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Anyone know how I can fully track my order for a new RT?

N

ncpbmw1953

Member
Hi,

A kind soul on bmwlt forum posted a link where you could enter order number, production number, VIN, etc to get status update I think, but it's broken.

Any ideas where you can follow the status when you have the correct numbers?

Thanks in advance
 
ncpbmw1953 said:
Hi,

A kind soul on bmwlt forum posted a link where you could enter order number, production number, VIN, etc to get status update I think, but it's broken.

Any ideas where you can follow the status when you have the correct numbers?

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

Your dealer should be able to do that for you.

Harry
 
From the dealership end we can see the status, but in relatively general terms. The steps of status are fairly concise up to the point that a unit is on board and floating westward, after that it gets pretty vague, and generally "goes dark" from the point it hits port in the US until we are invoiced indicating it has departed the warehouse in NJ. There are third party tools that will allow you to more specifically track a container on its way across the pond - I don't have those resources handy as I have never been asked to execute with that degree of detail. You'll find quite a list of options if you google "international shipping container tracking", and your dealer will be able to provide you with the vessel and container info needed. My general (conservative) rule for planning my pipeline/inventory flow, which is a victim of several variables along the way, is to plan on having a unit in hand 7 weeks from the production date.
 
RYD1WD said:
From the dealership end we can see the status, but in relatively general terms. The steps of status are fairly concise up to the point that a unit is on board and floating westward, after that it gets pretty vague, and generally "goes dark" from the point it hits port in the US until we are invoiced indicating it has departed the warehouse in NJ. There are third party tools that will allow you to more specifically track a container on its way across the pond - I don't have those resources handy as I have never been asked to execute with that degree of detail. You'll find quite a list of options if you google "international shipping container tracking", and your dealer will be able to provide you with the vessel and container info needed. My general (conservative) rule for planning my pipeline/inventory flow, which is a victim of several variables along the way, is to plan on having a unit in hand 7 weeks from the production date.
Click to expand...

Thanks Greg I know when I placed the order it was in production w/ a production number & VIN as a sold motorcycle within 24-48h which the dealer said wasn't typical. I spoke to the dealer yesterday and was told it is now 'in transit' which I took to mean had left the factory at which point he didn't offer add'l tracking methods. So it would appear with any luck it should be here within less than 7 weeks if all goes well despite variables.
 
ncpbmw1953 said:
Thanks Greg I know when I placed the order it was in production w/ a production number & VIN as a sold motorcycle within 24-48h which the dealer said wasn't typical. I spoke to the dealer yesterday and was told it is now 'in transit' which I took to mean had left the factory at which point he didn't offer add'l tracking methods. So it would appear with any luck it should be here within less than 7 weeks if all goes well despite variables.
Click to expand...

"in Transit" is the big, vague bucket - once they float it becomes a crap shoot. Your dealer can provide you with the production date for guesstimation, as well as the vessel and container info if you want to drill down and track it across the pond. When I use the 7 week formula, I'm usually buying myself 1-2 weeks of slack in best case... but have also had ships take WAY less than direct (scheduled) paths, and seen them get hung up in ports causing my shipments to be several weeks later. There maybe a few here who had bikes due last April that they didn't throw a leg over until well into May because of a large shipment getting stuck in a foreign port... I had 5 SOLD motorcycles on that damned boat! The bottom line is we really have absolutely no control - it's pure speculation and fate!

Enjoy your RT, man... I love mine, for my money it's the most complete motorcycle available today :thumb
 
Here's my data ... order placed Oct. 10th 2015. Bike built Nov. 12th. Best I can tell from the paperwork, it was delivered to dealer Dec. 23rd. That makes it just under six weeks from production to delivery. Of course the holidays got in the way of my taking possession of the bike until January 13th. It would have been a few days (week or so) earlier than that but I opted to have Max deliver the bike to me given the variability of the weather this time of year in the Northeast.
 
EUGENE said:
:waveWhy are people so impaition now today?
Click to expand...

I think we've been trained to be that way through cellphone apps, FedEx & UPS tracking emails, etc. I am the worst example, because I'm sitting here in MA today, weeks away from being able to go out on my RT again, but am checking my email hourly for the status of my Z-Technik windshield from A&S Cycles which is "on the truck for delivery." Probably too much time on my hands, I guess...
 
Ordering a BMW car and motorcycle essentially works the same way:

1. Dealer receives production allocation for a certain model. The number of allocations is based, in part, on previous sales at that dealership.

2. Dealer places order for their inventory or for a specific customer using the BMW computer ordering system (I believe it's called DealerSpeed). There is a priority "field" on the Vehicle Inquiry Status order form that indicates the status. Highest priority is "1-Customer Sold." This tells BMW there's a customer waiting for the bike/car. Other priority numbers, such as "3-Priority Stock" indicates it's for the dealer's inventory.

