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BMW Motorrad Advisory: Stop Riding Your 2014 R1200RT

lkchris said:
So much talk about "entitlement." What are they going to "give me?"

How about the dealers?
Dealers buy bikes from BMW and finance them with bank loans. Being unable to sell them for some period means more interest payments.

Likely, BMW will extend the "FREE" floor planning for these units...they have in the past when "no sale holds" have applied..

How about dealer technicians?
These folks were likely prepared for lots of 600-mile, 6000-mile services that now won't happen for a while. This is a financial hit to them and, again, the dealer.

The potential loss of those appointments will be replaced by new shock mounting appointments.

How about the folks working overtime to build the improved shocks?
Maybe they'll make extra money for overtime, but they'll lose family time, etc.

They work for money in order to have the family. These days a little extra cash might come in handy.

BMW is likely not obligated technically to do much at all in the way of "compensation" to you or anyone else, but they'll do some in their best interest as "customer care."

But, speaking of "giving ..."

How about all affected BMW owners get together and buy a six-pack or something for the folks that discovered the problem? Got the word out in a timely manner? It could be these folks saved your life and maybe you could see it that you owe them something.

They'll be paid back by BMW not having to take a larger then now necessary quarterly hit to the bottom line...less lay-offs, bonuses and ...

Perhaps "entitlement" is a two-way street?

That's what BMW is hoping...they give and the customer continues to be a customer.

You know, an airliner flying over your house could suffer a malfunction and the contents of one of its restrooms could have been ejected and a big blue block of ice could have come crashing through the roof of your house. It has happened ... or in this case as also the ESA shock case, sh*t happens.

And the airline would pay.

Or perhaps a sinkhole forms down the street from your house and you can't get your vehicles in or out of your neighborhood for some period. This could "ruin a vacation," just as waiting for roof repairs could, too.

But I wouldn't have paid the sink hole $22,000 to come there and ruin my vacation.

Some days I'm unlucky, some days you're unlucky. It happens. But we're still alive and the future is still coming. I say forget the self-defeating stress thing and don't worry, be happy. It should be pretty clear that as owners of new or nearly new BMW motorcycles, lots of folks have it worse than us.
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No doubt about that.

Entitlements...let's see, something you earn by paying for it, like Social Security or Medicare (I really don't consider these entitlements, but some people refer to them as such). Or entitlements where you don't pay, especially if you're job disadvantaged or don't have the means for whatever reason...and just expect or receive a hand-out. Not really sure "entitlement" applies here. Perhaps reimbursement of a tangible (and some intangible) loss is more appropriate. Or as BMW likes to call it "Good Will". And as you say, they (BMW) do so in their best interest.

Buyers paid people (in the BMW production process) $2X,000 within the last few months, for something currently not functional. Those Buyers, at this juncture, have not stormed the castle...but they've been venting their frustration on this and other forums - who can blame them? BMW NA has initiated their own damage control by offering certain options to those harmed. They realize they need to make a positive effort to save face and customers in the long run. They also know many States have laws which allow return of defective (nonfunctional) machines for refunds. They'd like to stay away from losing current and future customers and are attempting to do so with these offers.

Tomorrow, or soon after, dealers will be provided a list of options to benefit the buyers who've been harmed. I've been told by BMW Customer Service those options will be the same ones their customer service representative have been reciting for the last few days: Trade Assist, Monthly Payment Coverage, Deals on Parts/Accessories or Cash. Appears to be a rational business decision on BMW's part, hopefully we Buyer's will feel the same.
 
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Well, the new model does look good

The day after arriving back home from my break-in check up I received the call from the dealer to park the new bike. It took another week to get my personal email from BMW. Frustrated and disappointed doesn't cover it. Looks like the ride to the national will have to wait till next year. If I were to buy another bike it would not likely be a beemer. My last two RTs have had many more problems than my first two. At the very least I think BMW should offer some form of compensation for those who have been caught up in this embarrassing problem.
 
A wethead owner thinking about the National

What about starting a campaign , " take a Wethead RT Owner to the Rally ". We could get BMW to split the fuel cost and ride on the back! Don Miller
 
WOW
And I was upset about replacing eight fuel strips on our 1200 R
At least I could still ride it
Just when I was going to jump back in.
Why do you feel like you are BMW's crash test dummies some times
 
The good news is my new RT (production date 5/22/2014) just arrived in New Jersey this morning. Like many others, me and my dealer are trying to figure out if my bike is affected by the do not ride order or not, since it's after the date range in the VIN list posted elsewhere. The bad news is I just read in USA Today that the airbag in my Toyota (Lexus) may kill me with shrapnel if it goes off. Well, me and 1.1 million others. Sort of helps put the RT situation in perspective for me.
 
wbrownell9 said:
The good news is my new RT (production date 5/22/2014) just arrived in New Jersey this morning. Like many others, me and my dealer are trying to figure out if my bike is affected by the do not ride order or not, since it's after the date range in the VIN list posted elsewhere. The bad news is I just read in USA Today that the airbag in my Toyota (Lexus) may kill me with shrapnel if it goes off. Well, me and 1.1 million others. Sort of helps put the RT situation in perspective for me.
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Well that would be good news because it would mean they solved the problem and have good shocks to ship to our dealers. Hope for the best for you.
 
It appears that the recall won't happen and be completed until all or most of the summer has passed. If I owned one of the new bikes and it was my only bike, I would go in search of a good used bike in the $3,000-$4,000 price range to ride this summer and transfer my tags to it.. If you buy wisely, you can get most of your money back when your new bike is repaired. I would get something different like a Maxi-Scooter (Burgman, Silverwing, T-Max). They have a low resale so a good one can be bought reasonably. I bought a Burgman 650 last summer as a backup to my R1200CLC. I found I liked the Burgman better than my CLC so I sold the bike and kept the scooter. Just got back from a 1,200 mile ride to and from the RA Rally and found it travels as well as any motorcycle I have ever had (and you don't get as wet in the rain).

