Getting new GS - would have been RS but let down by BMW

I've had a GS for nearly two years and been very pleased with it, but use it purely as a touring bike so decided to change to the new RS which now has the exact same spec/features as the GS, something which was not the case for the previous RS which I considered before buying the GS. I placed an order for the R1250RS before Christmas, putting down a deposit and trading in my GS, with an expected delivery of March/April, but have now been told by my dealer that BMW have just decided not to build any RS models until September, though oddly the sister model to the RS, the naked R will be available on schedule. This effectively means that as production of the R1200RS has apparently ceased, there will be no RS models built for the 2019 model year, which is very strange.

This has disrupted my plans and would have meant a financial loss if I had kept the current GS for another year and put another 5k miles on it, plus paid for the warranty extension which I would feel is essential for European touring, or alternatively would have meant the loss of a summer of riding if I just waited for the RS in September. I've no idea why BMW have done this, but I'm not impressed with their treatment of customers, and from the RS forum it appears that quite a few people are in the same situation. I have reluctantly decided to instead buy the new GS which is more expensive, though my dealer has been very helpful in getting me a good deal on this, even though none of this is their fault. However I had bought RS luggage mounts for my Shad luggage, and one or two other bits for the RS, so am already out of pocket.

I am wondering if it would do any good to write to BMW and complain, as some others have done, but would expect to just get fobbed off with a statement about BMW reserving the write to change prices and availability as I can't find anything on their website about RS availability, though I believe dealers were definitely told originally that it would be March/April, which is why they were taking pre-orders.

Anyway, I am kind of excited about getting the new R1250GS TE, probably in mid-March, even though it looks almost identical to the old bike, but it will be a bit of a chore redoing all the farkles I took off the old GS - and not as interesting as getting to know a new model of bike. Slightly less excited about continuing to enjoy the company of this forum's reprobates!

Fred

Fred.... dear dear Fred....

Your life is so shit.

Warlord said:

Fred.... dear dear Fred....

Your life is so shit.

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Yes - first world problem scenario I know - but still bloody annoying!

fred_jb said:

Yes - first world problem scenario I know - but still bloody annoying!

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Nope.... now go and stand in the naughty corner, and wait until March for when your shiny new steed arrives.

Warlord said:

Nope.... now go and stand in the naughty corner, and wait until March for when your shiny new steed arrives.

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Nah - promised the wife I would clear out the garage while there was no bike in there - so better get on with that or funding may be withdrawn!

fred_jb said:

Nah - promised the wife I would clear out the garage while there was no bike in there - so better get on with that or funding may be withdrawn!

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Paint the walls white adorned with Epic Riding Pictures, some nice Halogen Downlights, tiled floors and and fresh 'BMW' display mat.

Get it all ready for the Summer

Warlord said:

Paint the walls white adorned with Epic Riding Pictures, some nice Halogen Downlights, tiled floors and and fresh 'BMW' display mat.

Get it all ready for the Summer

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You forgot the coffee machine! I wouldn't need to hang around at the dealer's then and would save putting any miles on the new bike!

fred_jb said:

You forgot the coffee machine! I wouldn't need to hang around at the dealer's then and would save putting any miles on the new bike!

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Don't mention coffee machine, we'll all be round

Warlord said:

Don't mention coffee machine, we'll all be round

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fred_jb said:

This has disrupted my plans and would have meant a financial loss if I had kept the current GS for another year and put another 5k miles on it, plus paid for the warranty extension which I would feel is essential for European touring, or alternatively would have meant the loss of a summer of riding if I just waited for the RS in September. I've no idea why BMW have done this, but I'm not impressed with their treatment of customers, and from the RS forum it appears that quite a few people are in the same situation. I have reluctantly decided to instead buy the new GS which is more expensive, though my dealer has been very helpful in getting me a good deal on this, even though none of this is their fault. However I had bought RS luggage mounts for my Shad luggage, and one or two other bits for the RS, so am already out of pocket.

I am wondering if it would do any good to write to BMW and complain, as some others have done, but would expect to just get fobbed off with a statement about BMW reserving the write to change prices and availability as I can't find anything on their website about RS availability, though I believe dealers were definitely told originally that it would be March/April, which is why they were taking pre-orders.

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I had a word with my local BMW pusher the other day, and he said that BMW had instructed their sales staff not to accept new orders of the 1250 LC bikes ufn. The numbers of orders for the new GS/GSA was so overwhelming that they did not have the capacity to serve their customers, so they needed time to sort it out, and the number of orders exceeded the capacity of their production line. For this reason they had also decided to postpone the delivery of the "R" and "RS" until the fall, as they simply where not capable to handle the orders.

