Dead again.

JaimeC

New member
The Charter Oak Rally WOULD'VE been a great time if not for that ******* scooter dying YET AGAIN. Arrived on Friday, checked in and set up my tent. Then my friend and I took a ride to the Vanilla Bean for lunch. After lunch, we tanked up and headed back to the rally site. JUST as I pulled past the gate, the scooter started to sputter and die, as if it ran out of gas.

We checked all the OBVIOUS things (yes, I did put gasoline, NOT diesel into the tank, the fuses were all intact, we could hear the fuel pump pressurizing the lines when we turned the ignition key). Saturday morning we tried a "Hail Mary" by disconnecting the battery, letting it sit for 15 minutes, then reconnecting it (in essence, "rebooting" the computer). Nothing.

The scooter is now at Max's BMW in South Windsor, CT. In five years, that damned thing has left me stranded and had to be towed more often than my 1999 K1200LT... a bike I've had for 19 years and logged over 213,000 miles!! I swear to Christ, if the issue turns out to be something OTHER than bad fuel, I am trading it in on a Suzuki Burgman so fast it'll make your head swim. I am SICK of this shit. I don't want to have to worry about whether or not I'll make it home from a trip or not. WTF happened to BMW??? Now I understand WHY they are at the BOTTOM of Consumer Reports' "Reliability Rankings." For what they charge for their products, I expect better. :mad::mad:
 

Skutorr

Active member
I am trading it in on a Suzuki Burgman so fast it'll make your head swim. I am SICK of this shit. WTF happened to BMW??? :mad::mad:

Trade it in on a Honda NC750 DCT with a set of SHAD panniers! My brother just ordered one...:rolleyes:
 

Chiro

Member
The Charter Oak Rally WOULD'VE been a great time if not for that ******* scooter dying YET AGAIN. Arrived on Friday, checked in and set up my tent. Then my friend and I took a ride to the Vanilla Bean for lunch. After lunch, we tanked up and headed back to the rally site. JUST as I pulled past the gate, the scooter started to sputter and die, as if it ran out of gas.

We checked all the OBVIOUS things (yes, I did put gasoline, NOT diesel into the tank, the fuses were all intact, we could hear the fuel pump pressurizing the lines when we turned the ignition key). Saturday morning we tried a "Hail Mary" by disconnecting the battery, letting it sit for 15 minutes, then reconnecting it (in essence, "rebooting" the computer). Nothing.

The scooter is now at Max's BMW in South Windsor, CT. In five years, that damned thing has left me stranded and had to be towed more often than my 1999 K1200LT... a bike I've had for 19 years and logged over 213,000 miles!! I swear to Christ, if the issue turns out to be something OTHER than bad fuel, I am trading it in on a Suzuki Burgman so fast it'll make your head swim. I am SICK of this shit. I don't want to have to worry about whether or not I'll make it home from a trip or not. WTF happened to BMW??? Now I understand WHY they are at the BOTTOM of Consumer Reports' "Reliability Rankings." For what they charge for their products, I expect better. :mad::mad:

I'm very sorry to here that brother jaime!
 
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wsteele

New member
You have had a lot of problems with your bike,I had mybike cut out when I first got it (2013) I have used startron in all my bikes and not have had any problems with it cutting out since. I would suggest you look for a bad ground if it isn’t a fuel problem, it sort of mimics a fuel problem. Good luck
 

grey.hound

New member
That sucks Jaime. You've been a big proponent of the bike and BMW in general, but you've had your share of problems with it.
 

JaimeC

New member
I was told the shop was backed up about two weeks, so I wasn't going to start calling about it until after I got back from the Americade. I'm finally getting my Zero back today, too (that has been down since March due to lack of response from Zero. I got fed up waiting and called their customer support line to start screaming. Five minutes later my dealer called to tell me that Zero FINALLY called them back and they were diagnosing the issue. Ten minutes after that they let me know the bike was done and working just fine. If I had known all I had to do was scream at the factory, I would've done it WEEKS ago).

So I'll have two of my three bikes back in the garage. Be nice when all three are back.
 

JaimeC

New member
It has been two weeks to the day since the scooter was delivered to Max's in South Windsor, CT. I was advised when the scooter was picked up that they were about two weeks behind, so today is the day I start inquiring about it. I'll keep everyone posted. I did manage 1,000 trouble free miles on the K1200LT last week for Americade and the Zero has been running just fine for day-to-day riding.

Update: Apparently, the scooter was relocated to the Brookfield location as they were too busy in South Windsor. I called Brookfield, but all they could confirm was that they had the bike in their shop. Expecting a call from their service manager later.
 
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JaimeC

New member
They never called back (I'm thinking that's SOP for any motorcycle dealership these days) so I just called them. No new news... :(
 

JaimeC

New member
Just got the call back. The service manager said it's on the lift now, but he doesn't like a sound he's hearing from the engine. It's looking more and more like there's a Burgman in my future... I am TIRED of this shit!!
 

wsteele

New member
There is nothing worse than waiting for the shop to call you to let you know what is up with your bike and they don’t call, I have a Honda ctx 700 with the dual clutch 6 speed; I have 23000 plus miles on it with no problems just changing tires,oil etc. changing the air filter is ridiculous but aside from that the bike has had no problems. This mite be the bike to check out for replacement of the BMW. P S I have not had any problems with my C650 gt hope it stays that way good luck with what ever you get.
 

JaimeC

New member
The Burman might break too you never know!

Everything "might" break, but based on the Consumer Reports reliability rankings of the past several years, BMWs are far more likely to break than anything else but Can Am.
 

TwoPort

Member
Just got the call back. The service manager said it's on the lift now, but he doesn't like a sound he's hearing from the engine. It's looking more and more like there's a Burgman in my future... I am TIRED of this shit!!

If I remember right - its past warranty so that might be a significant problem. Very sorry to hear about this.
 

JaimeC

New member
I was talking to another disgruntled former BMW owner earlier this year. He told me BMW builds their bikes to last as long as the warranty holds and not much more. Their goal is to SELL new bikes, not to keep existing ones running. Their strong sales numbers seems to imply the strategy is working, but I originally bought my first BMW because I DIDN'T want to keep replacing the bike every few years. I think my K1200LT may be the last bike BMW built with longevity in mind.

My Zero is working out just fine as an Urban commuter so maybe instead of another "shift-less" scooter I might just go for the new Yamaha YZF-R3. Relatively inexpensive, not a whole lot of "new-fangled" technology, and right now Yamaha rates HIGHEST on the Consumer Reports reliability rankings. I test rode one two years ago when they first came out and had a ball on it.

Just a damned shame they aren't importing the updated TMAX. Not only does it have more storage than previous models, it has actual, honest-to-God electronic cruise control!
 

spacepuppy

New member
I don't think it's only BMW building to JUST get to the warranty end. My '16 Mercedes hasn't impressed me with it's quality either. "The Best or Nothing' my ass.
 
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