Worried of Wiltshire

[Martyn B]

As an 1150 owner looking to trade in later this year against a 1200GSA, a 1200GS-owning friend has just given me this tale of woe. His bike is about 15 months old. I'm not sure of the mileage (the warranty mention will give a clue to those who know):-

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A small oil weep was found by CW at the rear surface of the engine when it had a service a couple of weeks ago. Good news and bad. The good news is that BMW will pick up the bill as it is (just) still under warranty, the bad news is that they need it for two days, so I took it down today and get it back on Friday. Running around on an F650GS loan bike now.

Why?

Engine oil seal has gone which they say almost inevitably means there will
be oil on the clutch, so as well as a seal, a complete new clutch assy is
waiting in the workshop to 2007 spec (different friction material, different
operating rod, and different housing). And while it is in it is having a
new clutch master cylinder as the original has a slight weep.

(and THEN....):-

Got the bike back this morning. It's a good job that BMW is paying as (to add to your concern) CW found another problem.

I asked that they change the final drive oil in the allegedly sealed for life unit. While the back end was dismantled that would be a very easy job. Normally c/o the crazy designers it is not so simple. Where is the drain plug? Answer, it doubles as the fill plug, so to empty the unit, it has to be dropped through 90 degrees. So, when they dropped the unit they found the shaft drive splines badly worn, ditto the final drive splines, and the back end of the shaft rusted. They had never seen it before and fortunately BMW sprung for a new drive shaft and a complete final drive assembly. CW will now advise that 1200 owners should consider adding a shaft drive check to service schedules.
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now I know that this may be a one-off, but as an experience of a friend it does leave me a bit disconcerted .... I've had nearly five years incident-free running from my 1150GS

So, 1200 lovers, should I be worried? Anyone think I should hang on to the 1150?

 

[smirky]

This topic has been much talked about - worthwhile filtering through them,

its a 50/50 split i think about the merits/faults on the 1200GS. until you encounter any problems don't worry about it. I've broken down a few times with mine and had it in for a recall as well as fork seals which i don't expect that from a BMW, maybe i've been unlucky

Bottom line for me is if i did'nt have the breakdowns i would get another 1200 GS, as its a great bike to ride all day everyday...but the reliablity of it has me thinking of selling and going back to jap

 

[themadprofessor]

I love my 1200GS. It has not been faultless. I had a new battery, a new rear subframe and a new clutch/oil seal whilst under warranty. The sub frame had a poor weld that was considered potentially dangerous, and I noticed the oil stain on the engine housing when I was inspecting the bike before riding one day.

All these have been dealt with very satisfactorily by my local dealer. I am now hoping that nothing else goes wrong, and have considered taking out one of those Warranty Works insurance type extended warranties to protect me from any substantial repair bills.

Yes - I would buy another one except that I couldn't afford a new one right now as I have just had to replace the car!!

Regards

Chris

 

[Yellow Peril]

So far had two, first a GS12 done 19k few niggles all sorted under warranty and that was an early 04 bike. Now have a GSA 12 great bike did have a niggle over the rear sub frame paint which is shit, but in some repsects not BM's fault (green lobby and all that crap)other than that bike works as it should.

So I would have another one and have no intention of changing, I think the GS12 suffered as it was a bit of a test bed as its stable mates the RT/ST suffer very few problems.

 

[Sgt Bilco]

Got an old 1100GS and a 1200GS-A. Sold my 1150 GS-A to get the 12 and it`s a brilliant bike. Although the 1150 was superb and never, ever let me down (24,000 miles is 18 months) the 12 is in every way better.

It has more power, handles better which makes it infinately more rideable.

Done 12,000 since October 06 and no problems, no oil use and a grin factor of 10+.

There are some problem bikes around but of all the people I know who have changed to a 12, no-one would go back to an 1150.

If you don`t want to go down through the jungles of South America or venture down to Capetown through the Congo, the 1200 is the best bet.

 

[Martyn B]

Ta!

If you don`t want to go down through the jungles of South America or venture down to Capetown through the Congo, the 1200 is the best bet.

They've got nothing on my back garden at the moment!

Thanks for the words of advice. Not unqualified endorsements but nothing in life comes with a guarantee does it? Apart from death that is - and I won't be claiming on that in a hurry if you don't mind!

Cheers,

Martyn

 

[birdseye]

So, when they dropped the unit they found the shaft drive splines badly worn, ditto the final drive splines, and the back end of the shaft rusted. They had never seen it before and fortunately BMW sprung for a new drive shaft and a complete final drive assembly. CW will now advise that 1200 owners should consider adding a shaft drive check to service schedules.

So, 1200 lovers, should I be worried? Anyone think I should hang on to the 1150?

Back when I were a lad, BMW had a quality rep but charged twice as much for their bikes as the then main manufacturers (British). Nowadays they charge not a lot more and tbh the quality isnt any better than the competition either. You get fretting on the drive splines - so do Honda on the Pan Euro. You get paint lifting on the GS - so do Honda on the Pan Euro. You get the idea - but the big difference is the GS grin factor. It might not be the worlds most reliable bike (I'd take some convincing the 1150 was any better) but its a bloo*y good ride. Its a contender for being the worlds most useable fun bike.

Would I ride one into Africa or somewhere else dirty and distant? No way - there's too much technology "for the sake of it" that cant be maintained on a back yard basis. In that one respect the 1150 is better.

 

[GSmonkey]

Its a cracking bike that's going to break down a lot. What more do you really want to know???

 

[steveuk]

49,000 in 24months on 1200GS

49,000 miles 24 month old 1200GS. a few problems - the worst of which kept the bike off the road for 3 days -but that was due to miss-diagnosis of an oil leak - (they had to re-order the correct part after taking the bike in for the work which took 3 days).