I would ask the dealer to keep my new bike until it was repaired so they would be responsible for it and it wouldn't take up space at my house.
 
109418 said:
I was told that BMW is formalizing a list of options for 14'RT owners that will be communicated (to dealers) no later than close of business tomorrow. (That's right Friday the 13th. Funny that they would pick that day.) Anyway, I am still cautiously optimistic that BMW is trying to make things right for their customers.
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Fingers crossed for good news tomorrow.
This is such a hassle right now and I trust that BMW will come to the plate and make this right.
 
Fifty Lawyers

I heard somewhere that colleges are producing fifty lawyers for every engineer. Looks like it here.

Has anybody pulled off the defective shock, compared it to whatever they have laying around that might fit?

It's a shock absorber, not a motherboard for an atlas rocket.
 
GKman said:
I heard somewhere that colleges are producing fifty lawyers for every engineer. Looks like it here.

Has anybody pulled off the defective shock, compared it to whatever they have laying around that might fit?

It's a shock absorber, not a motherboard for an atlas rocket.
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+1!
 
GKman said:
I heard somewhere that colleges are producing fifty lawyers for every engineer. Looks like it here.

Has anybody pulled off the defective shock, compared it to whatever they have laying around that might fit?

It's a shock absorber, not a motherboard for an atlas rocket.
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+1! And replacing a shock is usually a very quick and easy job. Maybe we can find something close to the specs and put them on until the proper ones are available? Has anyone looked for one?
 
osbornk said:
I would ask the dealer to keep my new bike until it was repaired so they would be responsible for it and it wouldn't take up space at my house.
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If it was me, I'd rather keep my bike at home where I could keep an eye on it.
I would worry about it being moved around each day and probably rolled outside during business hours because of not enough room in the shop.
 
Lee said:
If it was me, I'd rather keep my bike at home where I could keep an eye on it.
I would worry about it being moved around each day and probably rolled outside during business hours because of not enough room in the shop.
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+1
That is exactly why I am keeping mine at home, with agreement of both, my dealer and BMW Australia.
When the part finally arrives, then arrangements will be made to get it to the shop.
 
ESA RT shocks

So if the non-ESA RTs are fine, why do they not replace the shocks with the ones they know to be working and disable the ESA until a permanent fix is in place. So it takes two visits for the fix. It would beat having an expensive garage ornament.
 
From the K1600forums web site. Can not vouch for the information, but it likely close to being accurate.

"It turns out this affects every ESA RTW built so far, including bikes still in shipment. Bob's BMW told me today me that BMW is offering four options, and that the bikes will be out of commission until September at the earliest. It affects about 8,000 bikes, just under 900 in the U.S. Seems the shock piston can fail, dumping oil directly on the wheel/tire, with catastrophic/fatal results.

The options are that BMW will pay your monthly payments and insurance plus a small amount, or they will assist financially on a quick non-RT trade in, or they will help the dealer with a non-RT loaner bike, or they will make a lump sum cash payment. They have contacted each owner with an special 800 number and will work with each to his/her satisfaction. Seems like they are getting in front of this one.

I happened to see a '14 RT parked in front of the cathedral in Burgos, Spain this morning (we're currently in the midst of hiking the 800-km Camino de Santiago) and spoke with the Austrian couple who were gearing up to ride. They are on a long trip and took the bike yesterday for headlight bulb service in Madrid, and it was nearly confiscated by the dealer. The owners didn't seem too worried, but I see over on the RT forum that insurance companies are providing no coverage for bikes ridden after a stop riding order. Amazingly expensive mistake - apparently something about metal hardening procedures not being followed consistently at a supplier."
 
GKman said:
I heard somewhere that colleges are producing fifty lawyers for every engineer. Looks like it here.

Has anybody pulled off the defective shock, compared it to whatever they have laying around that might fit?

It's a shock absorber, not a motherboard for an atlas rocket.
Click to expand...

The annual number of 4-yr engineering degrees granted in the US is currently ~83,000. On the other hand, 40~45,000 road blocks to productivity (i.e. Lawyers) are produced on an annual basis. So, reality isn't as bad as you thought.....

http://www.asee.org/papers-and-publ...files/2011-profile-engineering-statistics.pdf

http://www.americanbar.org/content/...dmissions_to_the_bar/stats_1.authcheckdam.pdf
 
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Checked with two dealers in Central FL today (but under same ownership). One said parts will be shipped first of the month, other said they knew nothing. Then I spent almost an hour combined on hold making 2 calls to corporate, never got through to a human being. Anyone else have an update?
 
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Emails to Customer Service

I have sent three emails to Customer Service with various questions! No response to date! Dealer could care less, my opinion, sells mostly Harley's! Attempted to call but put on hold for many, many minutes!
I guess at this point BMW has no firm plan! Don Miller 14RT deadhead
 
djmiller217 said:
I have sent three emails to Customer Service with various questions! No response to date! Dealer could care less, my opinion, sells mostly Harley's! Attempted to call but put on hold for many, many minutes!
I guess at this point BMW has no firm plan! Don Miller 14RT deadhead
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Don, your not alone as they have not responded to mine either. I suspect they are re-working planned offers / workouts due to the heavy negative owner imput. Plan B was thrown out and plan M was unworkable and they're now trying to justify plan W to the head bean counter.

Eventually they will all agree to plan BMW and doing what's best for corp (bean counter rules) and everyone will live happily ever afterward ... or so one would like to think ... in the end.
 
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