Twice Bitten - now very relucatant to get back on the horse

[Deleted account 210609001]

My failure recollections:

Mine failed in the summer, a couple of days after riding a whole day in torrential rain, then being parked outside in more of the same. It ran OK all day on the next day (let's call it day two), on day three if coughed briefly while pulling off an Italian motorway. I put the momentary misfire down to it being a roasting hot day and crawling at 30 mph for a while on the motorway.

Day four - got me to the top of the Stelvio pass, so not exactly relaxed riding, but would not restart for couple of minutes. I put this down to altitude and heat of engine, or perhaps some dodgy fuel. Got to the bottom, filled with petrol, wouldn't restart for 15 mins. Then started and ran fine for the rest of the day, although my concerns meant Imissed th eplanned route through the Dolomites.

Day five - started coughing sporadically riding up the Grossglockner. Getting worse and worse, finally failed totally at the bottom. Breakdown recovery, dealers, new controller, no more problems. They gave me the old one too.

I butchered mine, to the extent of cutign through the cover on the base of the unit. There was no sign of any corrosion inside on the circuit board, but that's not to say that water wasn't the cause of the problem.

I have wondered whether the problem could have been unrelated to water, just a weak part. However, if the same part is use don othe rmodels with no problems, it would seem that mountign is somehow causing or contributign to the issue.

Perhaps the problem was a result not of failure of the unit itself, just the connectors (although as Wapping said earlier, the connector looked in good nick). Perhaps I should have tried the old unit now, before lopping the lead off.

I now carry a spare - it cost me £70-odd quid from a dealer.

While it will be impossible to establish definitively what proportion of bikes have failed, there are some indicators that it is a very common problem. Apart from anecdotal evidence here and elsewhere on the 'net, it seems BM's own breakdown recovery people carry spares as a matter of course.

 

[cookie]

I cannot steer myself away from how stunned I am with the 'acceptance' to this failure or rather for most of you the potential for failure, surely no bike is good enough to expose you to the uncontrollable and very real danger in the way it has for my friend.

i was going to say it's not acceptance, but i guess it is even if i don't want it to be, so i'll move on to the reason for that somewhat cowed state of affairs.

i don't like it so what do i do?

wait for bmw to bring out a replacement part that works. i probably won't even have the bike by then. probably won't even be any fossil fuel left.

buy an inferior bike. that's all the competition in my book. not a cheap option.

rely on bmw assist to bail you out. the popular option. standing at the roadside for hours is not one of my favourite activities.

go to a dealer that changes them free at service time as a precaution. tricky, as they only do it to bikes they have sold. i expect independents all do it

carry a spare or jumper wires. no brainer really IMO. fix at the roadside in 10 minutes, then get bmw to give you a new one under warranty if you're lucky. when mines out of warranty, i may well stick a ring antenna in the top box too.


dangerous? i don't think so. PITA yes. before bikes had electric pumps and fuel gauges, they had reserve taps. running out of fuel in the fast lane was a regular occurrence. i don't know anyone who came to grief because of that happening.
as i said earlier, it happened to me last night

robin's account above echoes other anecdotal reports that many people can detect the first symptoms of failure long before it actually goes tits up. maybe a bit of mechanical sympathy might be employed?


the real trouble with the 1200 is it's such a good bike, that despite the faults (i've not had any of the popular ones), you have nowhere else to go.

i hope no one thinks i'm defending bmw's stance on this. bmw should get these issues sorted. the fact that they haven't means they don't care, or more likely, think it's cheaper to fix ad hoc rather than sort it properly. what else could it be?

as i said earlier, shameful

 

[judge]

i hope no one thinks i'm defending bmw's stance on this. bmw should get these issues sorted. the fact that they haven't means they don't care, or more likely, think it's cheaper to fix ad hoc rather than sort it properly. what else could it be?

I see no incentive for BMW to do anything of the sort, the bike sells in bucket loads and they have the most accepting set of customers on this planet, laughing all the way to the Deutche Bank I reckon.

