bmw vs fjr quality

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maurice

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Love to hear thoughts on this. My friend has 3 bmw's and swears the quality is sooo much better than "jap" bikes. I wondered where is the difference seem, observed. He said everything. any thoughts that could help me sort this out? Are bmw's gonna last longer, look better in old age etc?

maurice

 
Love to hear thoughts on this. My friend has 3 bmw's and swears the quality is sooo much better than "jap" bikes. I wondered where is the difference seem, observed. He said everything. any thoughts that could help me sort this out? Are bmw's gonna last longer, look better in old age etc?
maurice
Ya got any nekkid pics of yur girlfriend?

 
Love to hear thoughts on this. My friend has 3 bmw's and swears the quality is sooo much better than "jap" bikes. I wondered where is the difference seem, observed. He said everything. any thoughts that could help me sort this out? Are bmw's gonna last longer, look better in old age etc?
maurice
Ya got any nekkid pics of yur girlfriend?
[SIZE=18pt] :rofl: [/SIZE]

 
Love to hear thoughts on this. My friend has 3 bmw's and swears the quality is sooo much better than "jap" bikes. I wondered where is the difference seem, observed. He said everything. any thoughts that could help me sort this out? Are bmw's gonna last longer, look better in old age etc?
maurice
Ya got any nekkid pics of yur girlfriend?
Or would you like to buy some?

 
Here is what I suggest. Read about FJR problems on this forum, then go to the ADV forum and read about BMW problems in GSpot, and draw you own conclusions. Tell your BMW buddy to do the same. Nun said. Now if the question is. which bike is more over-engineered, the result would be different.

 
I've owned and sold my BMW for my FJR.

Here's my thoughts...

If you can afford the "quality" of the BMW it's a real nice bike. Is it far superior to Japanese bikes, IMO no. Is it even a little better in quality, IMO, no.

Some design features on the Beemers are great and I wish the FeeJ had them, that being said.... The amount of money it costs to maintain, buy parts, get service, etc, is way more than you'd ever pay if you had a Japanese bike. I had a BMW K-bike, and if you didn't lube the splines on the output shaft of the tranny once per year, it would fry huge and cost you at the dealer about $1K. I did the work myself and it was still about $350. Now, to lube the splines meant pulling the entire ass end of the bike off and tranny. A weekend job once a year, that is not fun. Also, just to change oil and check all components at the dealer is at least $350 to $600 depending on what they adjust. Does that sound reasonable for a high quality bike? And even though they did these maintenance items, what ever went wrong with the bike and needed fixin', you'd pay for dearly.

Don't get me wrong, it's a real nice bike, I just couldn't afford the BS and was real pissed with the tranny design issue needing that type of maintenance. Remember BMW was making engines and trannies well before the Japanese was specializing in them, and BMW still doesn't have it down IMO.

I know many people own Beemers on this forum and they are real nice fun bikes, but you pay way more for that than a Japanese bike. IMO I don't think it's even close to worth it, That's why I own a FeeJ.

Now go to the BMW forum and say the FeeJ is far better and see the response you get. ;)

Good luck.

BTW - Love the dog pile Saturday's.

 
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Love to hear thoughts on this. My friend has 3 bmw's and swears the quality is sooo much better than "jap" bikes. I wondered where is the difference seem, observed. He said everything. any thoughts that could help me sort this out? Are bmw's gonna last longer, look better in old age etc?
maurice
My friend has 3 bmw's and swears the quality is sooo much better than "jap" bikes

Your friend is a snob. He's bought into the same BS the HD boys sell. "We cost more therefor we are better"

 
I had a buddy that was a BMW moto tech. I told him I was interested in the 1200 RT and wanted his opinion on them. He just looked at me and said, "They're nice bikes, but I'd stay away from them...do you notice none of the techs own a BMW and all ride Japanese made bikes..."

 
I've owned two BMW's and currently own a Gen I FJR 1300, with about 45K miles on it.

There's no obvious superiority of one over the other, even counting details, like fasteners, hoses, metalurgy and so on.

