BMW R1200GS - Rear shock failure + Fork recall update
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- čas přidán 3. 02. 2018
- BMW R1200GS - Rear shock failure + Fork Recall Update: Having had my BMW R1200GS for four largely trouble free years, I was gutted to discover my rear ESA suspension unit had completely failed. UPDATE 6th Feb: Just to let you know the dealer has been in contact with me tonight and has offered to fit a free replacement shock to my bike so that I get a new warrantied unit, rather than a second hand one. UPDATE 12th Feb: I have today had a warrantied shock from BMW fitted to my bike at the dealer at no cost to me. My thanks to the dealer for publicly admitting that this shouldn't have happened, and doing their best to put things right. As far as I'm concerned this issue is now closed.
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UPDATE 12th Feb: I have today had a warrantied shock from BMW fitted to my bike at the dealer at no cost to me. My thanks to the dealer for publicly admitting that this shouldn't have happened, and doing their best to put things right. As far as I'm concerned this issue is now closed.
TheMissendenFlyer Good on you.🏍👍
Brilliant news!
Loved to have been a fly on the wall at the dealership. AWKWARD.
Result!
Glad to hear it's fixed but can't help feeling this only happened due to the publicity as others who've suffered this relatively common problem have had no such joy and end up getting an independent shock specialist to rebuild it at a fraction of the cost. Equally the initial attitude of the dealer seems par for the course across many in the dealer network. The fact they still have such brand loyalty amazes me.
Shocking!!! One of the things I love about you ( Graham?) is your integrity. You always tell the truth. It might have been easy for you to lobby and (persuade ) the dealer, behind the scenes, for a "goodwill" gesture, given your powerful and extensive on-line presence.
You didn't. You told the truth here,.... we have to respect your sincerity and probity.
Great advice as usual. Thank you Missenden Flyer...
Recently sold my GS after 11yrs ownership from new. The bmw servicing costs were just becoming ridiculous. Mate has a Super Tenere, when we compared running and maintenance costs, my eyes nearly fell out. Will only buy Japanese bikes from now on.
I went from a Super Ten to a GS.
The S10 is a nice enough bike and is deff cheaper to service but it's a bit of a lump compared to the much more nimble GS.
Hope it goes well for you.
+Oric Al Fair enough!
I looked at the Tenere for years once it came out but it is too tall and too heavy. Especially for my 5'7" frame. I've had FJR's in the past and yes the Japanese bikes are bullet proof. I bought the new GS because they offer a "low" version and it's lighter and has way more power that the Tenere. If Yamaha could get a new lighter weight Tenere that was lower with a shaft drive and a great engine ( like a triple ) I would be all over it. I am nervous about my future with BMW. I also had way to many fixes on my 2011 Multistrada. The europeans just cannot seem to get the quality control in the right place.
I still remember back in 2005 my ex girlfriend telling me the eye watering service cost for her GS 1150. V expensive bikes. You defo pay extra for comfort.
This is why it's always a good idea to have a trusty independent bike mechanic handy, because pretty much all dealers will stiff you once your bike is out of warranty
Wow folks - thanks for all the feedback! This is another of those videos that seems to have struck a chord, I've spent the last 3 hours solid answering comments but I can't keep up with the speed they're being generated......I promise to read them all but apologies if I've not been able to answer your comment personally - normal service resumed soon! All the best - TMF
i guess u must be shocked by some of the stories that pop up on here. ... The worst being that many of those stories about failures and cost are true. Sure if you buy one new the first few years u probably be ok but if they get older and rack up the miles many models can become moneypits especially if u cant repair them yourselve. I owned my r1100s for one year (bought 3 years old with less then 10k kms on it) and i put 15000kms on it in that year in between repairing the final drive, gearbox, replacing the rattling throttlebodies and finally replacing the abs pump. I am a mechanic myselve so i can do the work but nevertheless the parts costs rise beyond silly. the main reason i dumped it tho was causse i didnt trust it anymore...in the end i guess bmw ownership can be a joy if your willing to pay up bigtime for stuff that fails tho it really shouldnt given the "good" reputation of the brand.
Well yes BMW could have put a bit of goodwill towards replacement and I think if you persisted then, with dealer backing that may have happened. Everyone slating BMW shock going but I had one going on a Honda at 3 yrs old 20,000 miles and they were not interested either, you will probably also find all the other manufacturers are the same. I replaced my shock with a Wilbers still dear but superior to the Honda one by far. There are manufacturers now making ESA replacements cheaper than BMW and as time goes on more will appear and at better prices. You could also go down the extended warranty route, that is what it is there fore, within limits , of course. Anyway you have used your wits , saved yourself a fortune and sorted it! Hopefully the replacement will last, as I'm not hearing of them all failing everywhere, just the odd few. Great Blog fella .
Some of my mates say BMW actually stands for Buy More Warranty. But when you do buy warranty some items have limitations. From what I have been told the suspension units only has a 30000 mile life span, after that your not covered anyway. Which means BMW does not have much faith in their own product. There is a company in the north west re-furbishes the unit for around £250 The name of the company is Keis suspension. A friend of mine had one done there and he was really happy with the results.
TheMissendenFlyer hi glad you got it fixed . Had alternator probs last year was quoted £1300 . Out of warranty so kicked up a big fuss and managed to pay for labour only but still £504 . My bike same year as yours with around 25000 miles , just not what you expect from a premium bike .
hessel tuit Yeah , HONDA and YAMAHA etc can give problems of course , but don't think l would have to pay nearly £2000 if shock went on my , just a plain shock with remote adjustments. No fancy electronics to go wrong 😩
on my CROSSRUNNER and you can replace the shock for a superior aftermarket one for a reasonable cost as well .
