BMW announces Active Cruise Control for motorcycles...

Gerhard said:
My experience has been all positive, had to have the cruise control switch replaced under warranty, BMW then replaced it a second time when a new design was released even though there was no problem at that time.
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I don't have a lot of miles on late model post 2105 BMWs but I would tend to agree. The 2007 R1200RT I bought two years ago as a project bike had 188,000 miles on it with all original electrics/electronics/switches and the 2007 RT I bought six months ago is all original and aging very well at 98,500 miles - 9200 I put on it in six months.

A forum regular would know about the ST1300s not-uncommon right hand knock sensor fault that requires ECM replacement and the growing number of ground circuit faults that create no-start issues in STs. A case of glass houses IMO. As bikes age then problems crop up and the ST electrics are not immune.
 
Gerhard said:
My experience has been all positive, had to have the cruise control switch replaced under warranty, BMW then replaced it a second time when a new design was released even though there was no problem at that time.
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My '08 RT didn't get to 6 K miles from brand new before it got serious , 2 different knocking , engine damage from unreliable faulty electronics controlling the engine . Fortunately I kept my '91 Honda GoldWing during that time & now after 29 years - STILL have had nothing go wrong at all . quite the difference at half the price of the BMW !
 
Pair of replacement ESA shocks are that and a little more. Doesn't seem to keep people from buying the bikes they go in.
 
dduelin said:
Pair of replacement ESA shocks are that and a little more. Doesn't seem to keep people from buying the bikes they go in.
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True. If you want to buy a proper sport touring motorcycle the choice imho is the BMW K series or RT series. Or the Yamaha FJR 1300. With rumors of Yamaha sinking the FJR and Kawasaki killing the Concours BMW will win by default.
 
TourNut said:
My '08 RT didn't get to 6 K miles from brand new before it got serious , 2 different knocking , engine damage from unreliable faulty electronics controlling the engine . Fortunately I kept my '91 Honda GoldWing during that time & now after 29 years - STILL have had nothing go wrong at all . quite the difference at half the price of the BMW !
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That must have been terribly disappointing with a brand new bike. Didn't you find remedy under the warranty?
 
I can't stand the active CC, or whatever they call it, on my new car. If I am gaining on you with cruise on, I surely don't want to slow down and stay behind you. I'm going to pass you. And, if the traffic is stacked up so that I can't pass, I won't be using my cruise anyway.
 
dduelin said:
That must have been terribly disappointing with a brand new bike. Didn't you find remedy under the warranty?
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Nope , warranty was worthless , finally almost broke even , money -wise , with help of a Magnuson-Moss Federal Lemon Law case . Court caught BMW & dealer lying , I kept their own service documents that proved I was correct ! I got the cost of a new engine & ECM , I then sold off the bike "as-is" on E-bay , since Grand Rapids BMW stealer could not be trusted at all . That bike should not have made it past the end of the assembly line in Germany , - so much for quality control !
Still was 2 1/2 years of stress on me though , I never got one pleasant ride on it , what with the predetonation knocking from the start & the later resultant piston slapping before 6 K Miles. ( Not to mention fuel pump failure @ 4 K & then rear-end noise after that ) When I picked it up new , I couldn't hear the knocking at the dealer with all the 4 lanes of traffic going on . Soon as I got home I could hear something not normal in my garage , they kept claiming it was valve noise but valves don't knock like that , ( I had 2 previous BMW twins ) . Idling was extremely erratic because of the constant predetonation . I found out from another guy on the BMWMOA forum had the same problem , it was the ECM not reading the 2 anti-knock sensors & not controlling the ignition advance of the engine correctly , ( defaults grossly advanced ) which trashes the engine . I had it in for service , the same problem 4 times , stealer basically would just blow me off , hopefully to them - past the 3 year warranty period after when at least $6000 , of parts only , would have been out of my pocket !
 
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TourNut said:
That bike should not have made it past the end of the assembly line in Germany , - so much for quality control !
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After spending four years going inside a BMW manufacturing plant and many dozens of their vendors, I've seen too much to ever be able to justify purchasing a BMW vehicle. I'm sorry you had such a bad experience, but unfortunately I'm in no way surprised.
 
I've never bought the compensation argument for ABS. I don't folks think about it or ride harder because of it and if one understands how ABS works, it does not stop you faster in normal conditions. It can be a godsend in unexpected situations such as fluid spills. other compromised traction and complete surprise panic situations. What it really does is allows you a chance to maintain control of your bike. In a study of car drivers, they also found ABS didn't contribute as much to accident reductions as hoped. They found that in that case many drivers were lifting off the brake pedal when they felt the ABS pulsating, thereby defeating it.
 
