Reliable service in NE Ohio?

[wejohnson]

Greetings. I purchased an 2014 R1200RT in NE Ohio over the winter. I absolutely love the bike and have only praise for it. However, my experiences with BMW service so far have been like something from the Twilight Zone.

I planned an 1800 mile trip to South Carolina in April. The bike was new, and I wanted to get the 600 mile service performed before taking that trip. i called the dealership from which I purchased the bike in NE Ohio. I was told the service manager was unable to come to the phone and would call me back to schedule the appointment. No call back. I tried again... and again... and again. After the 5th call i unloaded an email to the owner of the franchise, from whom I had purchased the bike. He scheduled the appointment.

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago. I am planning an 1100 mile trip to Michigan in late July. The bike is almost at the 6000 mile service point, so I decided to schedule it for service. I called my dealer. I'm sure you know where this is going. "The service manager is unable to come to the phone right now but will call you back." No call back. I tried one more time, and then I called another dealership about 2 hours from me. They did transfer my call to the service department and he did actually pick up the phone, but when I told him I wanted to schedule service in the next couple weeks he was incredulous and said he would be out of town until late August and could not possibly get to it before then.

I had read reviews of BMW bikes on various forums, and lack of dealerships was one of the big hits the brand took. But is this lack of responsiveness from the service departments the experience of other BMW owners? Is it normal or acceptable to have to call 8 times and still get no response? I would be thrilled to find a service department in NE Ohio that would at least return my phone calls, and then would actually be willing to schedule my bike for service in a reasonable time frame.

I know I'm ranting but I've never experienced anything like this. I welcome any and all suggestions for where I can get a 2014 R1200RT serviced in or near NE Ohio. Perhaps some of you know independent mechanics that I might turn to?

Bill

 

[rxcrider]

There are independent shops that are good (4WS in Valley City , for one) and people such as myself who take on side work, but I don't know if anyone in the area has a tool to reset your service lights other than a BMW dealer. If you can find someone who has purchased the new GS-911 wifi pro, they should be able to do it or someone with the consumer version willing to use up one of their 10 vin slots may be able to help. Alternatively, you can buy one yourself for $400 if you want to take on servicing or at least resetting your bike.

Have you already tried both Sills and BMW Motorcycles Of Cleveland? I know Mathias Cycle Sales & Service has a good reputation for service and is situated where the roads start to get good as a bonus; just not close. MotoOhio would also make my list, but they are even farther.All Seasons Sport Center is closer, but seems to be hit or miss.

I posted on Ohio Airheads and BMWMOC (owners) on facebook to see if anyone knows an independent shop with the tool. I'll let you know if I hear anything.

 

[wejohnson]

Thanks

BMWMOC us where I bought the bike and Matthias is the other I tried. Sils was next on my list. Thanks for the info!

 

[rxcrider]

I left a voicemail @ 4ws to see if he has the tool as well. I might not hear back from him right away if he is out riding or crewing for his brother.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kbeck44889]

I purchased my GSA from BMW of Cleveland last year. Called for a appointment and was scheduled,taken care of with no issues. I think at that time they have only one guy in service.
Just did my 6000 mile service my self with the help JVB DVD.
I also need a GS-911 to rest my codes.

 

[GeorgeR1200RT]

Can't speak for most of the dealers mentioned...have never scheduled service...just stopped in to see what they were like...along with all BMW motorcycle dealers in Ohio.

I have been a customer of Mathias BMW Cycle Sales in New Philadelphia, Ohio for nearly 20 years. That started when I moved from Illinois. I have purchased 3 BMW bikes from this dealer.

Service has been consistently excellent. Owner Gene does everything he can to take care of customers and has hired and developed capable mechanics.

Jamie is currently lead mechanic. Jamie is an excellent mechanic and normally works a customer in to a very full schedule. Recently the service department has been a bit overwhelmed with the recall for R bike rear flange replacement. That combined with a back injury may have resulted in the response you got trying to schedule your 6,000 mile service. Jamie is scheduled for some time off.

While this does not change your need for service, it provides a different perspective on Mathias BMW. I wish you well resolving your need.

 

[weschmann]

I've found that with any brand cycle that I was ridding at the time, that it made a whole lot of sense to try to schedule service intervals during off peak riding periods, or, baring that, setting up service dates at least a month in advance. For example, I knew that I would be close to my 24000 service just prior to the July national, so I scheduled the service early at the end of May, for July 1st, to make sure I was worked into their shop schedule. It only takes a little prior planning, and yes, sometimes it's a bit before the time interval to make it happen. Or, as happened at the 12000 service interval, it didn't get done until almost 14000 miles due to being on the road longer than expected. After the warranty period is over, (by the end of the year) I'll begin completing my service intervals myself again, but have been using the warranty period as an excuse to be lazy right now....

