NeilOn2Wheels
Registered user
Hi All,
I'm a relatively new BMW F800GSA rider, actually, a relatively new rider anyway, but wanted to share some of my experience with the bike and BMW after just completing the Pan-American highway, how he bike managed, how BMW didn't etc.
Firstly, anyone thinking of riding the Pan-American highway, DO IT!! It's an amazing road, well, you can choose lots of roads, but either way, it's amazing, so get on it. There's no need to be concerned about Central America, i rode through Copper Canyon, El Salvador, Honduras and got lost in Guatemala; never had any issues throughout, just be sensible. Loads of great off-road riding, fantastic food, cheap beer and beautiful people.
However, here's where the saga begins;
Part 1: After riding a pass through the Andes from Chile into Argentina, my back wheel bearing broke at the most inopportune time (4300m ASL), so i was stranded on the side of the road until another bike came by and told me that there was a motel about 50km down the road where i can call for help. I limped there as slow as possible without freezing my balls off, and by the time i'd got there, my spacer had gone and the axle was grinding and ABS sensor/traction control were malfunctioning. After a night on the mountain, a recovery truck to the closest BMW dealership (BMW Salta, Argentina) and then a 3-day wait, my bike was apparently repaired. I went to the dealership to collect and was presented with a Disclaimer which they insisted me signing as they couldn't fix the ABS or Traction control and so wouldn't release my bike to me without the dotted line being signed. I signed, then they asked for USD490 for a repair which I told them should be done under warranty (bike is 1yr old). Again, they wouldn't release my bike without payment, but they said i can then claim back from BMW Motorrad Argentina.
The saga continues....Part 2: I rode further South, ABS & Traction control aren't too much of an issue to ride without; so i headed for Mendoza further South. I arrived there and was greeted by some great guys (BMW Mendoza is very good); they quickly confirmed my Warranty, checked my bike and told me that the bearing repairs were not original BMW parts! Within 2hrs, they'd got the ABS/Traction control working and i was on my way - they also took photocopies of the invoice from BMW Salta and sent it to BMW Motorrad on my behalf. In the meantime, i'd contacted BMW Motorrad Argentina and they replied stating that because the repair was not original BMW parts, the warranty doesn't cover it! Despite clearly stating that the repairs were done by a BMW dealership, they kept replying with the same email!
So, i rode on and continued to engage BMW Argentina to get my refund, i was informed the 'Aftersales Manager' was reviewing my case, so at this point i thought i might have some positive outcome given it was a BMW dealership that had screwed me over! The bike was doing okay, so a couple of mountain passes later, a strange noise started to appear.....
Part 3 - the ride doesn't go on! - I continued to ride further South in Chile towards the infamous Careterra Austral, but each day that i got closer this strange noise (coming from the starter motor area) was getting louder and the bike started having some issue starting. I thought this might be a battery problem, but alas, after 2-days riding down the Careterra Austral, the bike finally decided that it wasn't going to start any more without a cringe-worthy noise coming from the front engine block and about 5mins of trying! I decided it was a better decision to ride back North to the closest BMW Dealer, who then had to call the head Mechanic of BMW Motorrad Chile on face-time to check what the problem might be, as he'd never seen it! Finally, the Generator was apparently the problem, and they told me 3 parts needed replacing, but they only had 2, so would replace them, but i 'should' be okay after that. I tried getting some reassurance as i was riding into Patagonia, but they just shrugged their shoulders. I asked the mechanic has he seen it before and he had never seen it,even though they have 30 F800GS's in their tour company! I wasn't sure what was happening with my bike, but i started to think i'd got a dodgy one given all the problems with a bike that had been ridden for less than a year!
Part 4 - Patagonia beckons - the repairs to the generator took 6-days with part delivery and the work, and after that, the bike started well twice, so i thought i should be good running south. Off i went, made it to the bottom, Ushuaia and Torres del Paine are stunning, and the bike was running fine. After a few cheeky beers in Ushuaia, i started to head north, with the awareness that riding in Patagonia you need to plan fuel stops to ensure you're not stranded in the middle of nowhere. I came to the first fuel stop and filled up the bike, had a cuppa and set-off. After riding for about 2mins, the fuel gauge wasn't reading any fuel in the tank, i thought maybe the sensor has got stuck or something, so i hit a couple f bumps to try and dislodge it, sure enough, it started to come up. A couple of hours later, once the fuel had gone down some, and after a lean on a bend, the fuel was reading low again after only 200km! Again, i hit a couple of bumps and this time the fuel gauge didn't move! I knew roughly how far i could do on a tank, so i kept going, ensuring i stopped at the next fuel station. Henceforth, my entire Northern Patagonian route was done by watching the kms and counting down before fuel stops, with a faulty fuel gauge! Another issue with the nearly-new bike.
