Well, you did say........

But... if you'd paid that much for a 'premium brand' bike when plenty of
your friends say "it's shit" one'd probably keep quiet so you don't seem
like a complete fool[1] for buying it in the first place...

[1] 'cos it would make little difference to one's friends' view of one.

 

Thats fair enough, you may be right, you have more experience than me,
but you do only learn through experience. Spouting sarcastic comments
(I dont mean you btw) just makes it look like folk have an axe to
grind. I probably havent ridden anough Jab bikes, as they are usually
too small for me, I must admit, the zed was an awesome bike. The busa
made my back cry in pain, but was a hoot to ride.

I suppose everyone has a viewpoint, but there are a hell of a lot of
BMW's on the road, so they can't be that bad. Mind you, there are a lot
of Minis on the road, but mine went back..

Time will tell.

Whats the general thoughts on the KTM adventure range?


--
'I'll be back......'

Nige

Subaru WRX (54)
Land Rover Discovery II
BMW GS1200 2007
2000 Suzuki GSX1300R Y Hayabusa

 

(The Older Gentleman) wrote in
message

See records of K100s and K75 in other post some time back.

First one I bought had been abused but after I'd replaced the rings (at
80k) it didn't let me down.

I've found the K series to be pretty bullet proof, sure they get some
small issues but more niggles than anything else.

The K75 seems to me just about perfect for my needs.

 

I could have easily said nowt & got it fixed, but, I realised that I
had been warned. Not the end of the world a leaking damper, but not
great either.

--
'I'll be back......'

Nige

Subaru WRX (54)
Land Rover Discovery II
BMW GS1200 2007
2000 Suzuki GSX1300R Y Hayabusa

 

The issue that has been espoused here for a long while is that BMW's
image is of a quality brand exuding reliability and excellence. This was
probably true many years ago but the reality today is that both their
car and bike ranges are made of poorer quality materials and components.
As BMW are pursuing a more volume based strategy the quality of assembly
has also suffered. They may look very nice and prestigious but the
reality of ownership and maintenance / repair is now a long way away
from that carefully crafted image of yore. People tend to buy BMWs for
their image - the reality has yet to hit home hard enough to stop that
happening.

The BMW fans on this group buy old bikes - as their ringing chorus of
*dings* would show. Wessie has regularly put up posts advising that the
1200GS is not worth touching with a bargepole because of reliability and
warranty issues. While I could easily afford to go and buy one tomorrow
I am not going anywhere near a product that is (more likely than not)
going to cause me grief from day one of ownership. Either BMW will fix
the issues in a later upgrade of the current model or else they will
simply take the warranty cost on the chin and not bother to spend money
to permanently rectify design issues. It will be interesting to see
which they decide to do.

 

I think people defend any bike they've bought. It doesn't do to think you
made a poor decisio, particularly when advised against it.

Agreed. A new bike, especially these day shouldn't be giving trouble and
thankfully the Zed hasn't. 13,000 miles and not a drop of oil used, nor a
leak from any other fluid container and it's never missed a beat through
shite all day rain, or sweet all day sun. And it only cost me 5 grand.

I'd definitely have another one.


--
Beav

VN 750
Zed 1000
OMF# 19

 

How's it do that then?


--
Beav

VN 750
Zed 1000
OMF# 19

 

But that experience doesn't have to be your own. You can just as easily
learn from someone's elses cock-up's. It's cheap as **** too.


--
Beav

VN 750
Zed 1000
OMF# 19

 

And even with the airheads, there was the constant need to buy bits.

--
platypus

"Merely corroborative detail, intended to
give artistic verisimilitude to an otherwise
bald and unconvincing narrative."

