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Talk to me about the R1200GSA

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While I anticipate the GS crashing and burning, thus far in 23k I haven't had an issue. The current %age of failures is something like 4%, that isn't bad. It is bad it happens, but it isn't every bike out there. What is bad is this dealer isn't working fast enough. I actually considered a Beemer for the first time because of the dealer network and that they will help a traveler out. Plus the shop near me recived the shop of the year award the past two years. Great service.

Heck, dixonduke had great service when he was on the road and that is what most BMW shops are about.

Oh yeah, I switched from a Honda because there wasn't a Honda in the lineup that did what the GS does.
 
Yes it sucks, yes this stuff should not happen, but it has. I am not happy about it for sure, but getting angry about what you can not control is a quick way to heartburn.

I too came off Honda's to get this GS, and even with all this, if someone asks me, I will still recommend this bike. It is then up to that person that asks to make the right decision for themselves. I still say that when buying a bike like this, your buying it because you WANT it, and not because it is a NEED.

I anxiously await its return to me, so I can go break it again. :trust: :rider:
 
FirstMan said:
The current %age of failures is something like 4%, that isn't bad. It is bad it happens, but it isn't every bike out there.
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:tab While not every bike, I think a 4-5% failure rate in today's technology is abysmal. Given BMW's reputation for round the world reliability that they built up over years and years, I would have expected them to be more concerned about the issue rather than burying their heads in the sand and denying it. That is the part that really got me.

:tab The same thing applies to the length of time Duke has been without a bike. It is inexcusable. That is the kind of thing that loses customers for life. I think Duke is the exception in this case. Moreover, not only does BMW risk losing that customer, the risk losing many more as stories like this get out. Earning a good reputation takes time and hard work, but it can be lost almost without effort. If anything, BMW should be much more concerned with their reputation and doing all they can to keep their customers happy.

:tab I agree with you Duke, angst over things you cannot control is a recipe for internal disaster ;-)
 
Man, at this point, I'd have bought a new final drive/swingarm myself from another dealer or online, replaced the parts, and sent BMW a bill. :lol2:
 
I think 4% is way low. I just know too many people who have had a rear drive or EWS failure. Some like me have had the trifecta.... final drive, EWS and brake servo failure. Additionally, I had a final drive seal replaced. I don't have the patience to put up with what Duke has. They would have had to make me a reasonable offer on the bike by now.
 
dixonduke said:
I still say that when buying a bike like this, your buying it because you WANT it, and not because it is a NEED.
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That is the difference in a lot of riders. I NEED a bike because it is my main mode of transport, and it has been for many, many years. I NEED a bike that won't break down and leave me stranded. If I miss work due to unreliable transportation, I get fired.

I will never, even remotely consider owning a BMW until I feel that they have addressed quality issues far better than they have thus far. Paying 25g's for a bike and having it break down even once in 25k miles is ridiculous. For 25 grand that thing better last 200k without even batting an eye.
 
DFW_Warrior said:
That is the difference in a lot of riders. I NEED a bike because it is my main mode of transport, and it has been for many, many years. I NEED a bike that won't break down and leave me stranded. If I miss work due to unreliable transportation, I get fired.

I will never, even remotely consider owning a BMW until I feel that they have addressed quality issues far better than they have thus far. Paying 25g's for a bike and having it break down even once in 25k miles is ridiculous. For 25 grand that thing better last 200k without even batting an eye.
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And you said I was rubbing salt in the wounds!:rofl:

That said, I agree with you completely. I ride my bikes until they become unreliable (defined as leaving me on the side of the road). Then they get sold for what ever they are worth in their current condition. Some bikes I have/still own after 20 years or more and a very few only a year or two.
 
Simmons1 said:
I ride my bikes until they become unreliable (defined as leaving me on the side of the road). Then they get sold for what ever they are worth in their current condition.
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{hijack}... You know, If I followed that guide I would not have owned the blue-green KLR past the first 20 miles......Of course it was already in the 'whatever it is worth' phase of its life when it came to my garage.
{/hijack}
:rider:
 
ed29 said:
{hijack}... You know, If I followed that guide I would not have owned the blue-green KLR past the first 20 miles......Of course it was already in the 'whatever it is worth' phase of its life when it came to my garage.
{/hijack}
:rider:
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Exactly. You chose to resurect a "whatever it is worth" KLR as project. I have bought the same types of bikes in the past. When I buy a semi project bike I expect failures to happen during the honeymoon while I am making the bike serviceable again. The real question is how long will you keep the KLR if it continues to strand you?
 
Tourmeister said:
:tab

:tab The same thing applies to the length of time Duke has been without a bike. It is inexcusable. That is the kind of thing that loses customers for life. I think Duke is the exception in this case. Moreover, not only does BMW risk losing that customer, the risk losing many more as stories like this get out. Earning a good reputation takes time and hard work, but it can be lost almost without effort. If anything, BMW should be much more concerned with their reputation and doing all they can to keep their customers happy.

:tab
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While it should get back to BMW Hq, I think their lack of getting his bike back to him is the local shops fault, not BMW world wide issue.
 
I respectfully disagree that the blame lies entirely with the local shop. The excuses include pointing the finger at the centralized parts control system and centralized approval procedures before work can proceed.

