LC Service intervals a disgrace

I hope BMW have realised tall bikes fall over. Its a fact of life, and looking at the scuffed rocker boxes and guards on bikes for sale in my local dealers its not something they try hide.
I hope BMW have considered this on the new GS. On a small down hill slope my GS was knocked off its stand, rolled onto the plastic head guard, continued rolling until the spark plug cap, rocker cover, hand guard, black plastic tank side panel, BMW badge, Pillion footrest, Screen, Indicator, Hand guard, and top box had sustained considerable scuff damage. Not bad for 0 mph. Will the damage now include radiator and rad guard?
I notice at £11500 they still do not fit any guarding as standard despite the cost to them being only a few pounds.

As an alternative to the BM I have fancied the new Ducati Multistada, our local dealer has a beautiful top spec model in, 12500 miles. The first 7500service is reasonable but the 15000 service is £800. I also doubt it would fall over without much damage.

If you think that a Multistrada will suffer less damage in a topple, you're on another planet:comfort
 
II learnt the hard way re my adventure rolling off its stand on a small gradient. I also learnt how to fix it dead easy...just leave it in first gear when you switch off...no more problems :D.
 
I hope BMW have realised tall bikes fall over. Its a fact of life, and looking at the scuffed rocker boxes and guards on bikes for sale in my local dealers its not something they try hide.
I hope BMW have considered this on the new GS. On a small down hill slope my GS was knocked off its stand, rolled onto the plastic head guard, continued rolling until the spark plug cap, rocker cover, hand guard, black plastic tank side panel, BMW badge, Pillion footrest, Screen, Indicator, Hand guard, and top box had sustained considerable scuff damage. Not bad for 0 mph. Will the damage now include radiator and rad guard?
I notice at £11500 they still do not fit any guarding as standard despite the cost to them being only a few pounds.

As an alternative to the BM I have fancied the new Ducati Multistada, our local dealer has a beautiful top spec model in, 12500 miles. The first 7500service is reasonable but the 15000 service is £800. I also doubt it would fall over without much damage.

Putting it in 1st gear before you got off, would have solved that problem:blast
 
Agreed, it's a pisstake.

The Triumph is 10,000 miles irrespective of time so it could be 3 year intervals for the average punter but they do 'offer' and annual inspection at low cost if requested.

From the owners manual for the Explorer:-

"1. Motorcycles travelling less than 10,000 miles per year must be
maintained annually. In addition to this,mileage based items require
maintenance at their specified intervals,as the motorcycle reaches this mileage.

2. Motorcycles travelling approximately 10,000 miles per year must have the
annual maintenance and the specified mileage based items carried out
together.

3. Motorcycles travelling more than 10,000 miles per year must have the
mileage based items maintained as the motorcycle reaches the specified
mileage. In addition to this, annual based items will require maintenance at their specified annual intervals."
 
Just another form of "discount" You could try to negotiate something similar with your bike dealer.

Certainly in almost every car dealership the sales and service sides are run as separate businesses. The sales department (or the manufacturer) will be subsidising the 5 years worth of services (and you will probably get the bare minimum done) Car service intervals have been extended mainly due to customer pressure-that's fleet buyers not private ones. The advance in oil technology has helped too but many manufactures have made there cars appear cheaper to service by removing items from the service schedules. When I ran a garage we stopped following the manufactures suggestion at the same time they removed checking the brakes as a service item.

I don't know if this applies to bikes too, I'd like to think not.

But overall I agree, bike servicing charges are sometimes hard to justify.

John

The two year/20k service on my old Vauxhall Meriva consisted of changing the engine oil and filter, fuel filter and the pollen filter. The local Vauxhall dealer wanted £260 for carrying out those tasks. The total cost of the parts, including the oil was £70 and the work would have taken an hour at the most.
 
From the owners manual for the Explorer:-

"1. Motorcycles travelling less than 10,000 miles per year must be
maintained annually. In addition to this,mileage based items require
maintenance at their specified intervals,as the motorcycle reaches this mileage.

2. Motorcycles travelling approximately 10,000 miles per year must have the
annual maintenance and the specified mileage based items carried out
together.

3. Motorcycles travelling more than 10,000 miles per year must have the
mileage based items maintained as the motorcycle reaches the specified
mileage. In addition to this, annual based items will require maintenance at their specified annual intervals."


Bob, thanks for posting that. When I owned a TEx I asked the dealer to qualify the less than 10,000 miles per year service requirement and they were adamant that it could be mileage dependent and thus recommended an inspection annually, not a service. Wonder if Triumph have changed their position?

The owners manual clearly contradicts the dealers position.
 
I am sure Puckmeister will be along soon to put me right but here goes. Firstly the thermodynamics of a regulated temperature allows finer tolerances which means better emissions, fuel and oil efficiency. It also means less expansion/contraction of parts and operation at a cooler temp all of which adds up to less stress hence lower service intervals.

That and 8 years advancement in alloys and design should all add up to longer service intervals...and less consumables for those green folk..as it seems to with every other manufacturer....and

Of course - emissions :thumb2

But - surely stress only becomes a problem when parts are in danger of failing?

I have not heard of any service issues whereby anyone has put there oil-cooled bike in for service, to be told that the con-rods/pistons/barrels/valves/camshafts have had to be replaced due to stress?

So - I would suggest that the only benefits which can be realistically expected, from the act of changing to liquid-cooling (only) - are:

Better emissions levels
Better fuel consumption.
A slightly more compact engine

Anything else - is attributable to other advancements in the technology of the engine.

