6 hour old 05 K12LT with a recurring radio issue.

[Crestwood330]

Hello, new member here.

 

I joined this list to learn about BMW motorcycles and their idiocyncracies. I'm coming from Honda, where I had an 87 Helix just after High School, 90 Pacific Coast and a 03 GL1800.

 

I originally posted on the Hexhead side of the forum because I was considering a purchase of the new R12RT or the K12LT as my first BMW Motorcycle. After some serious debate and seat time, I decided to go with the K-bike.

 

The horror show begins.

 

I arrive at the dealer at 4 pm to pick up my new LT. I haven't even ridden it at this point. The salesman and I are going over the check list on the bike and come to find out the radio is not working or responding. After looking over the bike for the obvious for 20 minutes, they take it back to the shop to run diagnostics on it. It came back stating some module was bad.

 

They did not have another in stock and could not get one until Tuesday. I was not happy about this at all. I asked if it can be swapped with another LT, and they did. 2 hours later the bike was ready. With the delay in making things right we were late for a baseball game here locally where we were going to take the LT.

 

I rode home, the radio was working. I rode to the game radio was working. When we left the game the same problem came back. I can press the ON button, the other buttons would light up, nothing would read on the display until a minute passed, then it would read "No Radio" and shut itself off. I could not even power it up to get the CD we were listening to out of the bike. I also had no servo assist on the brakes after I turned it on. It took a few careful stops to get it back.

 

I am quite livid only having 50 miles on it and for 6 hours and I've had a problem with the same item twice. I have a bad gut feeling about this bike and will ask for another one. I have seen cars and motorcycles with data bus issues escallate into other issues. I have already been burned by Porsche and the local dealer's lack luster customer service and I don't care attitude. I sold my new dream Porsche after 5 months of ownership because I had such a difficult time with the local dealer.

 

So far this dealer is attempting to make it right. I am not happy about buying a new $20K motorcycle and having issues with it before I get it off the lot. Granted, my 03 Gold Wing was added to the frame crack recall 3 days after I bought it and I had an overheating situtation at 1000 miles. The frame was taken care of 6 weeks later in Atlanta and the OH issue was solved. It makes we wonder about these high tech car like motorcycles.

 

has anyone else experienced a radio issue like this? What was the problem and what did it take to correct it?

 

I will be at the dealer first thing in the morning and we'll see what happens. Hopefully this issue can be taken care of without further issues. The RT and the LT are great bikes, but this is a sour first experience with my first new BMW Motorcycle.

 

Sincerely,

David Allen

05 K1200LT

05 330 CI Convertible

[David]

Sorry about your troubles, David. I don't know enough about those bikes to be of any help. You might check with the more LT-centric board, too:

 

http://www.bmwlt.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?Cat=

 

Just honestly, I think you are overreacting. I say that because it's the radio that's giving you trouble, which is probably the least essential part of any motorcycle and really not likely to cause trouble with anything else. Since swapping the radio didn't fix it, there's obviously something else they haven't discovered yet. In other words, the problem was not the radio, so they haven't even diagnosed it yet. Give them a chance.

 

Your expectations of a BMW motorcycle are unfounded, too. They aren't any better quality than an $8,000 race replica. You've moved from one of the most reliable motorcycles to a BMW.

 

Pause. Take a deep breath. And don't communicate disgust and impatience to the dealer. Laugh your ass off and give them a chance to be on your side instead of in an adversarial position. Otherwise sell the damn thing back and move onto another brand.

 

The ownerership experience is just that: an experience. I don't need my motorcycle to perform flawlessly to be happy. It's an adventure. (Just keep repeating this to yourself.)

[270]

David,

 

I'm with David...only I'm not David, I'm Allen At any rate, there are certainly some customer service/product horror stories out there. I would certainly work with the dealer to get this corrected and maintain firm, but conenial attitude. It's been my experience over the years that that type of attitude gets better service in spades when compared to the demanding, I'm pissed as hell attitude...not suggesting that you've got that attitude!

