I'm not sure what the ROI is, but on gross sales the Motorrad division is about 2% of the company's revenue. Interestingly, that is the same percentage as Buell was to H-D.Originally Posted by ragtoplvr
I'm not sure what the ROI is, but on gross sales the Motorrad division is about 2% of the company's revenue. Interestingly, that is the same percentage as Buell was to H-D.
George
2007 Triumph Tiger, 2006 Suzuki DL650, 1979 R100RT
If you dig it, do it - - if you dig it a lot, do it twice! Jim Croce
Back in the day, when I started sending money to BMW, I was looking for reliability and long-term availability of parts. The panache of the tank badge and its potential enhancement of my human value weren't really significant factors.
If someone else offers reliability and long term parts availability at a lower cost, I'll kiss that little blue and white disk good bye.
Cave contents: 99 R11RS, 2013 Toyota Tacoma, 03 Simplicity Legacy XL, 97 Stihl FS75, Dewalt DW625 & DW744
Comparing the cost of service when one bike service is done by the owner and labor is not counted and the other bike is dealer serviced and everything is counted is not a fair comparison.
I adjust the valves on my BMW so it's free and you pay a dealer $500 to check your Connie doesn't make my bike a better deal.
The MCN article says it's not a fair comparison.
2007 R1200RT
2000 R1100rt sold @ 72,000
Iron Butt #24605
Watch that front end wobble on the ST-1300. from a ST-1300 web site,"In Europe the ST1300 Police bikes were pulled off the highway for the same problem. It seems the top case w/ the radio equipment was the cause site "
The thing about traveling is, you never want it to end and you can't wait to get home.
I answer to Roy, Chief, or Sarg.
04 R-1150-RT current bike. 94 R-1100-RS74,383, Sold, 78 R-80/7, K.I.A by a D.U.I
www.OceanStateBMWriders.com
I wonder if that is the "problem above 100 mph" I have heard about.
1988 K75 Low Seat
2009 R1200R Roadster
I think it means...
It means that the competitive buying process and the bottomed-out market for motorcycle hardware allows a volume buyer like a police department to command a much lower price than you do, as one person.FWIW, and a slight hijack...
I wanted to buy a Kawa police bike without all the police gear on it from the local KAWA dealer about 6 years ago.
The sales manager told me in effect that " that bike is at a low price point and reflects the quality of that process"
If you can explain the above statement, please do given that the KAWA's in the MCN article were not all that bad.
To participate, all you have to do is write a detailed specification in legalese, advertise that you're going to buy N bikes at one time (N being a number greater than, say, 10-100), and show the financial strength to actually buy all those bikes. Put it out to competitive bid, all over your State.
You will probably be cantractually required to purchase the bikes from the low bidder - all of them. After you send your check for N times the low bid price, just sell N-1 of the bikes to others, and go ride the one left.
Oh, and don't be too surprised if your spec. was written for a particular BMW, but you end up with N Suzukis, or Hondas.
Let me know how that works for you.
Jim
Just returned from trip to the Sacramento, CA Area and noticed many dealers are closed. Went looking for the Harley shops and they are gone. Did locate A&S Cycles in Roseville, CA. They do a business in parts, etc and had quite a display of bikes.
As for the article on the BMW vs Harley vs Kawasaki, I agree that it is gong to come down to maintenance costs. But for my personal riding, I still like my BMW's and the family of motorcycle enthusiasts we have. We ride just to be riding. Not to see how much we can outdo the other 'bikers' in chrome and accessories.
I will stay with my beemer.:
Boots
2008 R1200R
1998 R1100R - 1975 R75/6
1984 R65-1976 R90/6
I like the lighter weight even though I have had to put on lower shocks and raise my boots! My 1200R is much easier for me and lighter. We have a good dealer support in Bentonville BMW as well.
Boots
2008 R1200R
1998 R1100R - 1975 R75/6
1984 R65-1976 R90/6
BMW motorcycles are marketed as a premium brand. To expect your parts and maintenance to cost the same as a Kawasaki, is unrealistic. If you owned a Mercedes or BMW car, would you expect the maintenance costs to be the same as owning a Chevy or Hyundai?
