I've been reading your posts with interest.
I bought my 2003 1150 gs from park lane bmw in April, after it had been through their approved used bike tests. It cost £6550, this is at the top end of the price range, but was sold to me on the bikes condition and a wealth of tasty extras the previous owner had added.
After 1 week I had the bike at Battersea as the main head beam (HID) was only working intermittently, and the side lights that the previous owner had added didn't work either. As an afterthought when handing my keys over I mentioned that the rear brake had felt a little spongy.
Midway through the morning I had a voicemail stating that all brake discs and pads were below wear limits, and the cost of replacing them was over £600. After I called sales at park lane they agreed to cover the cost as a good will gesture (I like that, acting like they are doing you a favour after selling you a bike with shot brakes then trying to charge you £600+ a week later!).
They managed to get the main beam working but not the side lights. One of the guys there, Pete told me that the electrics were complicated and they intended to contact the old owner to find out how he'd wired up the side lights. I'm still waiting for Petes call on this matter..
The main beam worked for a couple of days before the burner/bulb blew! At this stage battersea washed their hands of the problem, as the HID system was an added extra therefore not covered by warranty.
I got in touch with Les Wassall a member of this site who specialises in HID installation, he fitted his own system. This is when we realised that the HID system was intended for a car and there were loose wires going everywhere and nowhere! The ballast was hanging exposed between the forks rusting away. It did not appear to be waterproof. When you turned the handlebars full lock the forks actually collided with the ballast. You will be please to hear that the ballast was secured to the bike by a single cable tie around it's power supply, nice and safe!!
To top off all of this, when we placed the fuel tank back on the bike a spark jumped from the battery to the tank! The batteries (again not bmw but the brand name I've forgotten) terminals were actually in contact with the fuel tank!! Now I'm no expert in motorbikes, but I know a little about physics and chemistry and I know that sparks and fuel isn't a good mixture. Not to mention the possibilty of electricuting myself! Les resloved this by taking an attachment off the terminals so they're no longer in contact.
It was at this time I also noticed that the spring pre-load adjustment wasnt working and that the speedo was playing up at high speed.
As my lighting issues were mostly resolved now, I booked into battersea to have the spring pre-load and the speedo sorted. Midway through the morning, I receive the familiar phone call, they cant find anything wrong with the speedo but the battery may be kaput, and they will have £150 of my hard earned to replace it, again not under warranty as it isn't bmw. When I'd stopped laughing at the idea of giving them any more cash, they consented to trying putting some charge in the battery and testing it again on the road.
After the road test they told me the speedo was fine, but that my clutch was slipping. If I wanted them to take a look, I repeat take a look at the clutch it would cost me £453!!!!! This is to have a look! The cost of replacing it would be over £800. But at least now there was charge in my battery it would not need to be replaced. I called customer services and they consented to looking at the clutch without charging me the best part of half a grand. It was slipping and needs replaced. I've told them not to touch it as I'd rather get someone more capable and reasonably priced to sort it for me. I've heard good things about steptoe and he is just around the corner from my work.
The spring pre load is covered by my warranty (halleluija!!). But I'm currently without my bike, as they waited until the end of the second day in the garage to order the spring, which has a 2 working day delivery time. So I'm also racking up costs in oyster cards and surrounded by smelly people on the tube to get to work!
In conclusion to this essay, I'd say the only good thing about bmw Battersea is the free coffee and the free taxi ride to the station. I don't ever want to use them again! Having found all these thing wrong with my bike I'm wondering what they actually do look at in the approved used bike check, answers on a postcard!
andrew
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: Unsatisified customers 1000+ 
Or is this now a pre-requisite to pass comment on this board? I didn't realise that vestiges of Blair/Brown's Nanny State had made it so far? 