I imagine being Germans this is all very analytical and done with absolutely no emotive angle, bottom line is until sales are affected through bad publicity then losing the odd customer is entirely acceptable to them so long as there are many replacement customers who cares

 

[Deleted account 210609001]

robin's account above echoes other anecdotal reports that many people can detect the first symptoms of failure long before it actually goes tits up. maybe a bit of mechanical sympathy might be employed?

I don't think mechanical sympathy has anything to do with it, Cookie. If it's going to happen, it's going to happen...

Like you, I'm really disappointed at BM's response but also like you, I love the bike and can't think of one I'd rather have, warts and all, so have to put up with the problems. I imagine BM know that I'm not alone, based on sales, and until the sales go down there's little to make them change their approach.

 

[judge]

robin's account above echoes other anecdotal reports that many people can detect the first symptoms of failure long before it actually goes tits up. maybe a bit of mechanical sympathy might be employed?

Robin's account sure does but my mates doesn't, he hasn't suffered fuel starvation akin to needing to switch to reserve - he is no ****tard and has ridden bikes for as long as I have and knows the difference between gradual loss due to fuel starvation and instant power loss and would be comfortable dealing with the former (as he has all his biking life), i.e. turn the tap and voila power and momentum restored. This is different and yes he could get used to it - like anything else if you expose yourself to danger enough times you adapt, not really what he signed up for though I reckon.

 

[cookie]

I don't think mechanical sympathy has anything to do with it, Cookie. If it's going to happen, it's going to happen...

reading your account, you got a misfire, then had trouble for 2 days before it failed totally.

mechanical sympathy was not the right term. diagnostic ability perhaps?

i'm sure now, you'd just swap it for the spare in your top box and finish your holiday*. there should be no need for this of course. bmw are well aware of the problem, or are the reports of bmw assist vehicles weighed down with just this one part false?


*here's an alternative: when your GS leaves you stranded, get the Honda Firepants© out of your top box

 

[Wapping]

My failure recollections:

Mine failed in the summer, a couple of days after riding a whole day in torrential rain, then being parked outside in more of the same. It ran OK all day on the next day (let's call it day two), on day three if coughed briefly while pulling off an Italian motorway. I put the momentary misfire down to it being a roasting hot day and crawling at 30 mph for a while on the motorway.

Day four - got me to the top of the Stelvio pass, so not exactly relaxed riding, but would not restart for couple of minutes. I put this down to altitude and heat of engine, or perhaps some dodgy fuel. Got to the bottom, filled with petrol, wouldn't restart for 15 mins. Then started and ran fine for the rest of the day, although my concerns meant Imissed th eplanned route through the Dolomites.

Day five - started coughing sporadically riding up the Grossglockner. Getting worse and worse, finally failed totally at the bottom. Breakdown recovery, dealers, new controller, no more problems. They gave me the old one too.

I butchered mine, to the extent of cutign through the cover on the base of the unit. There was no sign of any corrosion inside on the circuit board, but that's not to say that water wasn't the cause of the problem.

I have wondered whether the problem could have been unrelated to water, just a weak part. However, if the same part is use don othe rmodels with no problems, it would seem that mountign is somehow causing or contributign to the issue.

Perhaps the problem was a result not of failure of the unit itself, just the connectors (although as Wapping said earlier, the connector looked in good nick). Perhaps I should have tried the old unit now, before lopping the lead off.

I now carry a spare - it cost me £70-odd quid from a dealer.

While it will be impossible to establish definitively what proportion of bikes have failed, there are some indicators that it is a very common problem. Apart from anecdotal evidence here and elsewhere on the 'net, it seems BM's own breakdown recovery people carry spares as a matter of course.

A good report from Robin. I think Cookie might be a little unfair in his 'mechanicaly unsympathatic' suggestion. Bike pop and bang / miss several times in their lives, without everyone changing things nad / or looking for a cuase that doesn't exist.

I agree, it is far from clear why the units are failing. Corrosion on the ouside of the unit is no proof that there is corrosion inside,as witnessed by corroded engine cases.

