My experiment with BMW has taken a downturn

[two wheels]

Curious, What was the mileage on your 2nd gen 2012 when this happened?

 

[Jay H]

Hate to read this. The problem with Beemers is once you ride one other bikes kind of feel inferior. There’s something about the ride and sound of a BMW that is sort of addictive. I just got my K1600 out of the shop after replacement of a dead coil, of course it was out of warranty and there are 5 more that could conceivably go at any time. I was kind of hoping the XR’s were fairly reliable as that is the bike I hoped to go to next. Thanks for posting up Dale, but as others have said “once you drink the kool aid” you’re sort of f’d. I Haven’t been stranded yet but have roadside assistance and hope I don’t need to use it. I do miss the FJR sometimes, but…..
Jay

 

[Panman]

I don't know that any brand is particularly great -- it for certain isn't either BMW or Yamaha. My 2012 Gen 2 stranded me a few years back 300 miles from home when the well known, documented, and supposedly re-engineered ground spider issue burned one portion of my main wiring harness. Yamaha could not have cared less, and the closest dealership was delighted to replace the harness at $1200 parts/labor.
Pardon if I missed it, but how has the dealer treated you as a customer? Some time back, a friend's brand new K bike began leaking oil through the side of the cylinder head. Took months to get the parts for repair, but the dealer kept his customer happy with a series of loaners during the repair process -- anything like that happening hear, or the more typical 'sucks to be you'?

I've never heard of spider issues on anything later than a 08 - 09 as that's when they fixed the issue. You have any self installed farkels by chance?
That being said not many dealers seem to care much about their customers like the one you stated, your friend is a lucky dude.
J H coffee sometime?

 

[RossKean]

My 2012 Gen 2 stranded me a few years back 300 miles from home when the well known, documented, and supposedly re-engineered ground spider issue burned one portion of my main wiring harness. Yamaha could not have cared less, and the closest dealership was delighted to replace the harness at $1200 parts/labor.

Not sure why a toasted spider required $1200 in parts and labour. Mine (on my '07) took a couple hours of my time and $0.50 in wire, solder and shrink wrap.
Yamaha has probably the best overall reliability rating of any motorcycle manufacturer - maybe a toss-up with Honda. Perhaps not every dealer will provide a warm-and-fuzzy experience for their customers but I am secure in the knowledge that my Yamaha is far less likely to leave me stranded than my BMW. In 450,000 km on two Gen II FJRs, I have not ever been stranded due to a mechanical or electrical fault. A dealer has seen one of these bikes exactly one time - leaky fork seals and a front wheel bearing that I did not have time to address in the week before a major trip.

I've never heard of spider issues on anything later than a 08 - 09 as that's when they fixed the issue.

Grounding issues on later model years of Gen II are much less frequent but a few cases have been reported. My 152,000 km 2011 has been remarkably free of ANY issues. (One set of fork seals, one set of brake pads and one shifter rubber. Period! - not even a battery or headlight bulb.)

 

[Mr_Canoehead]

My BMW 1150's transmission input shaft took a dump this year on our annual Europe ride. The shaft is on permanent backorder from BMW but I found one from Ted Porter's Bemmershop (along with a redesigned clutch plate that should prevent reoccurrence). For older BMWs there is a cottage industry dedicated to keeping them alive. The new BMWs suffer the same over-design and reliability as their cars.

I have been pleasantly surprised with my KTM experience - shop manuals are available from KTM, parts are priced like Yamaha parts and quickly available and so far, my KTM has been reliable and it's a hoot to ride. Since I bought the KTM, the FJR gets a lot less miles. I would buy another KTM tomorrow.

I'm still a bit annoyed with Yamaha that I had to pay for the Altitude sickness fix ECU - it was a recall in the USA but not in Canada. When I complained, I was told "we only have a couple left, take it or leave it". Other than that, my FJR has been bulletproof.

 

[Bugnatr]

Yeah your stiuation sucks with the spider but how old and how many miles were on the bike? Yamaha did step up in the early years when the Gen 1 had a valve guide issues and fixed the tickers even out of warranty for a while-no party lasts for ever but Yamaha did fix my 04 out of warranty and I was the second owner. I really doubt BMW would have done that.

 

[SkooterG]

I don't know that any brand is particularly great -- it for certain isn't either BMW or Yamaha. My 2012 Gen 2 stranded me a few years back 300 miles from home when the well known, documented, and supposedly re-engineered ground spider issue burned one portion of my main wiring harness. Yamaha could not have cared less, and the closest dealership was delighted to replace the harness at $1200 parts/labor.
Pardon if I missed it, but how has the dealer treated you as a customer? Some time back, a friend's brand new K bike began leaking oil through the side of the cylinder head. Took months to get the parts for repair, but the dealer kept his customer happy with a series of loaners during the repair process -- anything like that happening hear, or the more typical 'sucks to be you'?

