2014 R1200RT Report

[sonny]

BMW has the lowest customer satisfaction rate of all the motorcycle brands out there. Most police departments rode Harley's, so granted the BMW"s would seem like a good deal.

 

[Claviger]

I'm suprised to hear of all the BMW issues. All the local guys around here with S1000RRs I've spoken to had nothing bad to say, GTO bikes.

Maybe the difference in buying their Halo product vs mid-range bikes?

 

[sonny]

A lot of the Problems are with the 1600 sport and touring model. Most of the problems stem from all the high tech gadgets. Also transmission problems.

 

[IMFASTTOO]

A lot of the Problems are with the 1600 sport and touring model. Most of the problems stem from all the high tech gadgets. Also transmission problems.

YES they are a pain in the ass nothing but problems ask them what they charge to lube the drive train every 10,000 miles

 

[IMFASTTOO]

BMW has the lowest customer satisfaction rate of all the motorcycle brands out there. Most police departments rode Harley's, so granted the BMW"s would seem like a good deal.

THE BMWs are plagued with drive line failure and always had problems you would think they would get right after all these years making shaft drive bikes all I can say is they SUCK

 

[cr0ft]

BMW's do tend to have gigantic amounts of electronics and other farkles. The one report about bike failures I saw (where they counted every issue no matter how small that owners wanted addressed as a failure) had 29% of all failures be electrical, and the next largest statistic was 19% which was for accessories. So no wonder BMW ranked below the Japanese bikes, I'd say.

 

[Claviger]

I could see that contributing to the issues, and isn't the 1600 a fairly new 6 cylinder motor?

Just curious as the K1200/1300 series got glowing reviews from long term testers as far as I saw. Always wondered why the police went with the R1200RT here instead of a K1300S with the luggage, it's a much more capable bike in all regards.

 

[daytonageo]

Most sizable PDs here have their own, factory-trained BMW "technicians, so, yes, as opposed to the poor civilian owners who are subjected to the highest recall rate of any motorcycle line outt there and to the usurious cost of BMW dealer servicing, the police actually come out ahead of the game, geo.

Really? They do have mechanics on site? Name one PD in your area that has a 'factory trained' BMW technician on site. Give me his name so I can speak with him personally. You seem to be assuming quite a bit, because I work for the Daytona PD and know about every PD motors department in the area including Orlando, and NONE of them have any technicians at all. Daytona Beach went to Victory because the maintenance was thrown in on a sweet deal or they would still have Harleys. BMW's are an oddity. And I will say this again, BMW's are not cheap in any way, shape or form, to buy, maintain, or fix. So no, the PD motors departments do not 'come out ahead of the game' with a BMW. That is why so few have them.

 

[tdragger]

Really? They do have mechanics on site? Name one PD in your area that has a 'factory trained' BMW technician on site. Give me his name so I can speak with him personally. You seem to be assuming quite a bit, because I work for the Daytona PD and know about every PD motors department in the area including Orlando, and NONE of them have any technicians at all. Daytona Beach went to Victory because the maintenance was thrown in on a sweet deal or they would still have Harleys. BMW's are an oddity. And I will say this again, BMW's are not cheap in any way, shape or form, to buy, maintain, or fix. So no, the PD motors departments do not 'come out ahead of the game' with a BMW. That is why so few have them.

Not prop'n up BMW PD use but you asked who is using them: Motors | Austin Police Department | AustinTexas.gov - The Official Website of the City of Austin

I would believe that they have their own cert mechanic on staff. But, of course, Austin has always been on the 'hipp' side of things so in their mind German must be better.

 

[Boog]

I still have this one and am liking it more each day. Still the weight on my hands is a bother. Thanks for that tidbit of info @tdragger, I have no plans to change over to any of the Sport/Touring bikes, but it is nice to know.

As for police bikes, one of my Rescue Swimmer buddies is a motor cop in Albuquerque and they have been on BMWs for a long time. His personal bike is an R1200RT as well. He says he has never had a problem with his.

I am missing Brahma though, I hope they have him figured out today...