Cheers BOB
Shock failure at 19k miles for any bike is bad, let alone one costing as much as yours did. That would suggest to me that the shock wasn't right in the first place. You're a nicer man than Me TMF, I would have named the dealer. In a way it will probably cost them as I'm sure there will be someone if not more who watch this and re think purchasing a GS. A drop in the ocean I know, but a small victory.
I’d be asking some questions about the reliability of that shock. 19k miles to failure is ridiculous, I’d want triple that as a starting point. Another poor show by BMW both In customer service and the rip-off part pricing!
Agreed 100%!
Here’s to independent mechanics and our own wrenching! Good for you, TMF!
And cars also rip-off !!
Speaking as a GS fan that is shocking customer service, apart from the cost of the replacement shock. I’ve been thinking of a change next time and this is something else pushing me in that direction, well done for getting the issue resolved so quickly. No way a shock should last less than 20,000 miles, I’d be sending a copy of this video to BMW customer services.😤
Why? It lasted beyond the warranty period. That's all you're guaranteed by any mfg.
saddlebag you think 18000 for a shock is acceptable, not in my world, even though I accept its outside warranty it’s hardly had a hard life🙄
I think it sucks, but that's beside the point. I had a Kawasaki once lose it's Nikasil cylinder lining at 14k miles just after a year of ownership. Had to have the bores replated and new pistons and rings on the the two inner cylinders. No sense in complaining. Had it occurred within the warranty period, it's Kaw's responsibility. Afterward it's mine. No sense crying to customer service about it. Ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances. That's life.
Hat's off to TMF for finding an excellent way to beat the system.
very true saddlebag - the bike is only guaranteed for 2 years of use, I've been using mine for twice that, I have no grounds for complaint!
The outrageous thing is the price
You've now experienced the reality of BMW customer service, personally I'd never give them a penny.
Nah, I'm sure this is an isolated case, normally they're brilliant (albeit at a price)....
TheMissendenFlyer We have very different idea's regarding brilliant obviously.
@@TheMissendenFlyer iam afraid I a gs owner and recent bmw customer service is been rebuish
Here’s to independent mechanics and our own wrenching! Good for you, TMF!
Agreed!
Been working my way through your videos over the last few weeks (been watching Richie and Bruces stuff for a while). Infinitely more interesting and entertaining than the stuff on the box and your production values get better all the time. Keep up the amazing work, its hugely appreciated. Im over the bike and garage envy now!
Thank you for the BMW maintenance update. It is this type of information that is so important in making a purchase decision.
Absolutely shocking story😱 19k and a major part fails! You don't even take it off road. I'm disappointed the dealership was not more helpful.
Me too.....
My RT was a moneypit. They wanted £1500 for a new ABS pump. Went to a specialist in Luton, Scottmoto I think was the name, and he fitted a refurbished one for a fraction of the cost. If you haven't seen an ABS pump, it's an alloy machined part with an electric motor. Outrageous. And who ever heard of a Honda ABS pump failing? No one, ever.
Never ever have another BMW.
I had one fail on my 07 Wing. Stupid money. $1500. I got a NOS one from Germany. 240 euros.
Good for you for doing your homework and being so calm and cool about the situation. It’s gives me hope about getting things done on my bikes. Great video and it’s nice to see how other people live across the pond. Be safe and ride often!!
The popularity of your CZcams channel seems to have worked in your favour well done.
My friend was phoned by his local dealer and to told to cease riding his nearly new R1200RT immediately due to possible rear shock failure. The problem for him was the bike was his sole form of transport. BMW recovered the bike from his place of work and provided a K1600 for the 3 month period it took to fix the bike (lack of shocks due to replacement demand).
In the 2 year period he owned the bike there was no time when the bike was not under some form of warranty work.
Was thinking about getting the R1200R instead of the Triumph Tiger Sport as my next bike, But My Wallet now says no thanks. I've read and viewed just too many stories on poor and extremely expensive BMW service. It seems the reports on bike brand reliability weren't lying after all.
I'm not sure any other manufacturer or dealer is any better all the time are they?
I agree in that there are many, many dicey garages out there (for some reason there are quite a few poorly rated Kawasaki shops here around Zurich), and the stories one hears are very often coloured by the reporter's feelings when things don't go their way, but while I've heard numerous stories about poor BMW service, I have almost nothing about bad Honda service, or in fact even Triumph service here. One mitigating factor, of course, is that BMW bikes, parts and service are simply very expensive, and one should obviously be aware of this when buying their machines, but with those prices also come expectations that one doesn't have with, say Kawasaki or Yamaha, even though their bikes regularly top the reliability charts. KTM also have a less than stellar reputation with regards to reliability attached to their high prices, but not a reputation for poor service. Ducatis, especially older ones, are also in this category.
I the end, though, I suppose one can just be unlucky.
... or just be lucky. Recently I had fantastic service from the Ducati dealer in Frauenfeld, and I wasn't even on a Ducati! While out riding the gear shifter peg dropped of my little KTM Duke. I walked back down the road, found the missing bolt, and was able to remount the shifter peg, but only had 2nd and 3rd gear 8-(. 500 metres down the road I see the Ducati logo, and think "a bike is a bike, let's see what they can do." The 2 mechanics there drop everything, test-ride my bike, find a suitable washer to correctly space the shifter peg, locktite it, retest-ride the bike, pump up the tyres, and best of all refused to charge me anything!
