All my motorcycle use is European touring, I’ve been passionate about BMW Motorcycles since the 70’s and have supported them throughout . However after a decade of problems, breakdowns, continuous issues. I sold all my BMW Motorcycles 3 years ago and bought a new Honda Goldwing. Best move I’ve ever made. I won’t ever go back to BMW, life is too short.
This summer I did a 3 month 12,000 mile tour of Europe and Scandinavia on a 4 year old Honda CB500x. Zero problems. In 30 plus years of touring Europe I’ve only broken down once. In 2015, broken gearbox, yup, a BMW.
Same thing happened to me in France a month ago with my brand new KTM. They tried to fix it but could not so KTM recovery shipped it home the next day. I got a taxi to Brussels Airport and flew back, picked up my other bike and went down to rejoin the tour. Created a list of golden rules for European touring : 1. before you go really go through the recovery protocols that you have for your bike and keep all numbers handy and learn how to give the co-ordinates of the location of your breakdown. 2. try to keep Saturday and Sunday for local tours around your weekend base. Do not plan on big progressive miles on these days and increasingly on Mondays as well. There is little support mechanism on weekends for recovery , mechanical assistance and car hire. 3. if you have a new bike with loads of electronic aids do not expect a provincial garage to be able to help you. 4. tour on your own and turn it into an adventure or pay the extra and tour with a professional outfit who have a following van or trailer to get you out of trouble.
Similar problem last year in Los Picos, Spain, with a Triumph 1200 GT Explorer. Repeated dash warning 'do not ride, take to main dealer immediately'. The bike would not start. Then it would be OK, but then same issue. Eventually stopped completely, and I walked it 3km to a bar/restaurant - no phone signal. Excellent recovery service took me and bike to local town, then taxi took me to Santander where I had a hotel room and a ferry booked the following day. I returned to England, and a Taxi was awaiting me at Portsmouth which took me to Canterbury [home]. The bike was repatriated in 5 days to Ashford Triumph, and a minor electrical issue was dealt with and I collected it 8 days after the breakdown. Very impressed.
Was thinking of a 1300GS… watched several videos that suggest poor quality issues.. then this video appeared in my feed. I think I’ll pass: I tour extensively and demand 100% confidence in a bike.
I went to Austria this September on my 2017 GSA and rode through Storm Boris. 200 miles of torrential rain with snow mixed in and the bike worked flawlessly. Like any vehicle, you can get good ones and less reliable ones.
Amazing your video came up as a suggestion today. I had exactly the same issue first week of September on my Euro Tour at a hotel in Luxembourg. Day before had travelled over from Calais in absolutely biblical rain on cross country roads. This was an early Saturday morning. Flatbed came out. Couldn’t do a thing. Came back 2 hours later and got recovered to a Motorrad dealer 70k away. Half a day gone and as they took the bike off the flatbed and tried to start it, it fired up. No explanation other than the bikes ECU can completely shut down and auto reboots after a period and had obviously reset itself. I carried on my trip losing that day but touring for another 7 days through Germany, Austria, Dolomites, Switzerland and France and home. No issues again at all. Dealer had advised my that you can reset the ECU by disconnecting the battery terminals and touching them together. Didn’t need to though. Thank god I didn’t need to stay or get recovered home. Since the trip it’s been serviced and had the latest software update which I believe has this as one of the fixes. But so far not a squeak wrong….feel for you 🙁 I would say that BMW UK who I actually dealt with directly when I called. And I made sure in my initial call to check that absolutely no cost would be down to me. Now I never had to put it into action but I was assured and accommodation or travel, regardless of how, fly, car or train etc…would be covered
I had a R1200gs, my dealer was very helpful when the valve gear was slipping ( a pin on the cog gear or something? done under warranty), but on a later break down BMW were not so helpful, the last BMW every to enter my garage (if I had one) now own a Moto Guzzi v7 far more charm and curator, more fun to ride & best of all no bloody fancy electrics the modern Bemmer's have. Yes my prob was not with electrics, but they are taking away what I ride for!! which somehow designers/manufactures think we need more to go wrong. I don't need keyless either
I am sorry to hear about your plight with BMW. I really wanted an R1250RT, but when i researched the bike,i came across far too many stories of them braking down.Not things like headlight bulbs etc,but major component failiures.I opted for the Honda NT 1100 DCT,and its be faultless.It is also considerably cheaper than the BMW i wanted. Honda provide roadside assist for the first three years,home and abroad. I go to spain tommorow 23rd of October,and im pretty sure the Honda will take me down to gibraltar without any issues.I also have my own breakdown recovery,and i am sure Honda would provide better roadside assistance than BMW. I hope you get things sorted with BMW, but you must be thinking about taking your bike away in the future after what happened on your trip.Best of luck
Does not surprise me at all, in fact I’m surprised that things were not to bad in Spain. I would say this , no matter where you break down in n Europe you will pull your hair out with the service you get. Best thing is have a mate with a van on standby in the uk to come and get you, these so called recovery services are pathetic they take your money and forget about you 😢
I'm Portuguese, and listening to all this, I have to say the bike chose the worst part of Portugal and one of the worst two days to break down. WE ARE NOT all like this, I promise.
I completely agree with you, in general I couldn't have come across a nicer, more helpful set of people than we dealt with in Portugal for most of our trip (including those we actually dealt with face to face for this breakdown). I think our issues were very much down to a combination of where we broke down, the fact we broke down on a weekend and (very much due to) the particular agents Allianz use in Portugal. Its not meant to come across as a dig at the Portuguese people as a whole at all. If this doesn't come across in the video, appologies...its not meant as a moan about the Portugese nation at all!
I think your Portuguese audience will understand. But it's still a shame what happened. Allianz, through BMW, treated this as a normal "car problem" and sent an ordinary tow truck as if "your car had a flat tire." It's just so stupid. Too bad not more people watch this video, regardless of nationality. Big brands charge enormous amounts of money these days, and you no longer get what you paid for. No wonder sales of bikes over 500cc are down while those under 500cc are up in the UK, as far as I know. Anyway, I hope you return soon.
Its not Portugal's fault that BMW cannot build a proper motorcycle (won't break down). I drove the full coast of Portugal two up back in Sept 1986 on an old then BMW R100 to get back home to Ireland and it never missed a beat. Drank a bit of oil though but then, it did not like being driven that hard. It was a poor country with small roads but lovely country and people.
I have used Carol Nash for many years as they offered the breakdown and accident and repatriation as part of the cover. On renewal and reading the small print repatriation and accident are not covered but the extra premium remains the same. Needless to say I've gone with another provider for the insurance and will arrange separate cover for breakdown etc when I go abroad next year.
Thanks for you comment, couldn’t agree more. After this experience I spent ages reading through my cover and found a similar issue with repatriation after an accident. However I found that my bike insurance itself would either repair or repatriate the bike for repair if it was in the EU…whatever you find, reading the small print is a definitely must for this type of service!
So I have the Scorpion/Datatool Tracker (assume this is the same) and for the R1300GS it needs a "wiring loom extension" which more or less makes it plug and play which I'm not overly happy about as its not as well hidden as it should be. Mine has been awful and often doesn't notify me if it's moving, Scorpion haven't been a great help. RHS switchgear has been a common issue with non starting bikes. Thankfully despite the problems I've had with mine so far a dead bike hasnt been one of them, but I probably shouldn't tempt fate! Hope it all gets sorted out soon!
Its probably the same tracker. It hasn't been to bad for us, or at least it wasn't too bad until it wran out of bettery power, which suggests it is in someways relaint on the ignition being on even if the battery is fully charged.
Good luck with the complaint to BMW, I submitted one about a new car I bought.... BMW customer service have been shocking! so I have gone to the Motoring Ombudsman (who are also shocking! - a six month wait for my compliant to be looked at!)
I’m on my second BMW but won’t be buying another for next season …. The thing one needs to remember with BMW is the dash will start flashing exactly one year after its last service ( very annoying ) in my case serviced last October at 7200 miles ( it’s 4th service in that time !!) and this year only 8500 miles or 1300 miles later BMW demands I return to a dealer for another service 🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️ so it will be bye bye BMW RS in the new year and another make will be chosen
Not good! Not a fan of the limited back up systems for this….why no manual steering unlock/bike start? We all have a physical key after all…. I know the answer is cost 😒
Same here. The gas cap wouldn’t open several times while traveling. Had to open with tools. They replaced it and it seemed to be working but then I totaled the bike.
I also had a breakdown on my in France and was able to ride home the Hertfordshire it had to have a new rear shock this in addition to the starter relay and software updates Great information on your video I don't understand why one of the biggest car/motorcycle manufacturers in the world can not supply a bike or car directly from one of their own dealers and it should be a truly 365/24 /7 service BMW need to bring this in House Will be interested to know what the problem is and hope you get full compensation and an apology from BMW
There have been a few bits, I don't mind the recalls, had the starter relay/software update done shortly before we left too (plus my R1200RT LC has had a few recalls too)..at least if they are doing recalls they are paying attention to what is going on with thier bikes. But it does suggest they are releasing to market without full testing andf the breakdowns are not acceptable.
My 22 Tiger broke down in Venice in August, 4 days after a 20,000 mile service. I had International Breakdown, Recovery, and Repatriation. First and last thing to accept is the holiday is over. Once physical possession of the bike has been passed to the Insurers Representatives head to the airport and fly home. Track the recovery from home. It took about two weeks. All receipted expenses have been repaid to me. QED.
Whilst on a French riding holiday, a friend on a 2 week old BMW, suffered a rear puncture. BMW arranged for the bike to be collected and taken to the nearest dealer. We arrived there about 4 hours after the initial call. So far so good - except the dealer refused to look at the bike. The workshop was fully booked apparently. There were some heated telephone exchanges but they would not so much as even look at the bike. To cut a long story short we googled a motorbike tyre shop in the same town and limped the bike there. BMW assist is a very flawed system - hope your story has a happy ending
Interesting read and thanks for the comment….amazed they’d insist on a BMW dealer for a flat. For us the bike is now repaired and we should shoot part 2 this weekend
your lucky seemingly a dealer must now change the tyre are if the wheels comes off it needs to be reprogrammed and wheel have a habit of cracking when over tightened
We broke down in the Pyrenees last year on my GSA. Stuck in a remote area. BMW Roadside Assistance was absolutely terrible. After 4 hrs of waiting still no help arrived. Finally managed to get a local to help. But after 2 hrs managed to get to the final destination. Discovered that the Battery had died. Which we managed to get a new one from Pau BMW. But like you said they really don’t have the network they claim. This year we too went to Portugal and Spain so we decided to take out better recovery with Start Rescue. Wouldn’t call BMW assistance ever again. It’s so disappointing considering they are a premium Brand.
You would not be taking a new BMW across Mongolia or Australia's outback today. The last really reliable GS was the 1150. Everything was made in Germany back then and you had repairable electronics. Even so, I have a mate who tells me that dealers only carry minimal stock these days. I have owned three BMWs and the first two were air heads. They were great. Bulletproof. But today, you need Honda reliability for extended touring.
