2009 BMW R1200 Gs

REFER TO ODI NO. 10439549/CAMPAIGN DP12001. DRIVING AT FREEWAY SPEEDS AND MOTORCYCLE REAR TIRE BEGAN TO DRIFT UNEXPECTEDLY AND MOVE SIDEWAYS. PULLED OVER EXIT AND FOUND FINAL DRIVE (DIFFERENTIAL), BRAKE AND REAR TIRE COVERED IN OIL. DISASSEMBLY REVEALED FAILED BALL BEARING (CAGE HAD DISINTEGRATED) IN FINAL DRIVE ASSEMBLY. MOTORCYCLE HAS BEEN MAINTAINED PER MANUFACTURERS SPECIFICATIONS. *TR

THE FUEL GAUGE STOPPED WORKING AND THERE WAS A YELLOW WARNING LIGHT APPEARED ON THE DISPLAY. PRIOR TO THE OUTRIGHT FAILURE, THE GAUGE HAD OCCASIONALLY SHOWN A FALSE VALUE, SHOWING TOO MUCH FUEL FOR THE MILES COVERED, AND THEN SUDDENLY IT WOULD DROP TO THE CORRECT VALUE, INDICATING ALMOST ZERO FUEL LEFT. THE GAUGE NOW SHOWS NO FUEL LEVEL AT ALL CONSTANTLY. THE MOTORCYCLE WAS JUST OUT OF WARRANTY WHEN THIS OCCURRED. WHEN YOU PURCHASE A NEARLY $20K MOTORCYCLE, YOU EXPECT SIMPLE THINGS LIKE A FUEL GAUGE SENSOR TO WORK RELIABLY. BMW HAS FAILED TREMENDOUSLY IN THIS RESPECT. *TR

WHILE OPERATING THE MOTORCYCLE AT APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH IT SUDDENLY STOPPED RUNNING. AFTER COASTING TO A STOP I OBSERVED FUEL STEADILY LEAKING FROM THE FUEL PUMP, DOWN THE FRONT OF THE ENGINE AND ONTO THE HOT EXHAUST. I HAD TO LEAN THE BIKE AGAINST A FENCE POST IN ORDER TO GET FUEL TO FLOW AWAY FROM HOT EXHAUST AND PREVENT FIRE. UPON LATER EXAMINATION I FOUND THAT THE FUEL WAS LEAKING FROM MULTIPLE SMALL CRACKS IN A FLANGE LOCATED AT THE TOP TO THE FUEL PUMP AND WHERE THE FUEL LINE IS ATTACHED. THE PLASTIC FLANGE APPEARS TO HAVE FAILED LEADING TO THE LEAK. *TR

BMW MOTORCYCLES FUEL GAUGE WITH "ELECTRONIC FUEL STRIP" FAIL RESULTING IN SAME CONDITION AS THEIR CAR RECALL SHOWN BELOW! DANGEROUS CONDITION RESULTS. (POST 2010 MODELS CHANGED TO FLOAT TYPE SYSTEM). SUMMARY: BMW IS RECALLING CERTAIN 2010 AND 2011 5-SERIES AND 5-SERIES GRAN TURISMO PASSENGER VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM JANUARY 12 THROUGH JULY 1, 2010. THE VEHICLE'S FUEL LEVEL SENSOR WITHIN THE FUEL TANK CAN BECOME WEDGED AGAINST THE TANK. CONSEQUENCE: IF THIS OCCURS, THE FUEL GAUGE IN THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER WOULD DISPLAY A LARGER AMOUNT OF FUEL THAN WAS ACTUALLY IN THE TANK. AS A RESULT, IF THE TANK BECAME EMPTY, THE VEHICLE COULD STALL INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH. *TR

AT THE INDICATED TIME, I NOTICED ROUGHNESS WHILE DRIVING. I STOPPED, EXAMINED THE DRIVETRAIN, AND FOUND ROUGHNESS WHEN TURNING THE REAR WHEEL BY HAND. I DRAINED THE DRIVETRAIN OIL AND FOUND METALLIC PARTICLES THE TEXTURE OF COARSE SAND ADHERING TO THE MAGNETIC DRAIN PLUG. THE LOCAL AUTHORIZED BMW DEALER EXAMINED THE MOTORCYCLE AND FOUND THAT A BEARING IN THE FINAL DRIVE HAD FAILED. BMW REPLACED THE BEARING AT NO COST UNDER WARRANTY. THIS IS THE SAME FAILURE AS DESCRIBED IN ODI NO. 10439549, AND CURRENTLY BEING INVESTIGATED UNDER CAMPAIGN DP12001. *KB