Berlin's putting a damper on my riding

[mcholt212]

Time for me to vent about how long I've been waiting for a $35 seat lock assembly from Berlin. I'm not blaming anybody for anything but why is it I (and others I've known) have to wait weeks for parts to come from Germany? My bike's been at the dealer 5 weeks to the day getting repaired from getting jacked, and more than 1/2 that time has been spent just waiting for this lock!!! I have tried to find the lock everywhere by searching the net and post boards, etc. The closest thing I found was in London on Ebay, and besides being 3,000 miles away, the guy is selling the whole rack/hand hold ass'y with the lock. Besides, if I did buy it, by the time I got it the one on order will probably be in anyway. I love my beem but this waiting forever for parts really blows!!

[gambrinus]

Just to toss some fuel on your fire.. 48hrs is transit time for a package from Berlin to any major US port of entry. That's customs cleared, and delivered to your door. Your postage on a part so small that it could be put in a padded envelope should be minimal. IF you are willing to pony up the shipping $$ there is NO excuse to wait more than 3 days for ANY part that is sitting on a shelf in Germany.

RW

[sgborgstrom]

what's going on over at BMW these days. From the low level of service many of us are getting from dealers to closing down apparently viable dealerships they seem intent on killing off the MC division. On the other hand the company is rolling out the new K-bike, updating the GS line and tweaking the F series in an effort to hit the entry level market.

I think if we could pry open the corporate skull of BMW we might find sales/marketing going full throttle in one direction with product support going in another.

Also working against us is the perception that bikes are toys, not "real" transportation like cars. (Unfortunately the number of really low-mileage bikes for sale every week tends to confirm this view rather than dispell it). I enjoy commuting to work year-round on my bikes, that's the excuse I use to always keep two running bikes in the garage.

Feeling your pain foobeemer, I've had good luck with used parts from:

cyclesrecycled.com

Steve

[dlearl476]

I agree your dealer is jacking you around. When I orderd a "keyed-alike" seat lock for my F it only took 10 days for BMW to get it to my dealer, including dealing with the paperwork*. Getting a matching lock is a little more trouble than an off-the-shelf version, but 5 weeks is ridiculous.

*BMW-AG now requires proof of ownership to issue "keyed-alike" key and locksets. And from what I was told, they aren't stocked in NJ, they have to come from Germany.

[lorazepam]

If your parts guy or service guy know what they are doing, they can key the cylinder right at the dealership. I don't understand what the holdup is.

[MarkF]

Originally posted by sgborgstrom
what's going on over at BMW these days.

What I heard is that BMW is punishing the US dealers that refuse to stock parts. It seems that more and more dealers were taking advantage of the quick shipping and refusing to stock their Parts Dept. So now BMW drags their feet on these small orders.

MarKF

[mcholt212]

Originally posted by lorazepam
If your parts guy or service guy know what they are doing, they can key the cylinder right at the dealership. I don't understand what the holdup is.

The problem is this: I had the bike towed to the dealer the day I recovered it (Sept 15th). Since the bike was stolen, the thief broke all 3 of my locks on the bike but the seat lock looked like it was in tact still. The dealer did not closely inspect the seat lock early enough or they would have realized there was something jammed in it from when the thief was trying to break it. They did discover this until the day I was supposed to pick up the bike (Oct 1st)--the lock ass'y was put on order then (that was alittle over 2 weeks ago).

Basically, if the dealer had inspected the bike more closely early on, the seat lock ass'y could have been put on order the day I brought the bike in, which was 5 weeks ago.

The part was put on order Oct 1st. I was told but that day it may have missed the cutoff and that it should be in by Oct 7-8th at the latest, yadda-yadda-yadda.

Here we sit on Oct 22nd and they're telling me now that the part should be in next week sometime.

As far as I'm concerned this is all horse poop and I 'm sure I'm not getting the whole story from somebody.....just not sure who that may be. That's ok...I emailed BMW in Europe and the US and wrote a letter to ON that I hope gets put in the next issue. I should be riding right now, not bitching about a seat lock I can't get.

[dlearl476]

>The part was put on order Oct 1st. I was told but >that day it may have missed the cutoff and that >it should be in by Oct 7-8th at the latest, yadda->yadda-yadda.

>Here we sit on Oct 22nd and they're telling me >now that the part should be in next week >sometime.

Last time I checked, a plane left Germany for NYC about every fifteen minutes. Your dealer is hosing you and sitting on their hands at your expense.

One question: if all you're lacking is a seat lock, why don't you pick up the bike and have it installed when (if?) it comes in?

[lkchris]

Also working against us is the perception that bikes are toys, not "real" transportation like cars.

As a long time rider, that's my perception.

Don't feel a bit guilty about it.

Riding in traffic is nuts; it's the open road only for me.