People deserting Bmw..?

[Fat Biker 66]

FWIW

My 66 GS is my first BMW bike and I love it with all its faults and weird ways. It ain't perfect but in my 17 bikes had in 36 years nothing has been perfect. I am sure bits will fall off and be out of warranty. For me, that's biking.

I was bored over lunch and having read the thread I registered on the UK KTM forum even paid £10. The members seem to have similar issues around quality, parts, engines, dealers if you look hard enough. Equally many KTM owners would not buy anything else. Just like the die-hard tossers on this forum.

Bikers are abused regardless of what you ride MZ125 to Goldwing! I know manufacturers know this and hence the levels of dissatisfaction. Will save the lecture on segmentation, targeting and customer acquisition.

As a typical marketing person, its Friday and I am leaving at 2 pm, home on my GS through London, if some scooter git has not nicked it.
Ride safe whatever your preference
Mike

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

There no problems with BMW. Their dealers are the best in the business. Often in the same building as car dealerships, and therefore premium brand levels of professionalism. A world of difference to the likes of Ducati, KTM etc.


Sent from my iPhone using Wankatalk

I get what you're saying but for some the whole corporate thang you've described is the antithesis of what we consider riding a bike to be about and a complete turn off.

My KTM dealer is privately owned, they are helpful, friendly and knowledgeable and have a passion for bikes (riding, tuning and competing on them), the stores/parts guy is a cliche of what a stores/parts guy should be (ie incredibly knowledgeable but doesn't suffer fools) and my invoices are had written.

I'm getting to be an old duffer now but that's the sort of bike dealer I've grown up with and that's the sort of bike dealer that I will go out of my way to give my hard earned to

Andres

 

[Norfolk Tiger]

the stores/parts guy is a cliche of what a stores/parts guy should be (ie incredibly knowledgeable but doesn't suffer fools)

Andres

Do you send somebody else in to collect your parts...........

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

Do you send somebody else in to collect your parts...........

In a word............................................................yes

Now feck off

I'm sure you're old enough to remember the sort of guys that ran stores departments....... Stood there in their brown coats, a fag hanging out the corner of their mouth and a mug of tea on the counter.......I used to be terrified of them as a spotty oik asking for a left hand flange washer for my RD!

Mind you, after a few run-ins with these guys it soon taught you to learn up on what you should be ordering and once they saw you making the effort they would usually reciprocate and be incredibly helpful back. A sort of rite of passage! I say usually, but that wasn't always the case, I have a special place in my 'hate heart' for the bastard that worked at Dalston Motorcycles

Andres

 

[Lord Snooty]

My mate has just taken his S1000RR in for the 18k service - they have informed him there is a problem with the steering damper - £350 to sort, exhaust header valve stuffed - a cool £2100!, ignition barrel problem - £130 plus of course the service cost of £550.

So, if he says Yes to this he is looking at over £3k plus VAT for repairs to a vehicle that has only done 18k miles! Utterly shocking and unacceptable. I have told him to remove the steering damper himself as it probably can be serviced; replace his exhaust headers with Keihan which removes the valve and CAT. I don't think he will be buying another BMW.

 

[Deleted account 190920002]

Anyone remember the Dean in Newcastle great guys in spares on the way up the stairs to that dept I passed a green Velo thruxton brand new for I think less than £400 work out that year for that price!. I might go back to getting an old Velo Mac viper at least you can cope with whatever they threw at you ( which wasn’t that often) and ride sedately round my neck of the woods. P.S. and after the initial 3/3500 cost, the other costs would be for peanuts.

Oh big laugh you guys will have had the same email from motorrad “Perfection is Waiting” but mr BM when is it coming??

 

[Stevie4scoops]

I look at this all slightly differently.

I save up and buy my bikes outright. Do the best deal I can at the time and generally buy brand new, but always pay £150 deposit on my Credit Card.

I then service and maintain them myself.

I don't worry about Warranty because the Sales of Goods and Services Act, Section 75 Credit Act, and Buy with Confidence Scheme from Motorcycle Industry Association covers me.

'Warranty'.... in my opinion is nothing more than a good will gesture, but you have to pay them for the privilage and dance to their tune. Its nothing more than a smoke screen to fill your heart with fear of not complying with their 'insurance plan' - which you all pay for. and it's stalling tac-tics to move you away from your actual rights under UK Law.

I've brought two UK Manufacturers to Court refusing to comply with their 'warranty' and settled both in my favour. They shit themselves when you apply your actual rights, and not play their 'warranty' game.

In my experience with many different dealers

A) They do not understand UK Law and presume Warranty is the golden ticket. It isnt.

B) Workmanship is very expensive and shoddy in a lot of instances.

C) My bikes have come home more broken than when they went in... on some occasions (and that's before I pissed them off).

Resale value... ha

Dealers will rip you off as best they can. Bullshit reasons why your bike is worthless.

I remove all my farkles and sell seperatley before sale. Then sell privately.

Never had an issue with home servicing and people love the condition of my bikes.

Fuck the system, it's toxic, it's broke.

Love my bikes, love my riding, love my life. Take control, it isn't hard once you stop listening to the bullshit. Oh, and I don't have any hassle, still have a good relationship with most of my dealers when I need to use them.

Totally agree. I do all my own servicing both cars and bikes, old snd new.

 

[Stevie4scoops]

Great post thank you.