Al :)
 
Compare it to another bike if you like but in no way can you compare it to a car. Wet clutch and much higher rpm will dictate completely different service intervals. If you take a look at performance cars which run at high rpm's you will soon see they have short service intervals and I think you will also find the cost are far more than a GS.
The euro box manufacturers have an interest in stretching service intervals. It lowers the TCO for the family car where the average mileage is around 10000 miles per annum or more. A bike though is probably 80 percent owned as a play thing with an annual mileage of 6000 or less. These facts alone don't give the manufacturer much incentive to stretch service intervals. Yes its not good for those that do serious mileage but for the majority a service a year isn't that bad.
If you learn to use a few basic tools and spend a couple of hours to do a service it will cost you very little. Speaking of which, what happened to bike owners? It wasn't so long ago that they wouldn't be seen dead handing their bike over to a dealer to get a service, fixed maybe but an oil, filters and clearances, never. The weekend was for getting your hands dirty on the bike. I can hear the cries of rage already from the first person that has to top up the coolant. Oh god and the what fecking water should I use. Should it be blue, red or green antifreeze!!!!
 
Bob, thanks for posting that. When I owned a TEx I asked the dealer to qualify the less than 10,000 miles per year service requirement and they were adamant that it could be mileage dependent and thus recommended an inspection annually, not a service. Wonder if Triumph have changed their position?

The owners manual clearly contradicts the dealers position.

You're welcome. The owners manual can be downloaded on the Triumph site, but it certainly makes it clear that it is 10000 miles or annually.

It also comes across as saying that if the annual mileage is under 10k that once the annual service is completed that it would then need to be brought in once 10k miles have been completed.

Just out of interest, why did you sell your Explorer?
 
According to my dealer the bike is only 30% water cooled, so if the rad bursts on an off road course the bike can still be ridden. Therefore the service intervals are for safety.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
The owners manual clearly contradicts the dealers position.

Sure does......Bob Southgate is dead right.

I had a recent 'Ding Dong' with a Triumph dealer and a Street Triple. Dealer said one thing, owner's hand book said another. Quick call to a rather nice man in the technical department at Hinkley (try that with your average Kymco....:D) confirmed hand book right, dealer wrong.

I've been through this sort of thing before with a Triumph dealer (but NEVER any other manufacturer) BEWARE.....;)
 
I've been through this sort of thing before with a Triumph dealer (but NEVER any other manufacturer) BEWARE.....;)

I've been through this sort of thing with the Triumph factory, where they said the owners handbook made reference to using corrosion inhibitors when cleaning the bike to ensure they don't corrode, but the only mention of corrosion inhibitors in the handbook was in relation to using anti freeze with corrosion inhibitors in them. Nothing about using cleaning products with built in corrosion inhibitors at all.
 
Compare it to another bike if you like but in no way can you compare it to a car. Wet clutch and much higher rpm will dictate completely different service intervals. If you take a look at performance cars which run at high rpm's you will soon see they have short service intervals and I think you will also find the cost are far more than a GS.
The euro box manufacturers have an interest in stretching service intervals. It lowers the TCO for the family car where the average mileage is around 10000 miles per annum or more. A bike though is probably 80 percent owned as a play thing with an annual mileage of 6000 or less. These facts alone don't give the manufacturer much incentive to stretch service intervals. Yes its not good for those that do serious mileage but for the majority a service a year isn't that bad.
If you learn to use a few basic tools and spend a couple of hours to do a service it will cost you very little. Speaking of which, what happened to bike owners? It wasn't so long ago that they wouldn't be seen dead handing their bike over to a dealer to get a service, fixed maybe but an oil, filters and clearances, never. The weekend was for getting your hands dirty on the bike. I can hear the cries of rage already from the first person that has to top up the coolant. Oh god and the what fecking water should I use. Should it be blue, red or green antifreeze!!!!


I agree, for those blessed with a garage and the right kit, servicing a 1200 is a relatively easy task. ....my old 1150 was frankly a piece of p*ss (and yes, I do regret selling it). However, with many new bikes on a 3 year finance deal many will not service themselves due to resale values. Added to which we have the dreaded goodwill issue. When the fuel gauge goes in annual melt down, the first thing BMW ask (not unreasonably) is whether the is a full dealer history before they will agree to any form of compensation.

Many did not want to take the risk!:thumb
 
Of course - emissions :thumb2

But - surely stress only becomes a problem when parts are in danger of failing?

I have not heard of any service issues whereby anyone has put there oil-cooled bike in for service, to be told that the con-rods/pistons/barrels/valves/camshafts have had to be replaced due to stress?

So - I would suggest that the only benefits which can be realistically expected, from the act of changing to liquid-cooling (only) - are:

Better emissions levels
Better fuel consumption.
A slightly more compact engine

Anything else - is attributable to other advancements in the technology of the engine.

Al :)

I would agree that the main benefits will come from better technologies such wireless throttles therefore balancing should not be an issue any more.

However....if I can remember back to a drink befuddled engineering degree back when the world was blissfully analogue, the benefits of a steady state and narrower operating temp range would have a huge impact on serviceable items such as oil (molecular structure doesn't break down so fast) and valve clearances needed far less attention.

Then again there is a fair chance I was either hallucinating or in the wrong lecture:augie
 
Just out of interest, why did you sell your Explorer?


Good question.

It is a good bike with a turbine characterful engine. One of the few bikes with perfect fuelling. What's not to like? It was bland and made me realise I missed my MTS and GS.

Additionally the clutch pull was very heavy and I have dubytron problems in my left hand and had an operation. My K1600 has a power assisted clutch ( it picks up power on the over-run ) and is light as a feather .

So I sold it quickly whilst there was a wait time for a small loss

Very good bike though.
 
According to my dealer the bike is only 30% water cooled, so if the rad bursts on an off road course the bike can still be ridden.

If that were true, why would the factory have bothered with fitting water cooling at all?
 


Back
Top Bottom