulty components.
This is really a shame as I have to say the bike is an excellent ride.

 

[Nookles]

K1300GT Multifunction Cluster Switch

Latest update.
I called BMW Wollaston as recommended by member 'IJGser'
Thank you my friend this has saved me approx £300
Having called Pidcock's and been quoted the above sum for a LH MFS I contacted Wollaston.
As soon as I mentioned the faulty switch Jack booked me in for a free replacement on both sides.
Apparently there has been a customer led recall since the beginning of last year.
What the hell are Pidcock's playing at?
When I called Pidcock's initially I was told they would have to come back to me.
After about an hour they did with the quote.
It's either a genuine mistake or you would have to question whether they are getting paid twice for the same work.
Its a one hour ride each way but I know where my bike is going in future.

 

[kennyc]

I am sorry Kenny but I obviously didn't say I bought the bike privately.
I had it serviced immediately by Pidcock before the trip to France.
I got the bike at the right price and as is usually the case expected to have some issues the seller wouldn't have told me about.
The issue is that I had to insist Pidcock change the ball joints against their initial advice.
I believe them when they said they were not aware of this problem on the K Series.
My real issue is with BM as they must be aware of the problem.
Who would expect ball joints to last 8000 miles before needing to be replaced.
The 'bitch I am afraid is let others know of the problem because it isn't obvious.
I have read on forums of guys changing tyres before identifying the true problem.
The quote (not estimate) of £250 was confirmed a second time so I have no doubt that was an agreed price albeit over the phone.
Had they told me it was really going to cost in excess of £500 the figure before the negotiated reduction it would have paid me to take out an extended warranty of £360.
I agree I didn't do enough due diligence on the bike and was blinded by BM reputation for quality, lesson learnt there!
As for running out of fuel I wasn't to unhappy as I had a quick fix solution.
In part it was my fault as the temperature gauge and petrol gauge are next to each other.
The journey was only five miles to home but hey ho not a big issue.
With regard to the multifunction cluster switch these are a recall item in the USA but not here.
From what I have read it appears the American version of VOSA deem them to be a hazard if faulty.
Hence the recall over the pond.
It seems to me that BM are on a win win situation here.
Either buy the extended and expensive warranty or pay through the nose for known faulty components.
This is really a shame as I have to say the bike is an excellent ride.

thank you for you for the clarification, its a pain I know but the whole concept of "customer led recalls" is a better compromise than the old method of "bury head in sand and hope he goes away" it sounds like your local dealer is falling well short of the ideal projected by the further dealer, I have no idea whether it would help ,but a sharp letter to BMW UK cc'd to the dealer principle at Pidocks may stir things up...or not, glad you are currently sorted and hope you get many more miles to enjoy the K