No worries there as change for new every two years as have done so from 2013 so will upgrade again in a year or so as my bike do get a hard life .
Recalls/Problems with new R1250GS/A
- Thread starter happyjoe
- Start date
No worries there as change for new every two years as have done so from 2013 so will upgrade again in a year or so as my bike do get a hard life .
Delboy777
Registered user
Hope your local stealer isnt on here
They know lol ………
Mark Hooton
Cymarcbikeparts
My 2015 has no warranty on it now,(never got a reminder from BMW to renew it) service it myself and apart for lefthand switch gear water ingress which was common on early bikes (replaced under warranty) its been faultless in 30000miles, ridden hard on the road and ridden crap off road. Would lose a hatful of money on it if I traded in for a 1250.Would cost me at least £10k to trade so will keep going until I see 100000m on it or it dies. . Full akro and remap gives me all the power I will ever need and not having a £18000 new bike means I don't worry about taking it anywhere in any weather. Its a tool to be used to take you where you want to go when you want to go, not a piece art to look at, but saying that if I opened my garage door and didn't like what I saw I wouldn't have it. I'm sure the 1250 will be just as reliable as any other bike, probably more so how smooth the engine is.
Tappety left pot at idle when warm (1250)
Seven thousand miles in on a 1250 Exclusive and loving it after my second FJR.
The left hand cylinder is a common problem? So what's the remedy?
Mine sounds like it's got a baggy tappet at idle, only on the left hand pot though and doesn't do it when it's cold so it sounds to me like a tolerance issue due to oil thinning out perhaps?
It's been back to Bowker Preston, first they said there was nothing wrong it, I wasn't happy so they took it back in their workshop and told me a report would be sent to BMW.
That was September, I've not heard anything since.....
Seven thousand miles in on a 1250 Exclusive and loving it after my second FJR.
The left hand cylinder is a common problem? So what's the remedy?
Mine sounds like it's got a baggy tappet at idle, only on the left hand pot though and doesn't do it when it's cold so it sounds to me like a tolerance issue due to oil thinning out perhaps?
It's been back to Bowker Preston, first they said there was nothing wrong it, I wasn't happy so they took it back in their workshop and told me a report would be sent to BMW.
That was September, I've not heard anything since.....
Zagato
Registered user
That's a name I recognise from the FJR forum fIremanphil and PeteM. Hello mate. I miss the excocet power of the FJR and the inline four and reliability but not the weight of it at 290kg. Already having to top the oil up on my 2004 GS
never had to do that on a Yamaha and dealing with a silly fault already but absolutely loving the GS, just so easy, fun and comfortable to ride. Cheap also 3k for a near mint model with 32k on the clock to own as a keeper alongside a 1250 in the future hopefully. It also doesn't have all the gizmos that can go wrong. My ABS has been taken off already. Apologies for digressing...Bazzer03
Registered user
Less that 2 months old and already have issues, Looks like I have a little rust developing in one of the frame holes, its missing a securing clip from one of the rear foot pegs and the main one happened earlier on today, basically went to see a friend and it wouldnt start, since Ive had it its always sounded to me like the started wasnt powerfull enough to turn over the engine and would get odd msg about the Lights not working when they did. I didnt think much of the starter thing as Its always started and I just thought it was a bit of a sluggish starter on the thing. Anyway I went to leave my friends place and go to start the bike and the engine turns over by the started for a second then it cuts power and everything turns off after getting a warning about the ABS, I try again and get a waring about the shock not able to adjust, this goes on for about 12 times, I since check the battery, all seems good has a healthy charge so I remove it clean all the contacts put it back in and the bike fires into life, although still a little retarded, I turn it off to try agan and starts fine, so now its an intermitant problem, Sent BMW an email with a short vid showing what was happening just hope they are ableto correct this and the other issues
Thanks , just not heard of the issue on the new engine , but will keep an eye / ear out.
Had an issue on the 1200 that was due to bad cams and a bolt snapping on the cam , but not been advised of issues / dealer checks on the new 1250 even tho I have the usual , they all make that noise lol when I have asked.
Saying that its new so it will be covered by the new 3 yr warrantee so not to worry
My 1250 went in for loud ticking noise at 600miles coming from the left side of the engine. After various parts swapped out, including a new complete cylinder head, a new engine was authorized. That bike was rejected and a brand new replacement was given at no cost.
nearly 3000 miles on the new 1250 now and its been spot on so far, as was the service from BMW throughout the ordeal
I'm probably worrying about nothing, but mine has a similar noise from the left hand side which to me sounds wrong. Although other GS owners have stated it's "just how they are mate" so I'm a little unsure what to do.
I realise video's rarely do noises justice especially recorded on mobile phones, however, this video does accurately depict what I hear with my own ears:
thats similar to what mine was like, although I would say mine was a tad louder.
you could also hear it whilst riding, especially lower speeds.
I expected a similar "they all do that" response. In my dealer's defense, they were straight on to it, which is very good considering I didn't buy the bike from them as they didn't have stock at the time.
First they checked valve clearances
Bmw then got involved and told the techs what to change there on afterward
Shift Cam actuator
Then Cams
They found some play in the valve guides so thought a new head one be the cure - which it wasn't.
New engine fitted and the old one was stripped, they found excessive movement in the bottom end which in turn meant the left conrod had some play in it.
The bike may have gone on and on for many miles, but i didnt want to risk it so early on into ownership.
Thanks for the response Grant, I've gonna get it checked by Williams asap and see what they say (I didn't buy it from them). Just concerned as I can here it at idle even with ear plugs in but I must admit I didn't notice it while riding.
Mark Hooton
Cymarcbikeparts
Just as an aside (btw I had the same issues with my 1250 - new engine fitted at 6k following the death rattle) I’ve been on the yank forum to ask if there had been any issues and was nearly ‘punched out the ring’ by denials that there is anything wrong.
I wasn’t aggressive or armchair warrior about it at all, just shocked with the attitude that I was a sensationalist liar!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Glad to hear the the BMW service is as good as ever and above all you are happy , good job not a Ktm lol
Joe 90
Registered user
Bazzer, the hot start problem has been mentioned elsewhere on the site ( in this forum section I think under thread "rusty...."). My 1250 ADV went to Bowkers in Preston today after letting me down twice. Needless to say, it wouldn't replicate the fault in their car park but they said they had already seen the same issue, apparently an owner had been recovered in after getting stranded at Lancaster services on M6.
Anyway, what you described is as I experienced. I found that bike will restart when cooled down for about 20-30 minutes standing in my garage ( worth knowing if it wont start...don't persevere, let it cool down and you might get home !! ), first turn/start was sluggish, but turn off/on and next start perfect. Bowkers don't know what cause is. I told them battery is fine (30 years experience in battery industry tech sales ), I suspect starter motor is going tight when hot. Engine cant turn over, but current load is high enough to collapse voltage so cables/solenoid/windings,etc must be good. just got to wait and see now. Hope we both get them fixed soon.
Anyway, what you described is as I experienced. I found that bike will restart when cooled down for about 20-30 minutes standing in my garage ( worth knowing if it wont start...don't persevere, let it cool down and you might get home !! ), first turn/start was sluggish, but turn off/on and next start perfect. Bowkers don't know what cause is. I told them battery is fine (30 years experience in battery industry tech sales ), I suspect starter motor is going tight when hot. Engine cant turn over, but current load is high enough to collapse voltage so cables/solenoid/windings,etc must be good. just got to wait and see now. Hope we both get them fixed soon.
Bazzer, Joe 90: - I had a similar issue on New Year's Day. I was going for a ride-out with the local IAM Group and called into the office on the way to check the heating etc. was good for the return to work the following day. The bike (1250 GS Rallye, 880 miles) started normally in the garage. After riding the 8 miles to the office I checked what I needed to within 5 minutes and went to start the bike to meet up with the group. It would not start and cranked very slowly for two revolutions and then stopped cranking and the dash shut down. I repeatedly tried to start it with it exhibiting the same symptoms, as if a cell in the battery had died. The dash also flashed up traction control unavailble, ride carefully to the nearest authorised service centre (or something similar). It was clear it was not going to start so I called BMW Assist so they could provide assistance and log the fault. Fortunately, I was able to wait in the warm office and catch up on a MotoGP round (Thailand - I am quite behind!!) for the 107 minutes it took for BMW Assist to arrive. The bike started immediately (of course...) but was advised that this had been seen before and it was possibly a fault associated with the exhaust servo. On accessing the OBDII port a fault was indded logged with the exhaust servo although it was now operating correctly. It was noted that the wiring to the servo was poorly installed and was quite tight so it was re-routed to relieve the tension. Time will tell if this has cured it, hopefully my doubts are misplaced. I will be out again with the IAM on Saturday and will update if there are any further failures.
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Bazzer03
Registered user
Thanx Joe90, I took into chester today for them to look at, So fingers crossed, Mine would struggle to start sometime when cold as well as warm. it seemed lke either the starter wasnt getting enough power and it really strained, even pausing before it would fire into life, the times it had happened before I watited a few mins and would start but the last time it did it I waited ages and ended up pusing the bike home 
as I said I cleaned up the terminals n such and seemed to work a bit better, will see what happens, I will say upto now The dealership has been great, I got a loaner bike and was reasured that all my issues would be looked at and resolved.
as I said I cleaned up the terminals n such and seemed to work a bit better, will see what happens, I will say upto now The dealership has been great, I got a loaner bike and was reasured that all my issues would be looked at and resolved.Bazzer03
Registered user
TimG, Ive seen a guy on youtube explain this problem with the flaps on a 1200, Trouble is with these things there are that many electrical gadgets on the thing the list of potential problems could be endless, Hope they find the problem tho, I was lucky I was not so far away from home and had acces to plenty of cuppas 
, Its gonna sound bad but Im glad this has happened to others and not just me in a way as at least they are more likley to have a solution more quickly and hope its a perminent one
, Its gonna sound bad but Im glad this has happened to others and not just me in a way as at least they are more likley to have a solution more quickly and hope its a perminent oneBazzer03
Registered user
Update.... just had a call from BMW, and they couldnt find any faults with the starting problem and the computer not recorded any error messages, They have reset and recallabrated updated everything so finders crossed....
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