3. After placing the order, the bike or car is assigned a unique Production Number and production week. When I ordered my 2014 RT on February 5, it was scheduled to be built that last week of February. And the dealer provided me with a printout to show the bike was built as scheduled on February 28.

4. About a week after it was built, the bike's status changed to "In Transit To Warehouse." The dealer's computer then indicated the exact container ship that would carry the cargo to New Jersey. You can track the ship's progress (Google Marine Traffic).

5. My 2014 RT arrived in New Jersey in mid-April and was delivered to me on April 24.

6. Total time from build date to delivery about 8 weeks.

After the shock recall, I chose Option 4 and sold my 2014 back to BMW, and ordered a 2015 RT on July 8 (he had just received 2 allocations).

I watched as my salesperson input my order and immediately received a unique Production Number. My 2015 RT order indicated status code 111, which means the ordered was accepted by BMW. Changes are allowed until the bike goes into status code 150 (in production). Ordering a BMW auto works the same way.

My 2015 RT is due in New Jersey port on Sep 20. Once is clears customs, it will be released for truck shipping and should arrive at my dealer in about 10 days.

When I ordered my 2014, my dealer showed me how to track the truck on the DHL website:

https://dhli.dhl.com/dhli-client/publicTracking?7

In the "Search By" drop-down menu, select "Customer Ref Number"

Then input your VIN. It's case sensitive, so use capital letters.

You should be able to track the shipment, assuming that it's coming via DHL.

Hope this helps. If your salesperson doesn't have a clue on how bikes "magically" arrive at his dealership, perhaps it's time to change dealers.

If you have a bike on order, your salesperson can easily check its progress, based on standard BMW codes, as follows (based on auto production, but most still apply):

0 Order deleted by NA
17 Order not Specified
37 Order is at BMW NA
87 Production Week Assigned
97 Order sent to AG
100 Order deleted by AG
101 Error in data transmitted
102 Special Order (no Prod Week)
105 Order out of Prod. Period
111 Order Accepted at AG
112 Order scheduled for Production
150 Production Started
151 Body Shop Started
152 Paint Shop Started
153 Assembly Started
155 Production Completed
160 Released to Distribution
168 AG Stock
170 Waiting Workshop
172 Planned for Workshop
174 Workshop Entry
176 Workshop Complete
180 Waiting for Export Dispatch
181 Waiting for Domestic Dispatch
182 AG Load No. — Released to Carrier
190 Dispatched ex(port?) BMW AG
191 Returned to BMW AG
193 Arrived at Port of Exit (where my car was stalled)
194 Selected for Shipment
195 Shipped from Port of Exit
196 Shipment Arrival — ATA
 
The above is basically correct with several significant exceptions.

If a bike is requested through the order bank, prior to allocation, it doesn't have a production # yet.

All units that are allocated to our pipelines as status 111 "on order" have already been given a production #.

Our standard pipeline view doesn't display status prior to allocation - 111 On Order, seeing anything prior to that will be variable by dealership as to how much access and training the sales associate has in the system. Once the bike is allocated, we can see some of the prior status increments.

Edits to the list above in BOLD, keeping in mind I have fairly complete access:

0 Order deleted by NA - I've never seen this one
17 Dummy Order
27 Order Retained in Order Bank
37 Spec. Not Released
47 Spec. Released
57 Spec Not Released-Avail
87 Production Week Assigned - I've never seen this
97 Order sent to AG
100 Order deleted by AG - I've never seen this
101 Error in data transmitted - I've never seen this
102 Special Request Order Received
105 No Production Week Available
111 Order Accepted at AG
112 Scheduled For Daily Production Pack
150 Production Started
151 Body Shop Started - I've never seen this
152 Paint Shop Started - I've never seen this
153 Assembly Started
155 Assembly Finish/ QC
160 Vehicle Handover To Sales
168 AG Stock
170 Planned For Workshop
172 Scheduled For Workshop
174 Workshop Entry
176 Workshop Complete
180 Waiting for Export Dispatch
181 Handover To Distribution
182 AG Load No. — Released to Carrier - Can also show as "182 In Transit"
190 Dispatched ex(port?) BMW AG - - Can also show as "190 In Transit"
191 Returned to BMW AG - I've never seen this
193 Arrived at Port of Exit - Can also show as "193 In Transit"
194 Selected for Shipment - I've never seen this
195 This can have several associations in different views - Produced Not Shipped, or In Transit, or At VPC (warehouse)
196 Shipment Arrival — ATA - I've never seen this
198 Dealer Inventory

To my original point in a previous post above... once the bike has been produced, it falls into a big ambiguous bucket of "In Transit status, which can be less than deeply specific. Status after that usually doesn't get updated in our view until we get invoiced and the status changes to 198 Dealer Inventory indicating that the unit has shipped from the warehouse in NJ. So don't be quick to knock the salesperson... there may not be any magic involved, but there certainly is a good bit of vague voodoo to navigate... fair enough?

