BMWs more reliable?

[Whip]

When I first joined the board almost any event I went to someone was having major issues with their bike.

 

In the last few years I don't remember anything more than tire problems.

 

Are our bikes getting more complicated AND more reliable?

 

Are the geeks and engineers finally getting their S$#T together?

 

Or do I have selective memory loss?

[TEWKS]

My 05 RT had what seemed to be a bunch of warrantee (lucky) fixes. The old Oil leak, split the bike in half fix. The handlebar switch gear issues. Loose saddle bags. (mount issue) And the fuel strip failure x2.

 

My 12 GT. Front end squeak. I gave up a little too quick on that one because the new Wethead RT looked SO NICE! 

 

The 12 GS. A dead battery, really that's it. 

 

And my 14 RT, other than the shock recall it's been flawless.

 

Seems there's a lot of new moving parts in the shiftcam motor so time will tell. I hope good results with it, I think BMW has it pretty well sorted out.

 

Pat

[RightSpin]

Yes, and yes.  They are getting more complicated (a lot more complicated) and more reliable.  My 2016 GS sits in the garage next to my 1981 R100CS and the two couldn't be more at odds with one another in both respects.  Though the CS is easier to work on, it's definitely not more reliable.

[BrianT]

I think there was a bike or two with issues at DVD this year.  I remember one for sure with a leaky final drive or shaft that needed to be addressed and another one that was leaking gasoline while running.  Got interesting when it smoked a bit up at Dante's view from the engine.

[MikeB60]

Neither of my current BMWs have had a issue outside of scheduled service.  46000 miles between the two.  Put 30000 on my 2011 RT and other than the switch assembly no issues.  My 2004 RT was fraught with issues and BMW bought it back.  Seems to me the new ones are very reliable...

[Whip]

5 hours ago, BrianT said:

I think there was a bike or two with issues at DVD this year.  I remember one for sure with a leaky final drive or shaft that needed to be addressed and another one that was leaking gasoline while running.  Got interesting when it smoked a bit up at Dante's view from the engine.

 

 

Were those new models?

[realshelby]

The final drive seal was on a Camhead RT. Don't know about the gasoline leak bike. 

 

I had problems with my Oilhead. Still liked the bike. But I have confidence in the Wethead RT. I didn't have that with the Oilhead. If I could just put my '04 RT front fairing/fender/front tupperware on the Wethead, I would have the best of both! Oilhead RT's were good looking bikes! 40K with zero issues. Except for the leak in the fuel tank. Gets low about every 240-250 miles........

[Bill_Walker]

3 hours ago, Whip said:

 

 

Were those new models?

 

I think the final drive leak (the one I saw, anyway) was Bigfish's hexhead (might be camhead, I don't recall).  It still got them home, albeit a day earlier than originally planned.

[Paul De]

Yes 

Probably not

 For sure!

 

I am amazed how reliable bikes are and have been over the last several decades.  With the exception of AMF era Harley’s it seems reliability got a lot better in the 70’s and by the 80’s reliability with high complexity became the norm.

 

I still think that all manufacturers release new models as late stage beta models and sort out the remaining details on early adopters.

 

According to my wife, selective memory is a key guy characteristic.  

[RightSpin]

BTW, I don't think it's just BMW's.  Manufacturing has matured to the point that there is very little difference in quality and reliability brand to brand.  Design and engineering is a very different matter.

[beemerman2k]

I think so.  My K1300GT is as reliable as my Honda Accord so far in it's first 26k--too early to tell, really.  But I share this impression as well.

[beemerman2k]

Cool, we can do "Likes" now?  Great job, Whip!

[Whip]

8 minutes ago, beemerman2k said:

Cool, we can do "Likes" now?  Great job, Whip!

 

 

Thanks, but the real credit goes to 

Chris Olson with an assist from Francois. 

[BrianT]

On 1/23/2019 at 6:28 AM, Whip said:

 

 

Were those new models?

