my bike didn't fail

[jdmetzger]

I just want to report that I went on a long ride last weekend with my GS - pavement, gravel, dirt - we went through all of it. My final drive did not fail, I did not hear any grinding noises, and no oil is leaking onto the rear tire.

I'd also like to report that I commuted to work with my bike last week, and the drive shaft did not shear in two. I also haven't had any electrical or brake issues.

I rode to the James Bay last year solo and also had no failures, though I had to readjust the points about 3/4 of the way through, wasting a whole 15 minutes.

What is BMW thinking?! :D

:hide

[Oldhway]

Way to go Josh, now you are in trouble. Somewhere you just caught Murphy's attention (you know, the famous scribe of Murphy's law). He's probably thinking, "I'll show that brash young whipper-snapper a thing or two". Why do you think the silent majority stays silent?

Way to go!:stick

[sgborgstrom]

Josh Metzger is clearly a kool-aid drinking mole placed here by BMW :deal

[terham]

You look good in rose colored glasses Josh. You're clearly in denial about BMWs and their problems.

I had to put more oil (again!) in my oilhead this morning after a short ride. What's up with that?

[jdmetzger]

You look good in rose colored glasses Josh. You're clearly in denial about BMWs and their problems.

I had to put more oil (again!) in my oilhead this morning after a short ride. What's up with that?

heh. :)

I just wanted to start a thread against the grain. Problems? Sure, there are a few that seem to pop up. I just see lots of negative posts, so I might as well start a positive one. Rarely does anyone say "I rode my bike today and nothing happened; just for a data point".

Hope you get the oil thing worked out (and not expensively - or at least not at your expense!)

[Motor31]

Well to be clear here, Josh is not riding an oilhead, he has a couple airheads. You know, the ones that made BMW's reputation. :whistle It's the new and "improved" models that seem to be falling on their faces or should I say final drives....... :stick

[RandallIsland]

Nice one Josh. :thumb

I've been fighting a lot of maintenance issues lately, but as I sat on my back porch yesterday cutting off hard, dry rubber O-rings from my crankcase cover bolts and replacing them with new ones, I contemplated that the whole Zen-A.T.A.O.M.-Maintenance thing has been lacking in my life for a few years now. I've been in a state of ride it 'til it's something I can't ignore, rather than weekly, proper preventative, "Let's-see-what-I-can-fix-before-it-breaks-before-it's-broke" mentality I was used to for a long time.

Juxtaposed across all this is the fact that I put major miles on daily, that is, every chance (excuse) I have to ride I do, I haven't missed riding a month since I swapped out the motor last summer and that an '85 K100 immersed in the elements all year with use develops a higher tendency, in the first place, to need maintenance.

So in the past few weeks, I've been through a clutch cable (whatever, I've done it 3x before, in just 12 years of ownership), I rebuilt my rear master cylinder (definitely a first for the cycle) because the Original rubber needed freshness, I replaced my tail light bulbs (Ooooo! It's been, like, 12 years. What can I say?) and now I'm preparing to put in relays and nonsense to finally wire my off-road-lamped headlight directly to the battery instead of through my original headlight/ignition switch (as per the IBMWR pages).

So anyway, I'm sitting on my porch with oil under my nails for the first time in what seems like forever, and I'm thinking how lucky I am that it's been so many YEARS since I was ever stranded on the road in some place 5 states away.

I LOVE my K! :german :blah

[tessler]

So I went the way I knew instead of waking up Bubba who may have been in deep sleep at mid-day. And I did not bother Tessler who should be watering his plants in the Catskills. Sorry guys I am too cheap to buy a GPS.:ha :ha...

Actually I was watering my plants when the sky opened up and watered me. It was very rainy in the mountains this weekend.


Josh, nice going. We'll see you on your no-fail bike this January, right? :whistle

[The_Veg]

Well to be clear here, Josh is not riding an oilhead, he has a couple airheads. You know, the ones that made BMW's reputation. :whistle It's the new and "improved" models that seem to be falling on their faces or should I say final drives....... :stick

Well, let's see.

I have an airhead and a hexhead. The hexhead has been ABSOLUTELY reliable so far- none of the dreaded black-box failures that are enough of a theoretical threat that so many people still refuse to even consider such a bike (never mind that they rely on the same technology in their cars without any thought of the matter), and no final drive or other failures either. The final drive has been abused with everything from mud and gravel and stream-crossings to high altitude to riding through thunderstorms to a few poorly- and sloppily-executed wheelies to going 130 MPH on blistering-hot days.