Didn’t know they ever did for them as standard, but they don’t offer a tracker as standard on the GS now, the dealer just arranges a 3rd party to fit it.
They’d still subcontract…I guess it depends on who too. From the point of view of not getting to a dealer at the weekend, it def would be the same, but the disorganisation after that, who knows….
Sorry to say that, despite the price, BMW don't make consistently reliable bikes any more. 15 of us got caught in France during huge rain on the A26, the only breakdown was a BMW, the only BMW. For a happy motorcycling life you should consider defecting to another brand.
That’s very worrying. I need to check my own documents as you advise. Motorrad changed their recommended insurers early this year, it’s all a cause for concern.
@@whojamaflip1 charged bike insurance from Devitts to a new insurer. Don’t know details of the replacement. Called my local Motorrad dealer to find out, was told they went into Administration yesterday!
@@whojamaflip1 No, not part of that group of dealers. Pidcock’s have BMW, Triumph and Ducati. It seems the BMW dealer was very successful and effectively financed the other less successful parts of the business.
@@whojamaflip1 steering locks are a false sense of security anyway. They snap like twigs and cause more trouble than theyre worth. Unless your insurance specifies that you must use it, I'd recommend you don't. I'm surprised manufacturers still put them on new bikes.
Very interesting. I learned a lot from this very informative presentation. A couple of (probably unwelcome) questions. 1. Why pay a taxi driver at all if s/he refuses to provide a receipt? 2. Why not rent a van/pickup yourself, bung the bike in the back and drive it home? I guess that once you're tangled up in the vain hope that recovery companies will actually do what they claim to do, it takes a while before the actuality dawns. AA? RAC? You jest!
Thanks for the comment and all questions are welcome! Re not paying the taxi driver, certainly for the ones in Spain /Portugal I wouldn’t rate my chances of explaining to the local police why I refused to pay and getting away with it 😂 As to recovering it ourselves, if we let BMW do it they foot the bill plus if any damage is done to the bike in the process it’s up to them to sort it out. I wouldn’t trust my self to load 240kg/£25k of bike into a van! 😳 Also, not sure how easy it would be to get a van which you could leave in a different country to where you rented it…..and driving back to drop it off would be a pain.
There’s to much tech on these bikes, I personally have been buying older bikes with low miles of which there’s lots about. These things are unfixable on your own therefore useless to me
I have kept my 2012 KTM 990 Adv, which only has ABS, for this reason. it is great fun in the Pyranees and has enough horses to do the motorway if needed.
Moto here is do not buy a newer BMW, stick with the older models. I had an issue with the common throttle sender on a 2019 and other issue and just sold it and went back to a 2015 bike or buy a Honda. The suits are now running the show and are designing bikes part to fail constantly so we will trade the bikes back in. BMW refused to fix my issue even though it is a very common issue (they told me it never happens) as 1 month outside warranty. I once to an old air cooled R100 to morocco and back up through Portugal and not a hiccup.
Not sure I agree with you completely here, I know people who carry around spares for their R1200RT (Air Cooled) because they have known weaknesses, plus as a bike gets older they are more likely to have components which can fail. As to the suits wanting to get you to change bikes as often as possible......you are likely right there! They definitely design obsolesces into bikes.
In the underground carparks of these Iberian hotels there are often very high voltage cables ,I'm wondering if the magnetic field they give off may have affected the sensitive electronics on your 1300. I have a 2007 model GS, I've even had the servo/abs box taken off because they failed, all I can say is that a Vines motorad technician told me never to sell my bike. If I ever buy another biggish bike, all I want is cruise, heated grips and seat, I'm not even bothered about abs, but it'll have it anyway. I passed my test in 1978 and abs has never kicked in on any of my bikes while I am riding, if it does then I suggest, rider error is the issue.
Keen to follow his but it is sounding like the tracker fundamentally was at fault…essentially not the bike. Interesting as I no longer install any similar “aftermarket” electronic items as a consequence of similar issues.
I’ve been using a Monimoto. stand-alone tracker in my v strom for 4 years, great wee system. Battery powered hidden in the bodywork. Batteries last well over a year and SIM card subscription is about £30 annually. Gives a status report each day . Detects anyone tampering with bike and if moved outwith range of the fob, shows gps location. Telephones you if either of the above happens. Highly recommended.
any jap bike really, suzuki always get a shit rep for their shoddy finish but the engines are so good and some like the strom and 1000 gixxer just go on and on and on, bmw make such appealing bikes but for the price they charge and the reliability you get its just not there
Pity about the breakdown and repatriation problems, hopefully the issue will be identified and permanently corrected. Been lucky on my 08 FZ1, now at 49,000 miles with 25,000 of those miles in Spain, Germany, France and Greece since 2019. No euro trip in 2020. Not the same as the GS comfort and features wise, but lots of treasured memories of not breaking down 😂
Actually no, the key was bone dry the whole time, but even if it was soaked it should work on the pad under the seat and even if that didn’t work the spare key should have worked there too (no electrics in the spare key!)
Did you try the spare key? Glad yours was isolated to the key though….unfortunately BMW have already confirmed there is more wrong with the GS than that 😒
Yes, these kind of bad Experiences can happen in Portugal or other countries alike, where Economies aren’t robust enough, once that is frequent to see big brands or international and world wide famous companies showing very poor relationships and representation servicing in the Country. Most of those local entities carry the brands name but with very little share of support. And therefore on cost responsibility sharing. I can testify that . Sometimes if you don’t manage to speak and write on German to Germany in order to receive due diligence of your claim and doing so, dealing directly with the original Company, you can be on the edge to fail getting a fair treatment and professional help. Local people in some countries can be very supportive but they don’t have the right coverage from those big brands to cope with customers of the brand on that specific commercial Territory and that is an objective fact.
For me the issue was down to the particular in country agent rather than it being to do with Portugal itself. And from the rest of our dealing with Allianz, it appears their servo is very good in some parts and very bad in others…so perhaps down to poor supplier management (by both Allianz and BMW!)
If the person who takes your property has an iPhone, as they arrive at their home location the AirTag will flag on their phone it is near and the person can trigger the AirTag to emit a beep to help them identify where it is. The AirTag will also beep if moved when away from its owner. All in removing the speaker just limits how easy it is to find. For info on this subject just search “How to know if an AirTag is tracking you “
They are all the same .my brand new royal enfield broke down in uk near Scottish boarder.I had pay to get shipped back to south England once it was fixed.
I don’t mind the keyless bit, but it should have a physical back up of the steering lock at least. Think of the number of bikes which have immobilisers already which could have a similar impact except you’d be able to move them. For example any Honda with hiss
I don't follow her directly, but she has been mentioned elsewhere in this chat and I looked a little....with what she uses her bike for the approach looks sound! The only issue I'd have is getting a 1987 bike useable in low emissions zones like London's.
BMW UK should loan you a bike whilst you're waiting. I had an RT for over a month whilst they waited for parts to come from Germany (supply chain issue). My local dealer palmed me off with a sh1tty F850 GS, and I complained to UK Customer Services. They forced the dealer to give me their brand new RT demonstrator. I should keep up complaining. BMW has a contract with Allianz. Your contract is with the BMW dealer who is supported by BMW UK. Send your information to BlackBeltBarrister YT channel. He has loads of subscribers. DO NOT ACCEPT mediocre service. Give BMW UK a hard time.
@@whojamaflip1 I have just watched a video where a BMW owner (albeit) had an accident. His BMW dealer in Cheltenham repatriated it (from the French Alps) and fixed it in 4 days.
Really sorry to hear this. As a GS owner with warranty with BMW assistance my heart sank. First observation is; Marks contract is with BMW. It’s up to BMW to manage their supplier, not shirk responsibility and blame their chosen supplier. That’s the behaviour of scammers and cowboys not a supposed premium brand. Secondly I have always been led to believe, from BMW Motorrad personnel, that the assistance will ensure seamless continuation of the ones journey. Ie. a hire car or bike, same day or next day until the bike is fixed. Or a hire car or bike plus repatriation of bike to the Uk. I do hope part 2 is more uplifting and Marks bike gets sorted with an appropriate level of goodwill by way of an apology.
Luckily I had a better experience in Picos,northern Spain after I dropped my 2022 Rt. Police arranged initial recovery. I went to hospital. Released that evening. Taxi 150k back to hotel in Suance. She, driver wrote a receipt out for me. I arranged Ryanair flight back to Stansted two days later. Taxi from hotel to Bilbao Airport was paid for by BMW. Who also organised and paid for taxi from Stansted to Swaffham in Norfolk. That was me done. The bike was repatriated to Norwich dealer 7 days later. I provided Allianz with all receipts inc. 2 extra nights at hotel. It's not a good experience at the time when all your mates have to get the ferry whilst you wait but it could have been worse. Especially lugging all your gear around wearing ripped bike clothing! Otherwise BMW assist worked for me.
Glad it went well for you. As said in the video when we dealt with Allianz for both the Sapinish part and the UK part they were great, as were the call centre, it just appeared that they were unable to get any reaction out of thier Portugeuse agents and the repatriation service (who were french). In both cases the call centre said they had a history of issues with these organizations. I don't for one minute think all Portugeuse agents are like that or all French repatriation services are bad...but on the other hand, I don't understand why Allianz don't sort out thier agents of they have a known issue!
@@whojamaflip1 ... and I meant to say the SOS button worked when it asked me how I was ! It had my bikes location and asked if I wanted ambulance and police then called them and got back to me. Repair bill was astronomical but I managed to source a similar specced replacement Rt. The Scorpion app tracked it well.
Allianz works very well in Portugal, much better then any other. Hertz is indeed very bad, but you should be aware that the cost for taking a rental car out of any country into another is very high and BMW assist will have a budget that does not cover that. Portugal, like many other countries including Spain, closes on weekends. Mirandela is remote and, also like many other countries, the interior of Portugal is sparsely populated and isolated and you were fortunate to have someone to pick it up on a Saturday. But hey, thats what happens when you are on adventuring right? Probably calling directly to your insurance company directly for road side assistence/breakdown is a better option, particularly if you take premium breakdown cover. Saying that BMW Assistance works well in Portugal, as long as its near main cities where people actually have the necessary funds to buy those mega expensive bikes that for sure no one in Mirandela will be fortunate enough to afford. So, wrong place, wrong time followed by a succession of poor choices and unfortunate miss communications left you stranded. Its ill advised to expect standadrs from our countries in others, can go very wrong... And again, hurray for adventure on a super expensive adventure bike on a foreign land.
There is much of what you say I agree with, but two counter points I’d make are… If BMW doesn’t have the budget for something they shouldn’t make the promise If Allianz had just given us a realistic set of outcomes as we were going through the process, set our expectations to a realistic level…99% of the problems we faced could have been avoided.