Beemers have the claimed edge in adding special technological innovations, like ESA, but I know from long experience with German automotive products that German electrics are at best, quirky.

OTOH, Gen II Feejers have had more than their share of problems: altitude sickness, ground spider malfunctions, control panel errors, and more than I can think of right now. Makes me glad I have a GenI, now that I am pretty sure I don't have a ticker. Not out of the woods yet on the cam chain tensioner.

Not enough improvements in the FJR to make me spring for a new one to replace my tried and true old one.

I am in the market for a new bike to replace my Gen I FJR, just because it is getting well used, and the time is coming. I am thinking about an R 1200 RT, but am hanging back while they fix the stalling problem. They have also gone to an overhead cam system, with chain cam dirves. Hmmm.

Riding through Reno, NV, this afternoon, I saw a guy on the off-ramp, pushing his BMW K 1300 S. Couldn't stop to help because of rush hour traffic.

One thing BMW can't seem to fix is the poor dealer support for those of us who don'tlive in big cities.

Just some thoughts, WBill

 
Love to hear thoughts on this. My friend has 3 bmw's and swears the quality is sooo much better than "jap" bikes. I wondered where is the difference seem, observed. He said everything. any thoughts that could help me sort this out? Are bmw's gonna last longer, look better in old age etc?
maurice
Ya got any nekkid pics of yur girlfriend?
[SIZE=18pt] :rofl: [/SIZE]
rushes: You are my Hero!

I still miss odot on our FJR Forum, but rushes you are doing a damn fine job; keep up the good work!

 
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Love to hear thoughts on this. My friend has 3 bmw's and swears the quality is sooo much better than "jap" bikes. I wondered where is the difference seem, observed. He said everything. any thoughts that could help me sort this out? Are bmw's gonna last longer, look better in old age etc?
maurice

Money talks and BS walks. Yamaha will extend the one year factory warranty by four years, unlimited milage, for $389.

Ask your BMW friend to tell you about the BMW warranty.

 
Love to hear thoughts on this. My friend has 3 bmw's and swears the quality is sooo much better than "jap" bikes. I wondered where is the difference seem, observed. He said everything. any thoughts that could help me sort this out? Are bmw's gonna last longer, look better in old age etc?
maurice
Ya got any nekkid pics of yur girlfriend?
I'd be a sick pup to send pics of my wife. Sounds like you need to be lookin on the west coast, say San Fransico. Try criagslist.

maurice

 
Thanks for the posts! The friend is a mechanic, says parts are not more expensive if you know where to buy them,knows well of the final drive problem and says it's an easy fix if you know what to do. I am not taking his word for anything, as I continuously ask for evidence, specific, on why he thinks bmw is better. He only buys used. tells me I can get a good r1200rt for between 3-5k. He waits for a good deal, gets pics, goes across state lines to get a used one. More research for me, but I am leaning away from them as I have heard of the problems mentioned in this thread. I think I will spend a little time on the bmw site. That might do it. Man, my vt1100 is soo problem free. Even the honda site only has 1 issue that is an easy fix from the start. The 3 yellow wires plastic connector to the stator/rectifier Sometimes can melt and ruin components. I just cut it out, soldered wires. done. That's it. But I'm lookin for more smoothness at 80mph speed as vtwins vibrate, and maybe more sitting comfort.

maurice

 
I have owned 3 BMWs, all twins. I loved the bikes, and put 100k on two of them. (still working on the 3rd one) The truth is though, as much as I liked the BMWs, they are overpriced and do not live up to the legendary performance and reliability claim that is made to support the cost, the cost of parts and maintainence, and the dealer arrogance that comes along with the moniker. Too bad, but it is what it is. I have had my Feej for only 6 months and love it. There are a couple of things that I think the Beemer did better, but any differences are purely an issue of getting used to the bike. The FJR has more power, handles as well, and is solid as a rock, all for roughly 60% of the cost to buy, and I can take it almost anywhere to get it worked on if I need to. The long term testing has yet to be done, but for now I am happy I made the switch to the FJR.

My $.02

 
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