On paper these centralized systems work well and promise streamlined flows and real dollar savings in minimal 'in pipe' parts inventory. In the real hardware world the normal everyday glitches toss all of the savings away as one little kink stops the whole process from moving forward. Send a wrong part that takes weeks to get from the warehouse to the dealership.... and you have weeks of delays while everyone involved does the CYA deal. Getting the wong part shipped back and the right part sent the second time is more of a pain than you can imagine.

Those who institute centralized inventory and process controls need to feel the pain of centralized responsibility. Unfortunately the decision makers are all too often high in the executive structure and well insulated from real world consequences by large staffs full of people who only want to please the boss.
 
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I didn't realize that there was a centralized inventory thing. That is why it is a **** to get some things done. Does make sense though. Again, my shop circumvents some of that by having one of each on the shelf for the common bikes and common issues. Sure it costs them money, but they have happy customers. Thanks for enlightening me on this one.
 
ed29 said:
Those who institute centralized inventory and process controls need to feel the pain of centralized responsibility. Unfortunately the decision makers are all too often high in the executive structure and well insulated from real world consequences by large staffs full of people who only want to please the boss.
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The people who make those critical system decisions don't have the time to be burdened with the consequences. They are entirely too busy dealing with the daily chore of deciding how to spend their bonus checks.
 
FirstMan said:
While it should get back to BMW Hq, I think their lack of getting his bike back to him is the local shops fault, not BMW world wide issue.
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I whole heartedly agree with this. I called BMWNA on July 3rd, after finally having enough of the "be patient, its not your money" excuse. They called the shop when they re-opened after the holiday weekend, and then called me back with their synopsis. They then routed a regional service tech (I assume regional?) to investigate the bike on BMWNA behalf (and mine). They diagnosed the problem the same day. Now I am in the wait for the prior delivered parts to be returned and the new (correct) parts to be delivered. What took the shop 40 some odd days to diagnose (which they could not), took the BMWNA guy 1 day. Once I got the parent company involved it appears to me that I am finally going to be sorted out.

Several factors led up to this, and I have some culpability.
1. 2 BMW shops closed in the greater Houston area, the two that remain both told me it would be 3 weeks to a month before they could even get to it. I ended up taking it to the one that come highly recomended from friends that I made on this site, others on this site that I have not personally met yet, as well as friends in the real world that live on the west side of town, that knew/knows the service manager personally.
1a. This is not my primary transportation nor it is my only bike so I did not entertain the idea of taking it to San Antonio, Austin, Dallas or anywhere else for that mater.
2. I have been extremely busy with my career and it seems that every time I thought to call about it, something else came up. It was not until June that I started to really follow up with the status of the repair. Truth is I have not had a weekend off sincd the end of March and I have also cancelled a vacation time due to career obligations so not having the bike has not been significant other than the principle of the matter.
3. Lastly, and probably most telling, it is my perception that since I was "that customer" that did not pressure or otherwise become the squeaky wheel that my bike was not the priority to get out timely.
 
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dixonduke said:
1a. This is not my primary transportation nor it is my only bike so I did not entertain the idea of taking it to San Antonio, Austin, Dallas or anywhere else for that mater.
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Nothing against Wild West, but I have had problems there twice and decided that there would not be a third time.

That, on top of the extremely good service I have gotten at Lone Star BMW in Austin, make the drive tolerable.

The time I had a problem with the Brakes on my '07 Adventure, Robert Krull(one of the owners) directed the service manager to send a guy to Richmond to pick up my bike and take it back to Austin to be worked on. The BMW roadside assistance program would have had the bike towed the 10 miles to Wild West.

My bike is in Austin now. Finally rode it enough to need the first 6k mile/annual service. They also replaced the Security ring antenna that reads the chip in the key. Evidently there was a recall on those.

Now, that is my experience, YMMV!
 
Dirtrideroader said:
Robert Krull(one of the owners) directed the service manager to send a guy to Richmond to pick up my bike and take it back to Austin to be worked on. The BMW roadside assistance program would have had the bike towed the 10 miles to Wild West.
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That is OUTSTANDING :clap: I would have never thought that sort of thing would been done. If there is a next time, I will deffinately remember this.
 
I will add my two cents worth , not about service but about the bike .
I had the opertunity to ride a 1200 GS not the Adventure though ,the length of HI 209 in North Carolina thursday afternoon . This bike has Ohlins suspension so I am sure that helps somewhat .
There is only one other bike in its class that I am familier with , the KTM 950 . The GS is extreamly comfortable , well mannered and easy to ride at a good pace in nice twistys , it makes good power at a much lower rpm then the KTM but didn't feel as strong in the mid and top end . That could be my imagination , the KTM has a strong power hit in mid range while the GS pulls strong and smooth all the way thru the power band . The brakes are very smooth on the GS , the ABS does its job very smoothly . I could not brake slide the back end into corners , I probly dont need to be doing that anyway . Cornering speed did not feel any slower then the KTM . The GS feels a little heavyer but makes up for that in comfort . The KTM comfort level is not its best feature .
The bikes owner and I are fairly equel in riding skill when we are on pavement , neither one of use can run off and leave the other . When the pavement ends the KTM has an advantage .
As far as maintaince all I can coment on are KTM issues , I has some but so far they havent been expensive enough for me to deal with the warrenty . I do all of my own work and have been provided with warrenty parts and recall up grades at no cost .
The reason I got to ride the GS is because the KTM blew a water hose while trying to charge and jump start another bike . It had to ride home in the truck .SEYA
 
Wow... I mean just wow... :brainsnap

Glad you finally got it back. I hope you have many many happy miles and never another issue... :wary:
 
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