Brakes...What brakes?

[KUTCHER]

On my way to work this morning. About half way in (20 miles or so), I stop at a light. I've got my foot on the brake then all of a sudden it drops!

I pump the foot....it slowly drops. What the????

Drive up to an open area and pull over to inspect.

Right where the hose goes into the crimp fitting (near the caliper) is leaking!

So I nurse it the rest of the 20 miles into work on the front and engine braking.

Call MAX BMW to ask if they have the hose. They state that if its truly coming from the fitting area (not a punture) its under warranty...

So I'm off to drop the bike off...Just in time for a brief vacation. Hopefully it'll be done early next week...

Anyone have issues with brake hoses?

-Kutch

 

[USERNAME]

On my way to work this morning. About half way in (20 miles or so), I stop at a light. I've got my foot on the brake then all of a sudden it drops!

I pump the foot....it slowly drops. What the????

Drive up to an open area and pull over to inspect.

Right where the hose goes into the crimp fitting (near the caliper) is leaking!

So I nurse it the rest of the 20 miles into work on the front and engine braking.

Call MAX BMW to ask if they have the hose. They state that if its truly coming from the fitting area (not a punture) its under warranty...

So I'm off to drop the bike off...Just in time for a brief vacation. Hopefully it'll be done early next week...

Anyone have issues with brake hoses?

-Kutch

no, but this sounds suspiciously like a "hey my dealer is a good dealer" thread in disguise!

 

[kbasa]

Your front brake is your real power in braking, so you should be fine until your parts come in.

And yes, Max rocks.

 

[KUTCHER]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Sorry...Had to get that out. Dropped the GS off at MAX's this afternoon and sure enough, the brake line is trash AND under waranty.

SO, I'm there until the wife can come and get me...I begin eyeing all the bikes. I see a DAKAR. Turns out its a 06 with 1800 miles on it. All decked out with Touratech stuff. Ben (Max's brother) does a good job in selling my NEED for a DAKAR. I bite, ask what he'd give me for a trade on my 05 GS. The numbers seem VERY resonable. Call the wife- get the blessing. Walk back in and wait till Ben gets off the phone to tell him its a deal. A few minutes go bye, -Before I realize it I turn around and I see him putting a SOLD tag on the DAKAR...I practically RUN over. WHATS GOING ON? HE JUST SOLD IT TO SOMEONE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE....

I feel sick.

 

[PacWestGS]

Kutcher,

What's that George Straight song?































Easy Come, Easy Go...




Hey, you now have permission, don't ask again the next time it comes up, just do it...

 

[KUTCHER]

yah I guess...

Well the work is under warranty. some how or another the hose was either pinched in the crimp fitting and it was its time to go...I know not. Its getting fixed, but I'm not sure how long its going to take...

I haven't been on the bike now for 5 days...getting antsy...


-Kutch

 

[lkchris]

Your front brake is your real power in braking, so you should be fine until your parts come in.

Pay attention to this post.

This thread is WAY TOO MUCH ATTENTION to a rear brake.

If you rely so much on the rear brake, you're a candidate for crashing.

 

[Bobmws]

Please help us understand why, if rear brakes are so bad, liability-conscious BMW bothers to install rear brakes on their motorcycles. Come to think of it, all the other motorcycle manufacturers install rear brakes. If this is such a bad idea, please help us understand why they do that. Thank you.

Granted, the majority of any motorcycle's speed-retarding capability is in the front brake (due to weight transfer during deceleration). And granted, overzealous use of the rear brake will cause the wheel to lock and the back end to skid. But, overzealous use of the front brake can flip a motorcycle over just as overzealous use of the throttle can flip a motorcycle over. Why is the rear brake BAD while the front brake and throttle are not? Isn't it really all about rider training and how to PROPERLY utilize the controls that come with the vehicle from the manufacturer?

The man's rear brake quit working and he wants it fixed. That is "WAY TOO MUCH ATTENTION to a rear brake"? I don't think so.

Everything the manufacturer includes on a vehicle should work properly. While totally unnecessary, in my opinion this statement includes even the electric centerstand deployment mechanism, latte holders and seat warmers on the K1600LightTruck. But, certainly, at the very least, the BRAKES.

Flash,
This is the original posters (kutcher) statement that troubled me.
"So I nurse it the rest of the 20 miles into work on the front and engine braking."
I do agree, he has every right to expect the rear system to work properly, and I expect mine to work as well. No dispute there.
But the way I read it I think kutcher does put too much emphasis on the rear brake as a primary.
Oh, when did the LT's get bumped to 1600?!

 

[DJW]

Oh, when did the LT's get bumped to 1600?!

I believe that was hyperbole.

 

[ppaintguy]

does the dealer have to reset the hyperbole too?

 

[KUTCHER]

Wow, never thought this thread would get so much attention...
All I wanted to say was my back brake died on the way to work for no apparent reason, so I "took it easy" the rest of the way in. (kinda' the way Flash described it)... Remeber folks, I had brake fluid all over the back side of my bike, all over the left side of the tire...Taking it easy was in my best interest...

So then, -Umm, no. If any read into my first post as "I am an over back braking type", -well no, sorry.

I use the back lightly just to aide scrubbing off the MPH, -including corners to settle the suspension.