The lower plugs on all the failed controllers I have ever seen look OK. Robin's certainly was and it works.

There is no clear numbers on how often the units are failing or at what mileages. BuMW probably know exactly but, of course, they ain't telling.

The bike, like any other, has its faults. My FireBlade was recalled, twice. My second Blackbird suffered a very similar complete fuel / electrical failure (as did several others, bringing about a change in the positioning of a small electrical box on later models) and, of course, the mightly Honda's well publicised problems with their new Pan Europeans. Still, despite it all, I haven't ridden anything better.

 

[Paul Wakefield]

Having twice lost complete power in the outside lane of the motorway, I know how scary it is. Once in a Citroen whose wiring loom decided to go into total failure mode and once on the RT (not a fuel pump problem).

I also had a fuel pump failure which left me with no power in the middle of nowhere but fortunately on a quiet country road. But this was on an 1100 so doesn't count.

 

[TrickyWoo]

Mine failed last month and was replaced by the dealer. Is it the same type of unit as before or is it a redesigned one?

But I accept that the Technician/mechanic label might not be a civil rights issue, the right to self define often is.

To me, a Mechanic is someone who did a YTS or is perhaps self-taught. A technician is someone with, say, an HNC and an Engineer is a full-on bridge designer or engine designer with an MSc. In the early 90s the British Army decided that Cooks were to be re-monikered as Food Technicians thus engendering them with the happy label of Cabbage Mechanic for ever after. They were perfectly happy just being known as Cooks.

 

[Paul90]

FWIW some of the most capable engineers that I've worked with have had little or no formal qualifications. That's not to say they wouldn't have sailed through any course they'd have chosen to pursue.

On the other hand some of the most hopeless people I've worked with have had MSc and doctorates coming out of their ears.

These days I tend to judge people by what they say, what they do and the results they get, not by what letters appear on their business card.

YMMV

 

[boundless]

yes i was at lahinch.

Twice at least, if I recall.

And betwixt-times growing old with considerable grace, poise and equanimity, as we all the second time remarked...........admiringly.

 

[cookie]

i'm going to have to look up equanimity.

 

[davegs]

Equamanity

i'm going to have to look up equanimity.

Sounds disgusting!.
dave gs.

 

[Steptoe]

Is it just me. But i enjoy the prospect of things going wrong/failing.

I accept it as a test of my aptitude of getting back to the warm comfort of home. A challenge to be accepted and enthusiastically confronted as i rub my hands with glee.

You don't get many challenges in this day and age of safety nazis and cotton wool. Bring it on.

 

[Keith Chapman]

Is it just me. But i enjoy the prospect of things going wrong/failing.

.

And to think I have a service due soon. I am sure you will have plenty to keep you happy siezed this, broken that

 

[Neil W]

All genuine BMW spares carry a two year warranty wether they are fitted by an approved dealer, yourself or next doors cat.
If a replacement part then fails within the two years and it has been fitted correctly make BMW pay for the part and any reasonable expenses incurred ie recovery.
Perhaps if everyone stood up for their consumer rights in this country it would force the likes of BMW to get off their arse and redesign defective parts. (Final drive bearings and system 5 interiors and vents etc !)
In 30 yrs of motorcycling I've never had replacement Japanese parts fail ,either on bikes or helmets but in 6 years with a BMW it seems a common occurance and we as owners seem to go to the far end of a fart regarding brand loyalty and defend our bikes no matter how persistant or regular these faults crop up.

 

[judge]

And to think I have a service due soon. I am sure you will have plenty to keep you happy siezed this, broken that

And check your wheel nuts afore you leave if he's in one of his Devil may care moods as he sounds like he is, better still loosen a couple of things on his bike while you're waiting

 

[Keith Chapman]

And check your wheel nuts afore you leave if he's in one of his Devil may care moods as he sounds like he is, better still loosen a couple of things on his bike while you're waiting

I will have a rummage round the detritis on the driveway then rack up some miles on the loaner

 

[Steptoe]

, better still loosen a couple of things on his bike while you're waiting

So it was you.