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Simple solution to financially punish BMW, stop buying them.Sadly, financial punishment seems to be the only way to get BMW to sit up and take notice of disgruntled customers.
There are many who are rightfully frustrated by BMW's ambivilence towards issues with final drives, fuel strips, ESA components, etc.
71234 -
How about some smilies on your post?? Remember, no buying or selling directly through the forum. Just a friendly reminder, eh!
Simple solution to financially punish BMW, stop buying them.
On that we are very much in agreement.Problem with that is that most of us are here because we like the BMW brand.
On that we are very much in agreement.
As long as the BMW brand builds motorcycles that I feel meet my needs and desires better than any other brand, I will continue to buy them. When they don't, I'll buy something else. For example, I was seriously considering purchasing the new 650 Serato until I checked one out. I was hoping BMW was going to make a more serious offroader than they did for the "Dakar reborn." Therefore, it's higly unlikely I will buy one. If enough people agree, they'll have to reassess their product. Please note that reassess doesn't mean agree with me and make a better offroad 650...it might mean making none at all. Just as it's my choice to purchase it or not, it's their choice to make one or not.
I used the word "punish" only because it was what you used. Personally, I'm not out to punish anyone for making a product I don't like; I look at it from the other end. I reward those who create the best product for me and in aggregate we determine the direction of products by making them successful or not. More specifically to the question at hand...
If a company makes changes in their product line, even if that results in a "lower quality product," and everyone still buys it, why change back? Clearly the market valued whatever the change was over "quality."
Simple solution to financially punish BMW, stop buying them.
Cheering any financial punishment of BMW seems counterproductive to a group of individuals who, by their very membership in this club, choose to champion this brand of motorcycle as their own.
Sadly, financial punishment seems to be the only way to get BMW to sit up and take notice of disgruntled customers.
There are many who are rightfully frustrated by BMW's ambivilence towards issues with final drives, fuel strips, ESA components, etc.
While I wish to see BMW flourish as a motorcycle brand here in the USA, I'm sure as a corporation, it watches its bottom line carefully and will eventually need to reassess its approach to these fines and the pending NHTSA investigation into their post-2004 motorcycle line final drives.
Let's hope that rather than stockpiling funds to settle small-to-medium sized penalties levied against them, they invest it in a less complex and more reliable FD, fuel gauge and other tweaking to our beloved mounts.
Yes, like their cars, their bikes are selling well. That argues that all of the complints in this thread and others about reliability, etc. are wrong....the market values something else more and BMW's increasing sales suggest they are correctly estimating what the market desires.Hilarious!
Just this week Lexus is announced as the "most reliable" luxury car in USA.
Of course they were outsold by BMW (and Mercedes) in 2011.
Possibly many bike owners aren't aware of BMW car reliability. Did you know, for example, that most BMW mechanics recommend for recent model cars complete replacement of cooling system components every 60K miles? That's radiator, water pump, thermostat (electronic) and overflow tank. This is not published as scheduled maintenance but it is obviously good preventive maintenance--5 seconds freeway running with a cooling system failure = a warped 6 cyl engine cylinder head. Would you call this a reliable car?
Now, it should be obvious that in comparison to a BMW car a Lexus is simply a refrigerator and not very interesting.
Yet, somehow BMW motorcycle riders--at least many posting here--think they should be sold "refrigerators" at their BMW motorcycle dealer. No, "refrigerator" motorcycles are sold elsewhere if at all.
Like the cars, BMW motorcycles are selling well, thank you. Loss of the "refrigerator" market isn't seen as much of a problem. Again: in 2011 S1000RR was top selling BMW bike--NOT a refrigerator and surely that's nowhere in the radar of those buying them.
Your head will stop hurting when you stop beating it against the wall.
All I did point out to the people complaining that BMW isn't making the bike they want is, buy the bike that fits your needs/desires best. If that is BMW, awesome. If not, that's fine too.
Yes, like their cars, their bikes are selling well. That argues that all of the complints in this thread and others about reliability, etc. are wrong....the market values something else more and BMW's increasing sales suggest they are correctly estimating what the market desires.
BMW has been more successful at marketing their bikes in the last decade than any other brand except maybe H-D. Like H-D they are selling an image, although certainly not the same type of image. Remember the R1200RT intoductory video with the guy riding thru the fabulous fjord country of Norway? A beautiful sexy woman riding with him. And she's not some biker tart. This woman obviously has class. Possibly even owns her own company somewhere. A guy is sitting at home watching this and thinks, "all I have ever ridden is those boring Jap "refrigerators", maybe it's time I stepped up to a BMW."
So this guys buys a new R12 RT OR any other model for that matter. BMW's marketing was successful. But will this new BMW owner be happy enough with his purchase to become a repeat buyer if he happens to be unlucky enough to have final drive problems, which is not a certainty, but a possibilty. Problems with the fuel strip which is very likely. Plus brake issues that have occured on some models. And poor design like the instrument panel glare problem on R12rt. A problem I have yet to have on any other bike I have owned.
Or maybe the centerstand bolt shears and he drops the bike when that happens(this actually happened on my rt, though it didn't fall because I had the sidestand down.) Maybe this hypothetical guy decides that riding a "premium" brand is worth putting up with these idiosynchrisies, or maybe he goes back to a refrigerator because he doesn't need the drama.
Refrigerators fail. Compressors go bad, coolant leaks or the the water line to the ice maker breaks and floods the floor.
Refrigerators fail. Compressors go bad, coolant leaks or the the water line to the ice maker breaks and floods the floor.
Wait a minute. I'm a chump for buying an R12RT that I'm completely pleased with?