True, it is a funny world we live in today... it seems everyone is on the " can't be bothered" setting! You would be amazed at what Porsche customer service has become, even for the millionaire owners of multiple GT3RSs!! This side of of a Silver Ghost and Emirates, its a waste land... extremely sad times. Couple that with massively complicated bikes, its the perfect storm!! The game of expectations is best played low, very low, in 2024... better have a contingency plan, don't rely on anyone even if they promise you assistance and be prepared to pay. And, if you ever find your self in Portugal, i ll be more then happy to help if needed or just welcome you to aid in some way so you forget your ordeal and bad experience. @@whojamaflip1
Me too! 27th July I was heading for the ferry after 10 days in France and c2500 miles, bike loaded at 10am and it was dead to the world. Flew home and got my bike back 4 weeks later.
@@whojamaflip1 hi, so the dealer in France replaced the right hand switch gear which I was happy with as I it had rained heavily the night before leading me to think it was the same problem that others had. However did about another 1000 miles at home and about a month ago I stoppped in the local shop and it dies again. I pushed the main switch loads of times and it fired up however the dash didn’t work then I got all warnings coming up. Luckily I was 2mins from home and I rode home with no lights nor indicators nor dash. Told me it was the battery this time. As the bike was 6months old I rejected it and now have a brand new bike. Dealer couldn’t have been better. Roadside and customer service were completely rubbish when it came to to getting my bike back
I don't know why people don't use the Consumers Rights Act 2015 more! If they did manufacturers and dealers would have to clean up their act, otherwise they'd go out of business pretty damn quick, which imo, would be a good thing.
According to my insurance policy, if the steering lock isn’t on when it’s left parked, I’m in breach of my policy….ridiculous considering how easy it is to disable a steering lock…but that’s what it says and you know what insurers are like at finding any reason not to pay out!
The problem is the Starter Relay. There's an official recall on it. Same thing happened to mine after being left out in the rain all night. I had the replacement part fitted but the dealer incorrectly wired it. My local dealer rewired it and it's been fine since. th-cam.com/video/WCoeWbDA9HQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=dFzmVx7pz03CpOcb
It’s a pity no one does regular JD power type reliability surveys for bikes, I think the likes of BMW would be forced to up their game if they were done.
@@whojamaflip1 yep Ive just ordered a gs-911 diagnostic for my 2018 bmw r1200 gsa rallye te, phew what a mouthful!!, the exhaust flap partially seized and put the bike into limp mode 80 miles from home 🥲, I’m going back to Japanese, got my eye on a gen 3 hayabusa.
After 24 years of riding BMWs, I learned one golden rule…. Never buy a new model until it is in its 3rd year of production. BMW rush their new model releases. It takes BMW 3 years to iron out the teething problems. Essentially, the new owners do R and D for them.
When you go abroad, things are different. That's why we do it! In a poorer and more rural country like Portugal it is unreasonable to expect UK standards of service. Deadly taxis are all part of the game! On my bike I have been forty times in fifty years to mainland Europe and I have had a few breakdowns. BMW Assist were very good to me thirty years ago when my bike was uplifted to a dealer in SW France and repaired in two days. Another time I had a bike repatriated to Edinburgh I used a different breakdown service, Green Flag? They organised that, flights home for me etc so also very good.
It’s not that we expect uk standards of service, just to be truthfully told what is happening. If they had just said at the start that the bike wouldn’t get to a dealer in time to be repaired and would take a month to be repatriated, we’d have been, maybe moaning a little about the delay, but generally fine.
I have been looking at a brand new 1300 GS, however, I have now heard too many stories of poor reliability and poor support when/if required, BMW have lost my business.
Right now I would go fir a nearly new 1250, a very recent build GS(as in order one specifically built so you know most early bugs have been ironed out….or just wait a while !
I had a problem with my R1200RS key fob battery going flat in a very short time. Bike was just out of warranty and the fact that the issue had been happening for a a while, but I failed to realise what was going on BMW NZ didn't want to know me. An email to Germany received the same arrogant attitude. Have gone back to an earlier model that has a proper key. Cannot recommend BMW for their customer service.
A bit of a drama queen story. Every hotel will print that form for you, you have an iPhone so you can scan with your phone. I had the same situation twice however with a car. My car broke down on the isle of Skye. It took four days for the pick up and a rental. I had to drive to Edinburgh as there is only one dealer in Scotland. The second time this year near lake Garda. It took again 4 days for a rental while they where parked 10 km from my hotel. It took 3 weeks to get the car at my dealer, but they told me. There only a few providers in Europe for repatriation like Allianz and ANWB. There is lot breaking down these days, with cars, electric cars, so these guys are very busy. Twice we made a twist in our holiday and discovered other interesting things
Sorry, but printing out/scanning in the forms was not as simple as you propose, but even if it was, who the hell send forms in this day and age anyway! All they needed was a simple form on a web page, a link to docusign and it could have been done in moments. The rest of the issues were not about the time it took, it was about the fact we were constantly given misinformation or no information. And regarding there being a lot of repatriations nowadays, if they can't provide the service for the volume they either need to up thier staffing or change thier promisses, as a consumer you shouldn't have to put up with poor service. On the point about finding other things to do, of course we did that where we could...but who want to see a video on all the nice things we did when the bike was broken down and who would that sort of video help?
They buy them because in many, many ways they are very good bikes. I think also they suffer in some aways from the fact that as they are expensive, people expect better from them. Buying a Royal Enfield for £5K and having the odd break down feels OK, but buying a £20K bike, your expectations change.
No idea why people still take there bikes abroad with endless stories of breakdowns and being stolen get a flight for basically nothing hire a bike ride it then fly home bike hire is cheaper than ferries and breakdown cover and if it breaks down or gets stolen who cares it’s not your problem.😎👍
BMW is the ONLY bike I purchased new and it rusted as if it had never been painted!.......remember B.M.W. = Buy more warranty!.......I will never buy again German crap!
We’ve had 3 new BMWs and I run a second hand 2016 R1200RT LC and this is the first issue we have had….which is why it came as a shock. What you experienced is awful!
Conclusion. Don't break down in Portugal. You were in a hotel. Or Hotels. Most hotels can receive and print forms. Most are helpful and will let use their phone. Why not ask for it to be dropped at a dealer. It would be easier to ride after being fixed. Repatriation? It got repatriated. Ok it took 3 weeks. Its back and so are you. You didn't have to pay your bike was covered. Your holiday was ruined. Did you have travel insurance? BMW flew you home? BMW paid for your hotel. You might be stuck with the taxi ride. could be a lot worse. The BMW breaking down cause it rained, Not so good. Not getting it fixed quickly, Not so good. Repatriation seams like pretty good service to me. Fortunately my old BMW. With no cover. Has never had an issue. The piece of mind with a warranty and assistance on a new bike. Is appealing despite your frustrations. It worked? Getting your bike shipped home? Would have cost a few bob.
Thanks for your comment. The conclusion was actually to make sure you have repatriation cover, though don’t break down in Portugal is also advisable!! Regarding printing the forms, this would have involved emailing the forms to the hotel, them printing out the forms, you filling them in, them scanning the forms into their system and emailing them back to you to then email onto BMW, all this needing to be explained to someone in another language. Nowadays we have things like DocuSign, system which allow you take photos of doc (like log books etc) to up load etc - having to print out and sign forms to send them back is extremely old fashioned and just not an appropriate system under the circumstances. Rerpairing the bike: We did try to get them to take the bike to a dealer for repair, we tried for four days! The bike ended up being repatriated because BMW’s Portuguese agents were incapable of getting it to a dealers for repair in time for us to ride it home. (as it happens, even if they had got it to a dealer the issue with the bike couldn’t have been fixed in time regardless…but that’s for another video!) As for the repatriation being a good service, the actual time it really took to get the bike repatriated was fine once the process was kicked off, the issue was with the differing expectations etc that were given. Had they just said “It will be picked up over the next week and returned within 2 weeks of pick up” and then updated us with correct data it would have been fine - the issue was we were given unrealistic expectations and false information throughout the process. How can you trust the repatriation service if you can see via your tracker that they are lying? I completely agree with much of the rest of your views, the biggest takeaway is definitely, don’t go abroad with out suitable repatriation cover and read the small print so you know what to expect. If we hadn’t have this level of cover, even if poorly executed, things would have been much worse.
@@whojamaflip1 From the looks of the other comments/experiences & countries posted here - the advice should just be "don't break down" - the country seems to be largely immaterial.
@@LifeInChrono I agree, though as I have said elsewhere, I think the biggest issue here was more around the poor estimations of possibility of repair from the team and then the downright made up details of the repatriation by that team. Had our expectations been set correctly from the start we wouyld have approached the whole affair very differently.
I would like to hope so, but it doesn't appear the case - from what our local BMW dealer is saying so far it is sounding like water ingress into the electrical system, which could mean it needs a considerable amount of its electrical systems replaced........we'll see.
It feels wrong doing a "Thumbs up" - But - "All Hail The Algorithm" ... Poor Mark. I am not going to defend Portugal here ; since I have experienced many of the "office / paperwork" problems myself - and am used to the Weekend problem (although I would say that is historically exactly what the UK was like 'n ' numbers of years ago... Many countries are still the same that way - 5 working days : and that's it. + add the "talvez amanhã" and it is next to impossible to rush anything... ) I am glad to see the whole video (I have been waiting for this to drop ) - a lot of the story is now fully told :-) The Taxi ride to Porto sounds fun - Portugal does not have many big Theme parks to get your "scary ride" fix - But apparently you can get the mobile version ;-) (I should not joke about that because it sounded literally life threatening) Part two is being awaited with Antici ... 👄.... pation ...
@@whojamaflip1 Not really a 'sob story' - a set of 'snafus' that would drive most normal people insane. Since Insurance companies rely on stuff "not happening" as a business model (and that is what BMW Assist is - Bolt on Insurance) - they put together plans that are rarely tested : I wonder how many times BMW have had to recover a bike from PT - Probably could count on one hand.. ? ... (perhaps)
@Flub-A-Dub the policy covers both bikes and cars, and the office in UK definitely knew their Portugal counterparts were rubbish….so Allianz should have enough info to deal with their agents. As for sending you insane…..as you say, for a normal person it’s a problem. But for Mark….perhaps a tad too late????
@ shame. Why sort out an easy solution when you have the chance to justify your existence!! Must be a tick box sheet somewhere. Surprised you’ve not had an email asking “How did we do?”
This keyless ride might be fancy but shit I rather have a physical key than been stranded ,on my 6 gsa and hate the electronics and always ride with gs911 tool
What Three Words only works if both parties are using the App in the same language. If one user is using it in English and the other in Portuguese, Spanish or German the words will have no meaning.
I waited three and a half hours on the outskirts of Folkestone, Britannia Rescue. Starter motor failure. Tech that looks after bike advised me always have extended warranty cover on newish BMW bikes once BMW warranty expires. On the continent most dealer garage services are closed weekends, in France Mondays can be difficult. Is it any different in the uk? 1100/1150 GSA better option than a 1300GSA. Reminds me of my late father’s advice, never buy a car in the first year or two of launch, 1960/70s. Relevant to a 2024 BMW bike.
