Notifying Bmw of brake failure en masse

[ELIMINATOR]

There are many threads concerning brake problems. This must concern everyone who has an ABS model with servo assistance.
If we pull together and draft a standard letter of complaint, then as individuals we all send these letters to both bmw gb & bmw Germany, perhaps [optimist!] they will take some action. I have just logged onto 'Babel fish' and had a short letter translated into German, which I e-mailed to Germany. The contact was found on the opening page of this site. Think it was BMW international, anyway, if one logs on [one!] to the german site there is an e-mail contact, fairly easy to follow. Anyone got a better suggestion?

 

[(RIP) Kaister]

It doesn't concern me directly, cos i have the 'antiquated' - but eminently reliable 1100 - but having noticed a few threads about this i was - lets say 'aware'.

So - i was reading an Aus bike mag in the shop - like yer do - and their was a page by world reknowned journalist Kevin Ash.

He seems to write for lots of magazines,papers etc all over the place, so lets say he does either know what he's on about - or at least have an idea.

His article was basically saying that he had experienced this ABS or servo brake failure - not once, but twice - and has explained it - quite succinctly as a real problem, not a perceived one.

he too, is very much against the way B&W are poo-poo-ing the idea that anything is wrong and trying to bring it into the open.

Perhaps he might be good person too get onside in a debate about this. ?

wish i could remember the magazine name ....

 

[MasterDabber]

.

So - i was reading an Aus bike mag in the shop - like yer do - and their was a page by world reknowned journalist Kevin Ash.

He seems to write for lots of magazines,papers etc all over the place, so lets say he does either know what he's on about - or at least have an idea.

There is a journalist called Kevin Ash that writes for Motorcycle News. I presume it's the same person. The MCN site is down at the moment but I guess you could probably get his email address from there.

 

[cookie]

he writes bike articles for the telegraph too.

 

[Fanum]

Babel fish.....eeek.

Good enough to get the gist of a foreign web site Eliminator, but seriously bad for 'proper' letters etc......you should ask here if anyone can translate it properly to German, as we have several fluent German speakers on board.

Try typing anything you like into Babel fish, ranslate it then translate it back to see what I mean.

'I like to ride donkeys'
'Ich mag Esel reite'
'I may ride donkeys'
'Ich kann Esel reiten'
'I can ride donkeys'

bad example but already the meaning has changed.......

 

[Steve]

Babel fish.....eeek.



bad example but already the meaning has changed.......

'Fanum is a tosser'
'Fanum ist ein tosser'
'Fanum is more tosser'
'Fanum ist mehr tosser'
'Fanum is more more tosser'
'Fanum ist mehr mehr tosser'

Nope. seems to work just fine......

 

[boundless]

wish i could remember the magazine name ....

The Sunday Times?

November 7th (scroll down a bit):-



CURIOUS CASE OF THE BMW SUPER-BRAKES THAT DIDN’T STOP THE BIKE

One of the top bikes on display at the NEC will be BMW’s Montauk, a beautiful 1200cc machine. Like the German manufacturer’s other flagship models it features power braking. Unfortunately, as I and a colleague discovered, the system is flawed.
When I tested the Montauk I crashed it into a fence. Kevin Ash, who writes for Motorcycle News, crashed another BMW with the same brakes into a wall. In both instances the power braking didn’t respond.
BMW has gone to great lengths developing a system that is supposed to make stopping easier by providing power assistance from the engine. When you press on the brakes a servo system multiplies the pressure you apply. But in certain — admittedly rare — circumstances the system is slow to cut in and you are left with the sensation of having no brakes at all.
My close shave happened when I was riding the Montauk — a cruiser similar to the bike Pierce Brosnan rode in the Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies — near Bondi Beach, Australia, earlier this year. The only thing that stopped me going over a cliff into the Pacific was a wooden fence. Bond survived a 200ft leap but I would not have. Ash crashed a BMW under almost identical circumstances while testing a new model.
Jeremy Bowdler, editor of Two Wheels, Australia’s bestselling motorcycling magazine, is also sceptical of the system. “BMW does have a problem and I suspect it goes deeper than they’ll admit,” he said. After testing the Montauk, Bowdler claimed: “What I see as the problem (with the brakes) is an intermittent fault I have experienced on several modern BMWs, not just the Montauk.”
BMW’s spokesman in the UK denied a fault. He also said there was always enough “residual braking” — back-up brakes that don’t need power — to stop the bike. At the same time the company has tacitly acknowledged the braking system could be improved. It has “significantly” strengthened the back-up brakes on its new R1200GS and K1200SThe company has also put a note in its owners’ manual emphasising that riders must go through a series of procedures after switching on the engine (involving releasing the brakes for long enough for the system to prime itself), especially when starting the bike on a gradient. But, as Ash pointed out, you shouldn’t have to consult a manual to find out how to use brakes.
Motorcyclist Magazine, the popular American publication, went a step further, saying: “BMW’s servo-assisted system is, we believe, a prime example of misguided technology creating more problems than it solves, muddling the connection between rider and road . . . All semblance of feel and feedback are gone, with no gain to compensate. Motorcycles do not need power brakes, at least not these power brakes.”

