So you wished you bought a BMW

[daddysbike]

This is a post on the sport-touring.net forum. The owner is not real happy with getting screwed for maintenance. The FJR is looking better to me.

I've ridden a ST1300,VFR and both Vstroms, now riding a wing and VTX and plan to add another sporttourer. I've always liked the RT and GS but was afraid of high $$$$$$$ of BMW ownership. This confirms it:

Stupid "Routine" Maintenance Charges

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My 2005 BMW R1200RT is closing in on 30k. I expected a Service 1 at a cost of about $250. When I tried to make an appointment for this I was informed the needed maintenance would take two days and cost over $1100. The reason was the need for BMW "recommended" maintenance based strictly on that 30k mark. I balked and have postponed the decision to do these parts replacements until 36k.

I put those 30k miles on a new bike in just 15 months. I refuse to shell out that sort of money for services "recommended" by anyone. Would you pay $1100 for a tuneup on your car? My warranty will be gone by 36k so My decision process for maintenance after that will be based on an "as needed" basis. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I'm tired of paying through the nose for maintenance that I deem unnecessary and overpriced.

Signed "Flamed

 

[Don B]

$1100 for 30k milkes? Does not seem bad to me. No detail in the post either.

 

[radman]

Hey, if you're gonna buy anything with a computer controlled cig lighter (where allowed by law) better be ready to ante up at fixit time.

 

[TheAxeman]

Geez....almost like $325.00 for a 600 mile service on the Yami....Its one thing if your going to stick the umbrella up there, but please don't open it...

 

[pennerk]

Welcome to the BMW world. I have a K1200LT that is now sitting in my garage and only used when my wife wants to ride two up. There are two problems with the BMW system. There are so few dealers that if you don't like the one close to you you are going to travel 100(s) of mile to the next closest dealer and the by the book service is anal to say the least. With all the police departments riding the RT it is hard to schedule a service on short notice.

When my wife decides that her riding days are done the LT is history.

 

[FJRMGM]

probably includes a spline lube job and on the Beemer those are expensive.

I remember when the dealer gleefully told me (after I bought the BMW) about how much the 5k service was (>$1k) and how it just had to be done.

 

[smitty141]

Now thats a silly question... My brother has been sucked into the BMW (build motorcycles weird) cult. I have tryed to drag him out, but they have a hold on him. I tell him the FJR is twice the bike for half the money... He is riding his RT1150 like a sportbike/tourer and has the side and centerstald ground down to nothing. Needless to say it is a matter of time before goes over the edge on that thing. The dealer network is gone, only two so called stealers left in Missouri. I just don't understand that "culture". I guess it is like a Harley build in Germany, "but they hold there value". Yea right . Hey, thats just how I see it...

Smitty

 

[In10city]

I've got 24K on my ZZR and have bought a service manual, 2 torque wrenches, vacuum gauges, angled feeler gauges, chain break tool, deep well sockets, motion pro hex axle tool (which also fits the FJR), Mighty Vac brake bleeder, motion pro auxillary fuel tank, extended 4MM hex tool, and various other motorcycle specific tools. In all I've spent maybe $500 on tools that now work on BOTH bikes and I have intimate knowledge of both bikes. I have a spreadsheet I keep track of my maintenance and if I had been paying Kawasaki all along I would have spent over $2K in labor by now. The only thing I pay a mechanic for now is to spoon on new tires and balance them for me...which my Yamaha guys do for about $15 per tire.

There's no way I would pay a mechanic for ANY routine maintenance. I'll buy the service manual and any specific tools needed and do it myself. It's not that hard, just takes some time and attention to detail. But hey, I build laser and satellite guided precision weapons, how hard could a valve adjustment be?

Thread side-track hi-jack over...

 

[mdisher]

Dealers are dealers are dealers, doesn't matter the make or model. You're going to get bent over if you can't do the routine stuff yourself. That's part of the cost of owning a motorcycle, car or anything else.

