Oh dear, time for warranty work

Flipfly

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Well, after years of shitty old GS’s and a couple of nice older ones, I’ve finally had a failure and it on a 12 month old 12000 mile bike!

Great service from Williams, they spotted the cams were pitted and the rockers too.

oh well, at least it’ll be sorted under warranty and they are picking the bike up and dropping it back to me when it’s fixed.

Had the pleasure of a 1250RT today whilst having my big service, what a weapon of a bike, absolutely superb (apart from the shit interface on the tft, which I’m sure you get used to, but I couldn’t get the music to come through my headset, just through those shit speakers, and the lack of a switch to deal with the suspension and heated grips and seat).

On the hoof though it was an absolute joy!
 
What was behaviour of your bike? Did it die completely? Did you hear some strange noises? Did it lose power?
It would be nice to elaborate a little bit more so we can all be aware of early symptoms.
Mine is 2021 with 10.000 miles
 
What was behaviour of your bike? Did it die completely? Did you hear some strange noises? Did it lose power?
It would be nice to elaborate a little bit more so we can all be aware of early symptoms.
Mine is 2021 with 10.000 miles

Tbh, I had noticed it was a bit noisier and a bit rougher than my wife’s 1250GS in side by side comparisons, but the extra noise really could have just been the bigger tank of the GSA.

I had mentioned it at the 6000 mile service, but was told that it was all normal, it’s no different to what it was then (in terms of noise/power etc), but now the cams are pitted as are the rockers. My guess is that you cannot tell by sound, only when you get the rocker covers off and inspect the cams, will the issue really come to light (maybe symptoms get really bad when they get properly fubar’d, but mine are just in the early stages).
 
There is a switch for the heated grips, it is programmed to the 1st button on the left, you can also programme those 4 buttons to whatever you want.
 
The same happened to my mates 2018 RT, which he has very recently had sorted, it is a known issue as they clearly had a bad batch of cams and rockers. Even though his was out of warranty BMW covered 80% of the cost of replacement so fair play to them.
 
The same happened to my mates 2018 RT, which he has very recently had sorted, it is a known issue as they clearly had a bad batch of cams and rockers. Even though his was out of warranty BMW covered 80% of the cost of replacement so fair play to them.

That's Exactly what happened to my 2018 GSA. Was told a batch failed the hardening process. I just hope that now its all been changed, it will last. Now on 50K. My 1150 90K miles, zero wear ...........
 
There is a switch for the heated grips, it is programmed to the 1st button on the left, you can also programme those 4 buttons to whatever you want.

Ah, that makes more sense, I thought they were just for your favourite radio station, lol
 
That's Exactly what happened to my 2018 GSA. Was told a batch failed the hardening process. I just hope that now its all been changed, it will last. Now on 50K. My 1150 90K miles, zero wear ...........
Well mines a 2021 shift cam bike, so you would have thought they might have learned a lesson….but it would seem not!

Seems to be a more common issue with the newer bikes.
 
Well, after years of shitty old GS’s and a couple of nice older ones, I’ve finally had a failure and it on a 12 month old 12000 mile bike!

Great service from Williams, they spotted the cams were pitted and the rockers too.

oh well, at least it’ll be sorted under warranty and they are picking the bike up and dropping it back to me when it’s fixed.

Had the pleasure of a 1250RT today whilst having my big service, what a weapon of a bike, absolutely superb (apart from the shit interface on the tft, which I’m sure you get used to, but I couldn’t get the music to come through my headset, just through those shit speakers, and the lack of a switch to deal with the suspension and heated grips and seat).

On the hoof though it was an absolute joy!

My 2021 1250GSA had its cams and cam followers replaced in September for exactly the same reason. It had developed a pronounced rattle at around 2000 miles and I mentioned it at the 6000 mile service. Williams in Manchester we’re excellent about it and as I have a 140 mile round trip to them, they pulled out all the stops to carry out the service, complete the drive shaft housing mod (which resulted in a new drive shaft) and replace the cams in the same visit.

The bike runs a lot smoother mow and feels crisper on the throttle.
 
Now you got me scared. My bike (2021) is a bit noisier then it was when it was new. I already installed upgraded chain tensioner on the left cylinder but the noise is still there.
After reading this thread I think I'll ask for cams check on 2-year service in February. I don't mind paying some extra for that, just to stay on the safe side.
 
Now you got me scared. My bike (2021) is a bit noisier then it was when it was new. I already installed upgraded chain tensioner on the left cylinder but the noise is still there.
After reading this thread I think I'll ask for cams check on 2-year service in February. I don't mind paying some extra for that, just to stay on the safe side.

I read all the horror stories on here about the left hand cylinder rattle, with very mixed response from BMW dealers. Mine has the increased noise and was checked at 6K with no problems, apparently. What more can you do? Ultimately, it has a 3 year warranty and I'll ride it until it blows up.
 
Yes. That's a good point. Everyone who has their engine AND final drive explode, please post here !
Well there will be plenty of explosions today of all days...
let's hope there aren't any engines or final drives included, eh ?

Sent from my SM-G981B using Tapatalk
 
The same happened to my mates 2018 RT, which he has very recently had sorted, it is a known issue as they clearly had a bad batch of cams and rockers. Even though his was out of warranty BMW covered 80% of the cost of replacement so fair play to them.

I do not think it was fair play. The fault is a latent defect the cams were not fit for purpose. At least by paying 20% there is some warranty.
I asked the dealer to check my cams for pitting at the 12k service. No problems reported thankfully.
 
Rear cylinder cams and followers pitted on my 899 Ducati at 15000 miles!! FDSH and pushed very hard to get it sorted by Ducati. Bikes a 2014 model and cams were changed last year. My 2013 GS1200 has just had valve service and new shaft at 50,000 miles. No wear on valve train at all. Phew.
 


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