Learned some very upsetting news about BMW repair manuals!

[motorhead1977]

Well, after speaking with several dealerships from California to New England I can report reliably that they have have without exception informed me that BMW are no longer selling CD/DVD repair manuals for ANY BMW bike models even though some manuals currently remain in warehouses. No one had any information on whether BMW were going to again make any repair manuals available in any format. Is anyone else bothered by this? BMW have essentially shut down our ability to do our own maintenance using accurate repair information.

 

[senseamidmadness]

If this is true...that's a huge ouch, and one more step in the wrong direction.

Guess it'll be up to Clymer to make any repair manuals at all for their newest models.

 

[omega man]

Well, after speaking with several dealerships from California to New England I can report reliably that they have have without exception informed me that BMW are no longer selling CD/DVD repair manuals for ANY BMW bike models even though some manuals currently remain in warehouses. No one had any information on whether BMW were going to again make any repair manuals available in any format. Is anyone else bothered by this? BMW have essentially shut down our ability to do our own maintenance using accurate repair information.

Did you happen to ask any of the dealerships what they were using as a repair reference? If the dealership has moved to “cloud based” reference materials, this would help confirm that repair manuals were heading to NLA.
I wonder what other motorcycle brands are doing regarding repair manuals.
OM

 

[54571]

Ffollowing


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[senseamidmadness]

Did you happen to ask any of the dealerships what they were using as a repair reference? If the dealership has moved to “cloud based” reference materials, this would help confirm that repair manuals were heading to NLA.
I wonder what other motorcycle brands are doing regarding repair manuals.
OM

Hey, now that's something I hadn't thought of at all that makes perfect sense. A lot of car dealerships, especially luxury brands, have their techs using tablets to view completely digital service manuals while working.
Could be that Motorrad is following the car division's trend of eliminating the paper repair manuals because even the dealership service techs are using digital ones. Saves money on printing and lets them type and search for procedures and part names while working.

 

[akbeemer]

Hey, now that's something I hadn't thought of at all that makes perfect sense. A lot of car dealerships, especially luxury brands, have their techs using tablets to view completely digital service manuals while working.
Could be that Motorrad is following the car division's trend of eliminating the paper repair manuals because even the dealership service techs are using digital ones. Saves money on printing and lets them type and search for procedures and part names while working.

BMW Motorrad eliminated paper service manuals many years ago. Up until recently they were published on CD ROM.

I wonder what the unavailability of BMW service manuals will do to Haynes and Clymers ability to produce their manuals. I have Haynes manuals for all our bikes except the Urals and find them to be well done.

 

[dravnx]

I heard the same thing from the varous BMW parts departments during my search for a CD.
The repair techs don't use the CDs, they have their own propriatary BMW system that is a lot more detailed and cloud based.
I'm guessing BMW is going in this direction, possibly a subscription service.
What pisses me off is that BMW left us with no technical data to service our bikes.
I do all my own maintenance and I feel very angry and uncomfortable having to search YouTube vids for torque specs and instructions.

 

[rhbike]

For those with BMW's CD based repair manuals, you might be wise to check for and apply any outstanding updates. No telling for how much longer they may continue to off the "Lifetime" updates. I'm running the update for my K48 (K1600) repair manuals right now.

 

[lkraus]

I suspect that the "manual" will eventually be available only as an online subscription.

I may have bought my last BMW.

I'm OK with that.

 

[robsryder]

Triumph does not have a service manual available for purchase any longer. Instead shops purchase a subscription, but one may purchase a limited time subscription. As I recall the price for one hour is about $7.50. Manually one can barely begin making a dent in downloading the pages of the manual. However, one feller developed a script (or program, or app, or whatever we call them nowadays) that will automatically pull all of the pages for the service manual together into a single pdf file. This can be done within the one hour subscription time. [It took me several times to figure it all out, so I needed more than the single hour!]

I do not know if BMW is going to something similar, but I will include below the instructions for accessing the Triumph service manual for the Tiger 900 Rally Pro - -

----- begin attachment -----
Instructions for downloading Triumph Motorcycle technical information

The Owner’s Manual for new (e.g., 2021) motorcycles can be freely downloaded as a pdf file. Links are –
https://www.triumphmotorcycles.com/offers-and-services/manuals [from Triumph]
https://www.manualslib.com/brand/triumph/motorcycle.html [from alt. source, but include some for much older models]

Example – Triumph Adventure line, Tiger 900 Series Owners Handbook 3855668 US
https://images.triumphmotorcycles.c...ies owners handbook 3855668 us.pdf?la=en-us

To obtain the Triumph Service Manual, intended for trained mechanics, one needs to purchase a subscription from the Triumph download website. The subscriptions can be purchased for one hour ($7.50 USD), one day ($45 USD), or longer periods

An add-on program for the Firefox (also includes Waterfox) browsers is freely available which can allow one to download the entire service manual at one time. Otherwise one would need to access individual sections (there are hundreds of sections) for individual downloading. The program to download is the TriTun downloader –
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tritun-downloader/versions/
This program needs to be incorporated as an extension to Firefox (or Waterfox). I used Waterfox successfully. I was unable to use Firefox with the downloader.
Waterfox is available from –
https://www.waterfox.net/landers/?mtm_group=136008788&mtm_source=bingsem&mtm_cid=399336494

Once Waterfox has been downloaded and installed and the TriTun Downloader has been downloaded and incorporated into the browser one may go to the TriTun website.
 