I think the biggest difference about being in the UK is that on the Sunday the bike returned to the UK there was someone there to accept it at the dealer and we had communication wiht them about likely fix times by Tuesday morning. Had the Portugeuse guys done that we would have been in a much better position.
@jeanjacques9980 only to accept the bike as they are open for sales, they couldn’t diagnose on a Sunday. Sat am a lot of dealers have mechanics in though.
My wife's bike broke down at the highest point in Portugal, didn't see the bike for 2 months after breakdown picked it up and in Portugal some how they dropped it off the pick up lorry 😂😂😂.
Must admit, that was a worry of ours too......yet to get the bike back, just about to hit 5 weeks, but it does look like the dealer should have the part soon to repair the bike 🎉🎉🎉
Similar problem with an R1250GS not long ago...NO, NO, NO, never again. I now ride older bikes, buy them as garage queens with low KM, put some money into them to get all hoses, fluids, tires up to scratch and I can work on any of them any time with the tools on the bike. I love riding new bikes with tech, going to training on them, but I will never again be stuck by technology challenges in the back country with no hope of help by a local mechanic ever again. These bikes have reached a point of no return where we are slaves to a microchip. Sorry you had such a terrible time...BMW should but will NEVER be ashamed of itself. BMW is a self-licking ice cream cone of stupidity.
I LOVE the phrase " a self-licking ice cream cone of stupidity" 🤣🤣🤣 I completely get your point about technology, the problem is this: there are more and more environmental/pollution zones going up which stop you taking old bikes into them (EG we are going to Germany next year and there are areas we will have to avoid because my brothers 2006 Deauville is not complainant and you are simply not allowed to enter the zone with it.) so at some point I think we will be forced to become reliant on these types opf technology...or be very limited where we can go. Which considering the amount of mileage most bikes do and the environmental damage caused to replace them, is absolute dogmatic environmental stupidity. (That's without even getting to the cost!)
I dunno, there aren't many bikes without significant levels of electronics to go wrong, and all of which will baffle most people on the roadside....even something like the Honda SuperCub 125 has keyless ignition! I think the big question is which bikes are reliable enough not to leave you on the roadside in the first place!
@@whojamaflip1 If I have modern BMW bike first thing I'd buy to carry with me is ODB2 scanner, BMW error code reader. Many issues are just stilly quirks that can be "fixed" if you know what is the problem.
@@whojamaflip1 do you pay anything extra (on top of the bike) for it? Anyway, it's just like any other insurance: the goal of the insurance company is to provide as little coverage as possible, cut as many corners as possible, and spend as little money on you as possible. In case it's a free bonus for the bike purchase, you should be happy they did at least SOMETHING to help you.
I agree that insurance companies often try to cut corners for profit as much as possible....however I can't agree with you about being happy with it though..... Its not free, you may not see a specific line on the invoice, but you are paying a lot extra for a premium brand and this is part of that package, so you are paying for it in one way or another. And it forms part of your contract when you buy the bike. You wouldn't say for example you should feel grateful that they repair the bike when it breaks down because the bike came with a warrantee and that is a free bonus, you would just expect them to repair it and do it properly. The same is the case here, they offer a service as part of the deal when you buy the bike, they should then deliver that service, deliver it as promised and efficient because you have paid for it as part of buying the bike and they have made detailed promises about what they will deliver. At the end of the day, BMW say they are selling you a premium motorbike with a premium set of back ups should something go wrong, BMW should make sure they follow through on that promise or they have mis-sold you the bike. If we just take the attitude of "at least they did something" then this only encourages the behaviour from the insurance companies to cut corners as much as possible.
How many sales have BMW lost due to potential customers seeing their pathetic customer service, their head office is in Fleet Hampshire, just pop in and demand to see someone who is not working from home as most of their office staff do now, so demand the service you have paid for.
I think at the moment they are certainly losing sales on the GS due to a combination of the delay in sorting out the issues with the vario luggage and the reliability concerns….not sure how many people have got as far as having to speak to customer services!
I like keyless....its the lack of manual back up that bothers me.......I mean, why make a bike you can't take the steering lock off with the key?? As I have said elsewhere, almost all bikes have immobilisers now (Take Honda's HISS as an example) and if that fails you are as stuck as we were......but at least you can manually move the bike!
Sure, you didn't get a great service, but understand that you do need to receipt everything. BUT - in painting your picture - you dismiss the arrival of the flat-bed as having jump-leads for a car or truck. those leads work of course - so keep it real.
Actually the jump leads didn’t work, they were too big to fit in the gap needed to reach the battery terminals, with the shape of the top of the battery they couldn’t have even connected with the battery removed from the bike.
@@whojamaflip1 Good point well made about the jump leads. When you called for recovery, I was under the impression that somebody might turn up with an error code reader, identify the fault, try to reset it, if not then call for full recovery. But it appears not. Sorry to hear about the issue, thanks for the video, I will copy and share. Hope you get the right result and refunds.
Nothing so advanced at all! I can’t complain about the guy who came, it’s the systems fault as it is basically set up for car recovery and little thought to bike recovery. The guy did his best but was never really going to stand much chance and he knew that.
Jump starting a lithium battery via conventional means is not recommended! Battery chargers should also be specific to lithium. It has been published elsewhere, a conventional battery charger with slow, low voltage input will work?
BMW appear to oftern have new bike issues! Re being too young for a GS, fair comment!!! However at 56 and having ridden both the R1250 GS and R1300GS, I'd say the 1300 is a very different beast and potentially aimed at a younger crowd.
Sorry your hols sucked so much 😕 Our take-away... 1. R1300, not reliable 2. Never breakdown in Portugal. 3. Never break down and expect BMW Assist to take responsibility. OK, simple enough.
@ honest. I still have r80gs, k75, r1100gs and r1100s but I think nothing newer will come into my garage. Just don’t trust the brand anymore since the bikes became more about money than real motorcycling and friendship-freedom. Feck! Spit!
I would of been tamping, BMW let you down badly, Should of arranged a loan bike, Don't know about you I've sold bikes with less of a problem than this, I would of hired a vehicle and drove and picked it up myself,
All my motorcycle use is European touring, I’ve been passionate about BMW Motorcycles since the 70’s and have supported them throughout .
However after a decade of problems, breakdowns, continuous issues.
I sold all my BMW Motorcycles 3 years ago and bought a new Honda Goldwing.
Best move I’ve ever made.
I won’t ever go back to BMW, life is too short.
Goldwing is a great bike, it’s saddening and worrying to hear you path to it’s purchase though!
Love mine too. Blows everyone away how quick it can be and how nimble it is in the Picos and Pyrenees
This summer I did a 3 month 12,000 mile tour of Europe and Scandinavia on a 4 year old Honda CB500x. Zero problems.
In 30 plus years of touring Europe I’ve only broken down once. In 2015, broken gearbox, yup, a BMW.
Those cb500xes are great bikes
Yep. You’ve summed it up perfectly
My 500X is the best touring bike that I have ever had.
Same thing happened to me in France a month ago with my brand new KTM. They tried to fix it but could not so KTM recovery shipped it home the next day. I got a taxi to Brussels Airport and flew back, picked up my other bike and went down to rejoin the tour. Created a list of golden rules for European touring :
1. before you go really go through the recovery protocols that you have for your bike and keep all numbers handy and learn how to give the co-ordinates of the location of your breakdown.
2. try to keep Saturday and Sunday for local tours around your weekend base. Do not plan on big progressive miles on these days and increasingly on Mondays as well. There is little support mechanism on weekends for recovery , mechanical assistance and car hire.
3. if you have a new bike with loads of electronic aids do not expect a provincial garage to be able to help you.
4. tour on your own and turn it into an adventure or pay the extra and tour with a professional outfit who have a following van or trailer to get you out of trouble.
Great comment and useful tips. Thanks mate 👍
Maybe you should get a Honda. KTM are no better than BMW.
Similar problem last year in Los Picos, Spain, with a Triumph 1200 GT Explorer. Repeated dash warning 'do not ride, take to main dealer immediately'. The bike would not start. Then it would be OK, but then same issue. Eventually stopped completely, and I walked it 3km to a bar/restaurant - no phone signal. Excellent recovery service took me and bike to local town, then taxi took me to Santander where I had a hotel room and a ferry booked the following day. I returned to England, and a Taxi was awaiting me at Portsmouth which took me to Canterbury [home]. The bike was repatriated in 5 days to Ashford Triumph, and a minor electrical issue was dealt with and I collected it 8 days after the breakdown. Very impressed.
Glad it all went well for you….but I am also very jealous! 😂😂😂
It should not happen in the first place.
Was thinking of a 1300GS… watched several videos that suggest poor quality issues.. then this video appeared in my feed. I think I’ll pass: I tour extensively and demand 100% confidence in a bike.
If you want 100% reliability, you do have to go Japenese, which is a shame.
Japanese is top tier. Il stick with my DCT Honda crosstourer V4 1200x
@TheZanshen I loved my VFR1200FD, so can see why you’d say that 😁
I went to Austria this September on my 2017 GSA and rode through Storm Boris. 200 miles of torrential rain with snow mixed in and the bike worked flawlessly. Like any vehicle, you can get good ones and less reliable ones.
Couldn’t agree more :)
For 25k, more is expected
It was the 2017 which are a little better. twistgrip and auto rear shocks are their main issues seemingly
Amazing your video came up as a suggestion today. I had exactly the same issue first week of September on my Euro Tour at a hotel in Luxembourg. Day before had travelled over from Calais in absolutely biblical rain on cross country roads. This was an early Saturday morning. Flatbed came out. Couldn’t do a thing. Came back 2 hours later and got recovered to a Motorrad dealer 70k away. Half a day gone and as they took the bike off the flatbed and tried to start it, it fired up. No explanation other than the bikes ECU can completely shut down and auto reboots after a period and had obviously reset itself. I carried on my trip losing that day but touring for another 7 days through Germany, Austria, Dolomites, Switzerland and France and home. No issues again at all. Dealer had advised my that you can reset the ECU by disconnecting the battery terminals and touching them together. Didn’t need to though. Thank god I didn’t need to stay or get recovered home. Since the trip it’s been serviced and had the latest software update which I believe has this as one of the fixes. But so far not a squeak wrong….feel for you 🙁
I would say that BMW UK who I actually dealt with directly when I called. And I made sure in my initial call to check that absolutely no cost would be down to me. Now I never had to put it into action but I was assured and accommodation or travel, regardless of how, fly, car or train etc…would be covered
Unfortunately Mark’s is still dead as a dodo……dealer is still working on it 😩
@@whojamaflip1 wow…I am surprised 😳 that makes it sound really bad. Can’t wait to find out what it is 🙏
Good for you if you are happy that this can happen at any time. I don't want to do a tour with this in the back of my mind. When is it going to stop.
