2014 R1200RT stator failure by ldg

[LDGROSENHEIDER]

Stator went out on 2014 R1200RT at 68000 miles. Ride Now BMW in Austin did the work and refused to honor the 35% discount to MOA members. Keep that in mind if you have work done there. New stator was 1388.99 with 11hours of labor at 165.00 per hour.

 

[Omega Man]

I'm guessing the ldg is your initials? I will change the title for clarity to something that reflects Wethead stator trouble?

There is a thread on the discount running now- https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?103222-35-Discount-on-BMW-Parts

On the second page, 310Jen fills us in that some dealerships are honoring the discount and some are not.

Good luck with future running on the repair. I think you get a couple of years warranty on the repair but not positive on that.

OM

 

[akbeemer]

$165/hr!?!? . Our lone BMW dealership in Montana is $125. They will also reduce their labor rate if it is done in the winter. This helps keep their service staff employed.

 

[LFarling]

Stator went out on 2014 R1200RT at 68000 miles. Ride Now BMW in Austin did the work and refused to honor the 35% discount to MOA members. Keep that in mind if you have work done there. New stator was 1388.99 with 11hours of labor at 165.00 per hour.

Insane labor rates. Now doing the math on labor and the part cost that is 3203.99! I am sure there is misc. parts and shop supplies on that too. What was your final bill if I may ask.

I mean faced with no bike or that bill I guess I would choose the bill but I would have to scrape a bit to cover it. I wonder if they would trade your bike as is, on a new one? The reason I ask is a friend really tore up his GS and had the estimate. He used that insurance check and his bike as it was for a trade. He did pretty well on the deal. But it was all body work so it was a way to get a new bike, use the insurance money with the bike as a down payment.

This situation is different but a dealer can do the work and parts for cost and make money on the used bike.

Those 2014's do seem to have the most stator issues. At least you got an updated one with the new oil holes/system to keep it running cooler.

 

[LDGROSENHEIDER]

Stator failure

Had a stator failure in Durango Colorado as we were on our way to the Cedar City Get A Way rally. My wife and I both ride 2014 R1200RTs. We got lucky with transportation and arranged to have both bikes transported back to Austin for a very reasonable price. Val One transport in Durango brought the bikes and us home in two days. We dropped my wife's bike at home and took my bike to Ride Now BMW in Austin on October 15th. The repair is complete on November the 5th and the bill is 3344.94 with no 35% discount to MOA members. At least it is guaranteed for a whole 1000 miles, what a deal .

 

[Omega Man]

I will combine both your threads with information added to the title. More information in the title allows the subject to be searched in the future.
OM

 

[henzilla]

That particular multi brand dealer is/has changed ownership once again recently. An employee said a company that concentrates on used sales. Will be interesting to see if they keep BMW in their business plan as they have kept the master tech so far as of last week.

Rates everywhere have increased the last few years, however, that seems high.

Haven’t kept up on Wetheads , but doesn’t the engine need cracked open to access charging system?

 

[akbeemer]

That particular multi brand dealer is/has changed ownership once again recently. An employee said a company that concentrates on used sales. Will be interesting to see if they keep BMW in their business plan as they have kept the master tech so far as of last week.

Rates everywhere have increased the last few years, however, that seems high.

Haven’t kept up on Wetheads , but doesn’t the engine need cracked open to access charging system?

Yup.

 

[51797]

Haven’t kept up on Wetheads , but doesn’t the engine need cracked open to access charging system?

The engine comes out of the frame and the transmission is removed from the rear of the engine to access the alternator. Not a job for the faint hearted. 11 hours flat rate I understand.
I also thought BMW offered a 0ne year warranty on parts and labor if they do the work. Some on the internet say it is 2 years!
It's a tough decision to spent nearly half the value of the bike on a repair!

Frank

 

[alke46]

If that would have happened to me, I would have been at the nearest u-haul place ASAP and that bike would have gone back home where it could be repaired a whole lot cheaper. Just sayin'.

 

[51797]

If that would have happened to me, I would have been at the nearest u-haul place ASAP and that bike would have gone back home where it could be repaired a whole lot cheaper. Just sayin'.

They were lucky enough to hire a bike transporter and ride with him within a few hours and get both bikes back home. Dropped the working bike off at the house and took the dead one to the dealer. About as good an outcome as you could wish for.

Frank

 

[88bmwjeff]

The engine comes out of the frame and the transmission is removed from the rear of the engine to access the alternator. Not a job for the faint hearted. 11 hours flat rate I understand.

That's insane. One should not need to spend ±11 hours to remove and replace the engine and transmission just to replace an alternator part. Granted this is not the only example where things that were not designed for easy maintenance. There are examples from other manufacturers as well.

On a side note, I think engineers, bean counters, managers and the like who design and agree to things like this should be forced to do the repair over and over again for a month straight, so they can see the error of their ways.