I believe the DHL system only uses the last 7 of the VIN IIRC...
 
lirider said:
Here's my data ... order placed Oct. 10th 2015. Bike built Nov. 12th. Best I can tell from the paperwork, it was delivered to dealer Dec. 23rd. That makes it just under six weeks from production to delivery. Of course the holidays got in the way of my taking possession of the bike until January 13th. It would have been a few days (week or so) earlier than that but I opted to have Max deliver the bike to me given the variability of the weather this time of year in the Northeast.
Click to expand...

This, 5-6 weeks, is pretty typical when all the cogs align as planned. I use 7 weeks because I do my forecasting when the bike is allocated, prior to production, with an 'estimated' production date. It doesn't hurt to slightly under promise and over deliver when things roll out as they are 'planned' :)
 
When I ordered by RT, my dealer also provided me with an update in dealerspeed.com and gave me the exact name of the ship, container number, and ETA for shipment and arrival at the port in New York/NJ. Note that cars are shipped on vehicle carriers (essentially a floating multi-level parking garage holding 5,000+ cars).

Motorcycles are shipped on container vessels, along with BMW parts, and other products, excluding autos.

I tracked my container ship, OOCL Kuala Lumpur using marinetraffic.com. The website provided an update when my container will be loaded in Hamburg, and when it was to arrive in NY/NJ on. You can also track the container itself as the dealer printout shows the exact container number. Enter the container number at www.hamburgsud.com for vessel departure and arrival schedules.

After the container ship is unloaded and clears customs, I received by bike within two weeks.

Here's a link on the LT Forum that includes an extensive discussion of tracking your new BMW: http://www.bmwlt.com/forums/rt-series/93682-tracking-new-bikes.html
 
Last edited:
We're in a pretty good El Nino right now to it's fine if it's delayed as long as it gets here early enough so I can put a 1000m or so on it to tease out any vulnerabilities before June 11 when we depart on an 8K mile trip. :wave

While we're here, anyone have the Conti's on their RTW and if so, how did they where? I understand some arrive w/ Metz or Conti and in my experience and reading PR4GT's hold up the best. I'd like to not have to replace tires on this trip.

Cheers
 
ncpbmw1953 said:
We're in a pretty good El Nino right now to it's fine if it's delayed as long as it gets here early enough so I can put a 1000m or so on it to tease out any vulnerabilities before June 11 when we depart on an 8K mile trip. :wave
Click to expand...

And also to get that first service out of the way, variously described as the "600 mile" service, or sometimes the "1K miles" service.

Harry
 
ncpbmw1953 said:
While we're here, anyone have the Conti's on their RTW and if so, how did they where? I understand some arrive w/ Metz or Conti and in my experience and reading PR4GT's hold up the best. I'd like to not have to replace tires on this trip.

Cheers
Click to expand...

My 2016 RT came with the Michelins. I was told that the Europe spec bikes had Metzlers, and the US spec ones had Michelins. I hope for your sake that this is what you have, as they are excelent tires. You'll know soon enough... :)
 
GRLambert said:
My 2016 RT came with the Michelins. I was told that the Europe spec bikes had Metzlers, and the US spec ones had Michelins. I hope for your sake that this is what you have, as they are excelent tires. You'll know soon enough... :)
Click to expand...

Well we'll see I don't know if a custom order changes any of that, but I know on my F800GT which came w/ Metz tires they squared off in the center quickly compared to the PR4's which have been fabulous. I don't think any F800GT's shipped w/ Mich tires. The shop did seem open to swapping them out to PR4GT if the RTW arrives w/ other and I hope I don't have to press for it as they really a wonderful small dealership. Thanks!
 
Marry Your Dealer

This all sounds pretty good from a dealer which has told you that they'd switch tire brands to Michelin for you. A good small dealer can be a gold mine, and marrying up with the Service Manager and the techs early on is a fine thing. Sounds like you've already done that so you're in good shape.
 
GRLambert said:
My 2016 RT came with the Michelins. I was told that the Europe spec bikes had Metzlers, and the US spec ones had Michelins. I hope for your sake that this is what you have, as they are excelent tires. You'll know soon enough... :)
Click to expand...

We wish... in my experience it's been about 50/50, PR4/Metz.

If it were 50/50, PR4/Angel GT I would be elated...
 
ncpbmw1953 said:
Well we'll see I don't know if a custom order changes any of that, but I know on my F800GT which came w/ Metz tires they squared off in the center quickly compared to the PR4's which have been fabulous.
I believe that part of what you encountered with the OEM tires has to do with euro vs US spec. - IIRC the euro spec Metz tires are a single compound tire, hence the middle would go away A LOT faster than a PR4.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
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