 

The one we did 4500 miles on in 3 weeks last year was mechanically
faultless. And it got ridden in the sea, torrential rain, gravel
roads, etc.
--
| ___ Salad Dodger
|/ \
_/_____\_ GL1500SEV/CBR1100XXX/CBX1000Z
|_\_____/_| ..88045../..23727.../..31893.
(>|_|_|<) TPPFATUICG#7 DIAABTCOD#9 WG*
|__|_|__| BOTAFOT #70 BOTAFOF #09 PM#5
\ |^| / IbW#0 & KotIbW# BotTOS#6 GP#4
\|^|/ ANORAK#17 IbB#4 YTC#4 two#11
'^' RBR Clues: 00 Pts:0000 Miles:0000

 

Sir wants a nice little GL1800, sir does.
--
| ___ Salad Dodger
|/ \
_/_____\_ GL1500SEV/CBR1100XXX/CBX1000Z
|_\_____/_| ..88045../..23727.../..31893.
(>|_|_|<) TPPFATUICG#7 DIAABTCOD#9 WG*
|__|_|__| BOTAFOT #70 BOTAFOF #09 PM#5
\ |^| / IbW#0 & KotIbW# BotTOS#6 GP#4
\|^|/ ANORAK#17 IbB#4 YTC#4 two#11
'^' RBR Clues: 00 Pts:0000 Miles:0000

 

According to my tame BMW specialist it seems that the main issue with
Ks (apart from the niggles) is the gearbox spline stickiness or wear.
My 1100 is suffering from that to a certain extent and if it doesn't
prove to be self-curing, I'll bite the bullet and get it sorted out.

I liked the 75S I had even though it was a (purple) shed of a winter
bike, I did like the K100RS 16V I had, but both had ergonomics issues
for me that the 1100 due to its different seat doesn't have. For the
job I want it for, it is very good.

 

OK, serious question deserves a serious answer[1]. It is not only the
1200 that is problematic but they seem to have reached new level of
shiteness with the 1200.

The more modern BMWs get, the more problems you seem to get with the
electronics - the servo brakes and their clever circuitry[2] being one
example that I've got personal experience with. The 1200 certainly
seems to have their share of problems, the 1150 I had was OK except for
the brake system (and the dealer, but that's a different story).

As it has been mentioned in other posts, the perceived quality
"advantage" of BMWs simply isn't there anymore. The finish went cheap
somewhere around 1990-ish and some of the more recent technology
improvements were beta-tested by the customers. Couple that with the
fact that a lot of BMW riders cover high mileages and the bikes seem to
be more designed for the fashion victim brigade and you've got a recipe
for disgruntled customers.

[1] You're a bit new to UKRM, aren't you? Otherwise you probably
would've noticed that I'm one of the resident BMW-heads...
[2] Like the one that turns off the rear brake servo if the brake light
bulb's blown.

 

Do all of the wheels face forwards?

 

You've hit the nail on the head. And guess who makes Minis?

Look, BMW's quality control and build has taken an appalling dive in the
last few years. Dunno why - my suspicion is that they've been
preoccupied with getting a new and comprehensive range of bikes onto the
market, in very short order, and development and QC have taken a back
seat while they've done it.

There are parallels here with Honda in the early 1980s.

BMW had a superb reputation for reliability and quality with the old
airhead boxers. They managed to sustain that with the Ks.

But now? They've rushed into very complex electronics, CAN-bus wiring
and other things and I just don't think they've been fully tested.

Add to that cheaper components (like your suspension) in order to make
the bikes more competitive against Jap competition (which they are), and
you have a recipe for disaster.

I think it could take a decade before they get back their old reputation
for quality.

 

The Older Gentleman wibbled:

Looks like the bean counters have been at work againc- same issues at
Mercedes.

 

Similar results, perhaps, but for different reasons.

--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
\`\ | /`/ GSX-R1000K3 (slightly broken, currently missing)
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2, IBB#10
`\|/`
`

 

CAN, to me, seems a ludicrous overcomplication on a motorcycle. It's
main purpose might be to prevent you using non OEM accessories!

 

I am new indeed, i do love the bike, went to work on it today & nipped
in the dealers, the bloke was German & he looked at it & to be honest he
has never seen one before. I know he wasn't lying as he didn't know I
was there as they discussed it & the fact there had never been a case in
that dealer. Hopefully it will be an isolated case. Will be swapped in
30 minutes on Saturday morning.

Got talking to another bloke who was in for service, he had done 43k on
his & had no issues whatsoever. I hope mine continues like his did.

Cheers for the info, glad i didnt get servo brakes then.

 

For it to continues like his, first it's got to begin like his and so far
it's not.


--
Beav

VN 750
Zed 1000
OMF# 19