I had a R1200gs, my dealer was very helpful when the valve gear was slipping ( a pin on the cog gear or something? done under warranty), but on a later break down BMW were not so helpful, the last BMW every to enter my garage (if I had one) now own a Moto Guzzi v7 far more charm and curator, more fun to ride & best of all no bloody fancy electrics the modern Bemmer's have. Yes my prob was not with electrics, but they are taking away what I ride for!! which somehow designers/manufactures think we need more to go wrong. I don't need keyless either
Completely agree that there are just too many unecessary bolt ons!
I couldn't open my petrol cap as keyless, I have an old slabside and everything works fine on it still. 1987
I am sorry to hear about your plight with BMW. I really wanted an R1250RT, but when i researched the bike,i came across far too many stories of them braking down.Not things like headlight bulbs etc,but major component failiures.I opted for the Honda NT 1100 DCT,and its be faultless.It is also considerably cheaper than the BMW i wanted. Honda provide roadside assist for the first three years,home and abroad. I go to spain tommorow 23rd of October,and im pretty sure the Honda will take me down to gibraltar without any issues.I also have my own breakdown recovery,and i am sure Honda would provide better roadside assistance than BMW. I hope you get things sorted with BMW, but you must be thinking about taking your bike away in the future after what happened on your trip.Best of luck
Thanks Matey, ridden a NT and though it was a great bike, sure you'll have loads of fun on your trip.
Does not surprise me at all, in fact I’m surprised that things were not to bad in Spain.
I would say this , no matter where you break down in n Europe you will pull your hair out with the service you get.
Best thing is have a mate with a van on standby in the uk to come and get you, these so called recovery services are pathetic they take your money and forget about you 😢
No hair already and no mate with a van 😭😭😭
😂😂😂
Thanks for the comment 👍
I have used ADAC over the years and on the few times I’ve needed them they have been brilliant.
@davidmatthews3093 I was with ADAC for a number of years, didn’t know you could still have a policy as a UK citizen post Brexit
I'm Portuguese, and listening to all this, I have to say the bike chose the worst part of Portugal and one of the worst two days to break down.
WE ARE NOT all like this, I promise.
I completely agree with you, in general I couldn't have come across a nicer, more helpful set of people than we dealt with in Portugal for most of our trip (including those we actually dealt with face to face for this breakdown). I think our issues were very much down to a combination of where we broke down, the fact we broke down on a weekend and (very much due to) the particular agents Allianz use in Portugal. Its not meant to come across as a dig at the Portuguese people as a whole at all.
If this doesn't come across in the video, appologies...its not meant as a moan about the Portugese nation at all!
I think your Portuguese audience will understand. But it's still a shame what happened. Allianz, through BMW, treated this as a normal "car problem" and sent an ordinary tow truck as if "your car had a flat tire." It's just so stupid. Too bad not more people watch this video, regardless of nationality. Big brands charge enormous amounts of money these days, and you no longer get what you paid for. No wonder sales of bikes over 500cc are down while those under 500cc are up in the UK, as far as I know. Anyway, I hope you return soon.
Thank matey and well summarised!
Its not Portugal's fault that BMW cannot build a proper motorcycle (won't break down). I drove the full coast of Portugal two up back in Sept 1986 on an old then BMW R100 to get back home to Ireland and it never missed a beat. Drank a bit of oil though but then, it did not like being driven that hard. It was a poor country with small roads but lovely country and people.
@johnmccarthy1048 couldn’t agree more about Portugal being a great country, the criticism is specifically of Allianz’s operator in Portugal.
I have used Carol Nash for many years as they offered the breakdown and accident and repatriation as part of the cover. On renewal and reading the small print repatriation and accident are not covered but the extra premium remains the same. Needless to say I've gone with another provider for the insurance and will arrange separate cover for breakdown etc when I go abroad next year.
Thanks for you comment, couldn’t agree more. After this experience I spent ages reading through my cover and found a similar issue with repatriation after an accident. However I found that my bike insurance itself would either repair or repatriate the bike for repair if it was in the EU…whatever you find, reading the small print is a definitely must for this type of service!
So I have the Scorpion/Datatool Tracker (assume this is the same) and for the R1300GS it needs a "wiring loom extension" which more or less makes it plug and play which I'm not overly happy about as its not as well hidden as it should be. Mine has been awful and often doesn't notify me if it's moving, Scorpion haven't been a great help. RHS switchgear has been a common issue with non starting bikes. Thankfully despite the problems I've had with mine so far a dead bike hasnt been one of them, but I probably shouldn't tempt fate! Hope it all gets sorted out soon!
Its probably the same tracker. It hasn't been to bad for us, or at least it wasn't too bad until it wran out of bettery power, which suggests it is in someways relaint on the ignition being on even if the battery is fully charged.
I also agree its a bit odd to have a BMW wiring loom extension for it....doesn't appear very secure!
Good luck with the complaint to BMW, I submitted one about a new car I bought.... BMW customer service have been shocking! so I have gone to the Motoring Ombudsman (who are also shocking! - a six month wait for my compliant to be looked at!)
🤯dear god!
I've had Suzuki's since 1994 - never had a breakdown.
👍
I’m on my second BMW but won’t be buying another for next season …. The thing one needs to remember with BMW is the dash will start flashing exactly one year after its last service ( very annoying ) in my case serviced last October at 7200 miles ( it’s 4th service in that time !!) and this year only 8500 miles or 1300 miles later BMW demands I return to a dealer for another service 🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️ so it will be bye bye BMW RS in the new year and another make will be chosen
Not good at all!
I've had trouble with the keyless ride on my R1250GS.
Not good! Not a fan of the limited back up systems for this….why no manual steering unlock/bike start? We all have a physical key after all….
I know the answer is cost 😒
Same here. The gas cap wouldn’t open several times while traveling. Had to open with tools. They replaced it and it seemed to be working but then I totaled the bike.
Sorry about bike mate. I guess at least with the filler cap you had a back up thought….but who takes those typos tools out with them!
I also had a breakdown on my in France and was able to ride home the Hertfordshire it had to have a new rear shock this in addition to the starter relay and software updates
Great information on your video
I don't understand why one of the biggest car/motorcycle manufacturers in the world can not supply a bike or car directly from one of their own dealers and it should be a truly 365/24 /7 service BMW need to bring this in House
Will be interested to know what the problem is and hope you get full compensation and an apology from BMW
There have been a few bits, I don't mind the recalls, had the starter relay/software update done shortly before we left too (plus my R1200RT LC has had a few recalls too)..at least if they are doing recalls they are paying attention to what is going on with thier bikes. But it does suggest they are releasing to market without full testing andf the breakdowns are not acceptable.
My 22 Tiger broke down in Venice in August, 4 days after a 20,000 mile service. I had International Breakdown, Recovery, and Repatriation.
First and last thing to accept is the holiday is over. Once physical possession of the bike has been passed to the Insurers Representatives head to the airport and fly home.
Track the recovery from home. It took about two weeks.
All receipted expenses have been repaid to me. QED.
Very good advice!
Whilst on a French riding holiday, a friend on a 2 week old BMW, suffered a rear puncture. BMW arranged for the bike to be collected and taken to the nearest dealer. We arrived there about 4 hours after the initial call. So far so good - except the dealer refused to look at the bike. The workshop was fully booked apparently. There were some heated telephone exchanges but they would not so much as even look at the bike. To cut a long story short we googled a motorbike tyre shop in the same town and limped the bike there. BMW assist is a very flawed system - hope your story has a happy ending
Interesting read and thanks for the comment….amazed they’d insist on a BMW dealer for a flat. For us the bike is now repaired and we should shoot part 2 this weekend
your lucky seemingly a dealer must now change the tyre are if the wheels comes off it needs to be reprogrammed and wheel have a habit of cracking when over tightened
That's scary!
We broke down in the Pyrenees last year on my GSA. Stuck in a remote area. BMW Roadside Assistance was absolutely terrible. After 4 hrs of waiting still no help arrived. Finally managed to get a local to help. But after 2 hrs managed to get to the final destination. Discovered that the Battery had died. Which we managed to get a new one from Pau BMW.
But like you said they really don’t have the network they claim.
This year we too went to Portugal and Spain so we decided to take out better recovery with Start Rescue.
Wouldn’t call BMW assistance ever again. It’s so disappointing considering they are a premium Brand.
Bloody hell, that is a bugger...agree with you about nopt living up to the brand name.
No longer a premium brand-unless referring to the pricing
You would not be taking a new BMW across Mongolia or Australia's outback today. The last really reliable GS was the 1150. Everything was made in Germany back then and you had repairable electronics. Even so, I have a mate who tells me that dealers only carry minimal stock these days. I have owned three BMWs and the first two were air heads. They were great. Bulletproof. But today, you need Honda reliability for extended touring.
Have BMW stopped fitting Datatool Stealth trackers as standard?
Didn’t know they ever did for them as standard, but they don’t offer a tracker as standard on the GS now, the dealer just arranges a 3rd party to fit it.
I wonder if it would have been the same with AA or RAC European recovery ?
They’d still subcontract…I guess it depends on who too. From the point of view of not getting to a dealer at the weekend, it def would be the same, but the disorganisation after that, who knows….
Sorry to say that, despite the price, BMW don't make consistently reliable bikes any more. 15 of us got caught in France during huge rain on the A26, the only breakdown was a BMW, the only BMW. For a happy motorcycling life you should consider defecting to another brand.
Unfortunately, if reliability is high on your wish list, it has to be Japanese.
That’s very worrying. I need to check my own documents as you advise. Motorrad changed their recommended insurers early this year, it’s all a cause for concern.
Changed thier recomended insurers?...as in for bike insurance or for breakdown cover?
@@whojamaflip1 charged bike insurance from Devitts to a new insurer. Don’t know details of the replacement. Called my local Motorrad dealer to find out, was told they went into Administration yesterday!
Blimey, were they part of that big group of dealers that went under in the west of England/South Wales?
@@whojamaflip1 No, not part of that group of dealers. Pidcock’s have BMW, Triumph and Ducati. It seems the BMW dealer was very successful and effectively financed the other less successful parts of the business.
Too many electronics. Do we need them? i don't think so. Bmw 1300 failure news are getting more frequent.
Keyless ignition particularly….and when you have no manual way to take the steering lock off …it’s just ridiculous!
@@whojamaflip1 steering locks are a false sense of security anyway. They snap like twigs and cause more trouble than theyre worth. Unless your insurance specifies that you must use it, I'd recommend you don't. I'm surprised manufacturers still put them on new bikes.
Unfortunately pretty much every insurance policy I have had has specifically stated that they must be used when the bike is left ☹️
Very interesting. I learned a lot from this very informative presentation. A couple of (probably unwelcome) questions. 1. Why pay a taxi driver at all if s/he refuses to provide a receipt? 2. Why not rent a van/pickup yourself, bung the bike in the back and drive it home? I guess that once you're tangled up in the vain hope that recovery companies will actually do what they claim to do, it takes a while before the actuality dawns. AA? RAC? You jest!
Thanks for the comment and all questions are welcome!
