Any high mileage wetheads out there?

ncpbmw1953 said:

I agree the longer you keep the bike and put ample miles on it it starts being worthwhile to purchase an extended warranty. But again, there are so many costs associated w/ ownership even the odd big ticket item isn't that big a deal. Just total up the cost of everything mentioned in my post and even 2x $3,500 as bigger ticket items only represents 15% of the total cost of operation over 12y, which is about what I hope to get out of this RTW. I am definitely riding less miles/year as I age as well. If I paid for extended warranties over 9y of that 12y and did not have to pay for those two $3500 repairs now the cost of those repairs represents only 6% of the total cost of ownership since we coughed up $2500 for 9y worth of extended warranty coverage. And then there are repairs that will not be covered under some extended warranties when they define, for example, shocks as 'consumable' items, like tires, etc. And if we don't happen to have $7K worth of big ticket items by the time we get to 120K miles or 12y, now the total cost of operation goes down to $0.32/mile versus around $0.42/mile when you sell and buy new every 4y or so.

Click to expand...

Here is how I look at the value of an extended warranty, cost of warranty v cost of repairs covered by the warranty. You had 2 3500 repairs that might have been covered by the warranty that is 7000 - in your case 2500 for warranty means you would have been 4500 richer over the period of the warranty.

In my case the warranty was I think 1250.00. Is it likely that I will have a covered repair greater than that amount over the life of the warranty, I will say yes so it is a good deal for me. Also the warranty has unlimited mileage when it kicks in, the average mileage on the last several vehicles I owned was over 200,000 miles, two of the vehicles were motorcycles. In each of the cases that I bought an extended warranty on a vehicle it has paid off for me. I suspect the reason is keeping the vehicle long enough to amass significant miles. In many cases an alternator, suspension component, or drive train issue like drive shaft or rear end will need replaced and be covered by the warranty. Often those components are expensive to repair and are more than the cost of the warranty.

For me it makes sense financially to spend the money. I also do not trade every 4 years but more like 8 to 12 years.

So glad to keep hearing stories of high miles. I added a 2015 to my small stable last year to help me keep riding in my senior years. Gotta say had I read some of what I have read since I bought it I would have steered clear. I love this bike but some of the reliability issues I have read or watched videos in are nithing short of terrifying. One recently by a fella going by Vehicle Hunter is very very scathing attack on BMW, he has more than one video. This is one,

https://youtu.be/gr4oc2aDyBE

I did notice he claims to have owned all or most of the vehicles on his list I think which makes him either very rich or very old. Leaves me windering if this Hinda Rebel rider's wife ran off with an RT rider. That said I only paid 7400 US Dolla for mine with 35K on it, now over 40K. and it had just about all the bells and whistles. Also came with $1500 dollars worth of Helmets in the top case. I love it just love it and hope to join the 100,000 plus club on it. I have added, NAV6 Ilium crash bars front and rear, werks quiet ride, bar risers, Old Timer Nav6 lock and will look to add the RDL seat soon. That will be it, other than perhaps paint to match the topcase. Happy riding.

fog820 said:

Is it likely that I will have a covered repair greater than that amount over the life of the warranty, I will say yes so it is a good deal for me.

Click to expand...

I doubt it will be likely you will recoup what you paid for it over the life of the warranty. After all, the underwriters manage to make money steadily because they collect more than they pay out in claims + administrative overhead + often significant sales commissions to whomever closes the deal. My oldest brother made is lifetime high income selling extended warranties for a big RV dealer. So really, the odds are way stacked against you. This being said, if you can't deal w/ an expensive repair, should that/they happen, then you did the right thing by spending the money on an extended warranty. I'll align w/ the odds and take my chances. This, of course, is just how I see it and I know others will see it differently.

2017 rt

I bought it new and have 76+ thousand on it and just recently I'm getting a rattle which I think is in the clutch. The main problem I've had with it is the low beam is a pain to change and I changed the brake pads at 72 K. Front tpms went dead at around 69K and took it out and put a new battery in it and when I change the front again I will put it back in. Didn't want to pay what they want for a new tpms when I can put a $4 battery in.

