Just a sign of the times i'm afraid. Witness the new high tech Goldwing. This new bike is either hated or loved by the Goldwing faithful. More problems seemed to be happening with this latest version than normal. I suspect because the bike is so high tech like the BMW you will see failures like the BMW. ST1100 /1300's are old school tech and built like a Sherman tank.
BMW R 1200RT 2nd to 3rd shift issue
- Thread starter the Ferret
- Start date
There are good, better and best dealers for every brand. Obviously you got one of the best for BMW's.
okckeith
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I wouldn't have a BMW and a Triumph in my garage if it wasn't for my local dealer. Time will tell if either one will be half as reliable as my ST. But I sure do like both of them a lot. So many things about both of them that I wanted that you just can't get on a Honda. I waited for Honda to build a bike I wanted. I had to move on. But the ST is still in the garage after 11 1/2 years. Maybe not for long. Who knows.
In fun only...I thought of a response to that line of yours that I quoted. Perhaps the reason you were anonymous at the Honda dealer, is you didn't bring your Honda in often enough for them to know you?
To be fair the dealer I bought the ST from was a small dealer and the personality of the owner and me really did not click. After the initial service I took my work to larger dealership and they made no effort to know their customers. The reason I got to know the mechanics at the BMW dealer is because after service the mechanic rides the bike to the front door and tells you what was done and if he thinks that anything will need attention. At the Honda dealer the service writer took your payment and told you where the bike was parked. They also hold social/sales events where the staff makes an effort to talk to customers.
My original point was that for all the publicity the final drive failure got it gave the impression that it was an inevitable failure which it does not seem to be in my experience.
Gerhard
Gerhard is correct re: the final drive failures being a thing of the past . Two changes were made . I believe in 2008 /2009. A vent was added to the FD housing and the fluid level was reduced . No other design changes have been made. NB. most final drive failures were on the GS models that typically live hard lives.
Also a change was made from the early final drives to include a gear oil drain plug. The older ones had no drain plug. It was assumed that because the final drive had a "hole" where air could move through it it would run cooler. Not so.