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600 Mile Service Ride-In

coloktmGS

New member
I live 150 miles from my nearest dealer, but 3 dealers are within 250 miles. I have a new F800GS that needs it's 600 mile service. Will dealers accommodate you if you ride in, in the morning and wait for a bike to be serviced? How long does that service take? What's a reasonable cost?
 
Unless you are on tour, and need emergency service to keep your vaca from getting ruined... make an appt. its what we do in the modern world.

no answer for your other questions- but i bet one of those "nearby" dealers could give you some factual answers.
btw- to keep your costs down, consider doing some of the service elments (oil change, tec) yourself.
 
My dealer will normally do a routine service if I want to wait for it. Anything is possible if are willing to wait, what can the dealer do other than kick you out at closing time if it isn't finished? A 600 mile service usually is pretty short anyways, I'd guess an hour or so, so yeah it would be dumb to go home, it'll be done before you even get close! But as has been said be sure to specify to them that you'd rather wait for it so they can make sure it gets on the rack as soon as you get there. If you can arrange to be there as soon as the shop opens I'm sure they would appreciate it, because if they have a job that goes south first thing and gets things piling up, can be a bit of a pain for them to accomodate a "wait" later in the day.

On price it seems like there is a lot of variation. Again just a wild guess, would be in the $100 range, like $150-$200. If you don't mind calling around you can get quotes. I'd be hard pressed to go any further than the 150 mile dealer, man that sucks. At that distance I'd be tempted to just change the oil and cal it a day. Although on the other hand, if there is a problem later on it sure would be nice to have that dealer stamp in the maintenance book saying it had that first service done. I assume none of the dealers in your "area" if you want to call 250 miles "in the area", actually sold you the bike???
 
It's an off time of year in most locations so getting it done same day should be simple.
But you should get an appointment, a quote, and get there when they open.

There is nothing critical about doing it exactly at 600 miles- the thing won't know if you wait twice that long..

Save the ride in/ no notice stuff for real emergencies. Even then, always call ahead so the guys are expecting you and make sure you know which shops accommodate traveling rider emergencies well and which ones don't. Don't make an emergency out of anything routine..
 
If you make an appointment they should be able to do it quickly. Mine was completed about 2 hours after I showed up with it and that was after having lunch with the dealership and the tech that worked on my bike
 
Two weeks ago I was in the same position. I have 3 dealers within 30 miles of me. I did not even want to take my bike in because I do not trust dealers. I changed my own oil. And then made the appointment just for the stamp for warrenty. I dropped the bike off I could have waited but took the shuttle home they offered me. I picked up the bike a few hours later and on the way home sure enough the tire pressure was at 2.6 bar when they recommend 2.3 bar. I left it at the shop with 2.3 so why did they raise it. You see why I do not trust dealers. What else did they not do. $64 for the half hour and the rubber stamp.
 
My Local dealer always gives you a loaner bike to ride around on while you wait.

Ken
 
My Local dealer always gives you a loaner bike to ride around on while you wait.

Ken

Mine too. They should since they have a great demo program. I've purchased more cars and motorcycles over the years because of such programs
 
My local dealer includes the 600 miles service as part of the price of the bike. Best to get an appt., but they seem to give some priority if you stay around waiting. No loaner bikes there.
 
I picked up the bike a few hours later and on the way home sure enough the tire pressure was at 2.6 bar when they recommend 2.3 bar. I left it at the shop with 2.3 so why did they raise it. You see why I do not trust dealers.

This is a bit off topic. My local shop for my 96 328i puts the tire pressures closer to what the tire manufacturer indicates and not what BMW indicates. When I asked the owner why, he said the BMW numbers provide for a slightly better performance/ride, but inferior tire wear. In his experience, the tire manufacturer's numbers provide better tire life/wear with minimal loss in performance/ride. Now it's up to me to decide where I want the tire pressure. For performance or tire life. Since I don't go around pushing the performance limits of the vehicle, I chose better tire life. I do not know how or why BMW chose the specific tire pressure for my car or your bike, but it could be a similar situation. Why the dealer put the tire pressure at 2.6 bars when BMW indicates 2.3 bars should be answered by the dealer. Just my opinion.
 
Also in reply to Jeff's situation, Was the increase measured before heading out of the parking lot with cold tires? Obviously we all know the pressure goes up when ridden and are hot, so was this the onboard TPM system? My TPM is off by just about that much. It is +/- 4 psi off, showing 40 psi in the rear when a guage shows 36. So, when filled and checked with a guage to 40 psi, the TPM reads about 44 psi. First time my dealer put them up to pressure with a guage, I was 'shocked', that was when I first found out the TPM is a relative guide, not an absolute. Then again, maybe the tech just got carried away?
 
Also in reply to Jeff's situation, Was the increase measured before heading out of the parking lot with cold tires? Obviously we all know the pressure goes up when ridden and are hot, so was this the onboard TPM system? My TPM is off by just about that much. It is +/- 4 psi off, showing 40 psi in the rear when a guage shows 36. So, when filled and checked with a guage to 40 psi, the TPM reads about 44 psi. First time my dealer put them up to pressure with a guage, I was 'shocked', that was when I first found out the TPM is a relative guide, not an absolute. Then again, maybe the tech just got carried away?

The day I picked the bike up new (at a different dealer) about 2 months ago I checked at the dealership before I left and the pressure matched the TPM system. When I went in the front was 2.3 and the back was 2.5 as the manual calls for. When I left the tires :blahcold within a minute of leaving the shop both were at 2.6
 
Just wanted to give a follow up on my experience. At everyone's suggestion, I called the closest dealer (bentonville BMW, bentonville, AR) right at opening today. They said to be there at 2pm today and they'd get it done. All went well, bike is running great and I had a fantastic experience with these guys. A first rate operation! Thanks or all the advice.
 
Just wanted to give a follow up on my experience. At everyone's suggestion, I called the closest dealer (bentonville BMW, bentonville, AR) right at opening today. They said to be there at 2pm today and they'd get it done. All went well, bike is running great and I had a fantastic experience with these guys. A first rate operation! Thanks or all the advice.

Bob and Jerry run a first rate operation. If you'd mentioned which dealership you were talking about the answer would have been easy. Call Jerry.
 
I saw that site, looks like a well organized group. Also saw that last meeting was in Nov, assume they resume sometime in the spring? I'd love to meet up whenever things resume.
 
Well organized group? That's funny:D Next meeting will be Jan. 7, watch the website for details.
Bob and Jerry are great aren't they? Top notch bunch. I hope you took the scenic route.
 
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