Chinese TPM

jseven said:

My rear TPMS is starting to fail. Did you use the BMW sensors? My dealer wants $219 for the rear. Does anyone have any experience using the chinese knockoffs they sell on eBay? I found one there for $20 bucks. Plan on replacing next tire change.

Click to expand...

I've installed many of the cheap TPMS's. Have not had a problem with any. I use them on my bikes and also customer bikes. I like factory parts but give me a break. Same part numbers and look identical.

Bill Kenney
Foster, RI
2016 R1200RT
2016 S1000XR
2005 Susuki 1200S/hp sidecar

Where you been Bill?
Gary

jimbem said:

I passed 200k miles last saturday on my 2015 RT. It's still a great bike .It's alittle noisier at idle and theres alittle more vibration. My Tractiv shocks have about 118k on them now and don't feel as good as when i put them on but I don't think they are shot yet. The bike is using more oil between changes now,about 1/2 quart. But there is NO smoke from the exhaust and the spark plugs look the same color when I change them as they did when the bike was new. As mentioned in an earlier post the final drive and drive shaft had to be replaced but those are the only problems I've encountered. I adjusted 2 valves once to get them back in the center of the spec range and haven't had to adjust any since. When I bought the bike I told the wife I wouldn't buy a new one until this one had 200k on it. This past september 30th i bought a used (6400 miles) K16GT.If the new 1250RT had a modern headlight and the TFT display along with the refreshed looks I would have bought it instead of the GT. Theres no doubt my next bike will be the next RT.

Click to expand...

Passed 223,000 miles earlier this week on 15RT. Still no other problems and still love this bike. The k16 I bought used is a great bike also but not nearly good enough to keep me from ordering a new 2022 triple black Rt. I've seen the triple black in person but not in natural sun light. IT seems to have a brown tint or flop to the color. Has someone seen one outside in the sun?

jimbem said:

Passed 223,000 miles earlier this week on 15RT. Still no other problems and still love this bike. The k16 I bought used is a great bike also but not nearly good enough to keep me from ordering a new 2022 triple black Rt. I've seen the triple black in person but not in natural sun light. IT seems to have a brown tint or flop to the color. Has someone seen one outside in the sun?

Click to expand...

My 2016 "Ebony" has a purplish-brown tint in bright sunlight.

All these high-milage bikes begs the question: how does one sell a motorcycle (even a BMW) with 75,000, 100,000 miles and more on the odometer? Very cheaply I suspect . Do you trade or find an individual that overlooks the milage? I have found it quite challenging to sell any brand of motorcycle I've owned, once the milage starts to creep north of 20,000 or so, for the simple reason there are often identical bikes out there with far less miles on them.

motormike said:

All these high-milage bikes begs the question: how does one sell a motorcycle (even a BMW) with 75,000, 100,000 miles and more on the odometer? Very cheaply I suspect . Do you trade or find an individual that overlooks the milage? I have found it quite challenging to sell any brand of motorcycle I've owned, once the milage starts to creep north of 20,000 or so, for the simple reason there are often identical bikes out there with far less miles on them.

Click to expand...

I think there are several factors. First, a lot of motorcycle riders have no idea that a BMW can go for 200,000+ miles. In their world 20k is a lot of miles. Secondly, by the time you've put 100,000 miles on a bike you have received a lot of your purchase money back, so maybe a "cheap" price isn't really that much of a bad deal to you? Thirdly, keep meticulous maintenance records. Showing loving care will give some people confidence in you and the bike.

motormike said:

All these high-milage bikes begs the question: how does one sell a motorcycle (even a BMW) with 75,000, 100,000 miles and more on the odometer? Very cheaply I suspect . Do you trade or find an individual that overlooks the milage? I have found it quite challenging to sell any brand of motorcycle I've owned, once the milage starts to creep north of 20,000 or so, for the simple reason there are often identical bikes out there with far less miles on them.

Click to expand...

