S1000 Sales Halted!

[robert.bantly]

Will be finishing up the "break-in" period this weekend, hopefully w/o any clickin' or clackin' noises from the motor occurring. Got a sport ride planned and with the TLS currently down, the rr will be off the stand and in the street. Will also re-ping my shop tomorrow and see if they have any further information...

ESPECIALLY since my first track day is 27 May. The TLS won't be ready and if the S1000rr has any issues, I am out some $$$

Wish they'd put a bit of S1000rr acceleration into getting the information out, informing owners, and getting a repair procedure in place though. Feels like it has been longer than it has...

[mika]

FWIW:

I posted the recall on the forum as soon as I became aware of it. You may find it in this thread:
http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/showthread.php?t=60147

or by clicking on
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/recalls...rue&refurl=rss

In addition to the recall you will reach there is a button linking you to additional documents related to the recall. You may also reach them by this link.
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs...77&docType=RCL

I do not know what dollars you have spent out of pocket related to this recall; however, one of the supplemental documents describes a reimbursement process for work done, and covered by the recall, prior to the full implementation of the recall and paid for by customers.

Hope this helps.

[robert.bantly]

Mika: my gripe certainly isn't with the MOA or the Forum; this is where I found out about the issue and I appreciate that. I am glad you had the information.

The gripe would be: "$16,000.00 motorcycle and not a peep, letter, email, or phone call from the mfr and no sign of a repair procedure." No personal contact.

Rapid personal contact and a fast moving campaign would have greatly improved my impressions. There's just a feeling of corporate inertia with waiting for the response and fix on this. I realize it is a "one percent" problem but like all of those in manufacturing, it is still going to require 100% checkout of all motorcycles in the suspect run. I once had to go out and rewire 650 power supplies in my company's equipment due to one of those just to make sure. It cost a bundle, too and required a ton of travel

I have had a wonderful and troublefree 2.5 years with my R1200GSA and great Dealer support, even with the fuel strips! I am very impressed with the performance of the 1000rr and one of the reasons I bought it was due to my overall extremely favorable impression of ownership based on my GSA. I still have that with the GSA and am hoping I'll keep it with the 1000rr.

[mika]

I do understand the frustration. I have experienced it myself in the past. I did not take any offense but just wanted to make certain you were aware of the supplemental documents related to the recall. Let me offer this as an observational aside and not a defense or apology for BMW, the NHTSA or anyone.

There are several hoops a manufacturer must go through once the recall has been issued to notify its customers. Who and how to notify are issues. The owners of record as of the date of the recall are the who part. The how is a snail mail campaign required by the system. The recall notification process cuts two ways.

In the not to distant past we would receive a letter from the manufacturer about the same time as the news would hit the print. Cage recalls might make the press first because the media covering it could afford to assign someone to cover the beat. I would still be justifiably upset that my motorcycle, cage or Fly-Over-Land coffee pot had been recalled but I received the notice from the government and the company at roughly the same time. The first one to my door got the praise for warning me the second received my wrath in most cases.

With the advent of RSS feeds and the push to get government information into our hands the NHTSA has set up its website and an RSS feed to notify the public about recalls. Cool. The observational point is that now someone like me, Vince on the home page, can post the recall information within hours of the recall being issued on a site like this that is targeted at the customers of that product. We get the information on the web long before it hits print media. I check the feed every day and post the information the site as quickly as I find it. Notices come out seven days a week on the feed. The company still has the same hoops it must go through to certify it has complied such as formal written notification to dealers and customers.

The problem still sucks for the technician that screwed up the settings on the robot and started the problem that led to the recall and for the rider.

[robert.bantly]

No clicks, clanks, or booms; no oil stains or parts on US227 - she's going to the dealer for break-in maintenance tomorrow. I didn't exceed 9K per break-in instructions but hit it a few times and did some very fast straight-road riding on the way to the North Central Kentucky twisties. Fast is redefined on this motorcycle each time you open it up.