Following is the link for the TriTun website –
https://www.tritun.net/

If one has an account login otherwise registration is required to create an account. I created an Individual account. One can either enter a VIN or select a particular model and year. Available are service manuals, bulletins, and inspection manuals. The bulletins (e.g., recall notices) are short and are easy to safe; I use the print to pdf option.

For the Service Manuals, if one is using Waterfox and has the TriTun downloader extension, an icon will appear on the right side of the address (URL) bar. This icon will display a message “Download all” when the mouse hovers over it. One can then click the download to one file button and a window will open with a progress bar and download time estimate. One’s internet service will affect the download speed. In my instance, the Tiger 900 Rally Pro Service Manual too a bit less than a half hour to download as a single pdf file. I also downloaded the Inspection manual, which is fairly short and only takes a little while.

 

[stooie]

How Sad

This is very disturbing to learn. Given the scarcity of BMW dealers in the US and the long distances many must travel to get to one, being able to have a reliable source of maintenance data is critical.

I recently test rode a Ducati. While I was quite impressed with the bike, one of the things that put me off of it was that Ducati does not make any maintenance data available. Dunno if not making the data available is the cause, but Haynes doesn't have a manual for the model Ducati I was interested in. I could find no way to get reliable info on such simple things as wheel nut, engine oil drain plug, and chain tensioning bolt torque specifications.

Had this policy been in effect three years ago when I bought my beloved RT I very possibly wouldn't have purchased it. This approach might work for Europe where I presume there is a higher density of dealers. I wonder if BMW is quietly giving up on the North American motorcycle market.

 

[bc1100s]

I wonder if BMW is quietly giving up on the North American motorcycle market.

Probably. Giving up millions of dollars in revenue is something large corporations like to do.

 

[lee]

I called Engles in Kansas City today and asked if I could order a R1250RS repair manual DVD.
Jesse said the computer showed inventory at the warehouse so she ordered one.
We'll see if I get a email next week saying it's not available.

 

[omega man]

If all this turns out to be true, it usually ends up with customers upset and some enterprising person “bootlegging” a copy and putting it on line……..and a manufacturer wondering “what happened”.

I’ll be interested in seeing how Lee’s efforts work out.

OM

 

[fmdualexhaust]

My dealer was able to score me one for my model.
I must admit I am a weak mechanic at best, but this dvd assumes you are a master tech.

 

[omega man]

My dealer was able to score me one for my model.
I must admit I am a weak mechanic at best, but this dvd assumes you are a master tech.

I have a hard time with the discs as well. I find the disc and the Haynes (book style) compliment and help explain each other.

OM

 

[oldcamper]

Good business sense

Remember that parts and service departments at most dealers bring in far more profit than new bike sales. Also, BMW parts are usually several times more expensive than aftermarket, even though aftermarket parts may be of equal or better quality and might even be made by the same manufacturer.

It follows that it is to both the dealer and BMW’s benefit that all service and repair be done at the dealer. Why provide anything that cuts into those profits?

“The right to repair” is a hot issue these days with many products, from cell phones to farm machinery. There have recently been several legal challenges to recent manufacturers policies. Time will tell how it all sorts out. Simple is good!

 

[omega man]

Right to Repair-

https://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?98653-Right-to-repair-a-larger-movement-than-I-thought

OM

 

[52184]

The whole right to-repair and owner-serviceable issue is a huge component of the buying decision for me. Some manufacturers seem to be already up to speed on this.

From https://www.hondamotopub.com/
[(C) Honda Motor Co., Ltd. and its subsidiaries and affiliates. All Rights Reserved.]

“Your computer or hand held device can lead you to Owner and Service information for Honda Motorcycle's, anytime, and from anywhere around the world!

You can freely browse all the owner and service materials the Honda world has to offer.
Which will make you love Honda Motorcycle’s even more!”​

That makes the Africa Twin and its dealer network quite a bit more appealing. Just sayin’…

Best,
DeVern

 

[stevenrankin]

Yep

And people wonder why I never bought a BMW bike newer than my 84 R80RT. It is still going strong and was only to a BMW dealer the first ten years because the dealer then was a good place and a friend. Once he was put out of business by BMW and the boutique dealer stepped in telling me to buy a bike or forget service, I learned to work on the bike myself. I am also lucky I have a fellow nearby who owns an airhead repair shop for the things I can't do or won't do.

No complex electrical, fuel injection, antilock brakes, navigation, shift cams, yards of useless plastic fairing, just a motorcycle that does what I want it to do when I want it to. I don't need a computer to diagnose it, and luckily I don't have to be a master BMW mechanic to fix it.

Oh dear, I am on another rant about the modern BMW. Like someone else in this thread said, Honda Africa Twin looks a lot better.

As for the right to repair issue, it is sad the courts will decide the issue. In time Farmers may be able to get the diagnostics needed to "fix" their combines, and MacDonals will be released from the strangle hold the McFlurry machine company has on them. Or, it may go the other way and things will only get worse. St.