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Do you want the new R1300 water cooled engine boxer?

It certainly makes me wonder to what extent - if any - sales people at dealers will point any of this out, before a customer buys say, a 1300GS. How many people ask to see the owners' manual before purchasing a new bike. I recently bought a new 1250 GS (will not take delivery for a few weeks). I told the sales guy that I had decided to buy a 1250 and not a 1300 GS, for a number of reasons, one of which was the additional out-of-pocket cost for driveshaft maintenance on the 1300 vs. the 1250. The sales person had no idea what I was talking about (I assume he was not being disingenuous).

The other observation I would make is that BMW now considers the drievshaft on wethead R-series boxers to be a consumable item. Are they the first manufacturer to do that?

Also, the Service Information Bulletin from BMW North America caused some confusion, at least insofar as this maintenance being covered by warranty, for MY2023 bikes, and older. This seemed to be at odds with a BMW public statement issued several months ago on this issue. Don't know if BMW North America is alone in its position on warranty coverage, as opposed to other markets.
 
marcopolo said:
It certainly makes me wonder to what extent - if any - sales people at dealers will point any of this out, before a customer buys say, a 1300GS. How many people ask to see the owners' manual before purchasing a new bike. I recently bought a new 1250 GS (will not take delivery for a few weeks). I told the sales guy that I had decided to buy a 1250 and not a 1300 GS, for a number of reasons, one of which was the additional out-of-pocket cost for driveshaft maintenance on the 1300 vs. the 1250. The other observation I would make is that BMW now considers the drievshaft on wethead R-series boxers to be a consumable item. Are they the first manufacturer to do that?
Click to expand...
Good point Mark! I always consider "cost or ownership" when buying a new vehicle be it a motorcycle or car or truck. Heck then BMW moved the valve check on the wet heads to 12K miles that was a key factor in my upgrading. Also, on the 1300 the oil change process is more of a pain with 2 drain plugs and a messy cartridge filter. I have owned only shaft drive bikes in my 20+ years of riding and have never heard of a manufacturer suggesting the drive shaft be replaced on a periodic schedule.

But I bet most folks never ever consider cost of maintenance when buying.
 
gsinnc said:
That exactly what I understand too.

And BMW has lowered the price of the drive shaft part to $225. That’s for the part so plus labor. That I did confirm at my dealer
Click to expand...
Kudos to BMW for stepping up and acknowledging this important repair issue for owners and potential owners.

Now, if they could somehow find the heart to do the same by pricing replacement alternators, cams and followers for these bikes more reasonably, ownership might become a lot more attractive for many of us. Nobody likes to feel they are being taken advantage of when down, especially for parts that might normally be expected to last the life of the machine.
 
oldcamper said:
Kudos to BMW for stepping up and acknowledging this important repair issue for owners and potential owners.

Now, if they could somehow find the heart to do the same by pricing replacement alternators, cams and followers for these bikes more reasonably, ownership might become a lot more attractive for many of us. Nobody likes to feel they are being taken advantage of when down, especially for parts that might normally be expected to last the life of the machine.
Click to expand...
What I find interesting is they reduced the price of the drive shaft from around $1000 to $225 ??? How does that happen???

Don't get me wrong, I am pleased with the reduction but how does that pricing work??
 
gsinnc said:
What I find interesting is they reduced the price of the drive shaft from around $1000 to $225 ??? How does that happen???

Don't get me wrong, I am pleased with the reduction but how does that pricing work??
Click to expand...
It’s cheaper than dealing with a mandated federal recall or a class action lawsuit. And by making the price reasonable or having it listed as a routine service replacement item it could potentially block or provide an out for individual lawsuits where a bike not maintained to schedule is involved.

Best,
DeVern
 
As the 1300’s are just hitting the dealers, three years from now is the predicted cost of $225 going to still be $225? :scratch
In one of my earlier posts that referenced info from the UK, it seemed to indicate a 50 minute driveshaft swap time. :brow
OM
 
marcopolo said:
The other observation I would make is that BMW now considers the drievshaft on wethead R-series boxers to be a consumable item. Are they the first manufacturer to do that?

Also, the Service Information Bulletin from BMW North America caused some confusion, at least insofar as this maintenance being covered by warranty, for MY2023 bikes, and older. This seemed to be at odds with a BMW public statement issued several months ago on this issue. Don't know if BMW North America is alone in its position on warranty coverage, as opposed to other markets.
Click to expand...
It's because it's *now* considered a consumable that they are covering it - from an international forum I'm on for the R1200R, most of the rest of the world started receiving free replacements long before BMWNA caved and followed suit... Many of those countries had owners that used their in-place national rules to get the replacements covered which put pressure on their local BMW groups to adopt that stance earlier than the US.
 
OMEGA MAN said:
All that info seems to be targeted at existing bikes and not the 1300?
OM
Click to expand...
That is correct. For the 1300GS, these drievshaft maintenance requirements are included in its maintenance schedule, and owner's manual, from the get go. Given that, the cost for these new requirements are borne by the 1300 owners. And, as mentioned earlier, the drievshaft replacement interval for the 1300 is 80,000 km, and not the 60,000 km for the 1200s and 1250s.
 
gsinnc said:
What I find interesting is they reduced the price of the drive shaft from around $1000 to $225 ??? How does that happen???

Don't get me wrong, I am pleased with the reduction but how does that pricing work??
Click to expand...
A driveshaft is not a complicated device. There are many new and much larger car and truck driveshafts currently retailing on eBay for less than $200. It’s probably safe to assume anything much more than that is profit for something similar.

Don’t get me wrong. I believe BMW has a right to a fair profit margin on everything they sell. The key word in that statement is “fair”. Price gouging a captive market for critical replacement parts may be good for business profitability, but I prefer to avoid being trapped by that situation in the first place.
 
Inquiring minds want to know.

225.00 now for a drive shaft. When I replaced mine with a Ted Porter for 749.00, bmw wanted nearly 150.00 more for oem non rebuildable. Now that drive shaft oem is going to be 225?

How in the world could they make any profit on 225 when they were charging [ what now seems outrageous ] prices as they did before?
 
This type of price reduction is not a new tactic. BMW did this with the right side throttle bodies on the R1100 bikes. These were prone to premature wear and the price was high. I actually had new little bushings and a replacement shaft custom machined to save money over buying a new throttle body for Voni's '94 R1100RS. But then suddenly the price came down to about a quarter of what it had been. I was convinced then and remain so now that the price reduction was aimed to quiet the screaming masses.
 
Last edited:
The service advisor had been on vacation and yesterday was his first day back but we went through the service bulletin and I now have an appointment for a drive shaft replacement on my 2016 RT with 52k. What was not clear was if BMW would continue to replace the drive shaft every 36K. My dealer had 2 or 3 drive shafts in stock and put my name on one. He printed me a copy of the bulletin (same one that has been passed around) so that I have it for my file. He also confirmed, what has already been posted, that IF your GS had a drive shaft replacement under the previous recall the date of that replacement would be the mileage start date for the 36K.
 
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