Re not paying the taxi driver, certainly for the ones in Spain /Portugal I wouldn’t rate my chances of explaining to the local police why I refused to pay and getting away with it 😂
As to recovering it ourselves, if we let BMW do it they foot the bill plus if any damage is done to the bike in the process it’s up to them to sort it out. I wouldn’t trust my self to load 240kg/£25k of bike into a van! 😳
Also, not sure how easy it would be to get a van which you could leave in a different country to where you rented it…..and driving back to drop it off would be a pain.
There’s to much tech on these bikes, I personally have been buying older bikes with low miles of which there’s lots about. These things are unfixable on your own therefore useless to me
I get your point, but even 00 bikes have computers now and anything pre Euro 3 can't be taken into a lot of envioromental zones :(
I have kept my 2012 KTM 990 Adv, which only has ABS, for this reason. it is great fun in the Pyranees and has enough horses to do the motorway if needed.
We are all saying the same thing I don't need all the gimmicks either but they are not listening
Moto here is do not buy a newer BMW, stick with the older models. I had an issue with the common throttle sender on a 2019 and other issue and just sold it and went back to a 2015 bike or buy a Honda.
The suits are now running the show and are designing bikes part to fail constantly so we will trade the bikes back in. BMW refused to fix my issue even though it is a very common issue (they told me it never happens) as 1 month outside warranty. I once to an old air cooled R100 to morocco and back up through Portugal and not a hiccup.
Not sure I agree with you completely here, I know people who carry around spares for their R1200RT (Air Cooled) because they have known weaknesses, plus as a bike gets older they are more likely to have components which can fail.
As to the suits wanting to get you to change bikes as often as possible......you are likely right there! They definitely design obsolesces into bikes.
In the underground carparks of these Iberian hotels there are often very high voltage cables ,I'm wondering if the magnetic field they give off may have affected the sensitive electronics on your 1300.
I have a 2007 model GS, I've even had the servo/abs box taken off because they failed, all I can say is that a Vines motorad technician told me never to sell my bike. If I ever buy another biggish bike, all I want is cruise, heated grips and seat, I'm not even bothered about abs, but it'll have it anyway.
I passed my test in 1978 and abs has never kicked in on any of my bikes while I am riding, if it does then I suggest, rider error is the issue.
@@BenEly-u8z High voltage cabling doesn’t appear to have been this issue in this case, though it is a good point.
@@BenEly-u8z Take the good advice of the Motorad tech buy older as less electronics.
Keen to follow his but it is sounding like the tracker fundamentally was at fault…essentially not the bike. Interesting as I no longer install any similar “aftermarket” electronic items as a consequence of similar issues.
So far the dealer is saying it wasn’t the tracker…but considering if it was it would be their responsible rather than BMWs, we’ll see!
I’ve been using a Monimoto. stand-alone tracker in my v strom for 4 years, great wee system. Battery powered hidden in the bodywork.
Batteries last well over a year and SIM card subscription is about £30 annually.
Gives a status report each day .
Detects anyone tampering with bike and if moved outwith range of the fob, shows gps location.
Telephones you if either of the above happens.
Highly recommended.
If you want to ride your bike get a Honda, they work in the rain 😉
any jap bike really, suzuki always get a shit rep for their shoddy finish but the engines are so good and some like the strom and 1000 gixxer just go on and on and on, bmw make such appealing bikes but for the price they charge and the reliability you get its just not there
Too true!
Pity about the breakdown and repatriation problems, hopefully the issue will be identified and permanently corrected.
Been lucky on my 08 FZ1, now at 49,000 miles with 25,000 of those miles in Spain, Germany, France and Greece since 2019. No euro trip in 2020. Not the same as the GS comfort and features wise, but lots of treasured memories of not breaking down 😂
Thanks for the comment and sympathies ! Sounds like you have been on some great trips 😁
The key got soaked. That’s game over.
Actually no, the key was bone dry the whole time, but even if it was soaked it should work on the pad under the seat and even if that didn’t work the spare key should have worked there too (no electrics in the spare key!)
My RT 2023, would only work with the key close by steering lock. The by the seat bit was a red herring. I eventullly had a new key from BMW.
Did you try the spare key? Glad yours was isolated to the key though….unfortunately BMW have already confirmed there is more wrong with the GS than that 😒
Yes, these kind of bad Experiences can happen in Portugal or other countries alike, where Economies aren’t robust enough, once that is frequent to see big brands or international and world wide famous companies showing very poor relationships and representation servicing in the Country. Most of those local entities carry the brands name but with very little share of support. And therefore on cost responsibility sharing.
I can testify that . Sometimes if you don’t manage to speak and write on German to Germany in order to receive due diligence of your claim and doing so, dealing directly with the original Company, you can be on the edge to fail getting a fair treatment and professional help.
Local people in some countries can be very supportive but they don’t have the right coverage from those big brands to cope with customers of the brand on that specific commercial Territory and that is an objective fact.
For me the issue was down to the particular in country agent rather than it being to do with Portugal itself. And from the rest of our dealing with Allianz, it appears their servo is very good in some parts and very bad in others…so perhaps down to poor supplier management (by both Allianz and BMW!)
You have to have the patience of a saint😮😮😮😮😮😮😮
To be in that position or watch the video?? 😂😂😂
Why do you disconnect the speaker in the AirTag ?.
If the person who takes your property has an iPhone, as they arrive at their home location the AirTag will flag on their phone it is near and the person can trigger the AirTag to emit a beep to help them identify where it is. The AirTag will also beep if moved when away from its owner. All in removing the speaker just limits how easy it is to find.
For info on this subject just search “How to know if an AirTag is tracking you “
@@whojamaflip1 many thanks for your reply
They are all the same .my brand new royal enfield broke down in uk near Scottish boarder.I had pay to get shipped back to south England once it was fixed.
You would have thought they would have brought it back to you!
Keyless is the biggest con ever,, why on earth would a motorcycle need a keyless fob , stupid stupid addition
I don’t mind the keyless bit, but it should have a physical back up of the steering lock at least. Think of the number of bikes which have immobilisers already which could have a similar impact except you’d be able to move them. For example any Honda with hiss
@@whojamaflip1 yea good I point I hear you ,, looking forward to the second part , interested to see what the actual fault is ,
You are familiar with Itchy Boots? She had a new bike built in Germany based on 1987 Yamaha Ténéré. No electronics, carbs, e-start and kickstart.😂
I don't follow her directly, but she has been mentioned elsewhere in this chat and I looked a little....with what she uses her bike for the approach looks sound! The only issue I'd have is getting a 1987 bike useable in low emissions zones like London's.
BMW UK should loan you a bike whilst you're waiting. I had an RT for over a month whilst they waited for parts to come from Germany (supply chain issue). My local dealer palmed me off with a sh1tty F850 GS, and I complained to UK Customer Services. They forced the dealer to give me their brand new RT demonstrator. I should keep up complaining. BMW has a contract with Allianz. Your contract is with the BMW dealer who is supported by BMW UK. Send your information to BlackBeltBarrister YT channel. He has loads of subscribers. DO NOT ACCEPT mediocre service. Give BMW UK a hard time.
Thanks for the comment, good point about the courtesy bike and yes we will be keeping up the complaint!
Bmw customer service is not very good 😵💫I had a problem with a new bike! Sent emails to Berlin and the importers before anything was done !
Can’t help but agree, this isn’t our first issue with them!
@@whojamaflip1 I have just watched a video where a BMW owner (albeit) had an accident. His BMW dealer in Cheltenham repatriated it (from the French Alps) and fixed it in 4 days.
Really sorry to hear this. As a GS owner with warranty with BMW assistance my heart sank. First observation is; Marks contract is with BMW. It’s up to BMW to manage their supplier, not shirk responsibility and blame their chosen supplier. That’s the behaviour of scammers and cowboys not a supposed premium brand. Secondly I have always been led to believe, from BMW Motorrad personnel, that the assistance will ensure seamless continuation of the ones journey. Ie. a hire car or bike, same day or next day until the bike is fixed. Or a hire car or bike plus repatriation of bike to the Uk. I do hope part 2 is more uplifting and Marks bike gets sorted with an appropriate level of goodwill by way of an apology.
Thanks Mark, one good thing is there doesn’t appear to be a lot of chatter about faults on the GS on the internet, so hopefully it’s just bad luck.
Luckily I had a better experience in Picos,northern Spain after I dropped my 2022 Rt. Police arranged initial recovery. I went to hospital. Released that evening. Taxi 150k back to hotel in Suance. She, driver wrote a receipt out for me. I arranged Ryanair flight back to Stansted two days later. Taxi from hotel to Bilbao Airport was paid for by BMW. Who also organised and paid for taxi from Stansted to Swaffham in Norfolk. That was me done. The bike was repatriated to Norwich dealer 7 days later. I provided Allianz with all receipts inc. 2 extra nights at hotel. It's not a good experience at the time when all your mates have to get the ferry whilst you wait but it could have been worse. Especially lugging all your gear around wearing ripped bike clothing! Otherwise BMW assist worked for me.
Glad it went well for you. As said in the video when we dealt with Allianz for both the Sapinish part and the UK part they were great, as were the call centre, it just appeared that they were unable to get any reaction out of thier Portugeuse agents and the repatriation service (who were french). In both cases the call centre said they had a history of issues with these organizations. I don't for one minute think all Portugeuse agents are like that or all French repatriation services are bad...but on the other hand, I don't understand why Allianz don't sort out thier agents of they have a known issue!
@@whojamaflip1 ... and I meant to say the SOS button worked when it asked me how I was ! It had my bikes location and asked if I wanted ambulance and police then called them and got back to me. Repair bill was astronomical but I managed to source a similar specced replacement Rt. The Scorpion app tracked it well.
@ianrodie8286 1st person I’ve come across someone who has used the SOS button…always thought it just a gimmick…but glad it worked for you.
20K + well spent....
🤦♂️
I think most manufacturers are the same, I had a similar experience years ago with Yamaha Assistance
Not sure if that makes me feel better or worse! 🤣
Allianz works very well in Portugal, much better then any other. Hertz is indeed very bad, but you should be aware that the cost for taking a rental car out of any country into another is very high and BMW assist will have a budget that does not cover that.
Portugal, like many other countries including Spain, closes on weekends. Mirandela is remote and, also like many other countries, the interior of Portugal is sparsely populated and isolated and you were fortunate to have someone to pick it up on a Saturday. But hey, thats what happens when you are on adventuring right?
Probably calling directly to your insurance company directly for road side assistence/breakdown is a better option, particularly if you take premium breakdown cover. Saying that BMW Assistance works well in Portugal, as long as its near main cities where people actually have the necessary funds to buy those mega expensive bikes that for sure no one in Mirandela will be fortunate enough to afford.
So, wrong place, wrong time followed by a succession of poor choices and unfortunate miss communications left you stranded. Its ill advised to expect standadrs from our countries in others, can go very wrong...
And again, hurray for adventure on a super expensive adventure bike on a foreign land.