Not brand new models.  As stated earlier by Bill it was Bigfish with the leaky rearend and Havasu Dave was the rolling EPA spill.  Cant remember if he was on his K1300 or LT.

 

[Ponch]

Probably depends on a few factors, but everything being equal or optimal, I wonder how a bike ages. Reviewers don't have the bikes long and even the long term bikes have less than 10k miles put on them. What happens at 50K? 100K? The best people to ask are the mechanics for authority bikes and high mileage riders. The K1600 had some teething problems and BMWs seem to for the first couple years for a new model. Maybe the newest bikes are different. From my experience and observation, BMWs tend to have issues with the stuff that's been figured out already, which makes me wonder about vendor QC. Leaky water pumps? Really? Even the final drive issues. Then there are the plastic pulleys on the hexheads throttle bodies. I owned only japanese bikes before the RT and they were more reliable up front. I don't think they age any better though and getting parts can be a hassle. Would I get another BMW? Probably not. My income has decreased and the costs have gone up. They're also more complicated than I want. On top of that I've had health issues that have prevented my from riding anyway. I like the BMW motorcycles, but I don't think I am part of their core demo. Maybe the R1800C will catch my eye. Who knows. 

[Tennmoto]

There are many high mileage BMW s out there.  Thing that might drive riders away are, quality of dealerships,

some quality issues like the encasing on the wire harness on my R1150R. I will put up with some issues

because I love the character of my oilhead and the handling. R1150Rs are so beautiful and reasonably priced.

[realshelby]

3 minutes ago, Tennmoto said:

There are many high mileage BMW s out there.  Thing that might drive riders away are, quality of dealerships,

some quality issues like the encasing on the wire harness on my R1150R. I will put up with some issues

because I love the character of my oilhead and the handling. R1150Rs are so beautiful and reasonably priced.

I put up with some issues on my Oilhead too. And if BMW continued with bikes that you had to put up with issues.....I don't believe I would be on one today. Which is kind of what this thread was about. It does seem that the Wetheads in particular don't really have issues that you expect to deal with. Anything can fail, but there are a LOT of Wethead owners out there with a lot of miles and no issues at all. MUCH improved over 1100-1150 series. 

[Tennmoto]

2 hours ago, realshelby said:

I put up with some issues on my Oilhead too. And if BMW continued with bikes that you had to put up with issues.....I don't believe I would be on one today. Which is kind of what this thread was about. It does seem that the Wetheads in particular don't really have issues that you expect to deal with. Anything can fail, but there are a LOT of Wethead owners out there with a lot of miles and no issues at all. MUCH improved over 1100-1150 series. 

What about the Camhead 1200 series

[TEWKS]

12 minutes ago, Tennmoto said:

What about the Camhead 1200 series

 

Very few issues with the Camheads AFAIK. I've had none (except a bad battery) on my GS.

 

Edit...getting old is...

when you post pretty much the same answer in a thread. :-))

 

Pat

[Ponch]

1 hour ago, Tennmoto said:

What about the Camhead 1200 series

The only thing I have heard was the switch gear. They changed it on those and the very first camheads may have had fuel strips. They switched to floats early on. I think the shimmed valves hold their adjustment longer too, which is a good thing. Unfortunately, The newest of them is 6 years old if you want a RT. 

[Sonor]

All I can add is I hope for BMW's sake that they are.

[ScottT]

On 1/22/2019 at 1:06 PM, TEWKS said:

 

Seems there's a lot of new moving parts in the shiftcam motor

The shiftcam mechanism actually has four additional moving parts and two that move in an additional way. Two actuator motors per side with two moving steel pins and two camshafts that move side to side. The motor also has a larger improved oil pump and the pistons are cooled by oil from the bottom. The additional mechanical complexity is minimal and simple. The real work is done by the engine management system. One huge reason I went for the R1250RT is because shift cam is not overly complex and quite an elegant solution. And it works. At 2000 rpm my 1250 has almost as much torque as my old R1200RT has... period. It's way faster, smoother and is getting 4 to 5mpg better mileage. Reliability? Only time will tell.