Part 5 - The end of the road is nigh - finally making it up north and back over another Andes pass, i stopped my bike to refuel and when getting off, and horrible creaking sound was heard from my suspension area. I wasn't sure if this was just some dirt, or my ears being hammered after a year of riding, so i cleaned the bike, sprayed some lubricant and then headed off again. Suspension didn't feel off, but the noise then started to increase. The noise hasn't gone, but i made it to Santiago to ship my bike.
Part 6 - BMW Motorrad Munich, big wallets, tight lips - i documented all of the issues with my bike, took videos of the generator noise, my creaking suspension and sent all to BMW. 8wks later no reply, i then posted all on their Facebook page and finally got a reply saying they were sorry and had placed an urgent on their staff. That was last week and still no response!
I think we all expect a level of service if we pay more than 20% for a BMW GS over competitors, and i appreciate that some bikes have problems (even though i wouldn't expect this many on a year old bike), however the most concerning is their response to my problems. I've been cheated out of USD490 by one of their dealers, have had to pay more than USD800 in recovery costs, USD250 for ferry ride in Chile with my bike, and all the hotel costs! Waiting for 8wks for a simple reply, then having to post on their Facebook page, then still nothing, demonstrates their concern for the customers. I am not sure if the bikes are good or not now, I know a lot of people ride them, but if you are really going to ride a transcontinental ride, with roads which are more than a hard-packed gravel & pavement, then i am even more unsure if the bikes can cope! I thought i was paying for quality, or at the very least good customer service, but haven't had either of those so far.
This isn't a plight against BMW, but after riding a route like the Pan-American, i've done more riding than most, putting the bike in some of the places BMW claim it can go (which it can, but there's no guarantee you'll get out), and BMW Motorrad in both Argentina and the head office in Munich have disappointed me massively. I am still waiting for their reply, my bike still creaks and the fuel gauge isn't working; I am now heading back to Europe and considering dropping my bike off in BMW's reception, but if anyone has had similar experience, it would be worth us gathering our evidence.
Also, if anyone has any ideas on what the cause of the problems might be, i'm all ears too. Happy trails, stay on two wheels and ride it like you stole it!!
I'm a relatively new BMW F800GSA rider, actually, a relatively new rider anyway, but wanted to share some of my experience with the bike and BMW after just completing the Pan-American highway, how he bike managed, how BMW didn't etc.
Firstly, anyone thinking of riding the Pan-American highway, DO IT!! It's an amazing road, well, you can choose lots of roads, but either way, it's amazing, so get on it. There's no need to be concerned about Central America, i rode through Copper Canyon, El Salvador, Honduras and got lost in Guatemala; never had any issues throughout, just be sensible. Loads of great off-road riding, fantastic food, cheap beer and beautiful people.
However, here's where the saga begins;
Part 1: After riding a pass through the Andes from Chile into Argentina, my back wheel bearing broke at the most inopportune time (4300m ASL), so i was stranded on the side of the road until another bike came by and told me that there was a motel about 50km down the road where i can call for help. I limped there as slow as possible without freezing my balls off, and by the time i'd got there, my spacer had gone and the axle was grinding and ABS sensor/traction control were malfunctioning. After a night on the mountain, a recovery truck to the closest BMW dealership (BMW Salta, Argentina) and then a 3-day wait, my bike was apparently repaired. I went to the dealership to collect and was presented with a Disclaimer which they insisted me signing as they couldn't fix the ABS or Traction control and so wouldn't release my bike to me without the dotted line being signed. I signed, then they asked for USD490 for a repair which I told them should be done under warranty (bike is 1yr old). Again, they wouldn't release my bike without payment, but they said i can then claim back from BMW Motorrad Argentina.
The saga continues....Part 2: I rode further South, ABS & Traction control aren't too much of an issue to ride without; so i headed for Mendoza further South. I arrived there and was greeted by some great guys (BMW Mendoza is very good); they quickly confirmed my Warranty, checked my bike and told me that the bearing repairs were not original BMW parts! Within 2hrs, they'd got the ABS/Traction control working and i was on my way - they also took photocopies of the invoice from BMW Salta and sent it to BMW Motorrad on my behalf. In the meantime, i'd contacted BMW Motorrad Argentina and they replied stating that because the repair was not original BMW parts, the warranty doesn't cover it! Despite clearly stating that the repairs were done by a BMW dealership, they kept replying with the same email!
