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Talk to me about the R1200GSA

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Wastrel said:
You know, I was really considering buying the GSA. The wife gave me the nod and I was just waiting on the sale of the DR before I ordered one. Now however, I may have to reconsider. I knew there were issues with the final, but had no idea it was this bad. I can handle the drive failure but not the poor dealer service which seems to be an epidemic with the BMW's. Now I just have to figure out what can fill that void of the universal camp bike for big fat hairy 'ol me.
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KTM 950 or 990 Adventure.:trust:
 
So, I'm guessing a flame arrestor muffler is not as important on these bikes as it is on some??

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Wastrel said:
You know, I was really considering buying the GSA. The wife gave me the nod and I was just waiting on the sale of the DR before I ordered one. Now however, I may have to reconsider. I knew there were issues with the final, but had no idea it was this bad. I can handle the drive failure but not the poor dealer service which seems to be an epidemic with the BMW's. Now I just have to figure out what can fill that void of the universal camp bike for big fat hairy 'ol me.
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Knocking on wood until my knuckles bleed, I didn't have a problem in over 40k miles on my 1150GS. I have yet to have a problem on my '07 GSA. Although, I only have 5k miles on it so far. Well there was the one weird problem where the hand guard rotated down and wasn't letting the front brake lever travel all the way out. But that is easy to monitor.

Problem with motorcycle forums is you always hear from the people that have problems with their bikes hardly ever hear from those who don't have the problems.

As for dealerships. The BMW dealer mentioned earlier is also a KTM dealer. I think there might be another one off of 249. I will have to investigate that soon.

Anyone know anything about the KTM dealers in Houston and Austin?
 
Dirtrideroader said:
Problem with motorcycle forums is you always hear from the people that have problems with their bikes hardly ever hear from those who don't have the problems.
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You know, that's all well and good except for one thing, if I pay $20K dollars for a blasted two wheeled contraption, it sure as heck better last 150k-200k miles without a major problem. Otherwise, what the heck are you paying for. There shouldn't be one single thread on a final drive failing, there shouldn't be one single thread on fuel pressure regulator servo things going bad, there shouldn't be one single thread on ring sensors for the key going bad, and the list goes on and on.

Yeah, it's an expensive motorcycle. But just what are you paying for other than those shiny BMW circles?

40k miles shouldn't be a big deal for any motorcycle to run. My Strom has 50k miles on it and I'm just now getting into the groove of riding it. Any bike made should be able to go to the 40-50k mile mark without issue. Harley seems to have figured it out, you'd think BMW could.
 
kurt said:
Even Honda has issues. There seem to be a lot of people looking for final drives from trike conversions as replacements.

http://www.google.com/search?q=site...s=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
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You know what's funny is when you type it "Goldwing final drive failure" into google, 50% of the first page of results are about BMW's!!:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: The other 50% are a mismatch of advice, tips and tricks. But not one result of a Goldwing final drive crapping out.

I know it can happen to any bike. There are lemons in any bunch. But it sure does look like BMW has patented the lemon making business.
 
DFW_Warrior said:
You know what's funny is when you type it "Goldwing final drive failure" into google, 50% of the first page of results are about BMW's!!:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: The other 50% are a mismatch of advice, tips and tricks. But not one result of a Goldwing final drive crapping out.

I know it can happen to any bike. There are lemons in any bunch. But it sure does look like BMW has patented the lemon making business.
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My GL1800 final drive failed at 60K.:wary:
 
My 2cents. The GSA is oversized. The GS non-A has a lot going for it. Not quite as cool, less miles per tank but much easier to handle. Worth a consideration. I hope to soon have a tough choice between the F800GS and the 1200GS but I wouldnt really consider the GSA. Its just too much.
 
Desert Skies said:
My GL1800 final drive failed at 60K.:wary:
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I'm not saying it doesn't happen. In fact I'm sure there have been major engine meltdowns in Goldwings through the years as well. I just find it funny that doing a Google search for Goldwing failures is funny when all the results come back with BMW failures.

And I'd venture a guess that there are probably a whole lot more Goldwings running around than GS's.
 
Everything made by man have examples that break, it's a question of how much money is spent to make that inevitable breakdown rare or common.

The more important question is how does the manufacturer deal with that breakdown when it happens?
 
I bought one of the first 2005 1200GSs it was a nice bike to ride, but the final drive failed and the bike had repeated electrical failures.
The response from BMW to those failures was very poor. Much as I liked the bike I would not buy another one.
 
DFW_Warrior said:
And I'd venture a guess that there are probably a whole lot more Goldwings running around than GS's.
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Could be cause there are more Goldwings sold that GSs? :ponder: Dunno...

Point is, there are failures in everything engineered by man. Take the Space Shuttle, not very many made with a large failure rate per units built.

Nothing is bullet proof and the more complexed things get, the greater the opportunity there is for things to go wrong.

