BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

Good luck Joakim, hope your purchase works out well. I did the same, I bought a well cared for used 2014 with 6000 miles and saved $12,000 compared to a new 2017. I recently discovered the wheeping water pump issue, which I will monitor and deal with if it becomes more than a bother. Otherwise the bike runs like new.

This may or may not be what you want to hear, and it is only one story regarding the '14RT.  My close friend purchased one  in '14 and had a number of problems with his bike.  Most were related to final drive, electronics.  It spent more time in the shop than out of the shop.  I know that year, BMW had serious problems that required a significant number of bikes to be recalled.  Then there were some safety concerns.  My friend returned his bike, it was purchased back, and bought a new '15.  And, he loves it.


This is not first hand experience.  But you may want to take a close look at some of the issues and recalls of the '14s and identify if this is a road you wish to travel on.


I have an '05 and don't even want to test drive a newer one.  I am satisfied with it.  I know that test driving a new one will cause new bike lust.


Let me mention also, that this information was relating to the '14 in the US.  So, that may also have something to do with it.

The only recall for my 14 was the shock, which was sorted by BMW. Just passing the 12k point now, no issues whatsoever apart from the exhaust flap, which is an issue on all LC Res.

Casbar wrote: The only recall for my 14 was the shock, which was sorted by BMW. Just passing the 12k point now, no issues whatsoever apart from the exhaust flap, which is an issue on all LC Res.

Is the exhaust flap only a issue in the UK? 

I have asked, and been on a lot of RT forums and never hear it mentioned.

I have seen it mentioned more than once on this forum but not a lot on others?  Is it weather related do you think?  Or is is fuel related?

Curios as the next tire change I was thinking of using a defogger for carbon build up just for maintenance.

And since there is no "fix" that I know of for removing that piece of pipe and flap it appears we must live with it.

The flap is an issue on all LC bikes, not just European. Your right there is not fix, either live with it being stuck open or pay for new headers. If in warranty your ok, if out, then you have to rely on the goodwill of the dealers. Its not fuel related, so could be down to operating conditions, as its condensation in the pipe that seems to kill it.

I brought my 14 into the dealer for new tires when I bought it. They ran the VIN and besides the shock replacement which was done by the original owner there were two additional recalls. The start button and a firmware update which controls transmission functionality.


Both the start button and firmware were done by my local dealer. They were nice enough to use the only extra start button they had in stock, which was reserved for another customer that had not showed up to replace it for three months.


All things considered going with this 14 and saving loads of cash appears to have been worthwhile. Only time will tell if the bike will remain mechanically sound, so far so good. Road 400+ miles through the mountains of southern Colorado without any issues.


If it turns out to be problematic it will be sold and replaced with something else. Lucky for me there are lots of makes and models to choose from!