That is pretty amazing. I've had similar experiences in out of the way places here in Switzerland from a Honda dealer's place. I used to have a very crappy KLR, but when I broke down down the hill from the village where his shop was, he came and picked up the bike free of charge, which is amazing, because that usually costs a minor fortune here in Switzerland. P.S. Do you live here?
I wouldn't get too excited about the Tiger Sport. Mine fell over while stationary and developed a immobliser fault. Triumph quoted £400 for a new key lock assembly with the possiblity of a good will gesture. I sold the thing and bought a 10 year old Guzzi 1100 Griso which I get far more ownership pleasure from.
I guess you now have eleven things that you hate about the BMW GS.
:0) ...very true!
Best comment! Thank you for commenting. LOL!!!
Oh the miracle of the internet, glad it all came good for you.
Great story the prices at BMW are absolutely ridiculous a total ripoff I’m glad you are exposing this
Well I'm not trying to "expose" anything - just trying to offer a balanced view as I'm always singing the praises of BMW service....this particular instance I found very disappointing....
That's what I like so much about your channel, TMF. You're by far the fairest, most decent reviewer out there.
If I ever needed a reason not to step foot in a BMW showroom. Lovely looking machines, mind. Just not worth the hassle. I'll be sticking it out with my trusty Yammy,.
I'm sure Yamaha's have their fair share of problems too - no manufacturer is perfect!
UPDATE 6th Feb: Just to let you know the dealer has been in contact with me tonight and has offered to fit a free replacement shock to my bike so that I get a new unit, rather than a second hand one.....
Yes but if i had the problem i would have got the same initial reply as you did....there using your situation to boost and now protect there reputation....but only because of your presence on youtube
Cosbro - Exactly, all us little people would have to hand over the cash for the repair. We can't all have CZcams channels to get a price break or “Free” parts. Just a BMW PR tactic going on here.
And i hope the missenden flyer acknowledges this
They shouldn't even have quibbled. I sold my GS last weekend and was really sad, now I'm not as sad as I thought
Glad they stepped up, no matter what the reason, they did the right thing in the end.
Glad to hear you got the issue fixed. Although I like my BMW their initials denoting "Bring More Wallet" is never more evident than when getting work done at a dealership.
Thats crazy pricing. Glad you find a cheaper and by the sounds of it better part.
Going forward.Wilbers is a 1st class replacement shock front and back.We have a guy in SA who does the replacement work.Wilbers build the shock to your weight before fitment.They are also not cheap cheap but better than BMW.Glad you got sorted.
I feel your pain TMF and glad you got it sorted. I thought long and hard about posting this comment, as I did not want to use your site to bash BMW, I do love the GS and RT. That said, I had many issues with my GS and although most where rectified eventually, it was always a fight with customer service, every time. What I find interesting in your case is that BMW Customer Service here in the US stated to me that they will use used parts to fix a warranty issue! I had to ask three times to be sure and was told three times, yes, we will use a used part. At the time, I reported the issue, my GS was two weeks old, so couldn’t accept that they would even think of using a used part as a replacement. Horrified, I wrote to Germany for clarification and have yet to receive a reply, some 12 months later. Again, Don’t want to jump on the band wagon but thought it worth a mention. I must say that the dealership stepped up in the end and sorted it out for me but I lost a lot of faith in BMW in the process.
I left a comment following your latest long term review of the GS about the build quality problems I'd had with my (ex-) 2014 GS with just 700 miles on the clock...that put me off BMWs before, but this just confirms it. Shame because they are great looking, capable and well equipped machines, but if the build quality, reliability and after sales support aren't there , then I'm afraid that all counts for nought!
Glad you got it fixed, though, and at a good price too! Good old Nigel!
I’m so glad you did this video. My 2013 Rear shock went last year and I rang BMW and they wanted £1800 to replace it. They also told me and they were absolutely adamant about this, that you could not rebuild it as the ESA unit was sealed. I managed to take the shock off myself and send it away to a company and had it fully rebuilt for £200. Makes me laugh that when BMW realised it was you they offered to replace it. Keep up the good work on the videos
Glad you got it sorted bud. Must admit, even though it’s 4 years old and out of warranty, that seems very bad customer service by your dealer, I wouldn’t be impressed by that and it would push me to another dealership at the very least.
Glad you’re all good now 👍
Cheers matey - have you taken out the extended warranty on Helga? May be worth considering.....
TheMissendenFlyer No I didn’t know anything about it?! Will check it out, thanks for the heads up 👍
I am lead to believe that the extended warranty doesn't cover the rear shock after 27000 mls ! Worth asking the question before buying .
but what do you aspect with all the potholes in the roads where the MF lives..........it is a disgrace, I would not ride there if they gave me a gold clock................nope!!
Top marks for sorting at a reasonable price. I had a similar issue with my 2011 Multistrada (along with many, many others!), luckily was under warranty but would have cost over £2K to fix. That experience made me choose new bikes without the fancy electronic suspension. Owning an older one of these highly complicated machines could prove expensive. Should a shock make more than 19K miles? I think so. Does this show BMW dealers in a good light? Think not.
...agreed all round Banditmanuk....
Glad to see you got the shock sorted, I'm still waiting for the fork recall to be done!