The engineer in me likes this and excepts the benefits and failures that goes these types of machines. If I wanted the security of things not going wrong, I'd be walking everywhere I wished I'd ridden instead. But then, I may twist an ankle and be right back in the same "failure boat" with these BMW riders you loathe so much.

If you don't like someones choice, OK. I don't care much for your Zook machine either but you'll never hear me mention this again.

After seeing all you post mentioning the FD failure of one mans bike, I would wager you're one of those that can't quit picking a scab from a wound.

Ride on...
 
Desert Skies said:
Could be cause there are more Goldwings sold that GSs? :ponder: Dunno...
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That's my point... lots of Goldwings, hardly any failures. Not as many GS's... well you know the rest.:rofl: It seems like everyone gets a good chuckle out of bashing Harley guys, but when the tide turns to BMW's there are lots of hurt feelings. I just find it funny.
 
Teeds said:
Great folks ... give them the opportunity.
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Well, I don't know if I'm going to buy until I test ride one. Therein lies the quandry. :D

I need to just find a member that lives not too far that'd be willing to let me take it for a spin. Specifically, 2-up as my wife rides with me a lot and that's a primary concern for any bike I buy that we will both ride on. :rider:
 
Just to make myself clear.... I am in no way bashing Wild West, other than going a couple of weeks.. (probably only 10/12 days) without an update. Dan and "the other guy" have made it a point to contact me or answer my phone calls and emails, letting me know where I am at in repair status. I keep thinking that I am getting it back by the weekend... but as it turns out WHICH weekend is the question. I have ZERO reason to doubt the quality of the repair I am getting yet. I have had NUMEROUS folks on here and in the real world recommend Wild West and to be honest, Dan truely seems to appreiciate where I am coming from. Which is not what I can say about a certian now defunct dealer.

No feelings hurt on my side of the fence, remember I am the guy that has had in his fleet at one time or another VT1100, GL1500's & GL1800's, I never had a break down of any sort with them, but they were never as much fun as this GS is. No my feelings are not hurt, when you are spending money on a bike, I hope you are buying what you WANT, not what you need.... Unlike some, I actually ride my bike MANY, MANY miles a year, and I LOVE IT. Shoot for that matter using the love analogy, I have women treat me just as bad in long term relationships and I have put up with them, so why not a bike, after all I can ride it a lot longer without it complaining.

What agrevates me most right now is that dang, Tick... Tock... Tick... Tock... of the calendar, days are clicking off here and I don't have my bike back.

The service manager (Dan) wrote me back this morning, it appears he is chasing an electrical (canbus?) gremilin due to an ABS Failure. To be honest, I have never had any braking problems in 29,000+ miles of ownership. Other than the rear brake pads not working after getting saturated with lube from the Drive shaft or Final Drive.

I will have this bike back soon, I just know it..... POSITIVE THOUGHTS... POSITIVE THOUGHTS.................................
 
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houstonredrider said:
Just to put the time in perspective. Do you remember the Flag Stone Patio project that I was starting when you came to pick up the trailer on that picture? The one you help moving stones.... It is done and we have been using it for the last two weekends.



You are definitely a patient man
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That looks AWSOME.... I see that you corrected all of my "help"... it shows to be much to level and much to professionally done.... Now that you have that project finished, I need you to come an look at my back yard!
 
I still find a 2 month repair to be unforgivable. To put this in perspective, if you took your car to the dealership and they kept it for 2 months you would be on the phone with the local TV station screaming bloody murder. 2 months, a car colision with substantial damage would take less time to repair than it has taken to repair a final drive? Basically a bolt on item! We aren't talking about having to build this bike back from scratch, we are talking a couple bolts here. I for one have a hard time swallowing that. The sad part is that from what I am able to find on the net, this is a common occurance. Why do we as consumers put up with such horrible treatment? If the bike companies are serious about wanting to grow the market, they really need to take a long hard look at their dealers and focus more on service AFTER the sale.
 
Wastrel said:
I still find a 2 month repair to be unforgivable. To put this in perspective, if you took your car to the dealership and they kept it for 2 months you would be on the phone with the local TV station screaming bloody murder. 2 months, a car colision with substantial damage would take less time to repair than it has taken to repair a final drive? Basically a bolt on item! We aren't talking about having to build this bike back from scratch, we are talking a couple bolts here. I for one have a hard time swallowing that. The sad part is that from what I am able to find on the net, this is a common occurance. Why do we as consumers put up with such horrible treatment? If the bike companies are serious about wanting to grow the market, they really need to take a long hard look at their dealers and focus more on service AFTER the sale.
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On a side note, my rear end went out in my truck last week. I took it to the shop and in a 3 days it was back to me. Had I gone to the dealer I would have had it back in a day and a half, but they wanted to charge me double the price. I have made calls in the past to motorcycle dealers and they have given me 3 week wait times just to look at it. That's when I decided to just fix everything myself.

I think I'm in the wrong business. I need to start up a motorcycle wrenching business that actually focuses on the customer.
 
BMW deserves all the grief they get regarding final drives, but my shop has always provided good service. It's a love/hate relationship.
 
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