SOS service

Mad Paddy

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adare co limerick ireland
Just been told by my local dealer that the
SOS button and service will be standard fit on all new gs/gsa from November foc
 
BMW gave us free GPS mounts on our TFT equipped bikes. Removed them and put them in the garage. We both use the BMW connected app on the phones and have no need for a GPS.
 
It’s not a game changer, at least mine isn’t. It repeatedly tells me it’s not working.

Bored with a bloody expensive unreliable 13month old bike with a crappy useless battery

Apparently they only work if you keep your adventure bike plugged into the mains whenever the engine isn’t running

‘Kin’ helpful if I ever go on an adventure. I’ll just have to take a long extension lead.
 
The concept is good, but I’m not convinced it’s as good as the dealers say. I’ve had it on two bikes, GSA & RT, there has been strange times it hasn’t been available, such as in the middle of Taunton.
 
I got told the same.

On my 1200 every so often it would go out of signal range.

Anyway….I’d like to know has anybody ever needed to make use of this and has it worked?

Quite honestly it seems a bit of a gimmick to me.
 
Mine has never told me its lost coverage so far. Thats on my 1200, I had for 3 years, and now the 1250. Its only a gimmick I suppose until the time you underegg a bend and go straight on whilst out on a Sunday morning solo ride. Lying the other side of a hedge and no sign of you leaving the road. Thats when it earns its money. When I did the ORS Level 1 a few years ago, they would go off when folk dropped their bikes. The new bike I rode on the Level 2 back in Jul of this year didn't have it fitted for that very reason.
 
I got told the same.

On my 1200 every so often it would go out of signal range.

Anyway….I’d like to know has anybody ever needed to make use of this and has it worked?

Quite honestly it seems a bit of a gimmick to me.

If you google, there is a video of a chap in the UK who fell off his steed and needed it. Also a friend dropped his bike on a Wales trip and the SOS call centre was on immediately to see if he was ok. Mine on my RT failed and it took the dealer something like 8 weeks to fix. It hasn't gone off since, but to be honest I haven't tested it, so don't know if its working :) Should really try a test call
 
Not quite as bad as a smart phone though! They are a real data hoover
 
If you google, there is a video of a chap in the UK who fell off his steed and needed it. Also a friend dropped his bike on a Wales trip and the SOS call centre was on immediately to see if he was ok. Mine on my RT failed and it took the dealer something like 8 weeks to fix. It hasn't gone off since, but to be honest I haven't tested it, so don't know if its working :) Should really try a test call
I got hit and run back in June. SOS kicked in, called the emergency services for me. Ambulance, police and recovery. Bloody excellent.
Rarely loses connection and wouldn’t be without it now.
Currently riding a 2020 GSA in the Sierra Nevada in Andalusia and the SOS drops occasionally, but so does everything else :rolleyes:
 
I got told the same.

On my 1200 every so often it would go out of signal range.

Anyway….I’d like to know has anybody ever needed to make use of this and has it worked?

Quite honestly it seems a bit of a gimmick to me.

Definitely not a gimmick - I got rear-ended on my R1250GS earlier this year straight into a 6' deep ditch out in the country. The SOS cut straight in, calling both police and ambulance who were there within 25 minutes, also used for calling BMW Assist to come retrieve my bike. Really impressed with how quick it cut in and worked, and the response. Only downside was trying to speak into the handlebar with a bike on it's side down a ditch, but that's another matter LOL
 
I’m so tempted to press the button manually to test it, but I feel it would be like ringing 999 as a dummy run. Has anyone actually just pressed to test?
 
"Has anyone actually just pressed to test?"
Yes, i did after getting sick of usual msgs on tft saying "sos failure contact specialist workshop". Someone answered & i apologised & explained i was testing the system to see if it worked as i kept getting the failure msg. They were very good and just made certain I was ok & that I didn't need emergency services.
Took Bmw 2.5 years before a fix, by a software update, was made to stop the spurious false failure msgs .
 
I have to hold my hand up and apologise then.

Hopefully I’ll never need it but it’s good to see that it has worked as it’s supposed to.
 
"Has anyone actually just pressed to test?"
Yes, i did after getting sick of usual msgs on tft saying "sos failure contact specialist workshop". Someone answered & i apologised & explained i was testing the system to see if it worked as i kept getting the failure msg. They were very good and just made certain I was ok & that I didn't need emergency services.
Took Bmw 2.5 years before a fix, by a software update, was made to stop the spurious false failure msgs .

I became so pissed off with the constant "contact your dealer, it's knackered" message I wouldn't have it on the last couple of BMW's I had. At first, when it used to report a no signal condition I would check on the signal on our cell phones. They always had a decent signal. It was said to be able to pick the strongest signal across all networks. Not sure if that was true, but in darkest Suffolk it was crap.
 
Bike was always kept up to date with tft software updates but it was only the latest one done about 6 months ago that stopped the sos failure msgs. I always thought it wasnt rhe lack of mobile signal causing it as once flagged up the error when i was about 100yards from home and i knew my mobile had a strong signal. Thats when i pressed the sos button to test if it did work & it did. So just a duff\false message about failure.
 
Just been told by my local dealer that the
SOS button and service will be standard fit on all new gs/gsa from November foc

Don't think it's FOC though. Just looked on cofigurator & yes, SOS emergency call isn't an option you can now remove on a 1250gs but price of bike looks to have gone up by approx £300 to cover it.
 


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