There is much of what you say I agree with, but two counter points I’d make are…
If BMW doesn’t have the budget for something they shouldn’t make the promise
If Allianz had just given us a realistic set of outcomes as we were going through the process, set our expectations to a realistic level…99% of the problems we faced could have been avoided.
True, it is a funny world we live in today... it seems everyone is on the " can't be bothered" setting! You would be amazed at what Porsche customer service has become, even for the millionaire owners of multiple GT3RSs!! This side of of a Silver Ghost and Emirates, its a waste land... extremely sad times. Couple that with massively complicated bikes, its the perfect storm!!
The game of expectations is best played low, very low, in 2024... better have a contingency plan, don't rely on anyone even if they promise you assistance and be prepared to pay.
And, if you ever find your self in Portugal, i ll be more then happy to help if needed or just welcome you to aid in some way so you forget your ordeal and bad experience. @@whojamaflip1
Thanks mate 😁
Me too! 27th July I was heading for the ferry after 10 days in France and c2500 miles, bike loaded at 10am and it was dead to the world. Flew home and got my bike back 4 weeks later.
What was issue did the dealer find with the bike?
@@whojamaflip1 hi, so the dealer in France replaced the right hand switch gear which I was happy with as I it had rained heavily the night before leading me to think it was the same problem that others had. However did about another 1000 miles at home and about a month ago I stoppped in the local shop and it dies again. I pushed the main switch loads of times and it fired up however the dash didn’t work then I got all warnings coming up. Luckily I was 2mins from home and I rode home with no lights nor indicators nor dash. Told me it was the battery this time. As the bike was 6months old I rejected it and now have a brand new bike. Dealer couldn’t have been better. Roadside and customer service were completely rubbish when it came to to getting my bike back
I must admit my concerns are around if they repair the GS correctly 1st time. Thanks for the info.
I don't know why people don't use the Consumers Rights Act 2015 more! If they did manufacturers and dealers would have to clean up their act, otherwise they'd go out of business pretty damn quick, which imo, would be a good thing.
@mrflores7708 I know we could just reject the bike, but on a first issue, not sure it’s worth it…if it’s ongoing though….
I never lock the steering on a bike I have a disc lock and chain
According to my insurance policy, if the steering lock isn’t on when it’s left parked, I’m in breach of my policy….ridiculous considering how easy it is to disable a steering lock…but that’s what it says and you know what insurers are like at finding any reason not to pay out!
Wait what, BMW's break down
😂😂
The problem is the Starter Relay. There's an official recall on it. Same thing happened to mine after being left out in the rain all night. I had the replacement part fitted but the dealer incorrectly wired it. My local dealer rewired it and it's been fine since. th-cam.com/video/WCoeWbDA9HQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=dFzmVx7pz03CpOcb
Be interesting to see, dealer says it’s not that…..they had already done the recall before the trip….. but if it was incorrectly fitted……
Best advice I can give is don’t travel on a bmw, it will let you down, buy Japanese.
It’s a pity no one does regular JD power type reliability surveys for bikes, I think the likes of BMW would be forced to up their game if they were done.
@@whojamaflip1 yep Ive just ordered a gs-911 diagnostic for my 2018 bmw r1200 gsa rallye te, phew what a mouthful!!, the exhaust flap partially seized and put the bike into limp mode 80 miles from home 🥲, I’m going back to Japanese, got my eye on a gen 3 hayabusa.
100%. I'd never buy BMW again.
@@Jungleland33yep, ill never own a Break My Wallet again. Even my Royal Enfield Himalayan is more reliable than my GS ever was.
After 24 years of riding BMWs, I learned one golden rule…. Never buy a new model until it is in its 3rd year of production. BMW rush their new model releases. It takes BMW 3 years to iron out the teething problems. Essentially, the new owners do R and D for them.
When you go abroad, things are different. That's why we do it! In a poorer and more rural country like Portugal it is unreasonable to expect UK standards of service. Deadly taxis are all part of the game!
On my bike I have been forty times in fifty years to mainland Europe and I have had a few breakdowns. BMW Assist were very good to me thirty years ago when my bike was uplifted to a dealer in SW France and repaired in two days. Another time I had a bike repatriated to Edinburgh I used a different breakdown service, Green Flag? They organised that, flights home for me etc so also very good.
It’s not that we expect uk standards of service, just to be truthfully told what is happening. If they had just said at the start that the bike wouldn’t get to a dealer in time to be repaired and would take a month to be repatriated, we’d have been, maybe moaning a little about the delay, but generally fine.
I have been looking at a brand new 1300 GS, however, I have now heard too many stories of poor reliability and poor support when/if required, BMW have lost my business.
Right now I would go fir a nearly new 1250, a very recent build GS(as in order one specifically built so you know most early bugs have been ironed out….or just wait a while !
I’m riding to Spain over Christmas but it’ll be fine I’m going on a Kawasaki 😊
Good choice! 😂😂😂
I had a problem with my R1200RS key fob battery going flat in a very short time. Bike was just out of warranty and the fact that the issue had been happening for a a while, but I failed to realise what was going on BMW NZ didn't want to know me. An email to Germany received the same arrogant attitude. Have gone back to an earlier model that has a proper key. Cannot recommend BMW for their customer service.
I’ve heard of similar issues on car keyless fobs, but it requires a new fob to fix and it’s bloody expensive!
A bit of a drama queen story. Every hotel will print that form for you, you have an iPhone so you can scan with your phone. I had the same situation twice however with a car. My car broke down on the isle of Skye. It took four days for the pick up and a rental. I had to drive to Edinburgh as there is only one dealer in Scotland. The second time this year near lake Garda. It took again 4 days for a rental while they where parked 10 km from my hotel. It took 3 weeks to get the car at my dealer, but they told me. There only a few providers in Europe for repatriation like Allianz and ANWB. There is lot breaking down these days, with cars, electric cars, so these guys are very busy. Twice we made a twist in our holiday and discovered other interesting things
Sorry, but printing out/scanning in the forms was not as simple as you propose, but even if it was, who the hell send forms in this day and age anyway!
All they needed was a simple form on a web page, a link to docusign and it could have been done in moments. The rest of the issues were not about the time it took, it was about the fact we were constantly given misinformation or no information.
And regarding there being a lot of repatriations nowadays, if they can't provide the service for the volume they either need to up thier staffing or change thier promisses, as a consumer you shouldn't have to put up with poor service.
On the point about finding other things to do, of course we did that where we could...but who want to see a video on all the nice things we did when the bike was broken down and who would that sort of video help?
So much is written about the poor quality of BMW, still ppl buy them. Somehow i cant feel any pitty for these ppl. Im so sorry, I really am.
They buy them because in many, many ways they are very good bikes. I think also they suffer in some aways from the fact that as they are expensive, people expect better from them. Buying a Royal Enfield for £5K and having the odd break down feels OK, but buying a £20K bike, your expectations change.
I think they call it vanity? dopes, god love them
No idea why people still take there bikes abroad with endless stories of breakdowns and being stolen get a flight for basically nothing hire a bike ride it then fly home bike hire is cheaper than ferries and breakdown cover and if it breaks down or gets stolen who cares it’s not your problem.😎👍
I’ve looked into bike hire for the USA in the past, but in general I take my own bike because I love my bikes and want to use them!
It's not the same, it's the journey/trip from home. or the full bike ride.
BMW is the ONLY bike I purchased new and it rusted as if it had never been painted!.......remember B.M.W. = Buy more warranty!.......I will never buy again German crap!
We’ve had 3 new BMWs and I run a second hand 2016 R1200RT LC and this is the first issue we have had….which is why it came as a shock. What you experienced is awful!
Conclusion. Don't break down in Portugal.
You were in a hotel. Or Hotels. Most hotels can receive and print forms. Most are helpful and will let use their phone.
Why not ask for it to be dropped at a dealer. It would be easier to ride after being fixed.
Repatriation? It got repatriated. Ok it took 3 weeks. Its back and so are you. You didn't have to pay your bike was covered.
Your holiday was ruined. Did you have travel insurance?
BMW flew you home?
BMW paid for your hotel.
You might be stuck with the taxi ride. could be a lot worse.
The BMW breaking down cause it rained, Not so good. Not getting it fixed quickly, Not so good.
Repatriation seams like pretty good service to me.
Fortunately my old BMW. With no cover. Has never had an issue. The piece of mind with a warranty and assistance on a new bike. Is appealing despite your frustrations. It worked?
Getting your bike shipped home? Would have cost a few bob.
Thanks for your comment.
The conclusion was actually to make sure you have repatriation cover, though don’t break down in Portugal is also advisable!!
Regarding printing the forms, this would have involved emailing the forms to the hotel, them printing out the forms, you filling them in, them scanning the forms into their system and emailing them back to you to then email onto BMW, all this needing to be explained to someone in another language. Nowadays we have things like DocuSign, system which allow you take photos of doc (like log books etc) to up load etc - having to print out and sign forms to send them back is extremely old fashioned and just not an appropriate system under the circumstances.
Rerpairing the bike: We did try to get them to take the bike to a dealer for repair, we tried for four days! The bike ended up being repatriated because BMW’s Portuguese agents were incapable of getting it to a dealers for repair in time for us to ride it home. (as it happens, even if they had got it to a dealer the issue with the bike couldn’t have been fixed in time regardless…but that’s for another video!)
As for the repatriation being a good service, the actual time it really took to get the bike repatriated was fine once the process was kicked off, the issue was with the differing expectations etc that were given. Had they just said “It will be picked up over the next week and returned within 2 weeks of pick up” and then updated us with correct data it would have been fine - the issue was we were given unrealistic expectations and false information throughout the process. How can you trust the repatriation service if you can see via your tracker that they are lying?
I completely agree with much of the rest of your views, the biggest takeaway is definitely, don’t go abroad with out suitable repatriation cover and read the small print so you know what to expect. If we hadn’t have this level of cover, even if poorly executed, things would have been much worse.
@@whojamaflip1 From the looks of the other comments/experiences & countries posted here - the advice should just be "don't break down" - the country seems to be largely immaterial.
@@LifeInChrono I agree, though as I have said elsewhere, I think the biggest issue here was more around the poor estimations of possibility of repair from the team and then the downright made up details of the repatriation by that team. Had our expectations been set correctly from the start we wouyld have approached the whole affair very differently.
unfortunately, the new bike will break down. which is the whole point and they still keep fitting the substandard parts.
Would never buy a European brand. Japanese reliability all the way. May not be the coolest, but there again it's not cool being stuck at the roadside.
Japenese , especially Honda do have the best reputation for reliability...Know what you mean about the roadside :(
What a nightmare and possibly due to a very baisic issue.
I would like to hope so, but it doesn't appear the case - from what our local BMW dealer is saying so far it is sounding like water ingress into the electrical system, which could mean it needs a considerable amount of its electrical systems replaced........we'll see.
It feels wrong doing a "Thumbs up" - But - "All Hail The Algorithm" ...
Poor Mark.