So, i rode on and continued to engage BMW Argentina to get my refund, i was informed the 'Aftersales Manager' was reviewing my case, so at this point i thought i might have some positive outcome given it was a BMW dealership that had screwed me over! The bike was doing okay, so a couple of mountain passes later, a strange noise started to appear.....
Part 3 - the ride doesn't go on! - I continued to ride further South in Chile towards the infamous Careterra Austral, but each day that i got closer this strange noise (coming from the starter motor area) was getting louder and the bike started having some issue starting. I thought this might be a battery problem, but alas, after 2-days riding down the Careterra Austral, the bike finally decided that it wasn't going to start any more without a cringe-worthy noise coming from the front engine block and about 5mins of trying! I decided it was a better decision to ride back North to the closest BMW Dealer, who then had to call the head Mechanic of BMW Motorrad Chile on face-time to check what the problem might be, as he'd never seen it! Finally, the Generator was apparently the problem, and they told me 3 parts needed replacing, but they only had 2, so would replace them, but i 'should' be okay after that. I tried getting some reassurance as i was riding into Patagonia, but they just shrugged their shoulders. I asked the mechanic has he seen it before and he had never seen it,even though they have 30 F800GS's in their tour company! I wasn't sure what was happening with my bike, but i started to think i'd got a dodgy one given all the problems with a bike that had been ridden for less than a year!
Part 4 - Patagonia beckons - the repairs to the generator took 6-days with part delivery and the work, and after that, the bike started well twice, so i thought i should be good running south. Off i went, made it to the bottom, Ushuaia and Torres del Paine are stunning, and the bike was running fine. After a few cheeky beers in Ushuaia, i started to head north, with the awareness that riding in Patagonia you need to plan fuel stops to ensure you're not stranded in the middle of nowhere. I came to the first fuel stop and filled up the bike, had a cuppa and set-off. After riding for about 2mins, the fuel gauge wasn't reading any fuel in the tank, i thought maybe the sensor has got stuck or something, so i hit a couple f bumps to try and dislodge it, sure enough, it started to come up. A couple of hours later, once the fuel had gone down some, and after a lean on a bend, the fuel was reading low again after only 200km! Again, i hit a couple of bumps and this time the fuel gauge didn't move! I knew roughly how far i could do on a tank, so i kept going, ensuring i stopped at the next fuel station. Henceforth, my entire Northern Patagonian route was done by watching the kms and counting down before fuel stops, with a faulty fuel gauge! Another issue with the nearly-new bike.
Part 5 - The end of the road is nigh - finally making it up north and back over another Andes pass, i stopped my bike to refuel and when getting off, and horrible creaking sound was heard from my suspension area. I wasn't sure if this was just some dirt, or my ears being hammered after a year of riding, so i cleaned the bike, sprayed some lubricant and then headed off again. Suspension didn't feel off, but the noise then started to increase. The noise hasn't gone, but i made it to Santiago to ship my bike.
Part 6 - BMW Motorrad Munich, big wallets, tight lips - i documented all of the issues with my bike, took videos of the generator noise, my creaking suspension and sent all to BMW. 8wks later no reply, i then posted all on their Facebook page and finally got a reply saying they were sorry and had placed an urgent on their staff. That was last week and still no response!
I think we all expect a level of service if we pay more than 20% for a BMW GS over competitors, and i appreciate that some bikes have problems (even though i wouldn't expect this many on a year old bike), however the most concerning is their response to my problems. I've been cheated out of USD490 by one of their dealers, have had to pay more than USD800 in recovery costs, USD250 for ferry ride in Chile with my bike, and all the hotel costs! Waiting for 8wks for a simple reply, then having to post on their Facebook page, then still nothing, demonstrates their concern for the customers. I am not sure if the bikes are good or not now, I know a lot of people ride them, but if you are really going to ride a transcontinental ride, with roads which are more than a hard-packed gravel & pavement, then i am even more unsure if the bikes can cope! I thought i was paying for quality, or at the very least good customer service, but haven't had either of those so far.
This isn't a plight against BMW, but after riding a route like the Pan-American, i've done more riding than most, putting the bike in some of the places BMW claim it can go (which it can, but there's no guarantee you'll get out), and BMW Motorrad in both Argentina and the head office in Munich have disappointed me massively. I am still waiting for their reply, my bike still creaks and the fuel gauge isn't working; I am now heading back to Europe and considering dropping my bike off in BMW's reception, but if anyone has had similar experience, it would be worth us gathering our evidence.
Also, if anyone has any ideas on what the cause of the problems might be, i'm all ears too. Happy trails, stay on two wheels and ride it like you stole it!!
