10,000 miles on a BMW GS Adventure

.... and only one warranty claim so far[1]!

Not bad given that I've only got the bike last July, had a string of
winter bikes and took the train to work for about six weeks during that
time.

Oi likes:
- The seating position, although not the seat, which is not great in
typical BMW bike seat fashion.
- It's fast enough for me, handles well enough for me and brakes
surprisingly well
- Clutch is a lot lighter compared to the older Oilheads
- I like the looks, although it's the "wrong" colour - it's Ewen
McGregor silver and I'd rather would have had a 'bumblebee'.

Oi dislikes:
- Corrosion on a bike that's not even two years old (yes, they all do
that sir) and the finish ain't that great, either. I knew that
beforehand though.
- Nearest dealer is sixty miles away
- The fact that the original owner didn't specify the short first gear
which makes filtering a bit more of a pain in the backside than it
really needed to be. Oh, and the fact that he didn't get the BMW alloy
panniers to go with the alloy topbox
- The lhs pannier is a bloody joke

Would I buy another one? I'm not sure, to be honest. I don't like the
looks of the 1200GS, they don't make the 1150 any more and the lack of
dealers in the South East is a pain in the back (although the bike
mechanic who used to work at L&C in Tunbridge Wells now has his own
shop). Couple that with the fact that the warranty extension has
supposedly more than doubled in price compare to what I was quoted last
year and I'm not so sure.

Nevermind, given the way I pile the miles on I may want to investigate
getting a second commuter bike so the BMW keeps some residual value
over the next couple of years. That said, I'm not so sure what to do
if/when the warranty extension turns out to be as expensive as several
posters on UKGSer have suggested.

If that is the case it may be time to visit the local (as in, in
Ashford) KTM dealer and politely inquire about a testride on an
ABS-equipped 990 Adventure.


[1] Although I shall be visiting the dealer who supplied the bike next
week...

 

Eh? Have you moved to Outer Mongolia or summat? Or is this some
special sort of BMW not supported by normal BMW dealers?

--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
\`\ | /`/ GSX-R1000K3
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2
`\|/`
`

 

I looked at that line and thought "There's one in Maidstone!" because
I spoke to them less than a year ago when arranging a test ride, but
they appear to have vanished.

 

Ace scribbled on the back of a napkin:

No, but the wilds of Kent.

It is, if a normal BMW dealer only looks after the four-wheeled stuff
:-/. Several BMW bike dealers in the South East have closed over the
past few years so my choices as Chelmsford, Croydon or Hertford...

 

Bexley? Park Lane?
--
| ___ Salad Dodger
|/ \
_/_____\_ GL1500SEV/CBR1100XXX/CBX1000Z
|_\_____/_| ..79553../..21469.../..31308.
(>|_|_|<) TPPFATUICG#7 DIAABTCOD#9 WG*
|__|_|__| BOTAFOT #70 BOTAFOF #09 PM#5
\ |^| / IbW#0 & KotIbW# BotTOS#6 GP#4
\|^|/ ANORAK#17 IbB#4 YTC#4 two#11
'^' RBR'06 Points: 75 Miles: 317

 

Indeed

http://www.prestigebmw.co.uk/index.html

 

Paul Corfield scribbled on the back of a napkin:

I assume that you've read their front page carefully, especially the
bit about "the South's newest *used* BMW dealer".

Prestige lost their franchise a couple of months back, which is a bit
neg. While the bike's under warranty I want to get it serviced by a
franchised dealer because I don't want any protracted arguments with
BMW about the quality of servicing in case I need to claim on the
warranty.

 

Bear scribbled on the back of a napkin:

Well, they're not a (franchised) BMW dealer any more. But for some odd
reason, most BMW bike dealers' websites are a tad Electrolux.

Let's just say that I don't have the necessary credit limit to frequent
their workshop.

 

There's a place just sarf of the river where a colleague takes his
Rockster.

Aha. Here 'tis.

Jap & German Motorcycles
102 Druid Street
Southwark
LONDON SE1 2HQ
UK

http://www.japandgerman.co.uk/
--
| ___ Salad Dodger
|/ \
_/_____\_ GL1500SEV/CBR1100XXX/CBX1000Z
|_\_____/_| ..79553../..21469.../..31308.
(>|_|_|<) TPPFATUICG#7 DIAABTCOD#9 WG*
|__|_|__| BOTAFOT #70 BOTAFOF #09 PM#5
\ |^| / IbW#0 & KotIbW# BotTOS#6 GP#4
\|^|/ ANORAK#17 IbB#4 YTC#4 two#11
'^' RBR'06 Points: 75 Miles: 317

 

That'll be why they haven't been pestering me to buy a new 1200GS,
after "testing" one last November, then.
--
| ___ Salad Dodger
|/ \
_/_____\_ GL1500SEV/CBR1100XXX/CBX1000Z
|_\_____/_| ..79553../..21469.../..31308.
(>|_|_|<) TPPFATUICG#7 DIAABTCOD#9 WG*
|__|_|__| BOTAFOT #70 BOTAFOF #09 PM#5
\ |^| / IbW#0 & KotIbW# BotTOS#6 GP#4
\|^|/ ANORAK#17 IbB#4 YTC#4 two#11
'^' RBR'06 Points: 75 Miles: 317

 

SD scribbled on the back of a napkin:

I think you may be onto something here...

 

SD scribbled on the back of a napkin:

Yep, know about them, too. *cough* warranty *cough* non-franchised.

The whole warranty/non-franchised dealer problem is very likely to
disappear soon, either this year or next (depending on the cost of the
extended warranty) at which point these companies are becoming rather
more useful to me again.