Warning: R1200RT's serious flaw

[Clyde]

Bike is broken-in, serviced and good to go

everything seemed perfect, even my earphone is color-match

...engine running free, what a nice machine!

But then, as I zoomed fast up the coastal highway, something terrible happened: :

my left side mirror was...gone! Long story short: It fell as I was traveling at high speed. So I stopped at the nearest dealership to search for a replacement and found out no dealership in the country have this in stock! It takes three days to order. So I ask that *heartless* dealership to sell one off of their bikes and have the replacement to put back in a few days. They had three or four of them bikes but would sell me one mirror. No mirror no trip :<.

 

By design or by accident, the 1200RT side mirrors will fall off! and there is no string attached!

 

For consolation, I went for food:

in style of not-so-famous and down-and-out.

All look and no go, damn bike!

Fly, I could have ... I thought. I need to make a big stink of this. I should be cruising but instead I am posting this.

Fellow 12RT owners, what to do?

[Paul De]

"Fellow 12RT ownwers, what to do?"

 

Um, order the part and enjoy that ride anyway?

 

There was another mirror to the right that works and you should be swivaling your head for turns and lane changes regardless of how many mirrors are on the machine.

 

If the missing left mirror bothered you too much, a Walmart could have yieded a inexpensive generic convex one with a sticky foam tape back as a temporary fix.

 

I sure wouldn't have let a freak mirror failure ruin my ride. Frustrated, yes. Ride killer, no.

 

But did you notice how much storage space there is behind those mirrors? An enterprising sort might see opportunity here My mind reals with marketing ideas....More space than Dumbo's ears. On second thought, never mind!

[Calvin (no socks)]

After riding a Ducati with mirrors that show me nothing, I could ride a one mirrored BMW with ease.... I probably wouldn't do interstate thru a major city..... But I would have my head on swivels.....

[ScottT]

So, how exactly did it just fall off? I have 6400 miles on mine and I've taken the mirrors off and put them back on with no trouble. BTW, I've had mine past 130 in brutal cross winds. Mirrors are still there. BTW, even if I did lose one and it would not arrive in time for my trip I would do what the other folks here suggested. Improvise. Life is too short to let something like this stop you.

[ShovelStrokeEd]

Its not a serious flaw or even uncommon. BMW has been mounting the mirrors like that since they came out with the RT in '96. The serious flaw would have been if they were rigid mounted and took out the front fairing on a simple drop.

 

The mirror probably shouldn't have fallen off on a new bike if it was properly installed. You dealer can sell you a little leash kit to keep them with the bike when they fall off. Sometimes a severe bump will jar one loose.

[David_S]

Actually the new RT mirrors mount a bit differently than the 11xx models. The tabs go into a rubber grommet rather than the steel spring type gizmo like the 11XX. The new design is much easier to use IMO. They also don't fall off if they're installed correctly, at least not at speeds 123mph and less . A 25 cent fishing leader is cheap insurance. Or add a pair of GS mirrors and you'll have 4 mirrors so you should never have your trip ruined because of a missing mirror (not that I would let that ruin a trip).

[Whip]

GS mirrors work better.......$40....

[Geraldh]

GS mirrors work better.......$40....

 

Anyone wanna post some pix of a R12RT with GS mirrors? I'd like to see what they look like. Both front and back angles please if it's not too much trouble

[Flash1034]

A mirror fell off. Thats a serious flaw? Come on, this post is ridiculous.

It's a wonderful bike!

Flash

[Scarver]

Not sure it is a seriuous flaw but when I took delivery of my RT (10 weeks and 8000 miles ago), I anticipated that problem so I drilled a small hole through the inside edge of each mirror. Tied a short piece of line (rope to non-sailors) from the internal frame to that hole (see attached image.) When I did the unmentionable (dropped my bike while stopping in gravel ), the mirror came loose but never left the bike! Mirror did not scratch paint but gravel did a number on my right sidecase .

[BamaRider]

I was just about to say, no big deal if mine falls off, can't seen nuttin with it anyway.

 

I'll be leaving soon on a 4k tour, and loaded out it will be hopeless to see anything in the rear, so tell me where the GS mirrors fit on a RT?

 

Yours gonna be a warranty fix?

[David_S]

Guy, the GS mirrors fit in the mirror holes on the brake (front) and clutch master cylinders. The right side fits great but the left side is tight. I ground the stem on my left side to get it to fit but someone else posted that they just screwed it into the hole and it worked well.

 

Rather than drilling into the stock mirrors you can attach a fishing leader to one of the screws on the back side of the mirror and attach the other end to a screw behind the mirror.

 

I was just about to say, no big deal if mine falls off, can't seen nuttin with it anyway.

 

I'll be leaving soon on a 4k tour, and loaded out it will be hopeless to see anything in the rear, so tell me where the GS mirrors fit on a RT?

 

Yours gonna be a warranty fix?

[Chunky]

The easiest fix are the GS mirrors that fit the holes on your handlebars. They're $50 & are better than the originals as far as view.

