36654
New member
Considering that many Bimmer drivers have no idea that BMW makes Beemers, the corporate fear of the damage to the brand is likely minimal........
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BMW Motorrad Advisory: Stop Riding Your 2014 R1200RT
- Thread starter MikeBoom
- Start date
Considering that many Bimmer drivers have no idea that BMW makes Beemers, the corporate fear of the damage to the brand is likely minimal........
Emoto
New member
What about the GSW or the GSW Adventure? Did you say you'd ridden those?
osbornk
Old man in the mountains
Unless they declare bankruptcy, I suspect the manufacturer of the defective part may end up paying for the recall costs (or a large part of them). It might depend on the wording in the contract between BMW and the manufacturer. I hope BMW didn't waive some of their rights in exchange for a lower price on the part.
jono
SlaveToCurves/Wind/Motion
I came off a GS because I wanted a lower riding position - so while i think the new GS's are pretty sweet - they're not in my future. I compared the K1600's with the RT carefully when I bought my RT, and every time I look at the GT I come back to wanting the RT - the GT is only looking attractive because I could be riding this summer if I made/make that choice. I even looked at Harley's, Honda's and Yamaha's - none of them do it for me.
jono
SlaveToCurves/Wind/Motion
I'd agree supplier agreements can vary widely and damages or liability can be very tricky to negotiate. One dealer I spoke to said there was a debate over whether it was design, materials or assembly at the root cause - whichever way that came down would tilt liability.
Anyway, more quick math. If BMW's markup is 40% and the manufacturer is making 50% on each shock, then 10,000 units will be about $6M in profit. Unlikely the shock manufacturer indemnified BMW for 3.3*profit for the deal. I'm betting BMW is eating a big piece of this.
At this point I plan to accept the $2500, but I'm going to press hard for an additional one year unlimited warranty for the potentialy lost three to four months the bike is out of service. I could be wrong, it just seems reasonable to my way of thinking and should have been part of the matrix offer up front for those keeping the bike. I'm still really po'ed.
classicvw
Well-known member
Good point. The warranty clock should have stopped ticking for everybody on the day of the notice. And since everyone isn't going to get their bike back on the same day, a one year extension for all seems a good solution.
sedanman
neanderssance man
I don't have a horse in this race but........ I think an easy and reasonable solution to the warranty question would be to reset the 'in service' date on the affected bikes to the repair date. Just my two cents. I came close to signing the paperwork on a RTW this spring. But I have a wedding to pay for in a few weeks so I'll keep my '11 a while longer.
Emoto
New member
I am not trying to add to your confusion, but I did a little digging on the BMW site on specs, since you mentioned seat height. I would recommend that you give the GSW with the factory lowered suspension a test sit, if you can find one. Look at the seat heights. Now look at suspension travel. I could not find a listing on the travel of the lowered GSW, but have heard that it reduces travel by 30mm, which would leave you with 160mm / 170mm, which is still a good bit more than the RTW has, which to me means a better ride on our nasty New England roads. And it is 74 pounds lighter. Add some Jesse bags and rock out. You still get cruise control and electronic ESA. Of course, I love the GS, so may be biased.
RTW
Suspension travel front / rear 4.7 in / 5.4 in (120 mm / 136 mm)
Seat height, unladen weight 31.7 / 32.5 in (high: 32.7 / 33.5 in; low: 29.9 / 30.7 in)
Unladen weight, road ready, fully fuelled 1) 604 lbs (274 kg)
GSW
Suspension travel front / rear 7.5 in/7.9 in (190 mm / 200 mm)
Seat height, unladen weight 33.5/34.3 inches (adjustable seat height) Standard; variable seat heights available between 31.1 inches and 35.0 inches (available as accessories and/or factory options, see an authorized BMW Motorrad dealer)
? Front seat (standard): 33.5 in / 34.2 in
? Front seat, low: 32.3 in / 33.1 in
? Lowered suspension (optional accessory, including front seat, low): 31.1 in / 31.9 in Put the "high" seat on, if that is too low.
Unladen weight, road ready, fully fuelled 1) 525 lbs (238 kg)
jono
SlaveToCurves/Wind/Motion
Sure you're not.
I was actually pretty happy with my '08 GS (which was the lowered suspension version), but during my trips last year - I found myself struggling to get my leg up and over the stock GS bags. Early this year I looked at all of BMW's offerings (and a lot of other brands including Harley) and came to the conclusion it was either the RT or the K1600GT.
When I went to Max BMW a few weeks ago I tried both and found the RT fit me like a glove. The GT was close, but the RT was perfect. It wasn't a strain to get my leg over the saddle or bags and now that I've got a couple trips under my belt - the seat height/comfort, windscreen protection and suspension are all more than I could ask for. All in all, the RT is perfect for me. Except I can't ride it this summer.
The GS is no doubt a great bike (it is their best seller after all) but I'm afraid its ergonomics are in my past. I'm now officially a wuss.
36654
New member
Considering where you ride, the GS might be the equivalent of driving a barn door down the highway. I understand the romance of the GS concept, but riding high and wide down the highway is a good recipe for low fuel mileage.
Emoto
New member
Sure you're not.
