Leaking Water Pump Seal/Gasket

So my 2005 K1200S, with only 105,000km on it, has finally decided to give me a hard time. I'm seeing a coolant leak from the water pump area. Who knows what exactly has failed but I'll be replacing the seal and two gaskets - about $75 in parts.

This is the very first thing that has failed on this bike. The infamous fuel gauge strip is even accurate. I was hoping to get the leak fixed under warranty but when I asked the service manager he just gave me a funny look. I'm thinking of writing a letter to Head Office to complain about the shoddy workmanship of BMW motorcycles.

BC1100S said:

So my 2005 K1200S, with only 105,000km on it, has finally decided to give me a hard time. I'm seeing a coolant leak from the water pump area. Who knows what exactly has failed but I'll be replacing the seal and two gaskets - about $75 in parts.

This is the very first thing that has failed on this bike. The infamous fuel gauge strip is even accurate. I was hoping to get the leak fixed under warranty but when I asked the service manager he just gave me a funny look. I'm thinking of writing a letter to Head Office to complain about the shoddy workmanship of BMW motorcycles.

Click to expand...

Back a few years somebody told me, I can't remember who or when, that shipments of finished motorcycles to various markets were scheduled according to the day of the week of the assembly of the engine. If I recall correctly Germany got the Tuesday batch, South America got the Thursday batch, the USA got the ones built on Tuesday, the rest of Europe got Friday, and Canada got all of the bikes with the Monday engines. I think this probably explains the shoddy construction of the engine on your bike. In manufacturing, Mondays are dismal I was told by somebody but I can't remember who it was. I do think it was during Oktoberfest though.

Ahem....it turns out that the water pump gasket(s) and seal weren't the issue. It seems the water pump impeller (rotor, in BMW speak) had come loose on the shaft and was drifting back and forth within the housing as well as not being positively driven. This might explain why I had noticed the bike typically running hotter than usual as this might result in reduced coolant flow through the engine and radiator.

Anyhoo, all fixed now. It wasn't cheap. Labour was reasonable, parts less so. Still not warranty.