I kissed a GSA...and I liked it

[Bounce]

By the way I owned 11 BMW bikes in the last 30 years with zero 0 shaft drive issues not even a leak....

It's ok, a lot of BMW riders don't get out much.

https://memegenerator.net/img/instances/75558399/now-that-is-some-funny-****-right-there.jpg

 

[escapefjrtist]

You've been talking about it for years, just do it Hudson! ;-)

~G

 

[FJRBluesman]

Dave;

Stop drinking the Kool Aid!

BMW - Bring More Wallet!

I'll never own another BMW AGAIN! Had a 1996 K1100R, my daily rider, lovely when it didn't need work. Which was a lot! With only 50K miles on it the bike went thru two out put shafts, three clutches, and twice replacing the seal at the water/oil pump (kept leaking out the weep hole). One output shaft was my fault didn't lube when recommended, why...??? Because you have to yank the entire ass end of the bike off to lube it! The swing arm, sub frame, wheel, transmission, battery, ABS module, and then re-bleed brakes, etc. What a POS engineering! They want this done early! I'll give you this, I got real good and fast at doing this, about 8 hours to tear down and another 12 to reassemble, just to lube the splines. I do that on the FJR in about an hour with minimal disassembly. That being said I also took the bike in for each oil change to have BMW behind the bike. No such luck, anything that they found they wanted extra to fix. When I went to sell it I went back to the dealer as they had an FJR for sale, and they knew my maintenance history. Well they wanted over $1200 to do "repairs" to get it sell-able. After all my loyalty they thru me to the curb. I sold the the bike on ebay for well over double what BMW wanted to give me, and bought my FJR private party.

I'll say this to end on a positive note. Some things on the bike were well engineered and thought out and I really liked and wish FJRs had them. But it wasn't worth it to me.

My rant is over...

 

[Hudson]

Stories like ^^^ bring me down to reality.

 

[WBill]

I still sometimes ponder getting another BMW, but the main problem with BMW's for me is the sparse dealer support network in the U.S. That might not be so in Europe, but I never ride there.

I loved my BMW's until the last one, a 1990 K75, left me stranded in Wyoming with stripped splines. I lost my devotion to the marque then and there. Guess how many BMW dealers there are in Wyoming.

I suspect the older BMW's had fewer problems, giving rise to a cadre of owners who knew they had the ultimate in dependable motorcycles. In 1970, when I rode for Metro, in D.C., the company had its own shop, and they kept my work-issued R 69 US running fine. With a kick starter, magneto and low compression engine, there wasn't really that much to deal with on those /2's besides tires and oil. They had a backup bike in the garage, though, just in case.

During the '80's, my ride in Richmond, Va., was a '74 R90/6, and the closest shop was Morton's, about 50 miles north. That R-bike was easy for me to maintain on my own, but it ate up brake light switches at about one per year, and it had a quirky habit of occasionally dowsing its headlight for a few seconds, making for trying moments on dark country roads in Goochland County. I had to ride up to Morton's to get spendy replacement switches, points and condensers, and valve cover gaskets, and I never bothered to find out what was happening with the headlight. Fortunately, it never turned off when there was a cop around.

Out here in Northern Arizona, support for BMW's is on and off. Here, you have to find a specialist to get your tires changed if you don't have your own garage. Indie shops come and go here, and right now, the best place to get a Beemer fixed is at the Yamaha dealer, where they have a fine mechanic who is also a Beemophile. Even he doesn't seem to care for working on the newer ones. Otherwise, the closest BMW place is about 150 miles away.

Thanks, anyway, but I'll stick with my FJR for now. For about 80K miles, it has never given me a problem. WBill

 

[Hudson]

I didn’t buy the BMW and I didn’t sell any of my herd (ok, I sold the CRF80 that none of my kids ever rode). 

I did buy a Honda Monkey. That bike got ridden more than any of the others this past 6 months.

 

[Blind Squirrel]

I have owned an RT. Had a couple of issues, but I was fortunate to get good BMW dealers. Ozzie's BMW Center in Chico CA is top notch!  I had a leaking pumpkin. They knew I was on a trip so they took the bike they were working on off the stand and put my bike up there. Had all the parts to get it fixed same day.  Can't say enough good about Ozzie's.

When I decided I wanted a dual sport I went with the Yamaha S10 because the the price difference and reliability. If money were not a concern I would be on a newer (i.e. water cooled) GSA.