I am not going to defend Portugal here ; since I have experienced many of the "office / paperwork" problems myself - and am used to the Weekend problem (although I would say that is historically exactly what the UK was like 'n ' numbers of years ago... Many countries are still the same that way - 5 working days : and that's it. + add the "talvez amanhã" and it is next to impossible to rush anything... )
I am glad to see the whole video (I have been waiting for this to drop ) - a lot of the story is now fully told :-)
The Taxi ride to Porto sounds fun - Portugal does not have many big Theme parks to get your "scary ride" fix - But apparently you can get the mobile version ;-)
(I should not joke about that because it sounded literally life threatening)
Part two is being awaited with Antici ... 👄.... pation ...
Thumbs up appreciated :) It does make quite a tale, even if it’s a sob story!
@@whojamaflip1 Not really a 'sob story' - a set of 'snafus' that would drive most normal people insane. Since Insurance companies rely on stuff "not happening" as a business model (and that is what BMW Assist is - Bolt on Insurance) - they put together plans that are rarely tested : I wonder how many times BMW have had to recover a bike from PT - Probably could count on one hand.. ? ... (perhaps)
@Flub-A-Dub the policy covers both bikes and cars, and the office in UK definitely knew their Portugal counterparts were rubbish….so Allianz should have enough info to deal with their agents.
As for sending you insane…..as you say, for a normal person it’s a problem. But for Mark….perhaps a tad too late????
A Replacement similar bike would have been an easy solution. As long as that didn’t break down.
You would have thought so…but they will only give out hire cars.
@ shame. Why sort out an easy solution when you have the chance to justify your existence!!
Must be a tick box sheet somewhere. Surprised you’ve not had an email asking “How did we do?”
We have had those emails......in some cases the rating may not have been 10/10 😂
This keyless ride might be fancy but shit I rather have a physical key than been stranded ,on my 6 gsa and hate the electronics and always ride with gs911 tool
The thing is keyless ride is so common you’d have thought they could get it right by now! 😂
What Three Words only works if both parties are using the App in the same language. If one user is using it in English and the other in Portuguese, Spanish or German the words will have no meaning.
That explains why they couldn’t use it 😁
@@whojamaflip1It’s a basic flaw that What Three Words don’t mention.
It's a insurance company dabbling in motorcycle repair and repatriation not there main business.
Couldn't agree more
Wow buddy, 3 hours to wait for breakdown and no usb port....I hope BMW will pay for the PTSD therapy you need.
Do I detect a little sarcasm?? 😂😂
I waited three and a half hours on the outskirts of Folkestone, Britannia Rescue. Starter motor failure. Tech that looks after bike advised me always have extended warranty cover on newish BMW bikes once BMW warranty expires.
On the continent most dealer garage services are closed weekends, in France Mondays can be difficult. Is it any different in the uk?
1100/1150 GSA better option than a 1300GSA. Reminds me of my late father’s advice, never buy a car in the first year or two of launch, 1960/70s. Relevant to a 2024 BMW bike.
I think the biggest difference about being in the UK is that on the Sunday the bike returned to the UK there was someone there to accept it at the dealer and we had communication wiht them about likely fix times by Tuesday morning. Had the Portugeuse guys done that we would have been in a much better position.
@@whojamaflip1 Surprised to hear that uk dealers are available on a Sunday. Moral of story, if your bike breaks down pray it’s on a Monday or Tuesday.
@jeanjacques9980 only to accept the bike as they are open for sales, they couldn’t diagnose on a Sunday. Sat am a lot of dealers have mechanics in though.
My wife's bike broke down at the highest point in Portugal, didn't see the bike for 2 months after breakdown picked it up and in Portugal some how they dropped it off the pick up lorry 😂😂😂.
Must admit, that was a worry of ours too......yet to get the bike back, just about to hit 5 weeks, but it does look like the dealer should have the part soon to repair the bike 🎉🎉🎉
25k for a shite bike NOPE
Shite bike may be going a bit far….facing teething issue definitely, but to ride it’s anything but shite! 😊
Similar problem with an R1250GS not long ago...NO, NO, NO, never again. I now ride older bikes, buy them as garage queens with low KM, put some money into them to get all hoses, fluids, tires up to scratch and I can work on any of them any time with the tools on the bike. I love riding new bikes with tech, going to training on them, but I will never again be stuck by technology challenges in the back country with no hope of help by a local mechanic ever again. These bikes have reached a point of no return where we are slaves to a microchip.
Sorry you had such a terrible time...BMW should but will NEVER be ashamed of itself. BMW is a self-licking ice cream cone of stupidity.
I LOVE the phrase " a self-licking ice cream cone of stupidity" 🤣🤣🤣
I completely get your point about technology, the problem is this: there are more and more environmental/pollution zones going up which stop you taking old bikes into them (EG we are going to Germany next year and there are areas we will have to avoid because my brothers 2006 Deauville is not complainant and you are simply not allowed to enter the zone with it.) so at some point I think we will be forced to become reliant on these types opf technology...or be very limited where we can go.
Which considering the amount of mileage most bikes do and the environmental damage caused to replace them, is absolute dogmatic environmental stupidity. (That's without even getting to the cost!)
any other motorcycle you'd most likely repair on the spot...
I dunno, there aren't many bikes without significant levels of electronics to go wrong, and all of which will baffle most people on the roadside....even something like the Honda SuperCub 125 has keyless ignition! I think the big question is which bikes are reliable enough not to leave you on the roadside in the first place!
@@whojamaflip1 If I have modern BMW bike first thing I'd buy to carry with me is ODB2 scanner, BMW error code reader. Many issues are just stilly quirks that can be "fixed" if you know what is the problem.
I don't get the whole "BMW Assist" story? What is it? How much are you paying for it?
BMW provide it as part of the package as you buy the bike, its meant to provide a high level breakdown service across europe.
@@whojamaflip1 do you pay anything extra (on top of the bike) for it?
Anyway, it's just like any other insurance: the goal of the insurance company is to provide as little coverage as possible, cut as many corners as possible, and spend as little money on you as possible.
In case it's a free bonus for the bike purchase, you should be happy they did at least SOMETHING to help you.
I agree that insurance companies often try to cut corners for profit as much as possible....however I can't agree with you about being happy with it though.....
Its not free, you may not see a specific line on the invoice, but you are paying a lot extra for a premium brand and this is part of that package, so you are paying for it in one way or another. And it forms part of your contract when you buy the bike.
You wouldn't say for example you should feel grateful that they repair the bike when it breaks down because the bike came with a warrantee and that is a free bonus, you would just expect them to repair it and do it properly. The same is the case here, they offer a service as part of the deal when you buy the bike, they should then deliver that service, deliver it as promised and efficient because you have paid for it as part of buying the bike and they have made detailed promises about what they will deliver.
At the end of the day, BMW say they are selling you a premium motorbike with a premium set of back ups should something go wrong, BMW should make sure they follow through on that promise or they have mis-sold you the bike.
If we just take the attitude of "at least they did something" then this only encourages the behaviour from the insurance companies to cut corners as much as possible.
This is technically what’s known as a middle aged mega moan😂. I’ve got several in production.
😂😂😂
How many sales have BMW lost due to potential customers seeing their pathetic customer service, their head office is in Fleet Hampshire, just pop in and demand to see someone who is not working from home as most of their office staff do now, so demand the service you have paid for.
I think at the moment they are certainly losing sales on the GS due to a combination of the delay in sorting out the issues with the vario luggage and the reliability concerns….not sure how many people have got as far as having to speak to customer services!
I will suggest a BMW to Itchy Boots for her next travel.
🤣🤣🤣
Could add some extra excitement to her travels!
too loong story make some summary
🤣Sorry, but I like a good long yarn 😀
Premium experience.
Isn’t it just 😂😂😂
stopp keyless go on bike pls, it is silly and unnecesarry tech
I like keyless....its the lack of manual back up that bothers me.......I mean, why make a bike you can't take the steering lock off with the key?? As I have said elsewhere, almost all bikes have immobilisers now (Take Honda's HISS as an example) and if that fails you are as stuck as we were......but at least you can manually move the bike!
Bring
More
Wrench
:)
Sure, you didn't get a great service, but understand that you do need to receipt everything. BUT - in painting your picture - you dismiss the arrival of the flat-bed as having jump-leads for a car or truck. those leads work of course - so keep it real.
Actually the jump leads didn’t work, they were too big to fit in the gap needed to reach the battery terminals, with the shape of the top of the battery they couldn’t have even connected with the battery removed from the bike.
@@whojamaflip1 Good point well made about the jump leads. When you called for recovery, I was under the impression that somebody might turn up with an error code reader, identify the fault, try to reset it, if not then call for full recovery. But it appears not. Sorry to hear about the issue, thanks for the video, I will copy and share. Hope you get the right result and refunds.
Nothing so advanced at all! I can’t complain about the guy who came, it’s the systems fault as it is basically set up for car recovery and little thought to bike recovery. The guy did his best but was never really going to stand much chance and he knew that.
Jump starting a lithium battery via conventional means is not recommended! Battery chargers should also be specific to lithium. It has been published elsewhere, a conventional battery charger with slow, low voltage input will work?
No idea, Sounds like it’s a good job he couldn’t make a decent connection!
I heard the gs 1300 is having lots of issues and recalls. Stay away. Plus i am only 57 and not old enough for a gs.
BMW appear to oftern have new bike issues! Re being too young for a GS, fair comment!!! However at 56 and having ridden both the R1250 GS and R1300GS, I'd say the 1300 is a very different beast and potentially aimed at a younger crowd.
What a cluster F
Oh yes!
Wow the both of you would send a glass eye to sleep
@bernie1964 says the man with 7 subscribers in 13 years 😂😂😂😂
Sorry your hols sucked so much 😕
Our take-away... 1. R1300, not reliable 2. Never breakdown in Portugal. 3. Never break down and expect BMW Assist to take responsibility. OK, simple enough.
Thanks, 2 of three weeks we’d good at least :) Takeaways look pretty spot on!
In a taxi, no recipe no payment.
Easier said than done in another country and another language :)
BRING MORE WALLET BMW
nothing more these days
@@motooilermotooiler9597 😂
@ honest. I still have r80gs, k75, r1100gs and r1100s but I think nothing newer will come into my garage.
Just don’t trust the brand anymore since the bikes became more about money than real motorcycling and friendship-freedom. Feck! Spit!
BMW = BM trouble you .
I am hearing a lot of that since posting the video
I would of been tamping, BMW let you down badly,
Should of arranged a loan bike,
Don't know about you I've sold bikes with less of a problem than this, I would of hired a vehicle and drove and picked it up myself,
It is a worry long term, if they can’t suitably repair the bike and make it reliable, we may look at rejecting it.
The R1300GS sounds like a dud.
Possibly our Mark’s GS, but there isn’t a lot of chatter on the internet about GS faults for the 1300
What a load off major hassle
Unfortunately yes 😒
Stick shift 😂, are you american
I think just nervous infront of a camera...