I’m happy that you were able get this righted fairly stress free! Yeah it was probably so gradual that you did not notice.
£275 replacement ESA shock. Well done sir. Still cheaper than BMW extended warranty.
Makes a good case for BMW Motoradd extended warranty Insurance (BMW breakdown is included so offsets it a bit), which I've had over the years on my previous BMW's, but not had to use as yet. At least it takes the sting out of a failed part or engine problem, can you imagine the cost of that! Mind you reading the small print the suspension units are only covered up to 30k miles interestingly, everything else appears to be 100k. I still love BMW's though, they are innovators and bring new tech to the bike world, just remember there's a dark side. Keep the videos coming, we all appreciate your efforts and hard work.
I have a appointment tomorrow at the dealership to get my brake fluid changed. I will definitely ask them about this one. Thank you for the information.
Had a Bmw Adventure last time out, went in for service, there it stayed for two months with a partial engine rebuild, current bike Triumph just coming three years old, not had a spanner on it, just going to change it for latest model, things are not what they always seem, lots of inferiority complex and snobbery can cost you a lot of money, best videos in the business, keep em coming.
Having owned BMW and Triumph the only difference is you've been lucky your Triumph hasn't had an issue that's needed you to test Triumph's customer service. IME they are useless too, in fact that's why I sold my Triumph and bought a second BMW, based on the reliability of my first one - although I'm under no illusions. In general I've found that regardless of the manufacturer with every vehicle I've ever owned over 43 years the service is awful. If you are lucky you get a good one from the factory and that's great, once you have issues you will be pulling your hair out with frustration. I've restored and worked on numerous motorcycles and cars over the years and have had to fix issues on many of the newer vehicles I've owned because the dealers could never solve any of the issues that I reported when taking the car in for a service. Unfortunately most of the time you pay massive amounts of money to have people who are not that bright or knowledgable and that have virtually zero diagnostic abilities work on vehicles. I used to do a lot of work on vehicles for a friend of mine who owned a used vehicle dealership, he would have vehicles he'd bought at auction that had problems and the main dealer would be unable to fix them and he'd come to me. Some of the problems were genuinely tricky to track down, but others were so basic it was mind boggling to think that a main dealer was incapable of fixing them, and that's before you get in to how blatantly dishonest some of them are quoting huge amounts of money for repairs which he refused, that were not needed to solve the issue, working on the basis most people know so little that they are easily fooled.
Got to keep the little workshops going
19k and failed, wow. That is very poor. This is meant to be an adventure bike and it has spent most of its time on tarmac, shocking.
...all of its time on tarmac!
Pleased to see you have her sorted at a realistic price. I love my BMW and all things German motorcycle and cars but they do have shocking prices for parts....as always thanks for sharing TMF 😀👍
Glad you were able to find a replacement shock. Cost of ownership can be expensive. Especially if you replace with oem parts through the dealer. Yours is the best commentary out there. Good luck.
Some say 40% of BMW's go wrong, with the initial cost of the bike plus the crap service plus the running costs I can't see any good reason to buy one
Well IMO the GS is a brilliant bike to ride and normally the service from the dealer is excellent - one isolated case doesn't mean I should write them off entirely in my opinion....everyone deserves a second chance don't they?
Jonathan Meehan In sessence good reasons: Big bike, being tall don't feel ridiculous on one, they sound great, torque is just sweet. They're very well balanced, comfortable for 2 up etc. I know they're expensive to buy and run, just like Italian cars, but you still want one right? Perfectly sensible choice would be a small capacity simple bike, around 300cc, but who buys bikes with their head alone?
Bar-tech yes all good reasons but if I was doing a round the world trip using a lot of offroad tracks, Mongolia India etc the bm is for sure the last bike I would ever trust to take alone, yes I'm sure they are good motorway cruisers but I think that's about it, gimme a 660 teneree or even an Africa twin any day of the week
I have only ever own one BMW bike and never again. In the first 9 months from new the dealer had the bike more than me after me spending 20k.Got my money back and canceled the sale after taking action against BMW and the shocking customer service i received.They would have happily left me with a bike which i could not use and to top it off they said " On the good side we can do ALL the recalls while we have it " Japanese for me from now on
wtf!!!!! 4 years old bike with ruined rear shock, that's not right at all. bmw should replace it free of charge( especially for the price of that bike). modern vehicles quality standards, is not what it use to be. My GS is 23 years old and still have the original oem rear shock with no issues whatsoever. well I think, I'll think twice before splashing £12000 plus on a new GS. just disgusting service from BMW
Ah the joys of GS ownership. My 2007 GS pre electric front and rear shocks went at 20000 miles and within a month of each other. Also had 6 recalls with 80 mile round trip each time to dealer. It broke down on me on tour in Nice the ring antenna round the ignition packed up. When working it was a brilliant bike but put me off getting another. Went Honda Cross tourer and have had NO problems at all in 18000 miles. Keep up the good work. I enjoy watching your videos.
Great fix mate! Love how you worked a way round this rather than consider the astronomical cost of BMWs answer. Love it when a plan comes together!
Me too - all's well that ends well!
I have the exact year & colour GS as you TMF!
5 months ago, I had exactly the same problem. The bike only had less than 4K on the clock and was purchased privately. My local BMW dealership spoke with their customer relationship team and managed to get the new parts for free! All I paid was about £76 for the original disassembly.
Needless to say that I was over the moon with their customer service. 🏍👍🏻
Nice one!
Is that Paul White the BMW PR man!!