There are plenty of happy BMW owners who do their own work including spline maintenance. It aint easy but it can be done.

My dad is doing more and more of it himself. Especially now that there is not reliable dealer near us anymore.

:blink:

 

[gary442]

As a former and never again, BMW owner I agree on the cost issue....even the replacement parts are very expenseive and most of the time are special order only which take weeks to get. When I had mine

( K1100RS) I did all my own maintenance except for tires...it is not necessarily difficult but does take some self education and a little time...however, when you're done , you know it was done correctly and you saved a ton of bucks.

I have owned approx 30 bikes over the years, all of which were Jap except for the BMW...and I must say the BMW "experience" was a disappointment.

 

[quicksilver]

The only dealer in Indiana folded up over a year ago.

BMW is not an option for me at any price.

I do like the 1200GT.

When they were still open, the service department was the only thing keeping the lights on.

Good inventory, but the bikes on the floor didn't rotate much at all.

Also, they were the only stocking Autocom dealer anywhere around

and but wouldn't budge a single cent off MSRP. I think that was a mistake.

 

[smitty141]

I think BMW's biggest downfall being only having BMW's in there stores. A dealer can't stay open that way and it shows. A dealer has to have a product for all seasons, BMW's, dirt bikes and atv's something. There was a very nice upscale BMW dealer in St. Louis, owner built a very nice building. Chrome, glass, and a first class service area. He went broke in over a year... I think it will get down to only having corporate stores or worse. Can't put all your eggs in one basket... Smitty

 

[boogahboogah]

My friend Gary's 1150RT 'burned & cracked' an exhaust valve 200 miles after the 30k service. He had to pay 520 to get it replaced (which was a reduction over his dealer's normal rates...).

We had to stop at a BMW dealer on the way to WFO5 to get the head re-torqued after 500 miles, so we stopped in at the only dealer in Indiana, which is in Fort Wayne. I find it hard to imagine that there is only one dealer in the entire state of Indiana that sells & services BMW motorcycles, what do owners do if they can't or won't wrench the bike for themselves ?

My friend's regular service at his dealer is fairly expensive, with regular valve clearance checks that occur every 6/7000 miles or so.

The story I've heard (on pretty good authority) was that a few years ago, BMW told the dealers that they had to have the BMW branded motorcycles in a separate building & service area, not comingled with other brands of motorcycles. At the time, alot of dealers that carried BMW told them to shove it. It's probably the main reason BMW dealers have moved to other brands, because they didn't sell enough BMW product to justify the extra carrying expense demanded by BMW....

 

[mdisher]

The story I've heard (on pretty good authority) was that a few years ago, BMW told the dealers that they had to have the BMW branded motorcycles in a separate building & service area, not comingled with other brands of motorcycles. At the time, alot of dealers that carried BMW told them to shove it. It's probably the main reason BMW dealers have moved to other brands, because they didn't sell enough BMW product to justify the extra carrying expense demanded by BMW....

Not to get on too big a tangent...

But that's the facts.

BMW wants them to be Exclusive. BMW in Cincy went belly-up do to ahem-personal-reasons-ahem, as I understand it.

Those that have looked at trying to keep it alive, or purchase the franchise have been blown away by BMW's latest demands.

They also want them to ONLY carry BMW's line of clothing and accessories.

That's horse crap. While they make some great stuff, people want choices, and dealers make most of their coin of off the accessories and add-ons.

So we are still dealer-less, which is a shame, Tri-State had a great selection of stuff, not just BMW stuff. It was the only place around to buy Gerbings, and PowerLet, and all kinds of great Touring stuff.

 

[starcruiser(aka downn2)]

I spent a total of $1100 for a one night stay at THE BROADMOOR last week. In otherwords, $1100 is a drop in the bucket. While it used be a wad of dough a couple of years back, these days I'd imagine it'd cost more than $1100 to take my family (4) to see a Cowboys game. ..

