Poll: Engine output seal and/ or counterbalance seal leaks on your r1200.

View Poll Results: Had you had at least one seal failure?

You mention FD failures yet don't mention transmission seals. Why is that?

Good point Marchy, I have had several transmission seals replace

I am not sure if I can add it to the poll. I will check it out. Thanks for suggesting it

Did you see my post about BMW NA asking for my original sales contract and all my repair orders. I have been emailing the Motorrad USA executives and posting on the Motorrad facebook page. Early last week they said that my bike was" unrepairable and the only solution is to replace my engine but that would cost $9.000 and the bike is not worth that much".

Then they offered me a $1,500 rebate if I purchased a new GS. I said no thanks and that since my bike is "unrepairable" and I would not be able to sell it at any reasonable price.

Then late last week they asked for my original sales contract and all repair orders. I am not sure what is going on but I think it is possible that they might offer me a buyback or bigger rebate.

I will keep you posted. Thanks for following my post and your suggestions and comments.

Here is an interesting side note. My main riding buddy has a bike just like my, a 2005 1200gs. His right blinker has not worked for several months. He replaced the handle bar control switch at a cost of around $300 but that did not do any good.

I went riding with him this weekend and right before we took off he sprayed some electrical contact cleaner onto the top of the ignition switch to clean off the the grease. He started the bike and the blinker has been working every since. Have you every heard of the ignition switch causing problems with electrical issues. I wonder if that could be causing the problem with my ABS and servos not working most of the time but in the middle of a ride start working? Thanks again.

I have heard of wiring harness issues on oilheads, usually attributed to over tight cable ties. I'm not aware of any specific issues with hexhead wiring other than speed sensor/abs sensor routing.

Transmission seals were apparently an issue with '05 GS. Lots of folks had them replaced, usually under warranty somewhere between 20 and 30K miles. When you say "several" do you mean multiple seals or the same seals multiple times? Of those I know who had seals replaced none had them replaced a second time. Mine were replaced under warranty at about 26K. They were still fine when I sold the bike at 78K.

So far about 90% no failures.

Sorry for your bad luck. Maybe your dealer can find you a used engine somewhere.

No problems with my 2006 RT.

No seal or final drive failures. In fact no failures of any kind.

Cheers!

John

marchyman, I believe the transmission seals have not been a big problem

I the transmission input seals have been replaced three times and the transmission out put seal one time.

'07 R1200R, knock on wood - 67,000 miles, all seals original. At one point the dealer wanted to take the bike apart to examine the seals in the clutch area.. but on my examination I found it was simply oil dripping from the airbox, probably due to me overfilling the engine a tad.. wiped it all clean and that's the last I've seen of it (about 5,000 miles ago.)

Not my bike but a friend's 08 GS and a counter balance seal leak. Dealer had to replace the seal and the shaft at about 16k miles.

My 09 RT has had no seal failures in 29k.

The poll numbers are not adding up correctly. I am asking the moderator to review

I just emailed Don Deilenburger the moderator to see why the numbers are not adding up correctly.

As of 9:10am today we have had 18 voters. Eight voters said that they have had engine seal failures and 2 have had final drive failures. The percentages are not adding up correctly.

Even just counting the engine seal failures: 8 voters divided by 18 voter equals 44.44% failures

If 18 people voted and 8 have voted failures (not counting final drives) then 18-8=10 with no failures. The poll is showing 14 with no failure and 10 with failures.

14+10=24 voters. So far only 18 people have voted so some how the votes are being counted twice. I hope this make sense.

This is my first poll to put together and I guess I did something wrong. I know that I put in two 2009 model years.

Also I should have added a place for transmission seal failure.

Let see what Don comes up with. We might have to scrap the poll and start a new one.

Thanks for you comments and for voting in the poll.

The reason the percentages aren't adding up to 100% is - it's a multiple choice poll, covering two different types of failures (engine seals and/or rear-drive failures.) Given the number of possibilities, it would surprise me if it did add up to 100%. There could certainly be people who experienced more than 1 engine seal failure on more than 1 bike AND a rear-drive failure (these are the unlucky people..) They would still only be counted as "1" voter. So - given that, I suspect the numbers are actually correct.

Look at the numbers, not the percentages. The numbers tell the story.

Bad input

Well, I probably didn't help. I selected 2005 and then selected no failures thinking that it would be valid to know by year failure / no failures. When I realized my mistake, it would not let me correct it. One strike and you're out.

2011 RT 42,000 km

left switchblock replaced under warranty. No other issues

2006 rt

No problems of any kind.

260k miles on 8 1200 GS's. 1 leaky rear shock on the '09, replaced under wty.

Martyhill, did you ever own a 2005 r1200gs?

That is great about the almost zero problems with your bikes. My main riding buddy has a 2005 r1200gs just like mine and has not had any issues with his bike other than the right blinker not working sometimes. The other day he sprayed electrical contact cleaner into the ignition/key switch to get the grease off of the top and now his blinker works. Go figure.

Went riding off rode today and the dust make the oil for the leaking seals stand out.

Yep either my engine output seal or counterbalance seal is leaking again. This with be the eight time the bike will be broken apart for the repair.

No seal failures - 2008 R1200GS - 28K miles

No seal failures - 2008 R1200GS - 28K miles

Bike is leaking again, scheduled an repair appointment for 06-29.

Well the end of June my bike will be at Bloodworth BMW for my leaking engine output and counterbalance seals. This will be the 8th time the bike has been broken in half to "repair" the seals.

BMW NA told me last week that "the only solution to your bike is to replace the engine" Fortunately all the repairs have been covered under the factory warranty or the 2 year parts and labor warranty.

BMW after 7 years of asking for a buyback offered me $1,241.17 for my bike. I politely declined their offer.

I have had many problems with my r1200gs and could not get anyone to help me. The only way I ever heard from BMW corporate was by posting on their facebook page and on other social media. They pay attention to social media so post every day.

This is the contact information you need to reach BMW Motorrad NA;
Anthony Cavanaugh is TEAM Leader in charge of pre-litigation and vehicle buy-back. His email is Anthony.cavanaugh@bmwna.com His direct line is 201-263-8215
CEO Ludwig Willisch at ludwig.willisch@bmwna.com
Vice President Hans Blesse at Hans.Blesse@bmwna.com
When in doubt contact a lemon lawyer, that gets BMW?s attention.
Let me know if I can be of any additional help.

2009 RT 10,000 miles ,

Only issue was a one fuel strip replaced under warranty. Otherwise routine maintenance only & brake line recall is it!