BMW GS Update

Goldwing

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Joined
Oct 9, 2012
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345
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Lindenhurst, NY
Hi all,

BMW Dealership was a concern for me. I live on Long Island, NY. So there is a Dealership kinda close but has a bad rep. I went to Max BMW in Connecticut. Great experience, I did all the negotiating on the phone, they didn't even want to see my S10 (not even a pic), gave me full trade-in value for it and delivered the Beemer to my driveway, 15% discount on accessories with free installation.

Also, off season service (Nov-Feb) is free pickup and delivery from my house, see pics. The Dealership is about 90 miles from my house but is a nice ride if I wanted to go there.

I think the price difference is so worth it, but that just me. If you haven't ridden one, you may change your mind.

Stay tuned for future updates on how my first Beemer experience continues...................
 

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ballisticexchris

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This will be interesting. I notice you have a history of super reliable Japanese bikes. Are you good with maintaining your bikes? I have noticed the typical Super Tenere owner just rides the piss out of their bike with very little regard to service. I have replied to a few threads on fluid changes, replacing brake lines, spark plugs etc. It always ends up with someone bragging on all the miles they have with nothing more than oil changes.
 

Dirt_Dad

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Sounds like you shoulda bought a Beemer.
Put me in the typical Tenere owner camp. By age 12 I was changing the piston and routinely ripping apart my carburetor on my KE100. I've done most (not all) maintenance jobs, including changing those damn little shims under bucket. I have the ability to do almost everything a bike would ever need. But I don't have a lot of spare time, and I'd much rather be riding than wrenching. If I enjoyed spending time with a wrench I'd ride a KTM. I greatly appreciate Yamaha providing me with a bike that has long service intervals and doesn't leave me walking if I haven't flushed the blinker fluid in the last 10K miles.
 
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ballisticexchris

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Put me in “the camp” of maintaining all my machines properly. That’s why I own a service manual. I know all too well that anything mechanical can leave you stranded by following poor maintenance habits. My main reason for not getting a GS was due to price of parts. Simply cannot afford the ownership.

I love the fact that I can just swing a leg over my bikes with confidence they will not let me down.
 

BaldKnob

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Aug 11, 2012
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776
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SENC
Beautiful machine, Goldwing and hoping you have a pleasant ownership experience. I was wondering if you could clarify something you wrote about the Yamaha??? You said, "...couldn't stand to ride it anymore..." Was the bike physically uncomfortable and caused you pain? was it boring you to tears? just had to have the BM? combination of these or something else?
 

steve68steve

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Oct 23, 2014
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Seacoast, NH
This will be interesting. I notice you have a history of super reliable Japanese bikes. Are you good with maintaining your bikes? I have noticed the typical Super Tenere owner just rides the piss out of their bike with very little regard to service. I have replied to a few threads on fluid changes, replacing brake lines, spark plugs etc. It always ends up with someone bragging on all the miles they have with nothing more than oil changes.
Doing maintenance myself used to be part of how I was able to afford having a bike at all. I've always done it all myself. I don't like doing it, but if it keeps me on the road instead of parked until I can afford to pay a mechanic...

So when I first started lusting after BMW it seemed like a lot of BMW guys were wrench turners - the sort who praised the ability to do a valve check on the trail. Maintaining a bike used to be part of owning a bike, and BMW guys were no different. I remember a few years back seeing a pic of GS torn in half to lube the splines. Just a guy maintaining his bike in the off-season.

It seems these days talk about BMW never extols ease of maintenance, but rather bemoans cost of dealer service. With more and more electronics it seems like the GS (maybe bikes in general) are going away from user-serviceable to need-proprietary-code-reader and remove-and-replace-expensive-potted-electronic-module.
I'm all for adjusting valves, changing fluids and wearables (brake pads, clutch plates, chains, bearings), but if I have to spend $1300 to replace some black box every 6 months, that would put me off.

Threads like these always twist me up. Half the guys talk about the miserable, expensive, regretful experience of owning a BMW, and the other half talk about racking up a brazillian trouble-free miles without a hiccup. I wonder if those experiences track with self-maintenance vs. take it to the dealer.
 

bigbob

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A friend has an rs1200. To reset the bike after he does his own oil change takes a $600 box or over $100 for the dealer to plug in and hit reset. Dealer does not replace anything or turn a wrench.
 
R

RonH

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1500 miles is all my experience with BMW, and I knew I had already exceeded my patience with how they do business. This was back in 1991, so maybe things different now, but back then the owner manual was 150 pages long. 50 pages for info on how to ride, specs ect, 100 pages for dealer service visits where they document and place a dealer stamp. No place in the manual even showed where to drain the oil or do even the most basic work yourself. If you need to do these things, see your dealer. Dealer didn't have a tech that could tie his own shoes let alone check oil, change oil or even check tire pressure without injecting 3 problems.
Hope your experience is different. Looks like the dealer can drive 90 miles, which is promising. My dealer they would have got lost and gave up by 1.5 miles.
 