Ouch. That is the first I've heard of the ground spider issue affecting a 2012.

 

[SkooterG]

I've never heard of spider issues on anything later than a 08 - 09 as that's when they fixed the issue. You have any self installed farkels by chance?
That being said not many dealers seem to care much about their customers like the one you stated, your friend is a lucky dude.
J H coffee sometime?

I was under the impression that 2012 was the *only* year the ground spider issue was supposedly fixed from the factory. I know the recall went past the 2009 model year.

 

[RossKean]

I was under the impression that 2012 was the *only* year the ground spider issue was supposedly fixed from the factory. I know the recall went past the 2009 model year.

Not saying it was truly fixed by the factory but there was no ground spider recall for the 2010-2012 models - just '06-'09.

 

[redzgrider]

Not to continue with an unintentional thread hijack, but my '12 had 30K miles, with exactly one non-original part, a Seat Concepts rider's seat. As to why $1200 -- too long a story for a hijacked thread.

 

[sapest]

Ouch. That is the first I've heard of the ground spider issue affecting a 2012.

Reported some time ago. (2014)

-Steve

 

[Warchild]

Well, the situation has brightened considerably... the regional Yamaha rep informs Desert Valley Powersports today that my Yamaha MT10 in Matte Raven Black has been ordered, and it has a January, 2023 arrival time.

Not to patiently wait for it's arrival.

This will be a bigger challenge that the XR was to transform it into a superior Long-Distance Desert Runner. In addition to no rider protection, the range on this platform is a real problem. It has a tiny-*** stock tank of 4.5 gallons, coupled with what is reported to be crap MPG figures of very low 30's. Moving the XR's aux fuel cell over to the MT10 still only yields 8.8 gal total. So it's concerning.

All part of the adventure to see if this can be done!

 

[Mr_Canoehead]

If only Yamaha made a factory sport tourer in the same approximate size...you know, something in either the 900 or 1300 cc range. I can't believe that they are missing out on that market!

 

[CollingsBob]

Ummmmmm……. https://www.yamahamotorsports.com/sport-touring/models/tracer-9-gt

 

[SwollenRaccoon]

F*ck the small tank and mileage. Who cares? You will be grinning like a possum eating bumblebees every time you twist that throttle.

 

[Warchild]

Ummmmmm……. https://www.yamahamotorsports.com/sport-touring/models/tracer-9-gt

Well, I own a Tracer 900 GT, and it is called a middleweight for a reason. It is a superb machine, but 114hp only gets you so far. The MT10 is 163hp and weighs 467 lbs, wet.

The Tracer 900 GT is assumed the role the FJR used to have: carrying wifey on the back for multiday tours. The Tracer lets me retain a set of FJR hard cases, so I've not lost carrying capacity. It really is extremely nice, but it's not a liter-bike:

 

[Warchild]

F*ck the small tank and mileage. Who cares? You will be grinning like a possum eating bumblebees every time you twist that throttle.

I care, because I run in Nevada quite a bit.

 

[Panman]

At the pace you are rumored to run you will be lucky to get a 100 miles on the stock tank.

 

[Bugnatr]

Well, the situation has brightened considerably... the regional Yamaha rep informs Desert Valley Powersports today that my Yamaha MT10 in Matte Raven Black has been ordered, and it has a January, 2023 arrival time.

Not to patiently wait for it's arrival.

This will be a bigger challenge that the XR was to transform it into a superior Long-Distance Desert Runner. In addition to no rider protection, the range on this platform is a real problem. It has a tiny-*** stock tank of 4.5 gallons, coupled with what is reported to be crap MPG figures of very low 30's. Moving the XR's aux fuel cell over to the MT10 still only yields 8.8 gal total. So it's concerning.

All part of the adventure to see if this can be done!


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Is the MT as fast as the XR?

I rode an XR once on a twisty river road I know well. Loved the quick shifter, brakes and the handling was superb ( really that bike was amazing) but the buzzy inline 4 was a no go for me.

 

[SkooterG]

Well, the situation has brightened considerably... the regional Yamaha rep informs Desert Valley Powersports today that my Yamaha MT10 in Matte Raven Black has been ordered, and it has a January, 2023 arrival time.

View attachment 3070

For crying out loud! That thing has a face only a mother could love. Kinda like you!