About 3 weeks ago, a buddy and I trailer down to Lexington Ky from Chicago planning on riding all the twisty roads from there to Northern Georgia over a 4 day mini vacation. A few miles into a very tasty road(213 south of Stanton, KY) my 2005 GS feels looser then Brittany Spears after shotgunning a six pack of Malt liquor.. it just won't corner right. I checked my tire pressures so I know that isn't it and it is bugging me more and more all morning. It feels as if there is a hinge in my swing arm. I finally put it up on the center stand and check it out....yikes, 2-3 inches of play in the rear wheel. Next morning I ride to Two wheels in Robbinsville, NC and they pull the wheel and hub and you can see the teeth are badly damaged on the spline that mates up with the shaft. Limp it back to my trailer in Lexington and then get an appointment 2 weeks out at Chicago BMW. I am worried as I am a year and a month out of warranty but the Service Mgr tells me he may be able to get a favor.
I drop the bike off and he tells me that his BMW rep will supply the Rear drive unit at no charge. They don't repair it...just replace the whole thing. I have to pay the labor. I'm not happy but figure that the drive at $1700.00 is the main cost. A few days later I get another call and he asks me if I want the bad news or the worse news. The bad news is that the brake pads wore out and scored the rotor. I tell him that it was of course due to the badly wobbling wheel....but no go. BMW won't pay for that. Of course now I'm thinking it can't get any worse right? The service manager tells me that he has been informed that there are 35 rear drives on back-order worldwide and it could be two months before I see one. After venting my extreme displeasure with BMW et al, he then asks me if I wouldn't mind come getting my bike as he doesn't want to store if for that long.....
I won't repeat my retort as this is a family forum.
The next day I get a call from him saying " don't come pick it up yet as he has a line on a drive out east somewhere. The next day he calls me and says that I can come get the bike by 6pm. This was the 4th day from my scheduled appointment. I told him to do an oil/filter change while it was there and I would come get it. Sent my son to get it as it is 1.5 hours in heavy traffic and why the hell do I have a teenager if not to run annoying errands for me and he brings it home. I don't look at the bill till later that evening and I am very pleasantly surprised. A rear rotor, synthetic oil, filter, rear drive, rear brake pads and 1 hour of labor, shop materials and tax, totaled $327.00
I still think BMW should have covered the labor and rotor. But....Chicago BMW could have charged me 2-3 hours for that work and I have to say that they did work hard and fast to get it done for me. I have bought bikes from them and used them for service most of the time. I have no connection otherwise but felt that I really had to make people aware of the excellent way I was treated. I think the service manager may have mad things sound worse then they were and then looked like a hero when he pulled it all together but hell....we all love a little drama right?
I took it up to some twisty roads in South Western Wisconsin today and I am so tickled with the handling again that I may just ride my GS out to CCR instead of the LT.
Ron
I drop the bike off and he tells me that his BMW rep will supply the Rear drive unit at no charge. They don't repair it...just replace the whole thing. I have to pay the labor. I'm not happy but figure that the drive at $1700.00 is the main cost. A few days later I get another call and he asks me if I want the bad news or the worse news. The bad news is that the brake pads wore out and scored the rotor. I tell him that it was of course due to the badly wobbling wheel....but no go. BMW won't pay for that. Of course now I'm thinking it can't get any worse right? The service manager tells me that he has been informed that there are 35 rear drives on back-order worldwide and it could be two months before I see one. After venting my extreme displeasure with BMW et al, he then asks me if I wouldn't mind come getting my bike as he doesn't want to store if for that long.....
I won't repeat my retort as this is a family forum.
The next day I get a call from him saying " don't come pick it up yet as he has a line on a drive out east somewhere. The next day he calls me and says that I can come get the bike by 6pm. This was the 4th day from my scheduled appointment. I told him to do an oil/filter change while it was there and I would come get it. Sent my son to get it as it is 1.5 hours in heavy traffic and why the hell do I have a teenager if not to run annoying errands for me and he brings it home. I don't look at the bill till later that evening and I am very pleasantly surprised. A rear rotor, synthetic oil, filter, rear drive, rear brake pads and 1 hour of labor, shop materials and tax, totaled $327.00
I still think BMW should have covered the labor and rotor. But....Chicago BMW could have charged me 2-3 hours for that work and I have to say that they did work hard and fast to get it done for me. I have bought bikes from them and used them for service most of the time. I have no connection otherwise but felt that I really had to make people aware of the excellent way I was treated. I think the service manager may have mad things sound worse then they were and then looked like a hero when he pulled it all together but hell....we all love a little drama right?
I took it up to some twisty roads in South Western Wisconsin today and I am so tickled with the handling again that I may just ride my GS out to CCR instead of the LT.
Ron
