NEWBE, 2011 GSA 6MNTHS OLD, OWNED FOR 2 WEEKS, AND IT HEADING BACK TO WOLLASTON

[tanneman]

Wollaston is my local dealer and the customer service is very good. Can't say anything really bad about them as they have been very good to me. Maybe it's because I've bought 2 bikes from them. I'm replacing my tyres this week so I'll have a look at the run out. Also make sure the wheels are balanced properly as the oscillation of the unsprung mass will knacker your shocks and tyres. It's very difficult to get cross spoked wheels true. Not many wheel builders will take on the GSA wheels. These wheels are build by robot at the factory so as the calibration on them goes towards the tolerance limit it might produce a wheel that is not exactly true but still with-in factory specs. There should be a tolerance but I'll have to look in the manual for that.

 

[David Nimrod]

I expect very few dealers do any checks, and test rides are probably extremely rare, they just wash and polish them before sticking them in a showroom with a nice little ticket showing how well "prepared" the bike is and explaining why buying from them brings total piece of mind.

Sounds highly plausible...

And people pay a premium to buy from a Dealer..?

No thanks

 

[slydog]

check out you tube

theres a member on here thats posted his wobbly wheel vid on you tube . and mine are the same wobbly lol . my mates just picked up a new one last week gsa put it on center stand spun the rear wheel up fookin wobbly as ya like . haden wheel builders checked mine out and told me there built in a factory by robots and just chucked on the bike niceeeeeeee lol . he even showed me the wonky weld in the rim wtf . he said when they get there rims in they are checked and returned if wonky but bmw aint gonna do that . as the saying goes they all do that sir lol

 

[Engineer]

theres a member on here thats posted his wobbly wheel vid on you tube . and mine are the same wobbly lol . my mates just picked up a new one last week gsa put it on center stand spun the rear wheel up fookin wobbly as ya like . haden wheel builders checked mine out and told me there built in a factory by robots and just chucked on the bike niceeeeeeee lol . he even showed me the wonky weld in the rim wtf . he said when they get there rims in they are checked and returned if wonky but bmw aint gonna do that . as the saying goes they all do that sir lol

Don't have this problem with the standard cast wheels

 

[tanneman]

Don't have this problem with the standard cast wheels

Off course. Nothing like a spoke in the wheel to keep things straight.

The manual only states that when doing the runout check and it is excessive to check the wheel bearings. WTF? if the wheel itself isn't true. Hopefully the tyres will be here tomorrow and I'll have a look to see if mine has got some runout. Does anybody know what the runout values are?

 

[casperfelix]

Okay so I have the bike back, in fact they returned it within 4 working day.......all good so far.

They have installed a replacement front wheel with new tyres on front and back free of charge - happy days.

However, the chaps at Wollaston did check out my wheel and weren't overly concerned. They stated that it wasn't that bad and the new wheel also had some run out on it...........'they all do that because they are spoked wheels rather than cast and therefore it's almost impossible to get perfectly true' which seems kinds logical.

I span up the front wheel and sure enough there is still some side to side run out. Up and down is pretty good.

First ride today and I can definately feel some wobbles through the bars.

Here are some questions

Are all spoked wheels slightly out (my back wheel is spot on) another BMW deals has confirmed that this is the case

Does anyone else feel the slight wobbles through the bars

has anyone actualy got completely true spoked wheels

Am I being picky.... should I put up, shut up and just the ride the thing? and accept its part of the character?

Great bike by the way, just picked up some nearly new and un-used bargain BMW aluminium panniers off ebay at half the retail price.

Happy days..........even the wobbles aint spoiling things

cheers guys

I wonder if it's a tyre thing. My last GSA suddenly produced massive judder/wobbles at low speed (only low speed) when I changed its tyres to TKCs. Less when I changed again to Trail Attacks and none when I put the originals back on - to trade it in . I'm not looking forward to changing my new GSA's tyres as they don't produce any judder at all.

 

[siwhite]

nope - EXP's

on another subject.... I note you wear the black rat with pride. Ditto !

Bloody everywhere, you lot.....

 

[Oldrat]

Bloody everywhere, you lot.....

Yeah, couldn't agree more.

 

[Martyn H]

Bloody everywhere, you lot.....

Don't forget.....I know where you live, & what bike you ride......

 

[jpooch00]

What a load!

Okay so I have the bike back, in fact they returned it within 4 working day.......all good so far.

They have installed a replacement front wheel with new tyres on front and back free of charge - happy days.

However, the chaps at Wollaston did check out my wheel and weren't overly concerned. They stated that it wasn't that bad and the new wheel also had some run out on it...........'they all do that because they are spoked wheels rather than cast and therefore it's almost impossible to get perfectly true' which seems kinds logical.

I span up the front wheel and sure enough there is still some side to side run out. Up and down is pretty good.

First ride today and I can definately feel some wobbles through the bars.

Here are some questions

Are all spoked wheels slightly out (my back wheel is spot on) another BMW deals has confirmed that this is the case

Does anyone else feel the slight wobbles through the bars

has anyone actualy got completely true spoked wheels

Am I being picky.... should I put up, shut up and just the ride the thing? and accept its part of the character?

Great bike by the way, just picked up some nearly new and un-used bargain BMW aluminium panniers off ebay at half the retail price.

Happy days..........even the wobbles aint spoiling things

cheers guys

I have to call TOTAL BS on their statement that spoked wheels can't be adjusted to run true.

That's why the spokes are adjustable fer cryin' out loud!

Maybe BMW can't figure out how to true spoked (laced) wheels, but every other manufacturer that I know of sure can!

It's true that after an especially hard hit or many thousands of miles they might need to be tweaked a little to get them true again, but any shop that sells bikes with laced wheels should be able to get them back to spot-on in short order.

....End of rant....

 

[MELLOWYELLOW]

Had a trip across the Astles BMW at Grimsby, I looked at a few brand new GSA's and sure enough there is run out on the front wheels, similar to that on mine.

Spoke to the tech, who advise me that spoked wheels are allowed upto 4mm run out for MOT purposes, with 2mm on cast wheels.

I then asked him to balance up the front - just for good measure. I was assurred that this had been done by Wollaston.

Watdya know it was out of balance. It had 100gm BMW weights fitted. ie done by the factory. The tech found he only needed 45gms (he balanced it the old fashioned way on the bench and not spun up) The £37 bill is on its way to Wollaston!

He test rode it and gave it the thumbs up!

As you'd expect it was a big improvement, but I still feel some oscilation (spell check) through the bars..............Reached the conclusion that I'm now being paranoid and its just charcter of the bike, which I enjoy more every time I ride it.