BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

I bought my TC RT new in January 2013.  When the warranty expired two years later I decided not to take out the warranty extension.  Part of the reason was my surprise at the cost and I remember thinking at the time that, if BMW think they need £270 a year to cover warranty failures then they can't have much faith in the product.  I know that it is not a simple as that but this is a premium brand £14K bike that I had from new and it is well looked after.  If that required an average of £270 annually in repairs I would be disappointed.

So, I decided I would not take the warranty but, knowing that BM's are not the cheapest brand to repair and being mindful that something can always go wrong I put the money aside in a 'repair fund'.  That way I am offsetting some of the risk by having a 'pot' towards future repairs if anything failed. 

Well, the bike has just turned four years old and at the latest service if needed a new set of boots (fair enough) and an oil leak repaired where a seal on the cylinder had failed.  When I collected the bike from the workshop the heated grips had failed.  This ended up being down to a faulty connector on one of the grips.  The oil seal repair cost me £180 and getting the heated grips sorted was £250.  So, thus far I have spent £430 on repairs our of the £540 that I had in the pot. 

I hope that I was just unlucky with these issues.  I have already given the dealer some light-heated stick asking if they realised that oil leaks were supposed to be the preserve of old British bikes and that modern machines really should be able to hold onto their liquids.  It is also worth noting that my previous touring machine, a 1998 VFR800fi, was showing 65,000 miles when I sold it and had not had a single mechanical failure.  (And the original Honda heated grips still worked!)  I have to put my hands up and admit that the downpipes and collector rotted after about five years and I stuck a new shock on it at 40K but the bike never had a single issue.  I just didn't break!   

So, my scheme has worked so far but its not a predictable risk.  There are guys that have racked up big mileages with minimal issues and those that seem to have been unlucky and had expensive failure prematurely.  I have my fingers crossed!                       

In the end it's like any insurance policy, you decide on your risk appetite and proceed appropriately.

I bought a 2-year-old GS LC from a dealer in 2015. Fortunately as a pre-owned bike it came with a BMW warranty. I say fortunately because the ESA module failed just before the end of the year. It was replaced under warranty but the dealer explained that the parts alone came to £1,600. When the warranty came to an end I renewed it for another year.


The problem with the new LC engines, and their 'ride by wire' systems is that they are so heavily dependent on electronics. Something goes wrong and the costs can be painful, as the above example shows.

i have a 2007 RT, i got it pre-owned from a dealer last year and it came with the BMW 2 year warranty. it expires in july 2018. it has done 40,000 miles


will i renew it then?


i dunno, it's a tricky one


it seems the main 3 expensive things that can go are


- clutch
- final drive
- ESA


each one of those is the best part of £1,000 to fix


but, on the whole, it appears when BMWs are going, they're great bikes, when they break they are VERY expensive to fix, and certainly seem more prone to mechanical failure compared to jap bikes

I'm not sure but one of your items is probably not covered.

>I'm not sure but one of your items is probably not covered.


what do you mean?

Clutch

ah, i better stop doing those donuts and wheelies then


i guess BMW consider the clutch going as "wear and tear", then again you could apply that pretty much to any fault apart from the engine exploding


warranty is like insurance - ie a generally a massive con

Have a read of the warranty booklet you should have been given.  It says the clutch is covered but then says except for burnt out parts. Wonder what the definition of burnt out is over worn out.

Wow what a sweeping statement about Jap bikes being more reliable. Even the wonderful Honda brand has had some bad issues with some of their models, how about the Pan weave? We have a 2015 FJR which is having electrical issues. You hear about the BMW issues if your on a BMW forum, ditto with other makes. I'm not a die hard BMW fan, but some of the issues people moan about, are minor. Major issues get sorted by BMW, try that with other brands. I had my whole exhaust replaced because of a stuck flap, yes rubbish design, but the bike was out of manufacturers warranty.

Have a look at this http://www.visordown.com/features/who-makes-most-reliable-motorcycles

Obvious where the most reliable and unreliable are made without resorting to sweeping statements.

Jacksnipe wrote: Have a look at this https://www.visordown.com/features/who-makes-most-reliable-motorcycles

Obvious where the most reliable and unreliable are made without resorting to sweeping statements.

But that is a US based survey. It was done with a 11000 sample, which is not a huge sample. It is also talking about failure rate of 4 year old bikes, so not current models and not even the RT LC.


If BMW are so shit, don't buy their bikes, simple really.

Why would you buy a near 10 year old bike with 40K on it if you are of the opinion that it's far less reliable the the Jap equivalent. 
But then again what other manufacturer would even dream of giving you a 2 year warranty on it. 

Casbar wrote: Wow what a sweeping statement about Jap bikes being more reliable. Even the wonderful Honda brand has had some bad issues with some of their models, how about the Pan weave? We have a 2015 FJR which is having electrical issues. You hear about the BMW issues if your on a BMW forum, ditto with other makes. I'm not a die hard BMW fan, but some of the issues people moan about, are minor. Major issues get sorted by BMW, try that with other brands. I had my whole exhaust replaced because of a stuck flap, yes rubbish design, but the bike was out of manufacturers warranty.

It is not uncommon for people to make sweeping statements, sometimes they are justified but, in my opinion, many are based on a single incident or problem that leaves a bad taste. Often people need to go back the topic every time they have an opportunity to beat the drum on their pet subject. I am not immune to this - I had an appalling experience with a Yamaha dealer in 2006 and zero support from Yamaha UK when I asked for their assistance. I decided there and then that I would never buy another Yamaha and I haven't. No matter how good their bikes are I will never buy another. Logical? Of course not but no new Yamaha will ever leave a showroom in my hands.

I don't know if the statement that Japanese bikes are more reliable is true or not. My experience with Japanese bikes includes many machines from an FS1E to RD's, several Suzuki 4-pot GS's, a Fireblade, Blackbird, FZS1000 and VFR800. I have to say that I have had minimal issues with them. Yep, the EXUP valve is prone to seizing on the FZS and the VFR's downpipes rust if you wave a packet of salt and vinegar crisps at them but generally issues were few. Not one ever left me stranded at the roadside but neither has the RT.

As for the Japanese reputation for reliability - I do think that this was forged during the 60's and 70's. When compared to British machinery of the time a reputation for reliability probably wasn't too difficult to establish - and over the years it has stuck. Cliché perhaps?

With respect to the RT, OK I have had an oil leak and a heated grip repaired. A bit disappointing on a pampered machine and it cost a few bob to sort but it's hardly the end of the world and it certainly does not detract from the general satisfaction that comes with owning the bike. When compared to how other bikes ride and do the job that this one was bought for, which is two up touring, there is no other machine I would rather have. The bike was bought for the way it rides and that is far from overshadowed by a couple of minor component issues.

+1 on the last paragraph