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Canada Recall - New 2013 R1200GS (Wethead)

Apparently a transmission sealing problem has caused a recall of the new R1200GS in Canada. This effects 31 units there. No recall has been announced in the U.S. but one is expected.

http://blog.motorcycle.com/2013/02/...recalled-in-canada-for-transmission-oil-leak/

Just unbelievable Paul, but then again I am still expecting a "fix" for the defective water pump on my K1600GT. Leaving for Huntsville, Ontario, Canada on June 15; my Son Seth (16) and I are packing a spare water pump in our top case!
 
First let me say I have been riding Beemers for 30 years and I love them. Every once in awhile I buy another brand, but there is always a Beemer in the barn. I've had air heads, oilheads, Kbikes and now a 2011 R RT. I read about and experience problems with Beemers and I wonder about their beta testing procedures. Plus the fact that AG often, usually always, refuses to recognize recurring failures. Many aitheads had melting diode boards, oilhead surging, final drive failures,jumping cam chains, defective fuel strips, cracking fuel couplings etc etc etc. I'm making no statement here, just wondering what testing procedures AG performs before the bikes hit the market. I have always felt that BMW in some cases lets its buyers do the testing and then lets them hang facing the repair bills. I understand the water cooled thing. The inceasingly stringent emissions criteria and all. I get it. I also hope BMW hasn't inadvertently opened the flood gates for endless coolant preference discussions. Just when I thought the motor oil posts and their ilk had died down!!!!
 
The blog may have it wrong. It may not be the new GS (wethead), but 31 2013 camheads that have the issue. Yes, you can buy 2013 camheads.

The description of the problem (transmission oil pressure too high) makes no sense for wetheads given that the wethead transmission lives in the engine case. Or perhaps it is the description of the issue that is incorrect. :dunno

This is discussed in another thread.
 
The blog may have it wrong. It may not be the new GS (wethead), but 31 2013 camheads that have the issue. Yes, you can buy 2013 camheads.

The description of the problem (transmission oil pressure too high) makes no sense for wetheads given that the wethead transmission lives in the engine case. Or perhaps it is the description of the issue that is incorrect. :dunno

This is discussed in another thread.

I think it is the Wethead. Oil in the transmission is shared with the engine and that system is pressurized. Camhead transmissions are vented to the atmosphere and shouldn't have pressure at all with the splash lubricated system. I'd have to see serial numbers to know for sure. We will see them when they are recalled in the U.S.
 
There have to be a lot more 2013 GS Cam Heads in Canada than 31, and as stated, the transmission is not pressurized. There weird thing is recalling a motorcycle that has not been sold yet. I would assume they are evaluation bikes and they are complying with the law.
 
There have to be a lot more 2013 GS Cam Heads in Canada than 31, and as stated, the transmission is not pressurized. There weird thing is recalling a motorcycle that has not been sold yet. I would assume they are evaluation bikes and they are complying with the law.

There may not be as many as you may think. BMW Motorrad Ca sold 40 bikes of all models in January of this year across Canada. Recalls don't happen overnight so at the time the recall was put together there may have only been 31 units in the pipe for consideration and why the article suggests the recall may be expanded.
 
I'm thinking this HAS to apply to the wethead engine. Otherwise, it would apply to many more than 31 bikes, it would include R and RT models, and also include pre-2013 camheads since there have been no engine changes for 2013.

Really makes me doubt BMW's testing procedures when such a problem arises so soon after the engine is in production.
 
It is the wethead. I wrote BMW Canada for clarification and received this in response.

From: @bmwgroup.ca
To:
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2013 15:28:21 +0100
Subject: FW: Can you please help me answer this?

Good morning John,

I am responsible for technical support and recalls for Canada.

This recall is limited to the new R1200GS that will be launched in March. No previous generation air cooled models are affected. The actual number of affected motorcycles for Canada is 31. These motorcycles will all be addressed at the BMW retailers; therefore, no customer action or notification will be required.

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

Warm regards,
 
So Transport Canada identified a potential oil leak before the bikes were even released to the public? I'd like know how that happened. Maybe NHTSA could take lessons.
 
I'm wondering if Transport Canada picked up on this during the certification process. I understand they're pretty picky.
 
I don't want to be BMW beta tester with my money.

I have a early production 2005 r1200gs and have had repeated problems and BMW NA just declared mine defective and not repairable. So I was the beta tester on The newly introduced 2005 GS.

I would suggest waiting at least a year until the bugs are worked out on the wethead. I am sure it will be a good bike, but a complete new engine and transmission has bound to have some bugs to work out.
 
I have a early production 2005 r1200gs and have had repeated problems and BMW NA just declared mine defective and not repairable. So I was the beta tester on The newly introduced 2005 GS.