No, I’m the bloke that couldn’t afford to pay £1500 for a new rear dampener!
There's no damping on BMW's prices either. Shocking...
I had the ABS unit go out went the BMW replacement route $$$$. Ouch. Glad you had a better economic outcome! Cheers!
I was gutted for you TMF when i started watching this vid, but so glad it turned out right in the end.
Hope my S1000XR does not suffer the same a bit further down the line, heres hoping.
So its replace GS every 4years or before 19000 miles then 🤔🤔🤔🤔 glad to hear you got a replacement shock at a better price stay safe
I’ve read where the new ‘rule of thumb’ for owning German products are to get rid of them once their warranties expire - much like their political situation apparently.
Glad to hear the dealer came to their senses. Any idea what their motivation might be?
Cracking result - I always enjoy your positivity too!
2k BMW......could buy half an Himalayan for that! Which I did in fact 👍
Always good to know a quality local bike mechanic as you mentioned. look after the little guys the big boys can look after themselves.
Isn't the GS suppose to be an adventure bike?! (ON road/OFF road) Rear shock failure like that at 4 years 18000 miles .....blimey it's not as if you've rode around Hawkstone Park MX , however glad you're OK and got it sorted! NB. Thank goodness for Indies and auction sites!
Indeed Ian Iain Iaiin Ian.....
Can you imagine what would happen if you were on some disused road in the outback and your electronic shock died on you. Very poor design and makes buying a BMW very worrying. Glad it all finished so well, good old eBay.
I was about about to purchase a new 2018 GS, complete with ESA and TFT, but was a little worried about the legendary servicing costs. After seeing this BMW is off the list and I'll now be considering something more conventional.
Don't let this one instance put you off - I still love the bike and would't have any other! Until now I've never had any reason to complain about BMW bikes or service, quite the opposite in fact....
Wow - quite the experience. Very glad you got it sorted but also sorry you had to do so!!
Cheers Scott - my feelings exactly!
Pleased you got it sorted TMF and at a great price .Fingers crossed it won't happen again .when l had a R1200R the fuel gauge packed up (Well known fault according to BMW forums . The dealer denied it was and charged me £175 even tho the bike had only 8000 miles on the clock !
BOB
Sorry to hear your troubles.
I was told by a bmw mechanic that because of my size I should get an aftermarket rear shock as the standard one will only last about 2 years if I stay on road as the shocks have been know to burst because of the small seals inside them .the new ones late 2017 and 18 all have bigger seals .
But I won't be taking that chance .
Crikey really?
The good thing is you can send the shock of to a company called wilburs and get a shock you can have for years the way you ride for 1200 pounds (front and rear) .that's 2 grand cheeper than bmw and £3800 cheeper than touratech.
That was a right result, I have never owned a BMW and feel it is becoming less likely by the day, unbelievable disregard for customers. Did you get to diagnose the old shock? Can't believe you didn't use Delboy, he could have regassed it with some hot air :-)
Boy I was looking forward to this video TMF, as you alluded to the issue in a previous video. Thanks for the information and the used replacement shock turned out to be a pretty good outcome. Great comments here from the masses as well.
Thanks for watching - didn't quite expect this volume of comment and certainly didn't intend this to become an anti-BMW thread! I am a huge fan of their products and (usually) their service!
very interesting that, pleased you got a final result
Glad you got the bike sorted, it's been a real pleasure watching you BMW videos over the years. You have to admire BMW for creating brand loyalty for such an apparent engineering masterpiece, considering the amount of issues they appear to have had with it recently. Extortionate prices for BMW goods, service and parts yet we keep sending our hard earned money to Germany... There's a lesson for all of us here, we need to start investing in Britain again !!! I've got a new Triumph Tiger 800 on order. Not strictly 100% British made but it's the closet I can afford.
Good luck with that then my mates 800XC has been in the dealer since well before X-mas with an electrical issue that they can't seem to fix.
Hi Matt, Thanks for the tip off. I hope that's not representative of the Triumph 800 models generally. I haven't seen many negative comments about them but we all know mfg isn't perfect so the odd "friday afternoon" product can still occur. I'm also trusting that Triumph will have learned from any issues with the previous 800 and fixed them on the new model.
Damn! That's such a bad service and ridiculous price from BMW! I guess i gonna have to think again about buying bmw..
I’ve been a fair weather fan of BMWs anyway - this story hurts more than helps unfortunately. Thinking german quality will continue to slide along side their social/political situation...
Well done, glad you didn't let them stiff you!
Glad you got sorted Mate. Happy days now at the fraction of the cost well done .keep up the good work too cheers Colin
I own a BMW GS Adventure and I love the bike very much. I feel it’s a top build bike but it’s lacking in two areas. One is the seat and the other the suspension. The seat is fine and I can last on it all day. However, it’s very soft and doesn’t deal well with heavy people. On top it could use some firmness. The suspension works phenomenal. Press of a button and poof! You get different dampening and/or weight compensation for luggage and/or pillion.
Top tip: avoid adjusting the preload esa when on the bike. Stand next to the bike while operating the preload esa, this distresses the small electric motor for wear. Second top tip: run the preload at least once every 1000km’s. Do this as described with the first tip. You won’t believe how many people end up with a 2000 Eur bill just because they sat in the bike fully loaded and only used the esa once a year. With clogged up shock threads and a small electrical motor you’re asking for trouble.
Last comment, superb action finding a shock on the interweb. Alternative is a hyperpro shock, costs half of a bmw shock and is better.
