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BTW John, and to all you that have bought those new bikes, Best of Luck with them. Beautiful machines and fear of coming home with one keeps me out of the dealerships. :blush

OM
 
I have also written to my two senators and my representative about this matter. Feel free to cut and paste.

Dear Senator xxxxxx:

I know you are concerned and involved with Right of repair issues for the agricultural community.

As you will see from the following email BMW Motorrad Company has decided to no longer make service and repair data for their motorcycles available to the consumer. In my opinion, this creates a significant safety issue as there is only one BMW Motorrad Motorcycle dealer in South Dakota, Sturgis BMW, which forces owners to perform their own maintenance. There may well be an economic impact to the consumer as well as each BMW Motorrad motorcycle comes with a 3-year Factory Warranty which requires that Maintenance be performed in accordance with BMW procedures.

How can one perform their own maintenance if no procedures are available?
I have filed a Safety Complaint Report with NHTSA #11445601.

I ask that you query BMW Motorrad about their intentions and suggest they reconsider their ill-advised decision to "BMW Motorrad no longer offers repair manuals for our motorcycles."

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

John Langdell,
CDR USN(Retired)


QUOTE
From: Customer Service BMW Motorcycles
Sent: Thursday, December 30, 2021 9:15 AM
To: johnlangdell
Subject: Your Motorrad Correspondence

Dear John,

Thanks for your reply.

After further researching your request, BMW Motorrad no longer offers repair manuals for our motorcycles. However, you can be assured I’ve forwarded your concerns to the appropriate individuals for internal review. We're sorry for any disappointment this may cause.

Should you need to contact BMW Motorrad Customer Relations and Services again, you can reach us at 1-800-831-1117 Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET and Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET.

Wishing you safety and healthy during these challenging times, John.

Kind regards,

Abigail
BMW Motorrad USA
Representative
UNQUOTE
 
Please - Email BMW Motorrad with your request for a Service/Repair manual for your 1250's

Please - take two minutes to cut and paste the letters above to your Senators and Representatives.

Please - take the five minutes to File a Safety complaint for your motorcycle at NHSTA

Ten minutes out of your life with the possibility of success.

Happy New Year - 2022 will be better!
 
If you really want to get some attention, in nice penmanship, with a nice card, addressed correctly and sent through the mail has a much larger impact.
OM
 
Brad and I got our 1250 DVD's from Simeon at genuinebmw@gmail.com. But this was for the 2019-2020 model years. Still, it is nice to have official procedures for cam timing and so forth.

Cap

Was this back in 2020? The 1250 DVD was available for awhile but not now.
Is Simeon a dealer?
 
Was this back in 2020? The 1250 DVD was available for awhile but not now.
Is Simeon a dealer?

Simeon is a dealer and a member of this forum. I got my DVD in August this year after first ordering online from Sierra BMW and waiting for a month without any results. Simeon filled the order in a few days. I mentioned it to Boxflyer who was also waiting for an order to be filled, and he switched to Simeon and got his DVD a bit later this fall.
 
This policy by BMW is going to cause the production of bootleg knockoff manuals to blossom. In the past most owners never even considered buying a bootlegged service manual, but BMW has changed the rules and in doing so likely also changed many minds on the subject of bootlegged manuals.
 
Simeon is a dealer and a member of this forum. I got my DVD in August this year after first ordering online from Sierra BMW and waiting for a month without any results. Simeon filled the order in a few days. I mentioned it to Boxflyer who was also waiting for an order to be filled, and he switched to Simeon and got his DVD a bit later this fall.

Thanks, I'll try the email address you provided.
What's the name of the dealership?

I'm not holding my breath :)
Engle Motors was not able to get a DVD when I tried to buy one in October.
 
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If you really want to get some attention, in nice penmanship, with a nice card, addressed correctly and sent through the mail has a much larger impact.
OM

You are absolutely correct, but in this age of instant gratification even the email will have some impact, a lot of emails will have more impact.
 
Interesting side note, but 50 or so years ago, this aspect of consumerism was a central point of discussion in the formation of a national BMW riders club.

In the FB discussion, there is a mention of what (I bet) is going to be something the MOA attempts to do.

Greg Feeler should be credited with this original idea, which he told me about 15 years ago. In an effort to get the ball rolling I attempted to help out, but the main sources of input were, shall we say, rather resistant. :brow

Notice, ahem, that the MOA Forum is not listed in the links.

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I just wanted to speak for myself personally and say I've had one really great session with greg Feeler on Zoom and it was awesome and he shared some old wiki documents with me and I really enjoyed consuming them. I told him we'd chat again in a few months. This isn't confirming or denying anything you listed above is coming as soon as you may want them to come :) but that Greg Feeler is someone I'm talking to and he has my gratitude even if I wasn't an MOA member back when the Tech Wiki was something he was spear-heading.

Back to personal opinions, right to repair is very important to me. I've participated locally and federally with feedback to representatives and backed non-profits who are taking right to repair to our USA courts. It's very important consumers continue to be able to work on things they own. We're not a lease-economy yet (but it's happening in a lot of areas) and until we are, repairing our products we paid cash for needs to be upheld.