The Sunday Times~Nicholas Rufford

 

[MasterDabber]

BMW’s spokesman in the UK denied a fault. He also said there was always enough “residual braking” — back-up brakes that don’t need power — to stop the bike.

Well that statement is blatantly untrue. When my servo never worked, admittedly due to me having "worked" on the rear brake pedal and misplaced the brake light sensor, I nearly sailed out into the middle of the main road after riding down my drive at a few miles an hour. I had to pull like hell to stop it even at the low speed... a high speed failure doesn't bear thinking about.

 

[(RIP) Kaister]

it wasn't the Sunday Times, but on reading that article , it was very similar.

it was aus mag two wheels

 

[Arthurwg]

Yes, Master Dabber is correct. What ever "residual braking" is available is simply not enough to be useful. My brake failure, at 85 mph, was a true nightmare. I consider myself lucky to be alive.

 

[plasins]

Thankfully, non servo/abs orders now being taken!

Vic P.

 

[JAY]

Insurance implications

Must say that brake failure concerns me too - touch wood no probs so far.

If the residual braking is so crap (doubt it would pass an mot test) - and presumably non existent if your brakes go in an emergency - surely the bike is effectively unroadworthy and therefore your insurance would be void. Perhaps some threats to sue BMW in the event of failure would make them show a bit of interest!

 

[Baz]

They do seem to be taking mine seriously. Got a letter & a call asking me to take it in for them to look at.

Baz

 

[Fanum]

This just posted over on Advrider........thought it might be of use.

<iframe frameborder="1" height="800" scrolling="auto" src="http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61479&page=1&pp=10" width="850"></iframe>

 

[Spout]

Failure has also been documented in TBM (Trail Bike Magazine) during a test. Servo stopped working a couple of times during a competition.

I wouldn't even risk a test ride.

 

[Dr.ABS Brake]

Failure has also been documented in TBM (Trail Bike Magazine) during a test. Servo stopped working a couple of times during a competition.

I wouldn't even risk a test ride.

I couldn't find the homepage of TBM for writing the editor an e-mail.

Could you help out?

Dr. ABS Brake

 

[Spout]

I couldn't find the homepage of TBM for writing the editor an e-mail.

Could you help out?

Dr. ABS Brake

The only email address I can find is "[email protected]"

The editorial address is TBM, PO Box 9845, London, W13 9WP. The editor is Si Melber.

The rider was Paul Blezard "Blez" entered in the Green Dragon Rally of Discovery, the write up is in the August 2004 issue of TBM. A few snippets:

"...And the servo-assisted ABS-equipped brakes are immensely, yet deceptively powerful....."

".....A few minutes later I was barrelling down the straight tarmac road when I noticed a brake warning sign on the dash. I slowed down, touched the brakes and sure enough, the servo had packed up, along with the ABS. The brakes still worked, but required a mighty heave to make them do so......"

"....I continued on my way..........making sure to leave plenty of extra braking distance..."

".........By this time I'd got used to riding with the non-servo brakes............when BANG! without any warning, the servo suddenly started to work again......"

".....A short while later it was off again. Certainly kept me on my toes....."