 

[jconway607]

BMWMOC us where I bought the bike and Matthias is the other I tried. Sils was next on my list. Thanks for the info!

I am closest to BMW Motorcycles of Cleveland, and hence out of convenience have dealt with them from time to time. I have also been to Mathias, and Seasons. Rating them all, I put Mathias at the top, Seasons next, and at the very bottom, BMW of Cleveland. It's just a weird place. I always get the feeling that the owner was retired from something, decided he wanted to open a BMW dealership, (maybe to get his own bikes, and accessories cheaper), and set the thing up. They used to have a guy who really knew parts working there. Now he is gone and I believe the guy has his wife trying to find parts for you. I love that. Increase the profit margin. She has no idea of the parts and just tries to scan through the fiche. The owner is usually sitting in his office, but seems put out to come straighten out the parts situation for his wife. He himself actually doesn't seem to really know BMW's that much, certainly not anything older than probably 5 years. It appears his main focus is to sell new ones. I get the distinct feeling that if you are one of of those owners/ prospective owners who have hundred dollar bills falling out of you pockets, he's your best friend. Older bikes, frugal owners, forget it. And of course, to top it off, the price for parts is always a good percentage higher than Max, Bob's, etc. Cleveland actually has some pretty wealthy people in spots. Apparently that's BMW of Cleveland's target audience.

Mathias is an old dealership. Not slick and glitzy like Cleveland BMW. It's off the main drag, out of the way. But the guy who runs it is always willing to look up parts, help with a problem, etc. They have been around a long time and know the bikes. It's about 40 miles away from me, but if I can manage it, I go there to support them. I guess you would say they are "Down to earth BMW people."

 

[jeffd]

I too have always had good service from Mathias when I came across something I could not do or something I did not want to do. Generally speaking, I also took the bike out in the off season or scheduled in advance. If I had a newer BMW I would have to have the GS-911. Just can't bring myself to not do simple service.
Jeff

 

[kies1975]

I bought from Sill's and had my service there as well. I'd recommend them. Like anywhere I'd call a few weeks before service is needed to be on the safe side.

 

[rxcrider]

Bill - Any luck getting the bike scheduled for service somewhere? 4WS in Valley City doesn't have a GS-911 for it either.

 

[wejohnson]

Status

Well, I did get scheduled with BMWMOC, but not until late August. That's after my trip. I'm guessing I'll be somewhere around 7000 miles when I get back, and will have to do the whole trip with the service light bugging me. I know some tactfully suggested that I should have exercised a little better planning and scheduled earlier, but the fact is I started trying to schedule this at least a month prior, and that seems to be plenty early enough. At least it should be. I live in NE Ohio. It's not easy to estimate how long it will take me to hit 6000 miles when I'm looking at NE Ohio weather over the next couple months.

Annoyingly, I did have to ride into the dealership to schedule it because they simply will not return phone calls. After the 8th try, I drove in and scheduled it in person. Even then, they took down my information on a piece of paper and said, "We'll give you a call and set it up." Of course that was not going to fly and so I told them I'd wait until they could get the calendar and put me down.

On a positive note, they also said they had somebody who was supposed to be starting and should therefore be getting ahead of their backlog of service appointments. I don't know if this happened or not, but I'm hopeful. Matthias is the next step, and I'll probably try them for the next service anyway, based on the glowing reviews I've seen here. They simply weren't available when I needed them this time, but that seems to be an anomaly rather than a normal occurence.

Once this bike is out of warranty I'm pretty sure I'll do some of the service myself. At the cost of service calls, I'm willing to buy the GS911. It will pay for itself pretty quickly. Are there service manuals available for the 2014 R1200RTs? I see a lot of useful stuff on YouTube, and some pretty good DVDs, but I haven't seen any related to the wethead RT.

Thanks to all who responded to this. Hopefully, she'll survive the trip and once I get back I can get all this resolved.

Bill

 

[mikegalbicka]

Are there service manuals available for the 2014 R1200RTs? I see a lot of useful stuff on YouTube, and some pretty good DVDs, but I haven't seen any related to the wethead RT.

Might want to check this out:
http://www.jvbproductions.com/Wethead.html

 

[wejohnson]

Just a quick update

I did get my service complete finally at BMWMOC and am happy to report they seem to have resolved their staffing problems. Good job done and good service received. Just thought the group should know.

 

[clowry]

Seems to be a common thing to have to book quite a ways out. We have an excellent dealer in town, and as such, is VERY much in demand. I just booked my 30K service for mid October, which was pretty much the soonest available. We've learned to plan it out and book well in advance. That said, we'll be doing an oil change in the garage before then because we have a couple more decent length trips coming up before the service date.