My airhead, on the other hand, has stranded me with electrical problems MORE THAN TWICE, had a severe oil-leak once, has had numerous minor pain-in-the-ass component-failures, self-destructed the entire top-end on one side a year ago, and has demanded an almost British level of maintenance and repair just to keep itself in 'the zone' of proper tune and good running- and even when it ran well, it got significantly worse MPG than the hexhead.
But I still love the crusty old bastard and have no intention of parting with it.

[terham]

:D heh. :)

I just wanted to start a thread against the grain. Problems? Sure, there are a few that seem to pop up. I just see lots of negative posts, so I might as well start a positive one. Rarely does anyone say "I rode my bike today and nothing happened; just for a data point".

Hope you get the oil thing worked out (and not expensively - or at least not at your expense!)

Josh,
My response was completely in jest and I agree 100% with you. As a matter of fact, I rode my oilhead and airhead today, and nothing happened.:D

[dancogan]

Us too! We just got back from a 340 mile round trip over to Lake Michigan and no problems. Even the cages were civil today!

Nice thread, Josh.

[rocketman]

I just did a tune up on my bike and was very disappointed to find that only one valve was out of adjustment by .001 (left exhaust), the timing was still dead on (i put in my 2nd Dyna since 2000 2 years and 50K ago), the tires were only down by 2-3 lbs, the oil did not need topping off (both after the last check 600 miles ago), The front end did not show any signs of looseness (after 10-15K since I last did an adjustment of the head bearings) the battery and alternator both seem the same as it was 15K ago. The wheels don't wobble (after the last bearing replacement some years ago) the carbs did not need any adjustment, the float levels were the same on both side, the idle remains steady at 800 rpms, all the lights works, the cables are all in good shape, (even at the lever end, guess putting grease in the cable end thingys that go in the handle does help?:dunno ) the rear swing arm doesn't move when worked back and forth sideways, there was no noticeable iron filings in the rear drive or trans when I changed the oil and looked at the drain plugs.

All in all, I was very disappointed that there were no major component failures and considered writing my congressman and BMWNA and complaining that I have nothing to complain about (concerning my bike, anyway) but was so bummed that I decided the only thing that would lift my spirits would be to go for a ride and laugh at all the SUV's in the gas stations watching the sales register top $100....

So, what am I doing wrong, the bike has around 170K and it STILL refuses to break down and leave me stranded???! Such a bummer......its 30 years old for gods sake, you'd think by now I'd have something to complain about, workmanship, quaility, reliability, anything!!!!, but no! Damn Damn Damn...

RM

[KGT1200]

I rode 200 miles today down the Mississippi, then back on every dirt road I could find.

No failure, no breakie bikey.

The GS, she just keeps on going going goinggoinggoinggoinggoing........

[kreinke]

I've now got 34000 miles on my '04 Roadster. It doesn't use oil between changes. Is this normal?!?

It's never left me stranded.

I this normal as well?

I guess I'm whining because I have nothing to whine about.

[Troutluck]

I replaced my tool kit with vise grips and duct tape. My bike is too scared to break down. :thumb

[jdmetzger]

Josh, nice going. We'll see you on your no-fail bike this January, right? :whistle

I would have ridden last December but the day I left there was a freezing slushy rain falling; not the safest riding weather. Give me temps above freezing (or dry weather) and I'll be there on the bike. After all, I've had a hankering for a few pounds of pork. :ha :hungover I've had a hankering for some good beer as well, but sadly I'm off of beer until next Friday; 48+ hours after I finish my flagyl. :(

BTW: Is now a bad time to mention the GSPD is sitting in my garage with it's transmission removed and forks disassembled for some preventative maintenance? I didn't think that counted since it didn't break down - I'm just getting it ready for some fun in October. :)

[jdmetzger]

Just an update to this troubling saga; I rode my BMW to work all last week (Even through a touch of rain) and my final drive still has not failed. I'm really going to go out on a limb and ride it to Chicago and back later this week. Wish me luck and think good thoughts about my final drive! :p

[BobFV1]

I also haven't had any electrical or brake issues.



Good for you!

Oh - and my experience differs from yours. Still love the bikes, though!

[jdmetzger]

Good for you!

Oh - and my experience differs from yours. Still love the bikes, though!

:)

This thread is just the yang to the yin of the posts in the "Clubhouse" forum. I'm all about balance. :D

I love the bikes, too. I really DO hate to hear about people having failures because that really is NOT a good thing. I just wish once and for all there was a way to get an accurate handle on the failure rate. Sadly, BMW is the only entity that has that info and they aren't releasing it.

I also have Airheads, so that my be why I'm not seeing the FD failures others are. ;)