Karl

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Jul 18, 2015
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Sydney Australia
I really enjoyed my 2004 R1150GSA, but I was one of the guys that split the bike myself to lube the splines (it never saw a dealer while I had it). A couple of months ago, I rode a new R1250GS belonging to a mate and it is a great machine on the road. The only thing I noticed is that it has a buzzing vibration about the engine, that I never got from the R1150GSA.

For me in Australia, the R1250 is over $30k before you add the options or accessories and the Tenere ES is regularly found at new at $20k. Not sure if you guys see the same sort of price difference but it is significant here. The other thing is that where I ride, lots of lawyers turn up on their GS in their BMW gear with their plastic wife on the back on the phone to their broker, masses of them, all the same.... Blah,,, The Tenere is a rarity and really stands out.

Happy riding.
 

Don in Lodi

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The R1150GS(A) was probably the last of the great GS line. All the great GS travel stories I hear were on the 1150.
 

Goldwing

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Oct 9, 2012
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345
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Lindenhurst, NY
Yes, I do my own maintenance.

Regarding my comment "...couldn't stand to ride it anymore...", It was really two main issues. One was the snatchy on/off throttle response and the lack of suspension compliance . Other smaller issues included the seating position, seat contour and lack of wind coverage. I installed Rox risers to try to improve the seating position issue but I think it made it worse, in that then I kept sliding up against the tank after installing them.

I did install risers on my Beemer but that was the only mod. The bike is spectacular, right out of the box!

I was toying with the Triumph Tiger but it wasn't as comfortable as the Beemer.

I think the S10 is bullet proof in terms of reliably but Yamaha needs to make some serious improvements if they want to stay relevant in a very competitive ADV Tourer market. I waited if the 2019 S10 had the improvements but it didn't and I couldn't wait any longer.
 

BaldKnob

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Aug 11, 2012
Messages
776
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SENC
Yes, I do my own maintenance.

Regarding my comment "...couldn't stand to ride it anymore...", It was really two main issues. One was the snatchy on/off throttle response and the lack of suspension compliance . Other smaller issues included the seating position, seat contour and lack of wind coverage. I installed Rox risers to try to improve the seating position issue but I think it made it worse, in that then I kept sliding up against the tank after installing them.

I did install risers on my Beemer but that was the only mod. The bike is spectacular, right out of the box!

I was toying with the Triumph Tiger but it wasn't as comfortable as the Beemer.

I think the S10 is bullet proof in terms of reliably but Yamaha needs to make some serious improvements if they want to stay relevant in a very competitive ADV Tourer market. I waited if the 2019 S10 had the improvements but it didn't and I couldn't wait any longer.
Thanks, makes sense if you're not comfortable to move on. For others with similar issues, a reflash can help with the throttle and the seat-leveling mod may alleviate any crotchital discomfort. Suspension is too subjective and each rider has their own expectations.
 

Clawdog60

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Nov 14, 2018
Messages
560
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east central "ILL"
Doing maintenance myself used to be part of how I was able to afford having a bike at all. I've always done it all myself. I don't like doing it, but if it keeps me on the road instead of parked until I can afford to pay a mechanic...

So when I first started lusting after BMW it seemed like a lot of BMW guys were wrench turners - the sort who praised the ability to do a valve check on the trail. Maintaining a bike used to be part of owning a bike, and BMW guys were no different. I remember a few years back seeing a pic of GS torn in half to lube the splines. Just a guy maintaining his bike in the off-season.

It seems these days talk about BMW never extols ease of maintenance, but rather bemoans cost of dealer service. With more and more electronics it seems like the GS (maybe bikes in general) are going away from user-serviceable to need-proprietary-code-reader and remove-and-replace-expensive-potted-electronic-module.
I'm all for adjusting valves, changing fluids and wearables (brake pads, clutch plates, chains, bearings), but if I have to spend $1300 to replace some black box every 6 months, that would put me off.

Threads like these always twist me up. Half the guys talk about the miserable, expensive, regretful experience of owning a BMW, and the other half talk about racking up a brazillian trouble-free miles without a hiccup. I wonder if those experiences track with self-maintenance vs. take it to the dealer.
Yeah air head days are long gone.
 

magic

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Jul 6, 2015
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743
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WISCONSIN
Congratulations on the new bike. I've been eyeing up a new GSA for several years now.
 
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