Apparently we are not the only ones that likes the 1250 LC

knutk said:

I had a word with my local BMW pusher the other day, and he said that BMW had instructed their sales staff not to accept new orders of the 1250 LC bikes ufn. The numbers of orders for the new GS/GSA was so overwhelming that they did not have the capacity to serve their customers, so they needed time to sort it out, and the number of orders exceeded the capacity of their production line. For this reason they had also decided to postpone the delivery of the "R" and "RS" until the fall, as they simply where not capable to handle the orders.

Apparently we are not the only ones that likes the 1250 LC

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I have an estimated delivery date for my R1250GS of March 12th, so I hope that will prove to be accurate! I was never given a delivery date for the RS order. I ordered a low chassis version of the GS - maybe there will be less demand for those and they have some already in stock or scheduled for production but not allocated to customers yet.

Interesting that you were told that the R is also delayed - my dealer was told that R was OK, just RS was delayed.

Reminds me of

Blimey Fred, I thought you'd finally found your idea tourer!!

fred_jb said:

Nah - promised the wife I would clear out the garage while there was no bike in there - so better get on with that or funding may be withdrawn!

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How come your wife knows what it's like in your garage

BMW have done you a favour

Surely you would actually suffer a greater ‘financial loss’ ( to use your phrase ) buying a new bike at the beginning of the 2019 season rather than holding on to your current awesome steed for another year.

So, in a way , BMW have done you a favour and personally I think you should be thanking them

Billy Buell said:

How come your wife knows what it's like in your garage

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Mine brought me a cup of tea in the garage a while back and said enquiringly” oh do you still have the Moto Guzzi then?” ..... I’d told her I’d bought the Honda 2 years earlier to replace the Guzzi ..... she left and I never heard another word about it .

fred_jb said:

I am wondering if it would do any good to write to BMW and complain, as some others have done, but would expect to just get fobbed off with a statement about BMW reserving the write to change prices and availability as I can't find anything on their website about RS availability, though I believe dealers were definitely told originally that it would be March/April, which is why they were taking pre-orders.
Fred

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I don't think that it will do you any harm to write - I have always found them to be very amenable. Keep to the facts, avoid any inflamatory or agressive wording and be reasonable. A friendly approach always seems to get a favourable response. Also, when they do reply (or call you), have an idea of what you would like in recompense. Discounts, servicing and accessories might be easier than cash!

Good luck.

Rushy said:

Mine brought me a cup of tea in the garage a while back and said enquiringly” oh do you still have the Moto Guzzi then?” ..... I’d told her I’d bought the Honda 2 years earlier to replace the Guzzi ..... she left and I never heard another word about it .

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So no more tea then............ you will miss that bonus

POL382 said:

Blimey Fred, I thought you'd finally found your idea tourer!!

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Hi Dave. Well you know how it is, you identify a few little niggles with your current bike and next thing you know you are looking to replace it! I modified my GS with a lowered exhaust to take conventional (Shad) luggage - not being a big fan of the big metal box adventure look, and also to make filtering easier, and had no ambitions to make use of its off-road capabilities. So, when I found myself thinking about upgrading to a 1250 I thought the RS would actually suit my needs just as well without need of any modification, and I really like the look of that bike. Sadly, not to be, at least for the time being, but as others have pointed it is hardly the end of the world to be getting a a new 1250GS!

Fred

Rushy said:

Surely you would actually suffer a greater ‘financial loss’ ( to use your phrase ) buying a new bike at the beginning of the 2019 season rather than holding on to your current awesome steed for another year.

So, in a way , BMW have done you a favour and personally I think you should be thanking them

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Well, it's not quite that simple. The warranty on the current GS ends in March and I would probably feel it necessary to take out an extended warranty given that I do a fair amount of European touring with my wife and wouldn't want to risk a breakdown without cover, so that is an additional cost to keeping the current bike. Then there is the fact that I have covered nearly 12k miles in under two years so if I kept it for another year I would be looking at trading in a three year old bike with approaching 18k miles on the clock - getting into old banger territory so far as BMW dealers are concerned, which could seriously hit the trade-in value, which is not too bad at the moment. The third factor is that the GS had not changed much since the LC was introduced in 2013, so secondhand values have been largely dependent on mileage and condition. Now with the seemingly much improved 1250 engine, the TFT as standard, and the three year warranty, there is more to differentiate the new from the old models, plus the popularity of the 1250, which is apparently one reason that the RS has been delayed, will probably lead to a glut in supply of the old model as trade-ins.

I judged that all of these factors will suppress values of the old model. I therefore felt that now was the optimum time to make the change, and that I would probably lose more on keeping the old bike for another year than on a new model, particularly as I have been able to get a reasonable deal on the new bike. Plus of course I get an extra year of enjoying the improvements in the new bike!

Fred