it seems to me the 05 models haven't had this issue or the EWS ring antenna issue and I carry a spare ring antenna and a spare fuel pump controller. I"m going to be selling the fuel pump controller seeing that I don't think I'll ever use it!
You know, it's just a damn pathetic statement about the quality of these expensive bikes that there is a high enough demand for these cables for an aftermarket company to be able to manufacture them and sell them on the internet! If I were a BMW exec, I'd have some chief designer's ass roasting over a slow fire over things like this. Those people must have no sense of pride in their products at all. To me this just shows their contempt and total disregard for the loyal customers who ultimately support their worthless asses! --------------------------------------------End of rant-------------------------------------------
I hear ya' buddy. Now we just need someone to make an antenna ring bypass cable and while we're at it a chain drive retrofit kit. I really like the way the bike rides but after two of these bikes I've had my fill of kool-aid. Its just too quirky and over engineered for me, not what an ADV bike should be in my opinion.
Mine failed on my 2008 GS after 3800 miles and a driving rain the prior day. Had to be towed to European Motors near Pittsburgh. They replaced the fuel pump, but couldn't diagnose the real problem which was the controller. Chris, the service manager at Bob's BMW which sold me the bike, helped out in the diagnosis and replacement. He later advised that the problem is a failure in the coating or sealant around the controller circuit board. He also said that none of the replacement boards had failed. There is a fairly inexpensive wiring harness that bypasses the controller if it fails on the road.
Here's some failure stats from UKgser... 2009s are failing too. http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1981465&postcount=187
I heard a rumor that the 2010 sales brochures are gonna be updated to read: "Unstoppable! - unless: they get too wet, too hot, too cold, the FD grenades, the transmission gets stuck in 6th gear or just simply grenades, the clutch wears out, gets oil contamination, is destroyed due to slight movement of left hand guard causing it to slip or if the hub splines strip or the center web cracks and breaks, the transmission input/output shaft splines strip, any or all of the various oil seals fail, the immobilizer ring fails, the fuel pump controller gets wet or the cheap-assed electrolytic capacitor in it gets a little warm and fails, you hit a pothole & blow one or both shocks, the electronic dash fails, the ABS unit fails, the battery fails, the injector bodies get seriously out of sync, the fuel filter gets stopped up, the valves are not perfectly adjusted, you put more than 6000 miles on the rear brakes or any or all of the brake rotors warp, the fuel gage/strip sensor fails, the stick coils fail, the side stand micro switch fails, any or all of the wiring harnesses short out, break, corrode or disintegrate, the motorcycle is otherwise ridden for any length of time, whether on or off-road, without major maintenance and/or repair work performed at a dealership, including their making it run like crap with an unrequested and unwanted software "update", at the standard rate of $100/hr". OK, I'm just being silly, but it DOES have a little ring of truth. Man, I wish the Beemer execs would read this stuff!
Reading all these rants makes me feel soooo much better about selling my over-problematic 2005 model and buying a '94 In 60k Km it had 3 contaminated clutches, replaced 4 rear seals, 2 stick coils and an ABS unit 2 months outside of warranty. Nice riding bike with a great warranty, but a piece of junk IMHO. If i owned another one, i think i would join the Starbucks crowd on weekends
About the electronics ... one of the photos of the controler shown in the attached link revealed one of the components was an electrolytic capacitor. Seeing this was dissapointing. Electrolytic capacitors have lousy thermal properties and inferior resistance to vibration, but are otherwise favoured by $/capacitance (i.e. cheap). In view of BMW's reputation for reliability I'd expected to see a more robust type of capacitor used on my "unstoppable" bike. Shortcut to: http://www.motorcycleinfo.co.uk/index.cfm?fa=contentGeneric.nvxszdkebklxuaer&pageId=428065
Uh oh! NOW you've done it! You've actually said something negative about the reliability and quality of these bikes! Stand by for several disparaging remarks by a few people on this forum who define themselves according to their mechanical posessions and take personally anything negative that's said about them. As for me, I couldn't agree with you more. Also, I used your comment to update my "updated brochure" rant. Thanks, John
Well, it is far too long. In the sense: A list of this kind should be very short. I think it is safe to conclude that the ones who buys a 12GS for the dreams they could make come true with it, far outnumbers the ones who actually make their dreams come true. BMW is not a church, and they have responded to that shift by making a street-only bike. Selling in the tens of thousands! Sad. [TaSK]
I guess I'd have the same rationale if I currently still owned the previous model. Although I do agree with the Long Way Round groupie crowd remark.