Fun fact: did you know that the previous generation gs shock’s rear spring only costs 18 eur as a stand-alone part for bmw when they put the shock together? That would be their material cost price. Says something about the quality if you compare to other shock manufacturers.
Ride save!
Borre Moolenaar Congratulation! Comments should make sense. And yours does! I own a Gsa Lc 2014 and realized the Preload was going up and down just because I started the engine again, after getting petrol. middle adjustment. I wonder if this is a sign of failure in the future. I will follow your advice! Thank you!
Japanese ALL THE WAY for bikes and cars . Great video again well constructed . thanks
Or Triumph surely?
Steven Hill OK. And Taiwanese then😉
Steven Hill my brother has a brand new Tiger we'll see how he gets on. Personally I just find the Japanese Quality is above a beyond anything eye on the planet. Whether it be Suzuki Mazda Toyota or Yamaha simple quality and reliability. I was big into German engineering but I think hard way on many occasions that the quality was simply not there. Add to this the diesel lies from Vw and Mercedes just adds to the fact that they're playing catch up to the better quality products on the market. My cousin is a mechanic and on any given day I pop into see him 90% of his cars are Audi BMW VW or Mercedes. No not for me. Thanks
LOL, ok I forgot about that bit.
Perhaps it's the legendary German arrogance doing it, much like the British manufacturers attitude in the 50s and 60s until the Japanese demolished most of it. Until recently I had never bought anything but Japanese stuff (mostly Suzuki), but after seeing the Street Twin at the MCN show, I took a closer look at Triumph and was impressed by the whole thing, so I bought one. The bike has a quality feel to it and presumably the reliability is hugely improved. I remain optimistic.
Well I wasn't expecting that! Heard of oil leaks but this is the first one I've heard of with this problem. As you said it may well of had a problem from new. Glad you were able to sort it, but very concerning for the rest of us GS owners in the future.
Glad you managed to get sorted without having to spend any more with BMW. This sort of horror story about poor BMW reliability and complaints about the high cost of servicing is very common, it put me off buying one and I opted for Yamaha Super Tenere instead.
I'm extremely disappointed and concerned about BMW's response to this issue... I always said I would never own a BMW outside of warranty but my experience with BMW to date has been fine, so I was reconsidering that mindset... but after hearing this and some other rather concerning stories recently, I think I will move my GS on after my finance and warranty simultaneously end.
Fair enough....I'm sticking with mine, love my GS :0)
I was looking at a 2012 800GS as that’s where my budget will allow me to go - Likewise after reading of other people’s experiences when the BMW warranty has expired - sadly I don’t think my budget would allow for BMW parts - so will reconsider the Triumph, Kawasaki and Suzuki models.
@@brianbrooking496 you may want to look at the Older 1200GS out there. I have a 2006 and 0 problems. ( cross my Fingers) but it has been a unbelievably nice Bike. No fancy Electronics to worry about Breaking. I just get on and Ride. I have to manually change the Damping if I’m 2 up or Loaded, but it’s easy to do. It still Rides like a New One. I do all my own Maintenance, so it’s easy to do. You could find a Older Model 1200 cheaper or at the same Price as a newer Model used 800GS.
Very common. Problem on BMW bikes , way to much electronics to go wrong .good news is there are some companies out there that will rebuild the shocks for a fraction of the price of a new one .
sell it
So glad I found this video. 2 days ago my 2018 GSA Rallye did exactly the same thing. On my way home from work in a moderately quick bend the traction control lit up the dash, the bike then proceeded to crash over every bump the remainder of the journey. Again like you no faults or warning lights indicated a problem and typically BMW don't want to know even though the bike only has 8k miles on the clock. Really isn't good enough for any motorcycle that a suspension unit should fail at this kind of age/mileage. Thankfully I've found a specialist in Croydon that can fully refurb the whole unit which comes with a 2 year warranty👍🏻
Sorry to hear that Richie - how much is it going to cost??
@@TheMissendenFlyer T-Tech Suspension in Croydon specialise in rebuilding the BMW Sachs units, modifying/upgrading most of the internals, looking at £250 - £280 if I opt for an uprated spring. They service the units too from £190, they also warranty them for 2 years, all in all seems quite a good deal. When you commented how different your bike felt in the different modes where it hadn't before, makes me also suspect that mine may not have been up to standard when I bought the bike. It has always been serviced by BMW and nothing has ever been highlighted, so was a complete surprise when it failed the other day
Update on the rear shock rebuild from T-Tech Suspension. Absolutely transformed the bike, upgraded internals and a much smoother ride and transition 2 year warranty too, so going to get the front unit done as well. The pictures I received of my stripped down unit looked pretty horrendous for a 4 year old low mileage bike. They offer routine servicing too, so definitely worth considering. The turnaround time was 5 days which included posting out to them, certainly a better option than buying a 2nd hand unit which that is an unknown quantity. Had a few surprises along the way, but so happy with the end result.
It's amazing how fast a dealership reacts when they get bad publicity.
I must say BMW really sucks when it comes to taking care of old(current) customers. Fascinating that they don't recognize the fact that it pushes customers over to other brands, which hopefully is better at service.
Agreed.....still love my GS though :0)
The Multistrada at 30k is faultless but when the Ohlins go that will be a kick in the head
Without new customers coming to a brand it will die. I could probably buy a BMW in the future, but stuff like this will push me towards other brands.