[PaulW42]

When I first rode the 1200, I was disappointed with the mirrors to the extent I thought about fitting GS ones. But, as the miles have gone on, I've realised they actually work pretty well.

 

The problem,as I see it, is they are so big (compared with anything I'm used to anyway) that you get to see a lot of your hands and panniers but, in between there is a lot of road and the angle of the mirrors gives very good coverage. I've just come back from a two up fully laden trip and they still worked fine.

 

Paul

[Spike]

After riding a Ducati with mirrors that show me nothing...

 

What are you smoking? They give you a great view of your elbows!! It lets me know when I need to wash the stitch

[BamaRider]

I need to get Paul to come adjust MY mirrors, all I can get in focus is my shoulder.

[PaulW42]

I need to get Paul to come adjust MY mirrors, all I can get in focus is my shoulder.

 

Buy me a 'plane ticket and I'd be happy to!

 

I wonder if its to do with height. I'm about 5' 10" and use the seat on the high setting. Maybe if you're taller its difficult to set an angle that works?

 

Paul

[BamaRider]

Might be, I'm 5-8 and have the low seat option. Only way I could touch the ground.

[jakfrost]

Just a caution, my best friend at the time, Mark Lennox, died while waiting for his left hand mirror to arrive from Germnay. He was riding his 1980 R100RT at night enroute to vist us in Montreal when he went a little wide on a decreasing radius on-ramp to the 2 lane TransCanada Hwy at Magnetic Hill, New Brunswick. He never saw the loaded tractor trailer's front bumper. All that was left was his helmet and evisera.

While looking over his left shoulder 'cause he had no rear view mirror...

While looking over his left shoulder 'cause he had no rear view mirror...

[STUFF2C]

not to be insensitive , but how would you know what he was looking at just before he hit a semi. sorry for the question, my wife thinks I'm morbid too.

[RickZ]

Rather than drilling into the stock mirrors you can attach a fishing leader to one of the screws on the back side of the mirror and attach the other end to a screw behind the mirror.

 

That method is great for the R1100/1150RT, but I don't think it would have helped in this case. Maybe I'm wrong, but if I'm looking at the pic correctly, I think the problem is that the glass actually fell out of the mirror housing. This isn't the same as the normal RT mirror/turn signal housing ejecting.

 

I agree that the GS mirror fix would have been your best bet.

[David_S]

Nope it would have saved it. The housing is not at all the same as the 11xx.

[jakfrost]

My dad knew the driver of the truck thru his business...he said he saw the white helmet coming around the ramp and looking back as he came into the opposite lane. That ramp has a very short 'acceleration' lane. The driver eventually had a nervous breakdown and never drove again. Not to be morbid about it, just one of those life lessons to hopefully learn from...

Jim.

[Clyde]

This problem is easily remedy. Not need to drill modify.

I use a tough nilon coated steal cable to secure them from fall or stolen.

 

Riding without a left side mirror is dangerous. You must consider other motorists, too. Some people poopoo me but the is a safty issue so it's serious.

[Couchrocket]

Interesting photo. On the 11xxRTs the "whole housing" comes off. In your photo it looks as though only what I'll call "the mirror insert" comes off -- leaving the housing in place to be smashed to smitherines if the bike falls over. Am I "not seeing something" here?

 

Inquiring mind wants to know.

[Buccaneer]

Yup, it's just the "insert" that comes off.

 

And there are no indicator cables involved either, making a leash an essential mod. Beats me why BMW didn't put one in themselves.

[Couchrocket]

Makes me wonder why they bothered with having them of the "pop off" variety at all, rather than just mounted with machine screws or whatever. Is there some reason they must come off for servicing the bike or ????

[Clyde]

>Makes me wonder why they bothered with having them of the "pop off" variety at all, rather than just mounted with machine screws or whatever. Is there some reason they must come off for servicing the bike or ????

 

It's better to break off the way it is. The mirror is not damaged when it bumps into another object. It just came loose, *and then* fall in my case.

 

A leash is so obviously needed. BMW is asleep on this and deserve 17 bamboo lashes to the behind. My bike's mirrors have a "housing" that fits into the "fender", behind is the wiring and turn signal. To change light bulb, just pull the mirror off.

[Flash1034]

Honestly guys, is this mirror issue really THAT big of a deal? So far 2 guys had their mirrors fall off. Youre supposed to turn your head and look anyway prior to a turning movement so...whats the big deal here?

 

Sorry, just misunderstanding I guess.

 

Flash

[Clyde]

Yes, it's absolutely 100% no big deal..............

 

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Youre supposed to turn your head and look anyway prior to a turning movement so

You are supposed never to crash.

 

Sir

[Flash1034]

Yes, it's absolutely 100% no big deal..............

 

....................................<><><><><><><><><>

 

Youre supposed to turn your head and look anyway prior to a turning movement so

You are supposed never to crash.

 

Sir

 

I wonder how you would have managed back when motorcycles didnt come with mirrors? Jeez