However, I also think all of us need to support our dealers. I know of some of us don't have a dealer down the street but if all we do is go in every 10 years and haggle the price on a new bike and not go back for 10 years, we can't be angry when those dealers close up shop. Dealers stay open servicing motorcycles and selling motorcycles. My GS sees a dealer once a year for a check-up and I buy my BMW parts from my local dealer. I can find some parts cheaper on eBay but it means more that I buy my BMW parts from my BMW dealer. I did my own 24,000 mile service but MaxBMW will see my bike before riding season starts anyway. If all of us spend $150-$250 a year at our dealer, it will make a world of difference to keeping their doors open.
 
My GS sees a dealer once a year for a check-up and I buy my BMW parts from my local dealer. I can find some parts cheaper on eBay but it means more that I buy my BMW parts from my BMW dealer.

So, from your house to the "local" dealer how far do you have to go? That makes a huge difference in the ease with which a dealer can be used.
 
So, from your house to the "local" dealer how far do you have to go? That makes a huge difference in the ease with which a dealer can be used.


Discuss here a few days ago - https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?101321-Bikes-where-are-they

Mine is 105 miles away. ...they also pick up my bike and return it to me.

I gave people who can't reasonably go to a dealer an out by specifically adding this, "I know of some of us don't have a dealer down the street but if all we do is go in every 10 years and haggle the price on a new bike and not go back for 10 years, we can't be angry when those dealers close up shop."

I know some people don't have dealers down the street which is why I added that but there are people who do have them down the street and yet still just go in every 10 years to buy a new bike then never go back. I'm just saying that, if you're able to, support your local dealer. If your dealer is 1000 miles away then maybe you can order parts through them?
 
Discuss here a few days ago - https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?101321-Bikes-where-are-they

I'm just saying that, if you're able to, support your local dealer. If your dealer is 1000 miles away then maybe you can order parts through them?

Well there are two about 400 miles away but I use the one 1,000 miles away. From which I order parts, have bought twelve bikes, uncounted tires, and some accessories too since 1984. But that is me and I am willing to do it. And I am in there at least a couple of times every year. And your point is well taken by me. But I wanted to add some clarity for the many folks many miles from a dealership.
 
Well there are two about 400 miles away but I use the one 1,000 miles away. From which I order parts, have bought twelve bikes, uncounted tires, and some accessories too since 1984. But that is me and I am willing to do it. And I am in there at least a couple of times every year. And your point is well taken by me. But I wanted to add some clarity for the many folks many miles from a dealership.

Absolutely. It has to make sense. I'm sure the best doctor for my shoulder pain is out there but I'm not going to hop on a plane every time I need a check-up. It has to be a reasonable travel distance.
 
Adam, I completely agree: we need to support our dealers and local motorcycle businesses. After buying my GS at BMW Motorcycles of North Dallas they gave me a 10% discount on the price of gear and accessories. I have probably spent $3,000 there. We also have a great gear store in Dallas: Motoliberty. Nothing against Revzilla, but I will buy everything I can from them.
 
Interesting. So, according to the Magnuson-Moss Warranty act it’s illegal for manufacturers (BMW), or dealers to void a warranty, or deny coverage because you performed the work yourself.

Yet, because of BMW’s decision not to share vital information they are in the process of making it practically impossible to properly preform some at home motorcycle maintenance, and repair. :scratch

This speaks volumes about BMW. A very sad day for BMW.


E.

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed.”
Mahatma Gandhi
 
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BMW does not produce "manuals" for BMW cars and that's been the case for years.

This is the case for most auto manufacturers.

Instead what is offered is a subscription service to technical information and I suspect you will be able to subscribe to access BMW motorcycle information as well.

My recent experience has been with Mercedes and it is that a 24-hour subscription runs something like $75 and a one-year subscription is in the $2K range. That's what independent repair shops do, obviously.

You can take to the bank BMW is not withholding information, as that would be illegal.

Check out https://www.bmwtis.com/#/login

What is missing here seems to be communication to dealers or--and does this ever actually happen--to BMW MOA as to what will be available. This is yet another instance where BMW MOA has an "opportunity" to actually be a service to its members. An ON article, perhaps?
 
BMW does not produce "manuals" for BMW cars and that's been the case for years.

This is the case for most auto manufacturers.

Instead what is offered is a subscription service to technical information and I suspect you will be able to subscribe to access BMW motorcycle information as well.

My recent experience has been with Mercedes and it is that a 24-hour subscription runs something like $75 and a one-year subscription is in the $2K range. That's what independent repair shops do, obviously.

You can take to the bank BMW is not withholding information, as that would be illegal.

Check out https://www.bmwtis.com/#/login

What is missing here seems to be communication to dealers or--and does this ever actually happen--to BMW MOA as to what will be available. This is yet another instance where BMW MOA has an "opportunity" to actually be a service to its members. An ON article, perhaps?

That site is showing $39 for 24hr access, $250/month, $2500/yr.
How much downloading or printing is allowed, since you know that’s the path people are going to be headed down?

January’s ON has an article on the manual situation but the essence is that you can wait for Haynes\Clymer etc to produce a manual or enjoy the new relation$hip with your dealer’$ $ervice department. Not quite the options we were hoping for…

Best,
DeVern
 
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