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Hi guys. I have been a long time fan/owner of Japanese motorcycles. To me they are good looking, ride beautifully and are very reliable.
A friend of mine wants me to join their BMW club...
Are BMW bikes as reliable as the japanese bikes? I barely have enough time to ride. I don't have the time to put up with fussy machinery.
Any comments appreciated,
Thanks
From my experience of 4 BMW's and numerous Jap, Italian and British bikes I would say you wont beat Honda for reliability and build quality. BMW is somewhere near the top of the list (Benelli at the bottom ) but they are not perfect. Don't believe all the build quality hype, I've had various issues with Beemers (poor finish on engine casings, failed gear linkage, premature wearing of disk carriers, poor fork leg finish, etc) but they have always started first time!
Imaginative engineered, BMW's are not afraid to be different to achieve a solution. This makes them unique in a polarising field.
Good luck
Dont get one of these A unique experience, the best bike I've ever riden but I never knew if it would start, stop, or throw a tantrum
They are not as good as they used to be in the "airhead" days. I owned a 2001 R1200C (now on a FJR1300) and my main riding buddy has a K1200RS (2002-ish). We've had enough problems that I do not feel they are worth their premium.
My FJR has not been back to a dealer for anything other than tires. The subject is touchy among the faithful but hang out at some BMW boards and check out their complaints.
Thanks for the replies.
I have been doing a little lurking on BMW boards and that's kind of the flavor I am getting. Beautiful bikes and great performance, but perhaps iffy on reliability and PITA on some maintenance issues?
Cheers,
I have owned my R1150RS for about 3 years now. I can tell you that I've never had any problems. In the 3 years of riding I've put on maybe 12000 miles on it - it's always been bullet proof.
If you have a little patience, I'll tell you what my overall impression of this bike is - not sure which one you are considering. The R1150RS, and I think BMW in general is a sort of swiss army knife of bikes. They do EVERYTHING ok, but I feel not outstanding in any one particular area. For example, I had the Ducati ST2 before that, a bike that is in the same category, but it out handled the BMW and had a kind of a je-ne-se-qua type thing going. BMW has everything you ever need to go the distance: heted grips, ABS, a plug for your elecrical accessory, etc. There isn't a bike out there that has EVERYTHING like that, well, maybe the new FJR. Other manufacturers are working hard to make a bike like a BMW that has everything, but I am still yet to see them combine ALL of the functionalities. Many times I thought I would sell it because there is a more powerful machine out there, but so far I've held on to it - it just does everything SOOOO well for me! I think at this point, since I've paid it off, I might consider a second bike for more panache.
Another thing. BMW is not very kind to people modifying their bikes - watch out, your warantiy might not be honored if you do get one and make aftermarket changes to it - in that respect Fucati was much better - they didn't care. They expected owners to modify their machines. BMW is a VERY stodgy and inflexible company.
Another thing. My bike has the dreaded ABS II. It works great (a bit snatchy), but they are electrically controlled brakes, which removes the rider a little bit from the breaking process AND I can't do anything to these breaks myself - must go to the dealer for servce. I can't even change the break fluid, because BMW claims it will void my waranty since they have to hook up the bike to some sort of a machine. Modern BMW is not your elemental motorcycle.
On the other hand, the valve adjustments are extremely easy. Much easier then on other bikes - I can do it by the side of the road with some practice in about a n 1 and 1/2 - so that's good.
From the numerous commuters that I have talked with over the years, they all like their BMWs, but their major complaint is the service and parts cost and the problem with not being able to get small parts.
In other words, if something that you think is minor breaks, you can't just replace that part, you have to replace the larger unit, whatever that may be.
Just what I've heard, never owned one myself, I stick with Jap.
02-22-2006, 09:20 AM
How reliable are BMW motorcycles?
) but they are not perfect. Don't believe all the build quality hype, I've had various issues with Beemers (poor finish on engine casings, failed gear linkage, premature wearing of disk carriers, poor fork leg finish, etc) but they have always started first time! 
A unique experience, the best bike I've ever riden but I never knew if it would start, stop, or throw a tantrum