Voni sold an R1100RSL with 172,000 miles on it. It was sold to a member of a local chartered club that knew her and had seen the bike for several years. The price was not necessarily cheap but these bikes hit a price floor where 100,000 or 150,000 miles doesn't make much difference. With our bikes we hit 20,000 miles within the first year or so.

PGlaves said:

Voni sold an R1100RSL with 172,000 miles on it. It was sold to a member of a local chartered club that new her and had seen the bike for several years. The price was not necessarily cheap but these bikes hit a price floor where 100,000 or 150,000 miles doesn't make much difference. With our bikes we hit 20,000 miles within the first year or so.

Click to expand...

Just about anybody would feel secure buying a Paul Glaves maintained BMW at any mileage.

I just parked my 2016 R1200RT for the winter. It has 144,066 miles on it. Other than two driveshaft failures, it has been an awesome motorcycle.

Rich Henrion

20317 said:

I just parked my 2016 R1200RT for the winter. It has 144,066 miles on it. Other than two driveshaft failures, it has been an awesome motorcycle.

Rich Henrion

Click to expand...

Could you say a bit about the driveshaft problems? The nature of the failures, at what mileage, etc.?

Wethead - 52,000 miles

R1200 GS 2014.

Issues -

Had to replace stator at around 42,000 miles. Big repair - $2500 USD. Both stator part and special tool to split the block had to be flown in from Germany, so obviously not a common problem.
Had to replace the Clutch at around 51,000 miles -

On balance I really like the bike, but these expenses do give me pause.

GREGFEELER said:

Could you say a bit about the driveshaft problems? The nature of the failures, at what mileage, etc.?

Click to expand...

I had a driveshaft failure at 29,000 miles. The elastomer that connects the drive from the driven shaft failed and one portion spun inside the other. It was covered under warranty. At 128,000 miles the driveshaft failed again. This time the driveshaft snapped near the universal joint. I did get 99,000 miles out of that driveshaft.

20317 said:

I had a driveshaft failure at 29,000 miles. The elastomer that connects the drive from the driven shaft failed and one portion spun inside the other. It was covered under warranty. At 128,000 miles the driveshaft failed again. This time the driveshaft snapped near the universal joint. I did get 99,000 miles out of that driveshaft.

Click to expand...

I have to say that would be concerning to me. My newest BMW is a 2003 K1200RS and I have four outer BMW's and have had many before, and have had zero failures - just militance items (I count the oil/water pump seal of the classic K-bikes as a maintenance item). It is my impression that after about 2005 it become more common for drive shaft and read drive failures. Maybe that's more perception than reality. I hope so.

GREGFEELER said:

I have to say that would be concerning to me. My newest BMW is a 2003 K1200RS and I have four outer BMW's and have had many before, and have had zero failures - just militance items (I count the oil/water pump seal of the classic K-bikes as a maintenance item). It is my impression that after about 2005 it become more common for drive shaft and read drive failures. Maybe that's more perception than reality. I hope so.

Click to expand...

We know nothing about the riding style of that poster. The driveshaft is usually the weak link in any vehicle's drivetrain, car, truck or motorcycle. The harder it is pushed the sooner it will fail. The way I ride, my final drive will still be humming when the bike is turned into razor blades one day.

DSXMachina said:

We know nothing about the riding style of that poster. The driveshaft is usually the weak link in any vehicle's drivetrain, car, truck or motorcycle. The harder it is pushed the sooner it will fail. The way I ride, my final drive will still be humming when the bike is turned into razor blades one day.

Click to expand...

Truly, more aggressive use is at least theoretically harder on components, but short of doing wheelies, I would expect the drive line in a BMW bike to be up to very aggressive use of the design horsepower without premature failure.

The drive shaft on my 2017 R12GSA was showing signs of impending failure at 45,000 miles. I pulled it during the winter for a check and found both u-joints were notchy when moved thru their range of motion. It was slight but undeniable, including to a few other people who checked. A replacement was $1,256 at the time, so I sought alternative solutions. Ended up sending it to a machine shop in Green Bay, Wi to have it rebuilt. They charged $230 and shipping was around $25 each way. The new u-joints have zirks in them, so I now pull it at every 12,000 mile service. So far, so good.