2012 BMW R 1200 Gs

I WAS TRAVELLING SAFELY IN THE MIDDLE LANE AT SPEED LIMIT IN HEAVY INTERSTATE TRAFFIC. I CHANGED LANES INTO THE FAST LANE UNDER SLIGHT ACCELERATION AND THE ENGINE LOST POWER COMPLETELY. I COULD NOT RESTART THE BIKE AND SO TRIED TO GET INTO THE SLOW LANE AS THERE WAS NO ROOM ON THE INSIDE SHOULDER. IN TRYING TO MOVE SAFTELY TO THE SHOULDER I WAS NEARLY STRUCK BY THREE DIFFERENT VEHICLES, ONE SEMI TRAILER AND TWO PASSENGER CARS THAT WERE TRAVELLING AT NEARLY TWICE MY RATE OF SPEED DUE TO MY LOSS OF POWER. AFTER PULLING TO THE SIDE, I STRAINED MYSELF TRYING TO COME TO A SAFE STOP PRIOR TO THE ENTRANCE TO A HIGHWAY EXIT LANE, WORRIED THAT I MAY BE STRUCK. I CALLED THE DEALER FOR THE VEHICLE AND WITH MINIMAL TROUBLESHOOTING IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE FUEL STRIP (GAUGE) FOR THE FUEL LEVEL HAD FAILED AND WAS FALSELY DISPLAYING A 185 MILE RANGE. IN FACT THE TANK WAS EMPTY. THIS GAUGE HAD ALREADY BEEN REPLACED FOR BEING FAULTY BY THE DEALER AND THEY SAW THIS IN THEIR RECORDS WHICH IMMEDIATELY LED THEM TO THE FAILURE. THIS IS A KNOWN FAILURE AMOUNG MANY BMW ENTHUSIASTS ON SEVERAL BMW MOTORCYLE MODELS. BMW CLAIMS THERE AR ENOT EMOUGH COMPLAINTS TO WARRANT A RECALL. I WOULD BE HAPPY TO SUPPLY A LARGE NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS IN HARD COPY TO COUNTER THEIR MISCONCEPTION AND OR LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY. THIS IS SIMILAR TO RECALLS ON VEHICLES WITH DEFECTIVE CAMSHAFT SENSORS CAUSING ENGINE POWER FAIL AND SHOULD BE VALUED AS THE SAME ON A TWO WHEELED VEHICLE WITH FAR LESS PROTECTION IN SUCH INSTANCES. UPON INQUIRY BMW MOTTORAD HAS MADE NO EFFORT IN RESPONDING TO ANY PROGRESS THEY HAVE MADE IN RECTIFYING THE ISSUE OTHER THAN QUIETLY ACKNOWLEDING IT BY GOING BACK TO MECHANICAL FUEL GAUGES WITH NEARLY NIL FAILURE RATES. DO WE HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL SOMEONE DIES OR WILL THE NHTSA TAKE ACTION ? I HOPE IT IS NOT ONE OF YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS!

BRAKING STARTED TO FEEL SOFT AND SLOW, I NOTICED THAT FLUID HAD STARTED TO LEAK FROM FINAL DRIVE AREA. TOOK TO DEALER (RIDE WEST BMW, SEATTLE), FOR WARRANTY REPAIR. DEALER VERIFIED FINAL DRIVE FAILURE.TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE, THESE WERE THE REPLACED ITEMS: CROWN BEARINGS, SEALING O-RING, SUPPORT RING, OUTER-AXLE SUPPORT BEARING, HOUSING COVER SEAL, AXLE SEALING RING, CIRCLIP, BRAKE PADS. *TR

BMW MOTORRAD USA CUSTOMER RELATIONS AND SERVICES PO BOX 1227 WESTWOOD, NJ 07675-1227 DEAR SIR: I HAVE RECENTLY HAD A VERY SERIOUS ISSUE WITH MY NEW 2012 R1200GS ADVENTURE. I BROUGHT MY MOTORCYCLE TO MY DEALER FOR THE 600 MILE BREAK-IN SERVICE AND MENTIONED TO SERVICE MANAGER THAT I HAVE BEEN FEELING A WOBBLE THROUGH THE HANDLEBARS WHEN CORNERING AND WHEN DRIVING OVER UNEVEN PAVEMENT. WHEN I ARRIVED TO PICK UP THE MOTORCYCLE THE DEALER WAS HAPPY TO REPORT THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO FIX THE WOBBLE. IT WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE LEFT FORWARD SUSPENSION NEEDLE BEARING IN THE FINAL DRIVE UNIT. I ASKED IF IT WAS UNUSUAL FOR A BEARING TO FAIL SO QUICKLY. IMAGINE MY SURPRISE WHEN THEY INFORMED ME THAT THE BEARING WAS NOT EVEN INSTALLED AT THE FACTORY, IT WAS MISSING FROM THE FINAL DRIVE UNIT! THE ENTIRE LEFT SIDE WAS BEING SUPPORTED ONLY BY THE BEARING DUST CAP! THIS WAS CAUSING THE REAR WHEEL TO MOVE SIDE TO SIDE CAUSING THE INSTABILITY. MY DEALER, ADVENTURE BMW OF CHESAPEAKE VIRGINIA, DID A GREAT AND PROFESSIONAL JOB OF QUICKLY FINDING THE PROBLEM AND REPLACED THE ENTIRE FINAL DRIVE UNIT UNDER WARRANTY SINCE THE BEARING SURFACE WAS SEVERELY SCORED AND WOULD NOT ACCEPT THE MISSING NEEDLE BEARING. I ALSO CREDIT ADVENTURE BMW FOR THEIR EFFORTS AND WITH DIRECTLY PREVENTING A POSSIBLY LIFE THREATENING ACCIDENT IF THE BEARING DUST CAP HAD FAILED WHILE RIDING. I HAVE BEEN RIDING MOTORCYCLES SINCE 1974 WITH THE LAST 15 YEARS ON BMWS. I HAVE PUT OVER 100,000 MILES ON MY LAST 3 BMWS AND I AM AN EVERYDAY RIDER USING THE BMWS AS THE PRIMARY VEHICLE FOR MY TRANSPORTATION. I HAD CHOSEN BMW FOR THEIR QUALITY AND RELIABILITY BUT I AM NOW QUESTIONING MY DECISION AND YOUR MANUFACTURING QUALITY CONTROLS AND WONDER EVERY TIME I RIDE WHAT ELSE IS MISSING ON THE MOTORCYCLE, MAYBE ONE OF THE PISTON RINGS OR A CIRCLIP RETAINER IN THE TRANSMISSION.