TourNut said:
Nope , warranty was worthless , finally almost broke even , money -wise , with help of a Magnuson-Moss Federal Lemon Law case . Court caught BMW & dealer lying , I kept their own service documents that proved I was correct ! I got the cost of a new engine & ECM , I then sold off the bike "as-is" on E-bay , since Grand Rapids BMW stealer could not be trusted at all . That bike should not have made it past the end of the assembly line in Germany , - so much for quality control !
Still was 2 1/2 years of stress on me though , I never got one pleasant ride on it , what with the predetonation knocking from the start & the later resultant piston slapping before 6 K Miles. ( Not to mention fuel pump failure @ 4 K & then rear-end noise after that ) When I picked it up new , I couldn't hear the knocking at the dealer with all the 4 lanes of traffic going on . Soon as I got home I could hear something not normal in my garage , they kept claiming it was valve noise but valves don't knock like that , ( I had 2 previous BMW twins ) . Idling was extremely erratic because of the constant predetonation . I found out from another guy on the BMWMOA forum had the same problem , it was the ECM not reading the 2 anti-knock sensors & not controlling the ignition advance of the engine correctly , ( defaults grossly advanced ) which trashes the engine . I had it in for service , the same problem 4 times , stealer basically would just blow me off , hopefully to them - past the 3 year warranty period after when at least $6000 , of parts only , would have been out of my pocket !
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Umm, well OK.
 
wjbertrand said:
I've never bought the compensation argument for ABS. I don't folks think about it or ride harder because of it and if one understands how ABS works, it does not stop you faster in normal conditions. It can be a godsend in unexpected situations such as fluid spills. other compromised traction and complete surprise panic situations. What it really does is allows you a chance to maintain control of your bike. In a study of car drivers, they also found ABS didn't contribute as much to accident reductions as hoped. They found that in that case many drivers were lifting off the brake pedal when they felt the ABS pulsating, thereby defeating it.
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I agree with you. If something makes you FEEL less vulnerable, I could see someone making the argument that those people take greater risks. A full set of racing leathers might be an example of that. But there's nothing about ABS that imparts a feeling of greater safety, especially considering that, under normal circumstances, drivers aren't even aware of it being there.
 
st11ray said:
I can't stand the active CC, or whatever they call it, on my new car. If I am gaining on you with cruise on, I surely don't want to slow down and stay behind you. I'm going to pass you. And, if the traffic is stacked up so that I can't pass, I won't be using my cruise anyway.
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Like if I would even ride motorways/Autobahn... ;)

The company panel van (VW T6) however has such a gadget, hate it... :rolleyes:
Setting it up just draws your attention off the road (tiny buttons on the wheel-spokes), the radar distance thingy is hysterical, if someone pulls out like 800yards ahead of you the system hammers on them brakes, not possible to drive the adjacent lane to semis as it "sees" their wiggling trailers as intermittent obstacle... slow down-accelerate-slow down-accelerate-brake-accelerate-slow down-brake-accelerate... Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!!! :mad:
 
TourNut said:
Nope , warranty was worthless , finally almost broke even , money -wise , with help of a Magnuson-Moss Federal Lemon Law case . Court caught BMW & dealer lying , I kept their own service documents that proved I was correct ! I got the cost of a new engine & ECM , I then sold off the bike "as-is" on E-bay , since Grand Rapids BMW stealer could not be trusted at all . That bike should not have made it past the end of the assembly line in Germany , - so much for quality control !
Still was 2 1/2 years of stress on me though , I never got one pleasant ride on it , what with the predetonation knocking from the start & the later resultant piston slapping before 6 K Miles. ( Not to mention fuel pump failure @ 4 K & then rear-end noise after that ) When I picked it up new , I couldn't hear the knocking at the dealer with all the 4 lanes of traffic going on . Soon as I got home I could hear something not normal in my garage , they kept claiming it was valve noise but valves don't knock like that , ( I had 2 previous BMW twins ) . Idling was extremely erratic because of the constant predetonation . I found out from another guy on the BMWMOA forum had the same problem , it was the ECM not reading the 2 anti-knock sensors & not controlling the ignition advance of the engine correctly , ( defaults grossly advanced ) which trashes the engine . I had it in for service , the same problem 4 times , stealer basically would just blow me off , hopefully to them - past the 3 year warranty period after when at least $6000 , of parts only , would have been out of my pocket !
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mmmmmm,,, I think I will stick with the cheap jap bikes :thumb::headbang:
 
I remember reading BMW's that were tagged for the North American market were being sabotaged by foreign workers, per an internal company memo and a trade mag report. I think I read this in MCN. Anyone else?
 
ArTravlR said:
I remember reading BMW's that were tagged for the North American market were being sabotaged by foreign workers, per an internal company memo and a trade mag report. I think I read this in MCN. Anyone else?
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Yeah, I'd use that excuse. Very believable --- NOT!
 
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