I was actually pretty happy with my '08 GS (which was the lowered suspension version), but during my trips last year - I found myself struggling to get my leg up and over the stock GS bags. Early this year I looked at all of BMW's offerings (and a lot of other brands including Harley) and came to the conclusion it was either the RT or the K1600GT.
When I went to Max BMW a few weeks ago I tried both and found the RT fit me like a glove. The GT was close, but the RT was perfect. It wasn't a strain to get my leg over the saddle or bags and now that I've got a couple trips under my belt - the seat height/comfort, windscreen protection and suspension are all more than I could ask for. All in all, the RT is perfect for me. Except I can't ride it this summer.
The GS is no doubt a great bike (it is their best seller after all) but I'm afraid its ergonomics are in my past. I'm now officially a wuss.
Ok, no worries. I wasn't sure you had thought of the low version. I would be having a hard time with this. Maybe Rob will give you a loaner out of the CT store?
jono
SlaveToCurves/Wind/Motion
I'm not holding my breath - if I understand the numbers right, Max BMW has sold about 40 RTs. I'm pretty sure they don't have 40 loaners to hand out. And then there's the whole insurance thing - my agent has never had a request like this before - and he doesn't know when he will have an answer on it.
Anyway, they owe me an answer on Tuesday about a loaner and what K1600GTs are available, they seem to be selling out.
14RT_rider
14_R1200RT
2014 RT - Decisions
I can say that I have been waiting for about 4 years to upgrade to the RTW from an 04 1150RT. I thought the 04RT was a great bike when I had it and what it was capable of doing. That said, after riding the 2014 RTW there is no way to compare the two. I can say that both of these bikes are road warriors, but after riding the RTW I could never go back to the 04 RT that I owned for 10 years.
I had saved for over 3 years since I know what these cost and had decided I would go with several additional options when the new RTW arrived since I was thinking I would have this bike for 7 to 10 years. With this in mind, we wanted it to be very comfortable since about 65 percent of our miles are two up. (Now Mulling over options to try and decide what to do in the next couple of day.)
Comfort wind screen
Customer Seat
Paint to match top case.
Basically the to case is the same as what is on a GTL. (This is the piece the will bite your wallet!!) Top cases are gold plated!
BMW LED aux driving lights! (Still need to install since a part was on back order until after the recall! This sucks!)
All the bells and whistles including the Nav V.
Two reasons I went with the RT over the GTL was the 190 lbs weight difference and the RT has a larger payload capability. By the time I would say the weight difference is probably within 100 lbs.
Now it is just deciding what to do next.
I now have to make a decision as to which way I will go with the options available.
I can say that I have been waiting for about 4 years to upgrade to the RTW from an 04 1150RT. I thought the 04RT was a great bike when I had it and what it was capable of doing. That said, after riding the 2014 RTW there is no way to compare the two. I can say that both of these bikes are road warriors, but after riding the RTW I could never go back to the 04 RT that I owned for 10 years.
I had saved for over 3 years since I know what these cost and had decided I would go with several additional options when the new RTW arrived since I was thinking I would have this bike for 7 to 10 years. With this in mind, we wanted it to be very comfortable since about 65 percent of our miles are two up. (Now Mulling over options to try and decide what to do in the next couple of day.)
Comfort wind screen
Customer Seat
Paint to match top case.
Basically the to case is the same as what is on a GTL. (This is the piece the will bite your wallet!!) Top cases are gold plated!
BMW LED aux driving lights! (Still need to install since a part was on back order until after the recall! This sucks!)
All the bells and whistles including the Nav V.
Two reasons I went with the RT over the GTL was the 190 lbs weight difference and the RT has a larger payload capability. By the time I would say the weight difference is probably within 100 lbs.
Now it is just deciding what to do next.
I now have to make a decision as to which way I will go with the options available.
Emoto
New member
So... the Norton got gas in it?
I mean.., if the RTW was THE bike, then how do you live with the runner-up, if you go that way?
jono
SlaveToCurves/Wind/Motion
So... the Norton got gas in it?
The Norton is in storage - probably going to stay there for now. I've been trying to decide if I could settle for the runner-up - today the answer is "no".
My thoughts. the RTW 2014 will be fixed soon enough. It is a very sweet ride, and a few months wait (one, two or more) will be worth that wait. And if it is in the fall, you might get a deal on a 14 or order the 2015.
osbornk
Old man in the mountains
My friends and I recently returned from 1,200 miles through the mountains with rain and cold. We were on a GS, a RT and Burgman 650 scooters. After the rain and cold, the GS rider is considering a RT for his next bike. He got far wetter and colder than the rest of us as he suffered with the lack of wind protection. He has been riding a GS since they were introduced as the R80GS. I never thought he would consider getting anything other than a GS but I guess he is more sensitive to the cold as he approaches his 79th birthday. He rode his GS over 8,000 miles in less than 5 weeks last summer.
My thoughts exactly. I have ridden the K1600GT, FJR, ST1300s, owned a 2007 RT, and still own a 2010 R1200GS. The '14 RT is the best bike I have ever been on and it's worth the wait to me. And apparently I just got a 11% price break. At the end of the day, this is going to be a minor hiccup in what I expect to be a very long and fulfilling relationship.