Hopefully I am part of the 98-99% w/o a problem as track day is 27 May. May see if I can cajole the repair this week so I can hit the track without any worries about clicks, clanks, or booms; and maybe truly redline the beast

[suttie]

What is the timeframe that you owners in the US are hearing about parts being delivered to your dealers? In Canada, we are still about two weeks away from dealers getting the new parts to fix the bike.

[robert.bantly]

I tried to cajole the mechanic into going ahead and doing the repair with me paying and getting refunded when the fix comes out, but as far as my shop knows, BMW still hasn't come out with a hard fix procedure. They do not know if the existing con-rod bolts will be re-used and new hi-temp loctite applied, or if BMW will provide new con-rod bolts and loctite. They didn't want to do it, even with me paying beforehand because if what they do isn't the "official" fix, then they'll have to do it again. I understand this but having a track day Saturday that is Duck-Full (must be the only time those bikes come out of their garages ) makes me really, really want my RR. As does the 2275' front straight on the track...but you never even take a 1% risk. 3 quarts of hot oil on a hot racetrack could add up to lots of injuries, so it'll be in the garage until it is fixed.

Having to strip and ride my GSA on a track day is a mental challenge of sorts. On the plus side, it won't arrive on a trailer since it's a BMW twin I'll ride it there, tape the lights and warning light (it comes on when you disconnect the lamps), remove the panniers and back seat, and presto. Same thing in reverse at end of the day, and ride home. Will not be sore or tired either - yes, I am searching for positives on the situation.

On the splitting cases question; it looks like it will have to be done that way since there is lots of baffling in the bottom of the motor that will prevent getting a wrench up to the crank.

I did send a letter to BMW customer relations explaining my track day financial loss and applied honey along with the vinegar. Haven't given my dealer a hard time at all as their hands are tied and they would help if they had everything.

My TLS motor rebuild ran into some leak-down issues on the exhaust side due to exhaust valves being incorrectly machined (flange edges too thick and if they are machined down there are tolerance issues due to exhaust heat) - yes they will fix it but it adds more time to the no-sportbike situation.

[cjack]

I haven't looked into it carefully, but isn't there a pan on the bottom of the engine so "tear down" seems a little strong for what it may require to torque the bod bolts.

I read somewhere that the engine has to be taken out and the cases split...so tear down sounds not so strong now

[cjack]

I tried to cajole the mechanic into going ahead and doing the repair with me paying and getting refunded when the fix comes out, but as far as my shop knows, BMW still hasn't come out with a hard fix procedure. They do not know if the existing con-rod bolts will be re-used and new hi-temp loctite applied, or if BMW will provide new con-rod bolts and loctite. They didn't want to do it, even with me paying beforehand because if what they do isn't the "official" fix, then they'll have to do it again....

snip

Well, I guess if there is some kind of warranty issue later on, it's good that you wait for the official fix. But, there is a procedure with new bolts and a torque proceedure on the RSD. What would be wrong with that proceedure which has been good for these engines for two years or so.

[suttie]

Well, folks, I should get my bike back tomorrow, in time for a track day on Monday, and even a sunny day!!

My service mgr at the dealership said the connecting rod bolts were torqued correctly, but there was no Loctite on them. The procedure took about 8 hours, with about 20 parts (including gaskets, etc) replaced. No metal in the oil, at all, so it appears no damage to the bike.

They will be delivering the bike around noon after testing it, so I am awaiting the rush past 12,000 revs tomorrow afternoon.

BTW, I received my recall notice on Thursday afternoon from BMW Canada telling me about the issue. It told me less about the issue than what I already knew from BMW ON two months ago. Disappointing.

But let's hope our bikes are OK.

[robert.bantly]

Good to hear one is being repaired! Not-so-good to hear about the missing loc-tite...things may be more than the 1% initially reported. I will add my results to the thread.

My dealer has all parts for mine except for a gasket or 2; and so I probably won't see mine till next weekend.

Good job to the MOA and forum, and a "shoulda done better" to the corporate types.