Reliability, the statistics.

[Bikergary]

"Nearly Sold it"
Thats becasue at 45K miles on my 1100GS, Clutch and Rear Bevel expired (bought the bike second hand with 40k miles so don't know what the guy did before me) and cost about £600 in total to repair , first ever clutch to go on any of my bikes (all non BMW) and it has to be the one that cost a fortune to repair.

Saying that Glad i didn't sell it, 65K miles now and still having fun
OK minor issues like 1 blown rear bulb, 2 clutch cables, 1 set of fork seals but that's it

 

[blues n twos]

Well... I have an imported from Germany 2001 1150GS and it was imported by Wollaston BMW when it was a year old. I have all the service reciepts from the 2 previous owners and none of them are anything to do with mechanical breakdowns.

The chap I bought it from owned it for two years riding all year without problem. It now has 27000 miles and I have owned it for six months without a single glitch. I also use it year round in all weathers and am partial to a bit off offroading.

100% reliable bike and I love it.

Jon

 

[Hay Ewe]

I have an 2001 1150 GS standard with 73000 km on the clock. 1 previous owner. FD pivot bearings at 65300 km (or there abouts) and thats it so far.

No corrosion on the fork brace, spokes are all good. Have problem with the rear shock but its not a BMW problem, some bloke (supposedly reputable) in Sydney said he could overhaul it and two failures after that I am getting a new shock.

who ever set the poll up only put negative comments on it, thats possibly why so many people have NOT polled. I didnt because there is nt an option for me.

Hay Ewe (dont tempt fate!)

 

[Gas'd Off]

who ever set the poll up only put negative comments on it

Ya what?

So you`ll be a: "40K-50K Just needed a service" then

 

[Hay Ewe]

Ya what?

So you`ll be a: "40K-50K Just needed a service" then

Err yeah, missed that
so thats what I shall now poll

Hay ewe - sheepish in the corner

 

[Gas'd Off]

Hay ewe - sheepish in the corner

arf arf baaaah

 

[Gecko]

1999 R1100GS now with about 90,000km on it. Basically only consumables and a couple of minor oil seals. Rear shock changed under warranty in the second week of ownership - preload was locked solid. Switched to Ohlins at about 75,000km as the OEM shocks had been used to death. Only let me down once and that was after some idjit power washed it and then wondered why the electrics went nuts the next time it was taken out for a ride
It was , I think. the very last 1100GS in Belgium just as the 1150 was launched. Tried and tested by thousands of previous owners - all the gremlins had jumped over to the 1150 production line by the time mine rolled off the conveyor belt in the factory

 

[STUBBS]

well thats the kiss of death now for my 850 gs 30k+ and no problems dreading my next outing now

 

[Gas'd Off]

Weird, no-one has had a melt down between 30-40k

 

[Sir James]

Well my 1150 ADV has done nearly 1628 miles

Very tappety , i'm told this is normal

I've used more Auto Glym than petrol

 

[welder8uk]

Just had my 1150GS MOt'd today, no problems with it at all. Had it about 18mnths, done about 8k miles on it - no problems at all 9got 38K miles on the clock.

never gets washed or cleaned, gets used all through teh winter. A bit of corrosion on it, but there again I dont even wash the salt off after using it, it really doesnt get cleaned. Never had a caliper jam/ seize.

I think they are ok. I dont think they are the 'best' at anything by a long way, but they are an excellant all rounder that will have a damn good go at anything you are ever likely to do on it.

steve

 

[Vern]

My bevel box main bearing spat the dummy out yesterday in a big way. 177,000 miles,what a pile of crap,don't last five minutes these things,not like the old days.

PS I had a major melt down at 40k on the button,do I win a prize

 

[Aurelius]

I need to change my vote. Yesterday I ran into the person who bought my 1150GS, and noticed that he's now riding an R1200GS. He then related the following tale of woe. On the return leg of his first long trip on my former GS, he felt a rear end shimmy on the highway. After pulling over to the side of the road, he noticed gear lube splattered all over the rear wheel. The bike had to be towed several hundred miles to be repaird (at his cost, since it was out of warranty). He said that indicent caused him to lose faith in the bike, so he traded it for a new R1200GS. Incredibly, that one too destroyed its final drive bearings after only two months of riding! Now, counting his experiences, I realized that of the seven BMW owners in my immediate area, four of them have experienced at least one major mechanical breakdown, and two of those bikes were R1200GS's. What kind of junk is BMW making these days?!

 

[Vern]

What kind of junk is BMW making these days?! [/QUOTE]

Expensive junk is the simple answer to that

 

[Gas'd Off]

My bevel box main bearing spat the dummy out yesterday in a big way. 177,000 miles,what a pile of crap,don't last five minutes these things,not like the old days.

What a load of rubbish I take it back to the shop Vern! Should last at least 178,000 miles! Complete crap

 

[Vern]

I'm going to take it back to the shop once I've collected all the shrapnel

 

[Gipsy]

I think I need to change my vote on my 1200. Didn't worry about the L hand air inlet blowing off, or having a fork seal replaced, or having a rear brake caliper replaced. All sorted promptly under warranty. Yesterday noticed seepage from the R side of the engine, and it looks as though the gear box seal is leaking. Bike still under warranty, so shouldn't be a problem. However a brief search of the site suggests this might not be such a rare problem, even in low mileage bikes. Seals do fail, no problem with that, however some posts suggest it may be happening at less than 10,000 miles. ( Mines done 8,000 ) Not too happy about that!

 

[Vern]

What a load of rubbish I take it back to the shop Vern! Should last at least 178,000 miles! Complete crap

They told me to feck off

 

[xbootie]

Although i have only had the bike for 4 months of so - and have clocked just over 2k on it (upto 14500 ish now)- so far no problems - not sure if the previous owner had any problems


regards

 

[Aurelius]

I think I need to change my vote on my 1200. Didn't worry about the L hand air inlet blowing off, or having a fork seal replaced, or having a rear brake caliper replaced. All sorted promptly under warranty. Yesterday noticed seepage from the R side of the engine, and it looks as though the gear box seal is leaking. Bike still under warranty, so shouldn't be a problem. However a brief search of the site suggests this might not be such a rare problem, even in low mileage bikes. Seals do fail, no problem with that, however some posts suggest it may be happening at less than 10,000 miles. ( Mines done 8,000 ) Not too happy about that!

After 10 problem plagued years, one might think the totally redesigned R1200GS would be relatively trouble free, but that doesn't appear to be the case. A local rider bought one several months ago, and has already had to replace two ignition coils and the transmission. Now he's having problems with oil leaking from the final drive seal. Despite all that, he still hasn't lost faith in the bike.