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I have owned a BMW 2004 330ci convertible and really enjoyed it. However as time went by the dog gone car would cost an arm & a leg just to get simple things fixed. The roofs auto lock housings both busted because of a plastic crack, and that job cost me $1,700 alone.
One of the Bi-Xenon Adaptive headlights burned up the wiring harness in the housing and with all the new components and housing it ran $1,300 for essentially one headlight.
I expected a higher maintenance cost with it, but it seems more plagued with mechanical issues than any other car I've owned.
Which brings me to my question about the reliability/dependability of their motorcycles. I've been wanting to get back into a cruiser/touring bike from having a Yamaha Venture Royale which is very dependable. So I came across a BMW K1200LT which seemed very nice and has a smooth ride. I am not looking to drop a lot of cash on a bike I will only take out on occasion, so I probably need to stay at or under a 2005 model year.
My biggest concern is how prone are these bikes to trouble/repair compared to other manufacturers, as I do not want a repeat of my car experience.
Any advice/recommendations/experience would greatly be appreciated.
LT's are fairly complex in their build. Don't break the reverse gear in that transmission it is quite a complex system.
Most BMW riders end up servicing the bikes themselves because labor costs from qualified BMW technicians are very expensive.
Hermys BMW quoted me $2300 for a clutch replacement in my 98 K1200RS. I figured out that it's actually a leaky rear main seal and did the procedure myself, without having to break the bike apart.
Any of the airhead or flying brick engines are a lot of work, but they are more like two wheeled cars rather than motorcycles.
So the short answer is yes, maintainence is going to be expensive, build quality is good for 2005, but like all complex mechanisms, things break...
Parts costs on BMtroubleUs are also outrageously expensive. For reference, I'm a mechanic certified by HD, Yamaha and Suzuki and earn my money by working on all Japanese and US motorcycles, I order a lot of parts and have a general feelfor parts/replacement costs. On the one BMtroubleU I owned, I had to replace a mirror ($80 and the only option was OEM vs $15 for a generic or ~$30 for oem), and a couple rear wheel lug bolts (couple bucks for a car, Any car, $20 per for the BMW).
I only have experience with the R-bikes, not the K, but that's one brand you won't catch me owning again. An absolute nightmare experience,and the bike I bought was a 2-owner, 100% documented example. In other words, I bought the best available option and still had nothing but troubles. As I get into the BMW world, I found that it's not that the bikes are reliable or dependable, but that the community simply ignores the issues because they're "known". For instance, the charging system on the older air-cooled bikes is crap (mine stranded me twice), everyone knows this and just assumes that you buy a bike and plop down $400 for the 'known' upgrade. It's almost like a kit-car community... where you buy the chassis and assemble it yourself, but the initial purchase is just the Starting point.
Anyway, I obviously had a very bad experience. If you want something that simply works and want to do so on a budget, go with a Japanese made bike. They're more reliable, cheaper parts, cheaper and more readily available servicing/mechanics, cheaper to purchase and insure but have the trade-off of being less "impressive" when it comes to keeping up with the neighbors.
I have a 2002 R1150R that is approaching 30k miles. (pic on my welcome screen) I guess I have been blessed and not had many problems. I have been meticulous though with the service. They are expensive and mechanic time is not cheap. Big service is 350 and small is about 250. I do my own basic stuff but have had to take it to a mechanic for a clutch slave replacement and it was around 400.00 for the job. The part was about 150 and the rest was time.
The bike is awesome though and I love riding it. Very comfortable, handles well and enough power for my liking.
I have had new bike fever though lately. Not that there is anything wrong with my bike, just maybe considering something different-Moto Guzzi or Ducati. Again, two very touchy brands when it comes to reliability.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by echo42
I have a 2002 R1150R that is approaching 30k miles. (pic on my welcome screen) I guess I have been blessed and not had many problems. I have been meticulous though with the service. They are expensive and mechanic time is not cheap. Big service is 350 and small is about 250. I do my own basic stuff but have had to take it to a mechanic for a clutch slave replacement and it was around 400.00 for the job. The part was about 150 and the rest was time.
The bike is awesome though and I love riding it. Very comfortable, handles well and enough power for my liking.
Blessed? IMO you shouldn't have any problems approaching 30K miles, that's barely break-in mileage on those twins. Having had my own beemer's final drive take a crap at 43K it'd be safe to say I'm less than enamored with the "Ultimate Riding Machine" BS.
Quote:
Originally Posted by echo42
I have had new bike fever though lately. Not that there is anything wrong with my bike, just maybe considering something different-Moto Guzzi or Ducati. Again, two very touchy brands when it comes to reliability.
I don't know about reliability but Ducatis can certainly be a bit touchy maintenance wise but Guzzis?
From personal experience and what I've read, about as reliable as a rock
I'm on my 3rd BMW, and this time, I think it's the last one. My first bike was a mid 80's K75S, not a horrible bike, but never really that engaging or endearing, overly complicated, heavy and underpowered compared to the other middle weight bikes out there. The second was a R1150GS that was the only bike to ever fail on me mid journey, on the way home from the Dust to Dawson. It's allegedly a dependable round the world mount that has off road ability-really amazing riders can take them to places that normal bikes can handle with ease and they are too complex and unreliable to be trustworthy. And presently we own a K1200LT, all the bells and whistles, but lacks power down low where a big honking touring bike needs it and the ABS system has malfunctioned, that's a $2000 part, and the brakes are not all that prone to locking.....heck they just about do the job if you really grab them hard. Not impressed, not what I expected from a flagship motorcycle.
Some BMW riders who are fully invested in the Kool-aid may disagree with my assessment but I simply do not see the value to price equation in a BMW. Your mileage may vary.
Ducati's are maintenance whores. Valve adjustments every 6000 miles.
Guzzi. Those ditch pumps are about as solid as possible, very few issues. Very unique character though. The new California is a siren song...
The Guzzis built in the early to mid 2000's were not well constructed, lots of trouble. Earlier bikes and more recent are quite a bit better. I owned a early 80's Guzzi and it was rock solid, the problem was that it was proportioned for the typical 5'8" Italian that weighs 150 lbs and his walking stick girlfriend, and at 5'11" it was a bit small, and the ex was not a walking stick insect, far from it. I'd still have another Guzzi in a heartbeat, but not as my only bike.
Dating myself, but 6k Used to be the standard service interval for everyone (except those that were 3~4k). Worked out great, do the service and tires all at the same time. Since Most people take 2~3 years to turn 6k on a motorcycle (yes, really...), it's a non-issue for the Vast majority.
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