 

They will get it right, and you will pleased with your LT. They are fantastic machines! It may take a little trouble shooting, and it may even take a part or two. It's aggrevating since I know you want to get on it and roll down the road trouble free, only it's not working out that way. Be patient, and I think it all works out

[Brimoon]

David -

I had an LT for five years and about 60,000 miles and zero problems with it. It was the most reliable bike I ever owned. I traded it for the new RT only because of the weight and the fact that I rarely ride two-up.

 

I think David's advice above is on the money. Give the dealer a day or two to get it sorted and if it's still not fixed ask for a different LT. It sounds like he's trying hard to treat you right. It's a great bike and I think you'll be happy with it when all is in order. Good luck!

 

Brian Mullins

[ELP_JC]

Hey David, welcome. Sorry to hear your horror story. And no, I don't think you're exaggerating. A seemingly simple problem (a bad radio) transformed into a potential deadly one: NO SERVOS. That's pretty darn serious, especiall on that big beast (not as easy to stop with residual braking). That's the result of either tech incompetence, or a serious electrical problem with your bike. The radio would be the least of my concerns at this point.

 

Get the darn bike back to the dealer, and demand it to get fixed right, or get a new one. Good luck, and keep us posted.

[Crestwood330]

Thank you everyone for your responses.

 

I am less hot headed than my SO and handle things with a little more understanding.

 

I brought the LT back to the dealer at opening the following morning and explained what happened. In explaning what happend, my salesman told me the radio unit was not swapped after all! I was told the night before the radio was swapped out and the modules were reset. I was not happy being told one thing when they did another.

 

Once again they pulled both LTs in the shop and swapped the radio units like they were supposed to the night before. This swap is time consuming and involves removing several panels up front.

 

3 hours later my LT comes up front and we go over everything again. The radio is now working as designed. I noticed the left fairing was not set properly and the tabs were not engaged to the panel above it. Once again it goes back into the shop and the panel is remounted properly.

 

During all of this the servo assist was checked out and seemed to be ok, still not sure why it quit the night before.

 

Anyway, I asked the dealership to take care of my 600 mile service, and they agreed due to the inconveinences.

 

I felt the dealer jumped right on the problem, did what they could with what they had available and compensated me fairly for the trouble I had with it.

 

The problem I had when I wrote the original post, I was told the radio was swapped (i didn't know it wasn't swapped), then it went out again within 50 miles, compounded with the servo assist going out, really got me wondering how many gremlins have set up shop in this bike.

 

Now that its straightened out I hope to enjoy it.

 

To respond to the comment "You moved from one of the most reliable motorcycles to a BMW" and my expectations of quality on the BMW were distorted, I don't agree. I was without my brand new GL1800 for the first 2 months due to the frame recall and the overheating issues. I came to BMW expecting at least similar quality and reliability, but done a little better than the GL1800. I cannot get ABS on a Wing right now, they're not making many of them and I really didn't want to deal with the oversensitive cooling system again in hot (=>75 degrees) slow moving traffic situations. I shouldn't be overheating, puking coolant on 75/85 in Atlanta traffic, trying to get down to a Braves game. Although my frame was not cracked, have the frame rewelded by an experience FAA certified acrobatic aircraft technician as a part of the recall made me feel better. I never had a subsequent problem with the frame, but it was always in the back of my mind as a major safety issue.

 

Once all of that nonsense was taken care of, it was a great bike. I never had a 100% trouble free vehicle of any price range. Odd things do happen now and again. I have head of some BMW motorcycle owners having ABS issues including my friends uncle in Savannah, GA. He never was able to get his ABS issues resolved and ended up getting another BMW 2 years later.

 

I like both bikes and there are things on each I like better than the other. I just thought that I was getting into another long drawn out repair process on a brand new motorcycle once again.

 

Thanks again for the advice and every comment was appreciated. Hopefully now, I can enjoy the LT for many years to come.

 

Sincerely

 

David Allen

05 K1200LT

05 330 CI Convertible

 

 

 

 

[Tool]

Nice follow-up post, Dave -

 

 

Sounds like a fair-and-balanced outlook you've acquired. I think that will serve you well. No matter what brand/model you ride.

 

 

Happy Trails...