Sounds like the bikes are just like the cars. Overpriced parts and servicing and not much customer service. Especially when your paying £18000. Take care TMF.
I Echo "Max flight", that's why I enjoy your reviews. Great to hear your GS is back in better shape 👍
Happy to see you were able to pick up a replacement for a fraction of the cost, hope you can rebuild the broken one and have a spare or sell it to get your money back!👍
Nightmare.
Yet another example of failure from a supposed premium brand. Front forks, shaft seals and bearings etc etc. And what appalling service.
Clever electronic systems are fine in phones where they do not get wet or dirty, but the rear shock on a motorcycle is not that sterile environment.
Well done for sorting it but still nearly 300 sheets out of pocket.
How does everyone feel about their clever, electronic packages?
Enfield Himalayan anyone?
:0)
bmw gs mk2. NO ABS, NO electronic suspension. Pure basics. All that's needed.
Matthew S r80 gs basic? Yes please would do the job nicely.
BMW GB customer service is appalling. In 2015 my new R1200R had an exhaust valve fault which burnt out the wiring after only 59 miles (yes that's five-nine!) leaving me stranded on the Brecon Beacons for 5 hours waiting for BMW Assistance, who were also crap. My dealer, Dick Lovett in Bristol was brilliant, they sorted a new bike (with a slightly better spec) ready for me to collect a few days later. BMW GB were very dismissive (despite the fact I've had BMW bikes continuously since 1977, and currently have 2, my wife has one and a BMW Mini!) and basically said "sorry for your inconvenience". I work for a Korean car company who I'm sure BMW would look down on but we would NEVER treat our customers like I was treated. If it wasn't for the dealer being absolutely brilliant I would never have another BMW, of any kind.
A friend of mine has a leaking rear ESA shoke too pn his GSA. I guess thats the same what happened with your bike.
There is a seal what causes trouble but unfortunately you can't repair it. BMW always want to change the whole shock.
It's insane.
At least thats what I heard.
Lets hope your new shock will not end the same way. Thanks for the video!!!
Cheers Steve - fingers crossed!
Mine had the same problem at 9k miles, I'm looking for a used shock now. Great video!
This is unfortunately the issue with electronic suspension.. £1800 bloody joke! I bet BMW did offer to do it when they realised it was you 😂😂 bet they have your picture behind the counter from now on so can offer you a special service!
A friend has a 2010 R1200RT with ESA. The oem shock(Sachs) started to leak at less than 10K miles. Took the bike to a dealer and the oem replacement was about $2K USD. My friend discovered that he could get a Wilbers replacement shock with the ESA installed by a Wilbers dealer in CA for under $900 with shipping both ways from CT. The dealer had no issue with removing his shock, shipping to CA and then installing the Wilbers shock. He says the Wilbers is much better than the Sachs. There are alternatives if you put some research time in. Plus, the dealer was very willing to go along with approach and having his bike in the shop for some time until the shock arrived.
That is DREADFUL customer service from BMW and shocking of the dealer (was it the usual BMW dealer that you use to test ride bikes?) forcing you to sign a disclaimer. I would have refused to sign and just taken my bike. What would they do call the police on you? You probably wanted to keep on good terms with the dealer so you can still keep testing bikes so you didn't kick up a huge stink. I would be emailing BMW press office UK and telling them about your dreadful experience, presenting them with the bill and that you have made a video for your YT channel. Invite them to put some one up to be interviewed. Such catastrophic failure at a relatively low mileage is unacceptable. The fact you have 54k subscribers and many probably own GSs or are looking to buy or exchange for newer GSs. Doesn't look very good for them. Up until now you have been a loyal and some what fanatical BMW GS owner and fan. Glad you got it sorted much more cheaply than BMW wanted to shaft you for. Shocking service from supposedly one of the top premium bike manufacturers. I should imagine this video will generate a lot of hits for you and NEGATIVE PR for BMW. Ha! Serves them right for treating you so badly. You really did like the KTM Superduke and GT if I remember.
Thanks Alex - I try and be as factual and "down the line" as I can be with my channel and so thought it only right I should share this instance of what I felt was poor service in the interests of balance, as you say, I'm mostly a huge BMW fan boy....
To be fair to BMW, it is standard practice to get a waiver signed before the customer takes a bike with a known fault that has safety implications. It's all about covering their backsides and is fair enough. I do agree that warranty or not, for a shock to fail at that mileage is unacceptable, and although now sorted at BMW'S expense, it should have been dealt with sooner by the dealership, regardless of your multi media profile. Between you and teapot1 alone you're the best thing for GS sales since Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman!
Be careful when using independent mechanics though. Have they got the correct hard/soft ware to program and calibrate whichever part they have replaced? That applies to all modern bikes, not just Beemers.
As ever cracking video Sir, apologies for being late to the party, but I'm now hooked to your channel, and a couple of others, and look forward to my next TMF
fix with anticipation.
Tough one as they are great bikes to ride, well done for finding the used one and a decent installer.
Great video, just came over your videos today, appreciate the integrity and candid reporting. I was appalled at the BMW pricing. Having watched the Long Way Down - I recall they had a few shock failures - granted the bikes were fully loaded and riding some rough terrain, however they were barely broken in when they experienced the failures. To me the shocks are at fault and whatever engineer introduced this variant needs to revamp the design to ensure longevity and reliability as opposed to reduced production costs and increased profitability. It’s not just a bike, it’s the reputation of an iconic bike and company. Come on BMW - focus on the customer. And yes I’m glad that the finally pulled through, but to me the design/reliability is the issue at heart.