Im interested in this point above... Are you (for example) suggesting I buy a new GS and service it myself from the start. Then say the gearbox goes boom after a year, the dealer should still rectify this fault (due to the sale of goods act) even though they haven't serviced it?

If so how long can you apply this? Is it for their suggested warranty period?

I service my bikes myself and my GS went to Cotswold in Gloucester many times for clutch and gearbox issues. All I was asked to do was to confirm which oil I'd used.

 

[Norfolk Tiger]

In a word............................................................yes

Now feck off

I'm sure you're old enough to remember the sort of guys that ran stores departments....... Stood there in their brown coats, a fag hanging out the corner of their mouth and a mug of tea on the counter.......I used to be terrified of them as a spotty oik asking for a left hand flange washer for my RD!

Mind you, after a few run-ins with these guys it soon taught you to learn up on what you should be ordering and once they saw you making the effort they would usually reciprocate and be incredibly helpful back. A sort of rite of passage! I say usually, but that wasn't always the case, I have a special place in my 'hate heart' for the bastard that worked at Dalston Motorcycles

Andres

30 years in the motor trade and I've met more than my fair share of store men who are characters

 

[snaponphil]

My mate has just taken his S1000RR in for the 18k service - they have informed him there is a problem with the steering damper - £350 to sort, exhaust header valve stuffed - a cool £2100!, ignition barrel problem - £130 plus of course the service cost of £550.

So, if he says Yes to this he is looking at over £3k plus VAT for repairs to a vehicle that has only done 18k miles! Utterly shocking and unacceptable. I have told him to remove the steering damper himself as it probably can be serviced; replace his exhaust headers with Keihan which removes the valve and CAT. I don't think he will be buying another BMW.

Ouch..

 

[casbar]

Ouch..

Warranty, or did he decide it wasn't worth paying for

 

[Nutty]

I get what you're saying but for some the whole corporate thang you've described is the antithesis of what we consider riding a bike to be about and a complete turn off.

My KTM dealer is privately owned, they are helpful, friendly and knowledgeable and have a passion for bikes (riding, tuning and competing on them), the stores/parts guy is a cliche of what a stores/parts guy should be (ie incredibly knowledgeable but doesn't suffer fools) and my invoices are had written.

I'm getting to be an old duffer now but that's the sort of bike dealer I've grown up with and that's the sort of bike dealer that I will go out of my way to give my hard earned to

Andres

Exactly.

Find a decent dealer, and you’ll keep going back. You know my previous reservations regarding KTM, but the guys at Premier are brilliant. Very professional, and they’ve got a real passion for bikes. They can’t do enough, even for a technical numpty like me, and always go the extra mile when it comes to customer service.

 

[Norfolk Tiger]

(ie incredibly knowledgeable but doesn't suffer fools)

Andres

Do you send somebody else in to collect your parts...........

In a word............................................................yes



Andres

even for a technical numpty like me

There is a pattern of KTM ownership forming here and that's before we even bring Giles into the equation

 

[Lord Snooty]

Warranty, or did he decide it wasn't worth paying for

Out of warranty but Wolverhampton BMW are trying to get it sorted on BMW goodwill.

 

[restandplay]

Hi For me quality was not there. Continued problems with Fuel vent valve. Now I have a Triumph and so far not a problem. It is also quicker and has a few more kid's toys.

Derek

PS Also Indicators and Steering Bearings all replaced in under 20,000 miles.

 

[Jesim1]

There are some very good points raised in this thread - but remember, there are a lot of people coming to BMW, like myself, so the fact that there are others leaving is not such a landslide.

The availability of other good quality bikes from other manufacturers often several thousand pounds cheap is not helping either - it's not that BMW is bad, but it's not as good value for money as it used to be.

James

 

[Carlosfandango]

I buy local - I use Tesco only because it is nearer, I used to buy Hondas and Triumphs - Neil Young. Now the best dealer near me is BMW, so guess what I bought BMW. I would like a KTM but I seem to live right in the centre of a void, they are all too far away...

If your dealer is poor, buy something else

 

[Carlosfandango]

me again..

Bike sales down 24% in Sept, 15% down YTD, that is leaving in droves..

Still more sales than 2014 though

 

[flatdog]

Swings in roundabouts.
Those of us who are fickle enough, just buy the bike based on what you hear is nice, then bitch and moan and move on to the next fad, Fuck off then.
I ride because I'm passionate about riding bikes, i love my bike and what it does, thats what makes me buy what I want….I base my decisions on what I love, not what other fuckers think I may want.
You're a sad bunch of fuckers buying on a whim…looking for that supreme bikers dream ride, fuck all imagination and trying to live your sad lives through other peoples perceptions.


Oh…and I would never buy the water-cooled beemer.

As they have already made the best bike for my needs.

Ta.

 

[brut33]

Swings in roundabouts.
Those of us who are fickle enough, just buy the bike based on what you hear is nice, then bitch and moan and move on to the next fad, Fuck off then.
I ride because I'm passionate about riding bikes, i love my bike and what it does, thats what makes me buy what I want….I base my decisions on what I love, not what other fuckers think I may want.
You're a sad bunch of fuckers buying on a whim…looking for that supreme bikers dream ride, fuck all imagination and trying to live your sad lives through other peoples perceptions.


Oh…and I would never buy the water-cooled beemer.

As they have already made the best bike for my needs.

Ta.

You're obviously an R1100GS owner.