Other than that- Thanks for all the feed back!

-Kutch

 

[mika]

Kutch, everyhone regularly responds to what they tought you asked instead of what you asked. I am guilty of it on a regular basis.

To your question about anyone elses experience with brake line failure, at least I think that was the original question, yes. While not a F650 I have had two rear breaklines fail on bikes from two manufacturer's, BMW and Honda. Neither case was the manufacturer's fault.

The first was damaged while taking a road machine into the dirt and playing with it there. The line failed when punctured by a rock.

The second was traced to the failure of another part on the bike. Lost a bolt allowing something (I don't remember what) to slip down and rub on the line, eventurally resulting in failure.

All other stories I have heard of brakeline failure seem to fall into the catagories above - unintended abuse, or failure of another part resulting in line damage. In all I have come to the conclusion that brake lines are a lot like wiring. If the wire itself is going to fail it will do it very early in its use. After that its external junk that damages it.

 

[KUTCHER]

Kutch, everyhone regularly responds to what they tought you asked instead of what you asked. I am guilty of it on a regular basis.

All other stories I have heard of brakeline failure seem to fall into the catagories above - unintended abuse, or failure of another part resulting in line damage. In all I have come to the conclusion that brake lines are a lot like wiring. If the wire itself is going to fail it will do it very early in its use. After that its external junk that damages it.

Ahhh! this is what I was looking for!

no abuse.
bike not a full year old.
At a stop light and the brake pedal just drops...
dealer basically said that its a faulty connection at the crimp fitting.


NOW WHY DID IT TAKE BMWNA 2 WEEKS TO GET ONE????????????

 

[mika]

I can only guess that your dealer does what my dealer does when he does not have an individual part in stock, he bundles the order with other parts orders until these orders reach some tipping point. The tipping point may be a volume individual parts orders that offsets the shipping cost, or it finally gets rolled into their regular parts restock order.

I don't like waiting either. I have trouble blaming the dealer for trying to control their expenses. In the process we all blame BMW NA.

 

[sadlsor]

Ummm... they wanna sell bikes more than parts?

 

[mika]

No they want to sell both.

I have asked the counter people on a couple different occasions why I was going to have to wait for a part I wanted or needed. From the response I received I gleaned that they were not going to special order the part because they would bundle it in their regular parts order, or in another case they were about to send off a special order of needed parts and that my part would be bundled in that.

In both cases I was given the option to pay for shipping a special order. I do have a cage as backup so did not take that option. The dealer did not want to take a loss on the part because of the special order status so they did not take the option on their own.

 

[KUTCHER]

My other "issue" is.
I suggested that I could get a stainless line from an aftermarket house for $50. (next day)!
I was told that if I choose to provide the line I void the warranty and I would have to pay for labor and any other materials...Rather than everything under warranty...
I see the point of the warranty being voided on the brake line, but not wanting to do the work because its someone elses line???

Seems kinda' strick...No?

-Kutch

 

[lkchris]

I have asked the counter people on a couple different occasions why I was going to have to wait for a part I wanted or needed. From the response I received I gleaned that they were not going to special order the part because they would bundle it in their regular parts order, or in another case they were about to send off a special order of needed parts and that my part would be bundled in that.

BMW has a plan called VOR: vehicle off road.

If the part exists in a USA BMW NA warehouse, you can have it next day.

My dealer charges 10%. YMMV.

BTW, at my Mercedes dealer EVERY part I order arrives next day if it's in USA stock.

When Land Rover came (back) to USA they subcontracted their parts distribution to Caterpillar and built the warehouse in Memphis, home of Fed-Ex. You know CAT guys can't afford to be down waiting for parts.

Your post sounds like the blind leading the blind and that you need to demand better service. You decide if you want to pay for it, but you can count on the fact it's available. You can get anything next-day air in the 21st century.

 

[kbasa]

My other "issue" is.
I suggested that I could get a stainless line from an aftermarket house for $50. (next day)!
I was told that if I choose to provide the line I void the warranty and I would have to pay for labor and any other materials...Rather than everything under warranty...
I see the point of the warranty being voided on the brake line, but not wanting to do the work because its someone elses line???

Seems kinda' strick...No?

-Kutch

Not really. What if the aftermarket line failed? BMW would be responsible. I don't know about you, but I don't like to take responsibility for someone else's work.

From their perspective, they're replacing a faulty part with an exact replacement, rendering the bike identical to original spec.

That doesn't seem strict to me at all. I think they could have done a better job getting the part for you, though.

 

[mika]

I have not a clue if VOR was or was not in place at the time of the experience with the BMW dealer. I currently have the luxury of two dealers within 20 miles of Lilydale and a 3rd within 120. I have not always been as lucky and that was in pre-internet ordering days. I had already made a move in my parts buying from dealer one to dealer two because of customer service issues. I prefer to buy locally when it makes sense because I like having dealers close and a bad dealer parts counter was better than no dealer parts counter as in the past.

My practice now is to search dealers listed with MOA and sell over the net. If the part is needed urgently, I check with my local parts counter, if it is in stock great but if not I can manage the purchase / delivery as quickly as them and the part is delivered to my home.

Food for though in another thread is the question: What is the value of a warranty to a motorcycle owner? Not the dealer or the manufacturer but what is the value to the owner these days?