Firstly, glad you managed to get it sorted TMF. I just find it so annoying that manufactures think that 19,000 miles, is an acceptable mileage for suspension. But more annoyingly, that it’s not a serviceable component, rather they would have you throw it away and buy something that cost over £1800. Apparently they can be refurbished, although not sure in the UK, but there is someone in the States, who can do it. It simply boils down to the manufacturers wanting you to buy new complete unit, rather than supply parts, so a perfectly good shock could be serviced and re used. 😡
It is a serviceable component - all researchable via internet
my 2002 yam xjr 1300 has 121000 miles on the clock, shocks and everything else is ok, and she cost £5999 new!
Brilliant and well done!
Pleased with the happy ending to this sad tale, cheers for sharing.
Cheers - always good to have you along! All the best - TMF
Which is why, I brought The Rally with only options Heated grips and quickshifter, Lighter more reliable bike Cheaper too!
you hope.
This is also why I bought the Super Tenere without the electronic suspension.
Super Tenere's go on forever
The CZcams video on the engine teardown of Nick Sanders' Super Tenere engine, after his South American stint, is part of what sold me on this bike. Minimal wear on an engine that was certainly used! It's worth a watch!
just watched that, incredible that there was no discernible wear. Great quality engineering
Must have been defective from new. Tale reminds me of that other parts bin wonder that was British Leyland in the 70's. Dealer must be doing well to afford to alienate 54,000 potential customers! Well done on the fix, lucky bit of timing in Italy.
Yes I got lucky on the E-Bay front!
My 4 mates have all had trouble with there GS TE models, I'm still "shocked " you guys still buy them , it's one brand I'd never buy , Honda Yamaha any day , glad you got it sorted though sir
Not good news, it's the first time I know of anyone who has had problems with the rear shock.
I also have a GS1200 (2017) and I'm already worried about it.
Thanks for sharing.
Best regards
Don't worry - I'm sure this is a rare instance......
Hope so
Yes but if i had the problem i would have got the same initial reply as you did....there using your situation to boost and now protect there reputation....but only because of your presence on youtube
well done on finding the replacement shock Thought bmw bikes better quality than that & bmw customer service sucks Think I'll stick with my Japanese bikes
Thanks for watching!
I had exactly the same thing happen to my last R1200GS TE. The damping packed up on a trip to Scotland. When I got home I took it to my BMW dealer only to be told that it needed to be replaced. £1500 plus VAT plus fitting. About £2000 in total!!!!! Fortunately it was covered under my extended warranty. Had to pay a small excess. Interestingly even with an extended BMW warranty claims for suspension is not covered after ( I believe) 35,000 miles! Glad you sorted your problem out at a reasonable price and hope your replacement shock hasn't done too many miles.
So do I! Certainly it feels good but I've no idea how many miles are on the "new" shock....
Great story and good reminder of just how bad it can be to have to deal with car/motorcycle dealerships.
The same happened with the Sachs (i..e the same maker as the BMW) rear shock on my 2013 Multistrada after about 1.5 years (~12,000 km or so I think) - faulty semi-active suspension valve. It was funny from day one but Ducati would not even look at it until a catastrophic failure and error messages appeared. Luckily just before the warranty expired. Not very impressive quality IMO at the price of these bikes.
Edit: As an aside, when the valve failed on the Ducati, it was the opposite effect as TMF's BMW, the suspension was locked rigidly, it was like riding on bricks, bloody dangerous, especially in the wet. Of course it finally failed totally on a very bumpy road, two up. We were sore for the next week!
EU Bike Dude How are they doing on KTMs? Not much of a choice there, you have to get them with semi suspension.
The WP on the KTMs seems to be much better. For example at the front, the compression and rebound damping are in separate forks, they are in the same tube on the Ducatis ... BMW's telelever of course has effectively a single unit for front and rear.
The 15/16 SAs had a mysterious clunk in the front forks of a lot of the bikes, that was sorted late 2016 and I've seen no reports of it for 17/18 models.
The ride quality and handling of my SA S is much better than the Multi was even with the new shock, which is telling given the KTM has a 19" front wheel. ;)
The S-A suspension is effectively "free" versus the cost on the BMW and Ducati "S" models. ;)
Once they have our money and have sold us our bikes they don't care. I would suggest that these are known faults that they want us to believe are isolated incidents but in reality are not. The components are not of sufficient quality or durability failing at such low mileages. Catastrophic failure also has major implications for riders and other road users' safety. Are they waiting for riders and possibly other road users to be seriously injured or killed because of faulty parts?
Guess as more advance thise bikes get, the more they brake down...especially this european bikes.. look at my old strom turning 14years this year..not a bolt thats new on it exept gadget l choose to change...simpel but super bike..new oil and clean filters every year and thats that...
After the millions it cost them replacing the rear shocks on the new RT when it came out you would have thought they would have changed yours for you, especially at only 19.5k miles and not even two up riding. Dreadful. You hear some real horror stories with BMW.
I think I just got a service person who wasn't quite on top of his game that day....
Glad you're all sorted TMF but that's a bad failure AND compounded with bad service too. A pain you had to resolve the rear shock issue yourself but a bargain price for the fix and you're back in the saddle so happy days
Indeed Nick - my thoughts exactly...
glad to hear you got a good result in the end , i wonder if just ordinary guy of the street , ,ie without 63 thousand friends ,,, would have gotten the same service though.