kme9418 Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 New to forum and first post: I've searched but mostly seen old threads and I'm not sure how to phrase the search query to get current info. Bottom line: I want a new GS750 but I come from a Suzuki V-Strom 650 world where folks like to talk about how much it costs to repair and maintain BMW bikes. Can someone point me to the threads where this has been discussed recently? Background: I drive a 2002 330i with over 200K miles (original owner) so I'm not afraid to spend good money to keep a vehicle in excellent shape. The question is: on BMW bikes, what is considered normal maintenance/typical repairs and what should I expect to spend? Link to comment
TEWKS Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 Life is always better with pictures! I’m thinking other than valve checks, it should be a pretty basic bike to maintain. Not a ton of F bike action on the site but plenty of helpful people to converse with. “dirt rider“ may chime in but I’m thinking one or two valve checks and you could relax the required checks a bit. Good luck with the purchase! Link to comment
GWeldin Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 The best way to gauge the cost of ownership is to directly relate how much maintenance you intend to do on you own, outside the BMW Dealership network. Labor is the most expensive part and if you intend to allow BMW to maintain whatever bike you decide on, you can easily ask your dealer what the cost is for each service interval. BMW bikes are typically serviced every 6000 miles and each service interval will be slightly different depending on model. As an example of some of my past bills, a 6000 mile service was $ 290 out the door. A 12000-mile service was $ 550 out the door. These costs were from bills a couple of years ago on a 2015 RT. There is also a brake flush of between $ 100-200 every 2 years or so. I replaced brake pads a few times myself but allowing BMW to do your brake pads can add $ 100-300 if using OEM. I normally replaced my battery every 3 years, regardless of testing, since my winter riding here in Maine puts a lot of stress on the battery. $ 100-250 for a battery is normal but how often you change it will be your decision. On the particular bike you are looking at, the cost will be different due to engine design and parts needed. There is also the issue of tires. My RT had me replacing the tires every 5000-7000 miles with the rear tire usually lasting longer. I am not here to open a debate about tires since everyone's riding situations are different but depending on whether you allow BMW to dismount the tires, the cost can range anywhere between 400-600 dollars for both. Whatever tires you decide to use, BMW will charge about $ 50 each to dismount and mount the tires. I usually have BMW do the tires in conjunction with a service. I hope this helps you a little. My dealership is Max's BMW in NH and since the costs have been consistent throughout the years each time I go for service, I am not too surprised. Spending a few minutes asking your selected dealership could give you insights into the overall costs. Good Luck, Grant Link to comment
dirtrider Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 On 11/25/2020 at 7:29 PM, kme9418 said: New to forum and first post: I've searched but mostly seen old threads and I'm not sure how to phrase the search query to get current info. Bottom line: I want a new GS750 but I come from a Suzuki V-Strom 650 world where folks like to talk about how much it costs to repair and maintain BMW bikes. Can someone point me to the threads where this has been discussed recently? Background: I drive a 2002 330i with over 200K miles (original owner) so I'm not afraid to spend good money to keep a vehicle in excellent shape. The question is: on BMW bikes, what is considered normal maintenance/typical repairs and what should I expect to spend? Morning kme9418 BMW F bike parts run to the high side of nominal plus BMW motorcycle parts are less likely to be available aftermarket so do expect to spend more for replacement parts once your motorcycle is out of factory warranty. The upside is usually a longer BMW factory warranty than on other similar motorcycles. As mentioned above, it does depend on how much of the work that you intend on doing yourself. A valve check/reset is doable at home but not an easy task on the F bike & not for someone with limited mechanical experience. (it's real PITA) Things like brake service & oil changes are pretty straight forward. Due to the on-board electronics most electrical or electronics work will take specialized tools (like a GS-911). Personally I would put the cost to own per mile on the BMW 700/800, 750/850 at the top end of that type of motorcycle. But again, if you do a lot of the work yourself, plus shop around online for needed parts & service materials, then it is manageable. If you have all your work done at at a BMW dealer then the cost to own per mile or per year will be substantially higher. Check your messages on this site as I sent you some info to give you more specific 750/850 input. Link to comment
Rougarou Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 Snapshot of my RT maintenance-keep in mind, that running total started with the $10k purchase, as well as a bad decision to have the tranny rebuilt vs buying used one. Link to comment
Skywagon Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 Greetings TME...finally a motorcycle thread...I can't speak for the GS 750 as have no personal experience. DR will give you sound experience and advice. I bought my 2014 R1200RT new in Feb 2014. Excluding tires, batteries, brake flushes (which I do myself because it takes 30 minutes and about $4 worth of fluid) and oil changes I have spent $1033 dollars at the dealer for all the checkups I don't feel qualified to do and I have roughly 30,000 miles on the bike. Tires, oil, batteries, brake flushes are a bit of a personal thing and you have to do them on all bikes. There are folks on this board that get low mileage out of their tires(5000) and folks who get high mileage. We don't know why but attribute it mostly to riding style, what part of the country they live in and the road surface, and load. I'm a high mileage guy. I just turned 13000 miles on my PR4GT's and they have many miles left. I'll run them to 15000 and change them out of precaution. I change my oil every 4000 miles while many go as high as 10,000. I change my batteries every 3 year precautionary and some go as long as 7 years or until they die or get stranded. I change my brake fluid every year as cheap insurance to keep the brakes healthy. I change the air filter about 12,000 miles. For me....I don't know how you could own a bike less expensive (excluding purchase price) than I have with my RT. I'm on my 4th RT and my experience has been similar with all of them. Again...not a GX 750 but speaks to the quality I feel BMW put into this bike. Do they screw up something every once in a while...yep they do. My buddy rides a Yamaha FJR 1300. At 24k he took it in for valve check. It's a pretty big deal. They hit him $900 just for that. The problem he has with his FJR is finding Yamaha places to work on it as most of them are more interested in water sports. He lives in Dallas and there are dealers, but getting service has been troublesome for him. Good luck with your decision. Link to comment