If you have a problem with that, I hear bicycling is a realively cheap form of transportation.,..

We have this saying in Texas "If you can't bark with the big dogs, GET OFF THE PORCH!"

 

[Dwavey]

I spent a total of $1100 for a one night stay at THE BROADMOOR last week. In otherwords, $1100 is a drop in the bucket. While it used be a wad of dough a couple of years back, these days I'd imagine it'd cost more than $1100 to take my family (4) to see a Cowboys game. ..
If you have a problem with that, I hear bicycling is a realively cheap form of transportation.,..

We have this saying in Texas "If you can't bark with the big dogs, GET OFF THE PORCH!"

In that case, would you mind spotting me a couple of drops in the bucket? I might even pay you back someday...no interest though... :lol:

$1100 is a good chunk of change for the vast majority of people. Especially when taken in the context of the cost of maintenance of other machines. Eg. Annual maintenance cost on my 04 FZ6 last year was $400CAD, and for my 2005 Honda Accord EXL was all of $188 CAD. Sure the FZ6 is a simpler bike, and there's more cars than motorcycles so maybe volume plays a factor, and maybe servicing a motorcycle takes more time than for a car.

Maybe it's not the $11k price tag for just one servicing that's the issue, maybe it's the comparative excessiveness from a manufacturer that would like to be considered more mainstream than a specialty niche in the motorcycle market.

 

[markjenn]

The problem with internet heresay is that you never know the details.

I'd like to see what's in that $1100. Does it include some major consumables like tires and brake pads? Does it involve flushing the ABS system and clutch fluid? Does it replace all the filters (fuel, air, oil, etc.)? Does it include tax (which runs over 10% in may locales)? Does it include a bunch of non-specified maintenance that the dealer thinks is necessary but BMW doesn't (like clutch splines or wheel bearings)? Lots of variables.

You take a typical 30K FJR in for major maintenance (all fluids, all filters, valve adjustment, maybe a tire or brake pads, and all the other little things in the OM) and it's not going to be a couple hundred bucks. It will probably be a simlar amount.

I own a BMW (R1100S) and an FJR and have put big miles on each. I think the FJR is probably more reliable and probably a little cheaper to maintain. But bikes are bikes and you guys who think there is a huge disparity in average service and parts costs between then two are letting your FJR love cloud your judgement. 30K miles costs money on a BMW, FJR, or Vespa.

- Mark

 

[Thor's-FJR]

The story I've heard (on pretty good authority) was that a few years ago, BMW told the dealers that they had to have the BMW branded motorcycles in a separate building & service area, not comingled with other brands of motorcycles. At the time, alot of dealers that carried BMW told them to shove it. It's probably the main reason BMW dealers have moved to other brands, because they didn't sell enough BMW product to justify the extra carrying expense demanded by BMW....

Not to get on too big a tangent...

But that's the facts.

BMW wants them to be Exclusive. BMW in Cincy went belly-up do to ahem-personal-reasons-ahem, as I understand it.

Those that have looked at trying to keep it alive, or purchase the franchise have been blown away by BMW's latest demands.

They also want them to ONLY carry BMW's line of clothing and accessories.

That's horse crap. While they make some great stuff, people want choices, and dealers make most of their coin of off the accessories and add-ons.

So we are still dealer-less, which is a shame, Tri-State had a great selection of stuff, not just BMW stuff. It was the only place around to buy Gerbings, and PowerLet, and all kinds of great Touring stuff.

Tri-State is out of business? That's a real shame. I purchased my K1200RS from them in 2000. If I would have purchased another BMW, I would have traveled the 2+ hours to Tri-State instead of buying locally.

 

[Ari Rankum]

I spent a total of $1100 for a one night stay at THE BROADMOOR last week. In otherwords, $1100 is a drop in the bucket.

Phew! That was close. For a moment there, I thought there would be no way that you could work that statement into a post on the Forum, in which case that money clearly would have been wasted.