| Author | Message | ||
     Chinook |
This ain't for the faint of heart regarding final drive failures on those other bikes. Gotta feel for this guy on his GS. And no marshmallows to roast.  http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167287 I think I'm gonna go into the garage and stare at my belt drive now | ||
| Whodom |
Holy crap! That's by far the worst, but by no means the only GS rear gear failure I've seen posted on advrider. Whatever faults the belt has, it is way easier to fix than a toasted rear drive. | ||
| Lorazepam |
I left BMW, and I am not looking back. | ||
| Xbimmer |
I left BMW too, but the only looking back I'm doing is in time. My 1978 R100S never, EVER, left me stranded in 180k of mostly hard (not thrashed) riding. The tranny broke, it got me home 200 mi out. The ring gear in the final drive severed from its shaft, I don't know how many miles I rode it. Found out when I went to replace the weeping seals (gee, I wonder why). BMW has lost its way. If I ever give up on my Uly all the proceeds from its sale will go straight into getting the S back on the road. With no regrets. | ||
| Red_chili |
I liked my R80 G/S. Only, not the stock front suspension (it was a bit tweaked as well by the previous owner, giving me the perfect excuse to swap it). What I liked about it I never found in the 1150GS I tried. They are headed in a direction 180 from my heading. The Uly isn't. As many gripes as get aggregated here (as in all web forums similarly focused) they are not out of line with other bikes at all, and in fact, eminently fixable. Actually rather FUN to fix. | ||
| Chinook |
yep, no one bike is perfect. other than the sheer grin factor i was pleasantly surprised to move away from 6000 mile valve adjustments. my biggest concern with my BMW was the final drive and the perceived rash of failures in the last 5 years. when i saw a picture in a magazine of the soon to arrive GS950 (or is it 850?), it had a belt drive! that sealed my decision to go with the Uly. | ||
| Lorazepam |
I had no confidence in the BMW servo assist brakes, and the final drive problems bothered me also. Folks with the servo system are finding out it isnt if but when it fails. You can over complicate a simple device, and the germans are masters at that. | ||
| Stretch67 |
I was all fired up to buy a GS until I started reading about all the warranty issues and overcomplicated electronics. So here I am, lusting over a bike I can actually work on. | ||
| Xbimmer |
Chinook, you referring to the BMW F800? At the local BMW dealer when I asked about it I got a "Likely not coming here soon". If the F650 still had a belt I might have bought one of those instead of the Buell. So, tired of being directed to the GS I went and test rode the Uly and here I am.  | ||
| Eor |
The F800's should arrive stateside in April of 07. | ||
| Xbimmer |
Thanks Eor. Well, by then, I'll have 25k +/- on my Uly, EVERY problem with the initial production year will be solved I'm confident, I will have experimented quite enough by then with available options and my XB12X will be where I want it to be. When I ride up to the BMW dealer to check out the F it will have to be one hell of a bike to persuade me away... BMW had its chance, I never understood the "Euro first" strategy. But then I'm just another arrogant American. | ||
| Eor |
Been following the F800 forum because my wife is very interested in the ST model...in fact she has all but decided it will be her next bike. She currently rides a 650GS. http://f800riders.org/forum/ It's probably a good thing it was intro'ed in EU first as there have been a couple of problems to sort out...not surprising given that it is a completely new model for them. A vid..... http://previews.thenewsmarket.com/Previews/GBMW/VideoAssets/ASF/GBMW_4161_35228. WMV | ||
| Red_chili |
I remember the F650 when it first came out... The Legendary Motorcycles of Germany were certainly not legendary in the manner BMW would have wished. They got better. | ||
| Galloper |
I never understood the "Euro first" strategy. But then I'm just another arrogant American I never understood the "USA first" strategy of american products. But then I'm just another arrogant European.  My girlfriend tried the 1200GS for size  BMW dealer told us there will be a F800GS coming around April '07 | ||
| Xbimmer |
Right back at me, Galloper!  |