 

[RadioFlyer]

Given the decades worth of stator burnout on motorcycles of all makes and the BMW F800 stator debacle BMW should have designed the stator to be bullet proof if it had to be buried in the engine..

Sent from my SM-T813 using Tapatalk

 

[51797]

On a side note, I think engineers, bean counters, managers and the like who design and agree to things like this should be forced to do the repair over and over again for a month straight, so they can see the error of their ways.

I've thought the same about aircraft "designers" for decades. Probably auto "designers" too.

Frank

 

[motormike]

... BMW should have designed the stator to be bullet proof if it had to be buried in the engine..
Sent from my SM-T813 using Tapatalk

Regrettably, when it comes to motorcycles, the words "stator" and "bulletproof" should never be used in the same sentence.

 

[RadioFlyer]

Regrettably, when it comes to motorcycles, the words "stator" and "bulletproof" should never be used in the same sentence.

It's really just a matter of choosing the correct gauge wire, the correct temperature rating for the insulation, ensuring that the stator environment is below the insulation temperature rating, using a series rather than a shunt type regulator and ensuring that the windings are secured and don't vibrate and rub. No reason why it can't be properly engineered for the life of the engine. There are plenty of quality electric motors with multi-pole windings that have been in service for decades and they are essentially of the same construction. Motorcycle manufactuerers may cheap out on the design to hit a price point (that some owner will have to pay for afterwards).

 

[pglaves]

Regrettably, when it comes to motorcycles, the words "stator" and "bulletproof" should never be used in the same sentence.

Well, with the classic K bikes and Oilheads BMW's answer was to use a slightly modified automotive alternator. You know, the kind good for 150,000 miles or so and then it could be rebuilt by any small town automotive electrical specialist. At 412,000 miles Voni's R1100RS is only on its second easy to bolt in alternator.

Why BMW basic engineering has lapsed so far backwards escapes me, except to guess that the bluetooth, and the connected apps, and Tom Tom nav nonsense, and other whizbanginess caused them to hire the wrong kind of engineers, if indeed they are actually engineers at all.

I suspect they are mostly coders and gamers.

 

[alegerlotz]

Well, with the classic K bikes and Oilheads BMW's answer was to use a slightly modified automotive alternator. You know, the kind good for 150,000 miles or so and then it could be rebuilt by any small town automotive electrical specialist. At 412,000 miles Voni's R1100RS is only on its second easy to bolt in alternator.

Why BMW basic engineering has lapsed so far backwards escapes me, except to guess that the bluetooth, and the connected apps, and Tom Tom nav nonsense, and other whizbanginess caused them to hire the wrong kind of engineers, if indeed they are actually engineers at all.

I suspect they are mostly coders and gamers.

And where are they supposed to put the wet clutch while keeping the car alternator? Do you like your wethead quickshifter? Without the wet clutch, its much harder to make that work, etc...

I'd must rather have the clutch (which is a *wear* item) be readily accessible than to have the alternator/stator (which may or may not ever have a problem) be easy to get to.

 

[pglaves]

And where are they supposed to put the wet clutch while keeping the car alternator?

In both of the cases I cited - classic K bikes and Oilheads the alternator was exterior to the engine case. They can put the clutch anywhere they want whether the sun shines there or not.

Having had BMW stator failures on an F650GS, an F800S, and one of two G310GSs I don't actually have a lot of faith in BMWs adherence to 1950s charging system technology. "Oh gee, we forgot to add enough holes to cool this thing", or some such verbal goulash.

 

[RadioFlyer]

Having had BMW stator failures on an F650GS, an F800S, and one of two G310GSs I don't actually have a lot of faith in BMWs adherence to 1950s charging system technology. "Oh gee, we forgot to add enough holes to cool this thing", or some such verbal goulash.

I have replaced the stators on both our F800 bikes. All the pre-2013 stators fail given enough mileage. In 2013 BMW quietly changed the flywheel to a ventilated version that better cools the stator. This has dramatically reduced the incidence of failures. What is deplorable is that BMW, having installed a faulty design in the first instance, charges $1000+ for the ventilated flywheel and a new stator. BMW doesn't admit to forgetting to add enough holes to the flywheel to cool the stator though.

The newest series type regulators having the ability to modulate the voltage by varying the phase angle at which the SCRs fire do a much better job versus the old shunt type. I don't know if BMW has adopted the newer technology yet though. One of my winter projects is to convert both our F800s to the Shindengen SH775 series regulators.

POST SCRIPT

The R1250GS rectifier/regulator is part number 12 31 8 523 367 which is a Shindegen FH020 shunt type regulator. The are a great many posts on the internet on how to change to a superior series type for many motorcycles. It's pretty much the same process no matter the bike.