Frankly, I've always thought the RT was a poor choice for a police motorcycle. BMW Police motorcycles is nothing new. If you've traveled to Europe, you will still see some leftover K1100 Police Bikes that worked very well for many years. The K1100LT were sold to civilians with additional switch locations (four) on the fairing for government use.
When BMW discontinued the K1100LT in 1996, their was no logical K-bike replacement for official use. BMW did add a fan to the backside of the oil cooler. However, it provides very little help in stopped traffic. I have firsthand experience with this problem when I added a fan kit to my R1100RT while living in Washington DC. The fan simply can't draw enough air through the oil cooler to provide the same results as a water cooled bike with fan. BMW RT clutches are also not designed to be slipped the way law enforcement is trained to ride. My local BMW dealer in KC was replacing clutches on some of their police bikes with very low miles. IMHO, this is more of training issue than a maintenance issue.
I subscribe to Motorcycle Consumer News (MCN) and read the article. IMHO, MCN is an overpriced, poor quality magazine that provides little substance or value. I will not resubscribe. However, on the issue of not using RTs for police work in Phoenix, I would agree. If a department has a Kawasaki trained mechanic, however has to pay BMW to repair the BMWs, its makes little sense to use the BMWs. If Phoenix had a BMW trained mechanic capable of replacing clutches and maintaining the drive trains, the BMW may be the right choice. However, with police departments experiencing cuts nationwide, using a premium brand of motorcycle makes little sense to me.
Burgenland, Austria 2009
DSCN0104.jpg
Karen Jacobs
Moderator
2010 R 1200 RT
MOA-133005, IBA #37923
The climate and law enforcement in Austria is certainly not Phoenix. Its certainly a very clean police bike. Show very little use.
I agree with you on both counts there:
MCN has too many inaccurate 'scoops', and BMWs as police bikes are not the best option out there.
The fundamental issue is the taxpayer doesn't get the value for their money, which in the case of law enforcement and emergency services vehicles is readiness. The vehicle which requires the least maintenance, and is most quickly capable of being turned around when it does, is the one which keeps officers capable of responding when they're needed, and on patrol where they belong. Six officers on Hondas are more effective than five on beemers, for example. Many don't like seeing cops around until they need one, but when they need one, they don't want to wait for a longer response time because fewer are on patrol, or their vehicle is in the shop.
Last edited by 108625; 01-26-2010 at 01:00 AM.
Part of readiness is keeping the riding officers alive and out of the hospital. BMWs were initially looked at and purchased because of ABS. They used to be the only choice for two wheeled authority vehicles with ABS. That is no longer the case, opening the choice to other brands.
We can only hope that all these revelations are read my BMW corporate and acted upon appropriately. These bikes suffer as have many models of BMW cars, from poorly executed features,poor quality and high repair/maint costs. IMHO, judging from the BRIEF, as in I got the heck out, experiences I had with German engineers and managers. It was like arguing with my ex wife, rule #1 the German engineer is always right. #2 In case the German engineer is wrong, see rule #1. If they mend their ways, listen and concentrate on reliability, they can make world class bikes with the good old days charm. This may be happening, as the S1000 is a work of art! I like the styling, some don't, all should agree this bike has performance with a capitol P!
The launch of the 2010 RT and GS will tell. The motor has been out for a few years, they should have CAN buss, adjustable shocks, fuel pump regulators and final drive failures worked out, and hopefully as the years pile on the newer ABS will prove very reliable.
Rod
It seems odd to me that folks expect a premium brand of motorcycle or auto to be as cheap to fix and as reliable as a basic car. If you want durability and reliability, go out an buy a standard Ford F150 pickup truck with roll up windows. They're manufactured for 260,000 miles; about double the average car and are abused daily by contractors, farmers and ranchers.
This certainly doesn't make this vehicle better than a premium brand of car that has more features than the space shuttle. Each technological improvement provides another point of failure. If you demand the latest technology in a vehicle, don't be surprised when it occasionally fails.
This hold true for BMW motorcycles. Few US police departments would consider using a Lexus, Cadillac, BMW or any premium brand of auto for a police car. Why use a premium brand of motorcycle with higher initial costs, parts and repair costs for a police motorcycle?
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote