Road Side Assistance Program ?

[tjtraver]

Does BMW ( or some other org ) offer a roadside assistance program , if your bike strands you alongside the road somewhere ? Or is best just call the closest dealer ( or BMW anonomous person ) who could be some distance away ? I plan on some touring this summer in the eastern half of the US , and up to this point ad never given this much thought ....

But, out of the blue , my K75 stranded me for a few minutes today. It has never so much as hiccuped before ( or the 100+ miles since ) , it was as though the ignition switch had been turned off ( instantly 0 rpms on the tach at 55 mph) . After pulling off the road , jiggling fuses in their seats , flipping ign and kill switches on and off a couple of times, I pushed the starter button and it immediately fired back up as though nothing had happened , runs 100%. Weird. I think it may have been caused by a dirty ign switch and will clean it .

But it got me to thinking, as I'm standing there alongside the highway , who should I call to come get me , if in fact I were stranded ??? ( I've just put BMW Anonomous book in my tool kit as a good place to start ) .

Thanks for any advice ... Todd

[BradfordBenn]

The best roadside assistance program I have seen and luckily not used is the Anonymous Book. A few friends have used it and not been stranded. The other option is to get the Platinum Upgrade to your MOA membership. Others have reported good luck with AAA RV Plus program.

[SheRidesABeemer]

For $15/year I carry roadside assistance through my insurance carrier - Markel (http://www.bike-line.com/). Never had to use it, but it makes me feel better to have it.

[DonHamblin]

Having stood on the side of the road with a "dead" K bike myself:

The Platinum Upgrade is a good thing - "Who ya' gonna' call?" is a question nobody wants to have to ask.

Just a suggestion, but you might want to check out URL link:
http://www.ibmwr.org/ktech/electrical-tuneup/index.shtml - Off the top of my head my guess would be that it's either your ignition switch or your kill switch (dirty or starting to fail - I've lived through both myself).

But do keep your BMW Owners Anonomous book handy, it's save me more times than I deserve.

Don Hamblin

[MarkF]

I had cross country with my bike when new. When it expired I did not renew. I had heard too many horror stories here and on the big list about trying to get a tow to a BMW dealer. I have to say I count on the Anon Book now. I would get another if I was sure it was worth it. So far the only one I heard good things about was some RV plan that also covered M/Cs.

MarkF

[gmr1200gsa]

Why not join AAA or CAA or BCAA all the same depends on where you live .. I have friends that are mambers and when they have had any problems AAA are out to help .. even deliver gas enough to get you to the next station


Yes BMW does have road side assistance well they do in Canada anyway

The Anonymouse book is good too

[rocketman]

you can get the (new) Platimum membership through MOA. It gives you an 800 number you can call to get a tow. Just make sure you let them know it's a bike 'cause it seems it handles car clubs as well. used it just last week and got a free tow, saved me 75 minumum tow charge so it's already paid for itself several times over. Its an extra 15 or so bux a year and comes with some other perks, check the main site.

RM

[GeoffMiller]

BMW's roadside assistance program was included in the purchase price of my new K1200RS. Last night with only 375 miles on the bike, it shut down completely. A couple of things irritate me (beyond the idea of my new ungodly expensive machine going down after 375 miles). First off, the dealer suggested calling the 800 number for roadside assistance. I could have bought the bike for less but decided to buy from these guys just in case something like this happened. I am less than 50 miles from these guys. I would have thought that they could have sent someone out to pick it up. So anyhow, called BMW Roadside assistance and yep, they could have somebody there within 2 hours. The operator mentioned at the end that I would be responsible for any charges over $100. Being the suspicious sort, I asked her just what my obligation was going to be. Put me on hold for a bit and then came back saying that my cost was going to be between 75 and 100 dollars! Two hundred bucks for less than 50 miles! Told her to forget it and called the dealer again. Well, that was yesturday and you know what, the friggen bike is still sitting here. I bought the bike under the promotion where BMW makes the first five payments, my first one due next month. If everyone is so busy that they can't make the time to pick up a brand new broken down machine, how long is it going to rot in their shop? I tempted to call up BMW financial and tell them to pick up their machine. We have a real nice Honda dealer 5 miles from my house. Yes, I'm crabby but I have owned 22 Japanese motorcycles over the years and two BMW's. I've only had to push two of those bikes and would you like to take a wild guess which ones?

[SheRidesABeemer]

Wow, that's a scary message in many, many ways; the least of which is the broken down bike. I can't help but think of the thread about the dealers going out of business - poor poor dealers. The dealer's "service" you describe is self-destructive, inexcusable. Any chance of a competitive BMW dealer in range?

Gail

[GeoffMiller]

The next closest dealer is about 70 miles away and after visiting their store I got the impression that they would rather sell their other brand bikes. They had almost no parts inventory and I assume that the mechanics are possibly not up to speed (maybe I'm not being fair here). My dad has a motorcycle hauler about 120 miles from here so I am probably head over to his place and get it. At least I can move the bike then. I have a rail mounted in the back of my pickup but the bike is so heavy I can't get it up that steep of a ramp. All of the small yet dedicated BMW shops are gone now. While this new bike has some really cool technology in it, I have absolutely no idea as to where to start looking for the problem.

[BradfordBenn]

No two ways about it, that sucks.

[GeoffMiller]

Thanks for the support. I'm feeling kind of blue about the whole situation.

[BradfordBenn]

You may want to check your owner's manual for the information to contact BMW NA directly. I would think that even they would agree that 375 miles and no longer functioning is not acceptable and perhaps they can assist with your dealer's response.

[deilenberger]

But, out of the blue , my K75 stranded me for a few minutes today. It has never so much as hiccuped before ( or the 100+ miles since ) , it was as though the ignition switch had been turned off ( instantly 0 rpms on the tach at 55 mph) . After pulling off the road , jiggling fuses in their seats , flipping ign and kill switches on and off a couple of times, I pushed the starter button and it immediately fired back up as though nothing had happened , runs 100%. Weird. I think it may have been caused by a dirty ign switch and will clean it .

See: http://www.eilenberger.net/K75S/IgnitionSwitch/index.html

It's fairly detailed instructions on cleaning your ignition switch - with photos. A not uncommon problem with K bikes, especially if they see any weather.

[tjtraver]

Don,

Thanks for the detailed instructions !
I have printed them out .

The bike has been running 100% since the "un-explained incident" . What I beleive "may" have happened or contributed to cause it : I had a large key ring of keys , which didn't allow the folding BMW ign key to lie flat , which shifted slightly and given the leverage provided by the fold over BMW ign key , turned the key slightly away from the "on" position. I've since created a BMW only key ring , which now allows the ign key to lie flat .

Even still , I will clean the switch , just to eliminate that as a possible cause, as it looks easy enough to do .

Thanks again ... Todd

[Kenny2]

I paid abit more than a hundred dollars for a tow when the input spline destructed on my R1150RT with the Roadside Assistance plan offered by the BMWNA.
Came to 're-new' ...... NO!!!!

My insurance (which I forgot) has "tow to the NEAREST dealer or brand specific repair facility" no charge. no mileage limit.

I am NOT pushing companies, just the Roadside Assistance of 'we pay the first $100.00' is lousy when the tow is $78.00 for trip and $4.00 per mile.