I would suggest waiting at least a year until the bugs are worked out on the wethead. I am sure it will be a good bike, but a complete new engine and transmission has bound to have some bugs to work out.

Good idea. BMW could help by coming out with the second year of production first...bypassing the first year altogether.
 
Cjack, that might work. But I think it would be easier to just wait a year or two.

I am not saying anything bad abut BMW. It is just the first year production of any new product has bound to have some bugs in it. I would imagine that car manufactures can do a lot more testing on new vehicles that are being introduced because they can spread the cost of testing among hundreds of thousands vehicles expected to be sold. Bike manufactures do not have the luxury of spreading the cost out among that many bikes, so they are forced to do less pre-introduction testing.

The wethead will be a great bike I am sure. But I would not want to buy the first year production model, based on the past experience of my 2005 r1200gs. My main riding buddy bought a 2005 GS like mine with a six month later production date and has had zero problems with his bike.
 
I am not saying anything bad abut BMW. It is just the first year production of any new product has bound to have some bugs in it. I would imagine that car manufactures can do a lot more testing on new vehicles that are being introduced because they can spread the cost of testing among hundreds of thousands vehicles expected to be sold. Bike manufactures do not have the luxury of spreading the cost out among that many bikes, so they are forced to do less pre-introduction testing.

The wethead will be a great bike I am sure. But I would not want to buy the first year production model, based on the past experience of my 2005 r1200gs. My main riding buddy bought a 2005 GS like mine with a six month later production date and has had zero problems with his bike.

May be the day of the week matters. Mondays can be rough during Octoberfest.
 
I have no input to this; I've never owned a new bike with a warranty but I do have a question.
First of all let me say I know all or most motorcycle manufactures have recalls and problems with new models.
I know some of you must own newer motorcycles other than BMW's, so you have experience with BMW AG and whatever other motorcycle company whose bike you own.
Do you think that BMW AG or the other company pays more attention to the recurring problems that you may have on your bikes? Or, are they all about the same?
And I'm not talking about the local BMW shops; they have always treated me well and fairly.
The only problem I ever had was diode boards back when, but there seems to be more these days.
DW
 
Let me say this: I don't know if I'm correct or not but I wouldn't be surprised if they have had a recall on every single model they've released in the past few years. I've actually thought for a few years the customer base is the R&D department. That statement cannot be too far from the truth given their history. That is why I say you need to be patient with BMW and most likely they'll get everything worked out sooner or later. For a worldwide company that sells a handful of motorcycles their recall record is nothing short of incredible. Incredibly bad.
 
I have no input to this; I've never owned a new bike with a warranty but I do have a question.
First of all let me say I know all or most motorcycle manufactures have recalls and problems with new models.
I know some of you must own newer motorcycles other than BMW's, so you have experience with BMW AG and whatever other motorcycle company whose bike you own.
Do you think that BMW AG or the other company pays more attention to the recurring problems that you may have on your bikes? Or, are they all about the same?
And I'm not talking about the local BMW shops; they have always treated me well and fairly.
The only problem I ever had was diode boards back when, but there seems to be more these days.
DW

I'm pretty opinionated when it comes to BMW NA/AG so you may want to speak with others and take what I have to say with a grain of salt if you feel it is appropriate.

All companies are familiar with recalls. A year or so ago BMW was fined for the improper handling of recall procedures. The recall was concerning 16 vehicles total, 15 of which were motorcycles. Recalls are always related to potential safety issues. What's sad is the number of BMW models that have been recalled. BMW seems to be in a perpetual state of recall on their motorcycles. I've come to believe the BMW customer base is the R&D department for BMW AG. BMW is a very small player in the world of motorcycles yet their recall situations seem to defy gravity. In addition, recurring problems seem to be a very real issue with them. The accuracy of this statement however is really unknown as no one is really certain how many recurring failures they seem to have. Those numbers are not published. So your mileage may vary here. And, as long as you don't get either killed or maimed with your recall life is good once the repair is completed.

In addition, BMW is well known for continuing to sell product with known exceptionally high failure rates. Think fuel strips here. Maybe they needed to get them out of inventory I don't know. My guess is somehow it improved their P&L statement but I don't know that for fact.

I will say this. Most owners will not be affected by anything major. In addition, once all the irritating issues that arise are cleared up the likelihood of you enjoying your BMW are excellent. You just may need a bit of patience. Do I think other companies pay more attention to recurring problems? Absolutely, but I would not be able to prove that. I do think Japanese engineering is typically superior to the Germans as a general rule. However, Japanese vehicles lack soul and that is where BMW and a few of the Europeans bikes and cars seem to thrive. For those of us that can appreciate our wheels soul seems to be a powerful motivator in how much we like (love?) our wheels. And, there is something to be said for that.
 
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