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We have categorized the things that have happened to each bike in the table below. You will find supporting text below the table if there is more detail for the item. Over the course of the 2001-2002 winter Jim spent a bit of time working on the bikes adding a few things and repairing others. Verna also spent some time designing and making a system that could be installed in the top boxes to organize all the items that normally tend to find their way to the bottom of the box. We hope that this will make these items readily accessible without having to empty a good portion of the items in the top boxes when we need something. In the course of our travels in 2002 we put 15,000 miles on the bikes. When that is added to the 41,000 miles we have done in 33 months of traveling we have ridden 56,000 miles.
(W) = Warranty Tires:While we have been quite happy with the Michelin T66’s we have been using we wanted something that would work much better in off road conditions for our trip through Morocco. Continental TKC 80’s are what BMW was using on the R1150GS’s at their enduro course in Germany when we were their in the spring of 2000. They worked well both on and off road during the course so we decided to use them for the Morocco portion of our adventure. The problem was that the dealer could not install these tires on the bikes. We were told that they were not permitted to install these tires. So, our only option was to install tires that were dual purpose. The only ones we could find were the Metzler Enduro 4’s. Grrrr. The Continental’s can be installed in Germany and we find it laughable that the Spanish will not allow them to be installed. Perhaps we were being pushed to the enduro tires - we wonder if it is the supplier who does not want to bring in the tires because they fear that the purchaser will back out and then they will be stuck with the tires. It is probably just as well that we were not able to install the Continental TKC 80’s because we did not go to Morocco as planed because our departure date was pushed back due to other issues. At the time of this update to this information about the tires we have put more than 1000 miles on the Metzler Enduro 4’s and ridden them in most conditions except extremely heavy rain or snow fall. We are very impressed with the Metzler Enduro 4’s. The transition from pavement to gravel/dirt/rocky roads is unbelievably negligible. These things work well in heavy rain and we got 10,000 miles from them. When we had our next set of tires installed in Gothenburg, Sweden we were told that Metzler has discontinued production of the Enduro 4’s. To bad really. We liked these tires. Our current tires are Metzler Tourance’s. They are very good on paved surfaces and hold quite well in driving rain too. Unfortunately they are not as good an unimproved roads as the Enduro 4’s are. These tires are so good on the paved surfaces that they constantly show how weak the factory suspension on the GS is when fitted with really sticky tires. These things hold a turn like we are riding on rails. But, because of that they also highlight how weak the factory spring/shock combinations (front/rear) are on the bike. Of the three tires we have tried so far, we like the Enduro 4 best for the type of riding we are doing. 30,000 Mile Service, OR, Terrible, disgusting, abominable, awful, despicable, horrible, bad Service Technicians:In our ongoing battle with BMW dealers and their inadequate service personnel we have yet another dealer to avoid at all costs. This one is in Malaga, Spain - G. Guarnieri, S.A., Concesionario de BMW Iberica, S.A.. Jim's bike was returned from the 30K mile service missing bolts that hold the crash bars onto the bike and and the brake fluid and clutch reservoirs on the handle bars were overfilled - to the point of the fluid being forced out when the bike was ridden home. Verna’s was returned with stripped bolts that hold the oil sump guard pan and crash bars onto the bike. as well as stripped threads on one of the rubber mounting points for the pan. What is really aggravating about this is: NOTE: Since this time we have made contact with BMW Customer Service in Munich, Germany. They have provided us with a letter stating that our US Warranty should be honored for the three year period as long as the bikes are registered in the US. They did not tell us what they did - they did charge us for ¾ of an hour of labor for work on Verna’s bike associated with the crash bars. After stripping both the nut and the threads on the rubber mount they did not replace it with a new part. They did cut off the part that they stripped. This means that the threaded part is not long enough to be reached by the nut that attaches to it. So, they reversed the part so a slightly longer bit of thread was available. This portion of thread was really not long enough and it is a miracle that the nut stayed on the bike on the journey