mickeym3 Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 Suggest you look at the BMW “Parallel Universe” sub-forum on advrider since there are quite few F bike owners there and a maintenance thread on the newer 750/850 family. Also there are several YouTube channels (Adam Chandler’s channel is worth subscribing to). That said, the input provided here by boxer owners is pretty true for the parallel twins as well in terms of costs plus you have the chain maintenance to stay on top of but that’s just a little time and $ on your part rather a dealer type of service. I’m currently on a 850 GSA and very happy with my “baby” GS. I’ve dealt with one of BMW’s bigger recalls (the Wethead RT shock disaster) and doubt that any other manufacturer would have stood by their product and accommodated the owners any better, one of the reasons I’ll always stay on the brand. Link to comment
szurszewski Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 5 hours ago, Rougarou said: Snapshot of my RT maintenance-keep in mind, that running total started with the $10k purchase, as well as a bad decision to have the tranny rebuilt vs buying used one. That’s a great chart/spreadsheet - would you mind sharing? Link to comment
Rougarou Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 1 hour ago, szurszewski said: That’s a great chart/spreadsheet - would you mind sharing? I got it somewhere on the interweb back in 2010, so here you go. Vehicle Maintenance Log1.xlsx 1 Link to comment
Selden Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 On 11/25/2020 at 7:29 PM, kme9418 said: New to forum and first post: I've searched but mostly seen old threads and I'm not sure how to phrase the search query to get current info. Bottom line: I want a new GS750 but I come from a Suzuki V-Strom 650 world where folks like to talk about how much it costs to repair and maintain BMW bikes. It largely depends on whether you do your own maintenance, or pay dealer prices. At least through the oilhead era, BMWs were somewhat tractorish, and owner maintenance was pretty straightforward. I bought a 1999 R1100RT in 2008, with miles on it 64,000. I sold it this year at 131,000 miles. During that time, I replaced the clutch, brake lines, and rotors. Everything else was "routine" maintenance: oil, filters, spark plugs, tires, and brake pads. Link to comment
kme9418 Posted November 29, 2020 Author Share Posted November 29, 2020 Lots of great info here. I really appreciate all the thorough replies. Based on what I'm reading, I'm not scared away from the bike since these costs all sound reasonable for owning a premium brand vehicle. Thanks again to all who provided the detailed replies. Link to comment
David13 Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 I am trying to figure out who makes then engine for the 750. And perhaps what size it actually is. It may be 853. I had a 2008 F800ST. The engine was the parallel twin made by Rotax in Austria. I think they were owned by Bombardier but then sold to Can Am or Polaris. I know they had a 798 engine they called a 650 and an 800. Who makes them and what size they are now I have no idea. I had little to no need for the dealer on the bike. Just oil change, etc., which I prefer to do myself. The rear end was the problem. If I recall it cost me $900 to fix it. And that had me take it off and take it in where the dealer pressed new bearings into it. Also a new belt. It was belt drive. Of course that was all after the warranty ran out. You never know if you will have zero issues or many. So you just have to decide if you want to do it or not, then spend what it takes to fix it, or fix it yourself. Af first I didn't like the R1200RT. But now I love mine. I rebuilt the brake calipers and the forks. It didn't cost much as I did the labor myself. The rear end has been no problem. dc Link to comment
dirtrider Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 1 hour ago, David13 said: I am trying to figure out who makes then engine for the 750. And perhaps what size it actually is. It may be 853. I had a 2008 F800ST. The engine was the parallel twin made by Rotax in Austria. I think they were owned by Bombardier but then sold to Can Am or Polaris. I know they had a 798 engine they called a 650 and an 800. Who makes them and what size they are now I have no idea. I had little to no need for the dealer on the bike. Just oil change, etc., which I prefer to do myself. The rear end was the problem. If I recall it cost me $900 to fix it. And that had me take it off and take it in where the dealer pressed new bearings into it. Also a new belt. It was belt drive. Of course that was all after the warranty ran out. You never know if you will have zero issues or many. So you just have to decide if you want to do it or not, then spend what it takes to fix it, or fix it yourself. Af first I didn't like the R1200RT. But now I love mine. I rebuilt the brake calipers and the forks. It didn't cost much as I did the labor myself. The rear end has been no problem. dc Afternoon David As far as I know both the BMW 750 & 850 were built in Loncin, China but I'm not sure if the 2021 is still built there. There was talk about moving it but I haven't heard any thing on that. Link to comment
mickeym3 Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 Potentially there’s a rocker arm issue (refer to the advrider forum I mentioned earlier) but that’s not unique to the parallel twin engines made in Loncin. No bike is completely immune from engineering and production issues. There are plenty of these with over 50K trouble free miles. Link to comment
Marty Hill Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 Hope this helps. I have a 2015 700GS. I've ridden it from atlanta to montreal, put it on a plane to frankfurt and ridden to the Belarus border and all over central Europe. Zero problems so not a $ spent on repairs. I would not hesitate to do the trip again if things were better in the world health situation. Link to comment
kme9418 Posted November 30, 2020 Author Share Posted November 30, 2020 That sounds like a fun adventure! Link to comment
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