home from the dealers (remember that the nut was stripped as well). Why did they not replace the part? It is a BMW part. We can understand that they could not replace the nut - it is a special part from Touratech. It took a half day of work to put things right and a special order from Touratech in Germany to obtain the special bolt that they supply to hold the left crash bars to the underside of the bike to replace the missing one for Jim’s bike. We ordered sufficient quantities so this will not be a problem in the future. We find that the BMW dealer in Malaga is like the dealer in Alicante. They both have two technicians that work on the bikes. One is very young and obviously in training. Well, training is the wrong word because they do not get training. From what we have experienced, the senior of the two receive a minimum of training as well and in both cases are extremely defensive when asked about things that they have broken when servicing the bikes. This incident raises two important issues. It is very difficult to determine the quality and quantity of expertise that anyone has. If you must entrust your bike to someone for any work you could end up with more problems than you originally had. If you do not have tools and spare parts with you it will be difficult, if not impossible, to do any repair yourself. Obviously, in Jim’s case, his mechanical ability will influence what tools he takes. Also, the things that can be done to the bike when not in a workshop will influence his tool list, as will their size and weight. But, having said that, if you do not have some tools and the ability to use them properly you may find yourself in many situations that have been created by the incompetence of others. Jim was able to repair the stripped thread in the nut because he had the proper tool. He also had a replacement part for the one the dealers mechanic had ruined on Verna’s bike. Think about it. Do you want to let your trip be stalled, interrupted, or worse - ruined, because you do not have a basic replacement part for something that is quite easy to break? Do you want to be at the total mercy of others who may not be competent at the job(s) they are performing? Crown Wheel Bearing Failure:The crown wheel bearing in Verna’s rear wheel drive failed while we were traveling in Corsica. Verna had noticed that her bike had started to make a rather irregular scraping sound as we were making our way up the west coast of Corsica from Ajaccio to Calvi. That night we found some oil drops on the drain plug for the final drive. Jim tightened the drain plug and prayed that it was not the seal for the final drive that was leaking. The next day, the seal on the final drive was leaking at a very steady rate. Fortunately for us the leak did not become serious until we arrived at our hotel that afternoon. When we think of the potential danger this could have put Verna in by having oil all over her rear tire we thanks the Gods that have been watching over us for letting it hold until we reached the hotel. We had to have the bike trucked back to Ajaccio where Lucchini Motos, Avenue President Kennedy - Immeuble Farrucci, 20090 AJACCIO Corsica, France, the BMW dealer for Corsica is located. The driver who took the bike made us very mad because he would not take Verna in the truck. We were forced to find a rental car because we did not think that we could ride 230 KM safely on very narrow, twisting mountain roads two up on Jim’s bike with a solo seat. The dealer worked on the bike the next day and told us that crown wheel bearing in the rear wheel drive had failed as well as the seal. Fuel Pump Fuse Fails AGAIN:While in Sienna, Italy, we were moving from one hotel to another. The fuel pump fuse for Jim’s bike failed. This was exactly as the previous time this occurred last year in France. Just after the bike was started, the engine stopped running. When the starter button was pushed the engine turned over but failed to start. When the key was turned off and on, the fuel pump failed to operate. A quick check verified our worst fears - the fuse for the fuel pump circuit had failed. A new fuse was inserted and things are back to normal. Or, are they? Is this really normal? Anyone from BMW care to comment? We cannot seem to get any BMW factory trained mechanics to take an interest in this problem when we take the bike for service. Speedometer Failure OR, Terrible, disgusting, abominable, awful, despicable, horrible, bad Service Technicians Strike Again:The speedometer on Jim’s bike stopped working as we were leaving Reggio Emilia the morning of April 30. If BMW thinks that they are producing motorcycles that are more reliable than they did 30 years ago we would like to meet with one of their representatives and explain that this is NOT the case. Why are we not surprised about the reason for the speedometer failure? It appears that the mechanics in the Malaga, Spain - G. Guarnieri, S.A., Concesionario de BMW Iberica, S.A. dealership - installed the front wheel on Jim’s bike incorrectly when the new tires were installed and this caused the gears that drive the speedometer cable to strip. Yet another instance of incompetent service personnel. The repair was done in Limburg, Germany - one of the few European BMW motorbike dealers that we have any faith in to do things correctly. The mechanic told me that they see this same problem many times a year when customers return from Spain on their holiday and having tires installed while there. The first thing he asked was when the tires were installed in relation to the failure of the speedometer. He knew what the problem was before he even looked at the bike. Exhaust Valve Failure:
It would be nice if these bikes would cease having mechanical problems that leave us stranded by the side of the road. In addition to the inconvenience it is getting very expensive. The only good news about this is that BMW continues to honor our 3 year US warranty so we are only out of pocket for getting the vehicles to the dealers and the loss of the days that we spend waiting for the repair to be completed. We continue to wonder if our experience with these bikes is common to others with the same models and mileage. Jesse Luggage Top Box Mounting Plate Failure:
Many thanks to Markus Schmaus at Moto-Technik Schmaus Gmbh, Argenthaler Strasse 4, 55469 Simmern/Hsr., Germany. Markus runs the shop for his brother Dirk, the owner. Fortunately for us Markus speaks excellent English and he and his team took care of everything - and we do mean everything! This is what the concept of a “full service dealer” should be. 36,000 Mile Service:
This is being written three days after the service work was performed and to date we have found the following: Part of the problem we have is that some things on the bikes that are different, as in a deviation from a stock bike. For example, the gas line that comes from the tank does a bit of a loop and then goes to our external gas filter and then connects to the solid tubing that feeds the fuel metering system. The gas line on Verna’s bike was not put back properly when the tank was put back on the bike. This was causing chaffing in several places on the gas lines and the throttle cable for the right cylinder. Jim had to clamp off the gas lines, disconnect them and then reroute them so they were back in their normal position - the position they were in when they entered this shop. The alarm system on Jim’s bike was partially disconnected during the service and was not put back together when the bike was returned to us. Jim had to do a bit of investigative work to determine why the alarm could not be set and found the problem and corrected it. From what we can tell, Frank and Stian did a good job on the bikes. Stian also pointed out a bent spoke on Jim’s bike that we think was caused by Jim trying to move the bike one day when the disc lock was on the disc. The only thing that was a bit upsetting was the shop having only three of the four spark plugs that were needed to perform the service. We were amazed that a shop would not keep something that is used as often as this in stock. Having said that, we must also point out that everyone in the shop was very nice to us and they also gave us a discount on the cost of the service. Considering that the service cost $400.00 US more than any we have had to pay up to now, you have a good understanding of how expensive things are in Norway - and this is with a discount!!! Missing Headlight Protector Replaced:Somewhere in Norway we either lost or someone took the Aeroflow Headlight Protector from Verna’s bike. Rather ironic considering that this is where we really wanted to get off the paved roads (and did). Luckily her headlight was not damaged during this part of our trip. 42,000 Mile Service:Thanks to Sascha Leitz in Karlsruhe, Germany, our bikes were serviced while we were off sight seeing in the Bavaria, Germany area with our friend Nancy Haynes who flew into Frankfurt, Germany from New Jersey. The initial inspection of the bikes after the service work before we left Sascha’s was positive and nothing obvious jumped out at us. The service work was performed by Handrich+Mayer in Pfalz, Germany. One thing we have concluded is that we must do something about the wiring harness for the accessories on the bikes. The wiring harness that Jim made up when he installed the accessories (radios, GPS’s, heated clothing rheostat, etc.) is proving to be a problem when the air cleaner needs to be serviced. October through December Activities:
In order to create better access to the air cleaner all of the electrical wiring for the accessories on both of the bikes was rerouted. In many cases this required remaking the electrical wiring harness that Jim created when he installed the queipment before we left the US two years ago. In the case of the GPS he installed completely new wiring harnesses. Jim also discovered a faulty connection in the wiring for his electric clothing/gloves and repaired that while doing this work. The wiring for the relay that is used for the additional (loud) Fiamm horns that we installed last year needed to be redone. At the time of the original installation we knew that this was going to be necessary - we did not have time in the spring “to do it right” before we departed on our trip to the Nord Cap. |
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The picture at right is much more descriptive of the damage than anything we could write. We were very happy that there was not more damage. He ordered the necessary parts and expected them to arrive on the 4:00 PM plane that day. The parts did arrive and he completed the repair the next day. We were out of his shop by 10:30 the day after that. All of this started on a Monday and we were back on the road Friday morning. We dealt with Mr. Karol and he was very nice to us. He also took it upon himself to see to it that BMW France did the necessary research about the 3 year warranty on our American model bikes being valid and the cost of the repair was covered by Verna’s warranty. No fuss, no muss. This is the second time we have been pleased with the service we have received while on the road. While Jim did not understand much of the conversation Mr. Karol had with BMW while he was getting authorization for the repair to made under the warranty it was interesting to note that the BMW folks wanted to know who had last serviced the bike. We suspect that the BMW may have thought that this problem should have been identified at a previous service. Hmmm.
Yet another mechanical failure on machines that are advertised to be more reliable than their predecessors. You’d never know that based on our experience. Apologies for the poor quality of the picture of the valve but it does communicate the problem much better than words.
This mounting plate was installed last winter. It has only seen three months of use. It was provided by Al Jesse for use with the top box we purchased from him for use on Verna’s bike. While Verna’s bike was in the shop having the broken valve repaired one of the mechanics (Holger, pictured at right) noticed that the mounting plate had cracked and separated in two places. The front of it was being held now by about 3 inches of aluminum with about 4 inches on each side of that having split apart. What to do? Holger created a nice fix for the problem that we think will stand the test of time. He mounted a square piece of aluminum in the area of the split and secured it with pop rivets and nuts and bolts. This will relieve the pressure in the area where the cracks formed.
We had the bikes serviced at MotorHuset, Bodo A/S (Norway) in July while on our way north to the Nord Cap. At left are Frank Hultmann and Stian Mortensen. Frank, at left performed the service on Verna’s bike and Stian did the work on Jim’s. We would like to thank them and all the people at the shop for getting the bikes serviced so quickly. When your on the road like we are and you are a new face in town you never know what kind of a reception you will get when you arrive at a shop asking to get service work done. The real issue is time. Most shops are very busy and trying to fit us into their busy schedule causes nothing but trouble. In some cases we have had to make appointments and return in two weeks. Here we were told to come back the next morning and they would get started on the bikes first thing in the morning. We arrived at 8 o'clock and were on the road at 3 o’clock that afternoon. We thought this was very good for a major service interval that also required the changing of the drive belt for the alternator.
The aluminum box for Jim’s Radio Equipment which is mounted between his top box and the rear sub frame of the bike developed a long split along the bottom running from the front of the box to the middle (pictured at right after Jim removed all of the paint). To repair this we needed to find someplace that could weld aluminum. While this did not sound like a difficult thing we found that it was an extremely difficult thing to do in Southern Spain. We were able to locate numerous welding shops but they all did work on iron and steel - mostly making decorative bars for windows and gates for doors and driveways. After several weeks of visiting welding supply stores and asking numerous welding shops if they knew of a place that could weld aluminum we were told of a place that could do the work. The repair of the box was a disaster! The people who did the work said they could weld aluminum. They did not have the proper equipment. As a result the aluminum got to hot and buckled. We then had to look for someone who could fix the problem. We finally found a shop in Gibralter (some 100+ kilometers from us) that thought they could repair the damage. They were able to do a fix and we reinstalled the box but the box will need to be replaced.