Administrators Eric Hall Posted May 10, 2017 Administrators My Rides (3) Report Share Posted May 10, 2017 This has been becoming a bigger problem every day it seems. I first saw this last November at LAB2V as it happened to Dennis Godwin's GSA (for the second time). Another GS riding the event had a complete failure and separation. Then I've been hearing about it and seeing it more and more since. Seems like kind of a big deal. But I would like to point out that it does support what I've been saying for about four years now and that is the new liquid cooled GS/GSA is NOT more suited to dirt than the oil head generation. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Eric Hall Posted May 10, 2017 Author Administrators My Rides (3) Report Share Posted May 10, 2017 There's actually a group on Facebook started to follow this issue and as of now there are 201 likes and 240 people following it. And let's not forget the issue with the first year and a half models that had the head tube cracking. At least they fixed that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Eric Hall Posted May 10, 2017 Author Administrators My Rides (3) Report Share Posted May 10, 2017 This is the other guy who had the same problem at LAB2V. Not sure how long this has been a problem but someone has a reinforcement clamp they're selling for it already. I'll post a link to that when I find it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Eric Hall Posted May 10, 2017 Author Administrators My Rides (3) Report Share Posted May 10, 2017 This seems to be what I was talking about here too. BMW walking away from their dirt cred essentially. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Eric Hall Posted May 11, 2017 Author Administrators My Rides (3) Report Share Posted May 11, 2017 33 minutes ago, 556baller said: In situations where the part failed, was it under "normal" conditions? Meaning, could some of the riders exceeding the limitations of their bikes stock hardware? Or is did BMW make a change in the fork design that resulted in compromised front fork tubes? Yeah they changed the design. I beat the heck out of my '11 GSA off road and never had an issue with the forks. I wish I knew more about when they made this change because I didn't hear about the problem until last November. One might assume they've had these same forks since '13 but I could be wrong. 9k reach on Facebook! Seems like kind of a big deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Eric Hall Posted May 11, 2017 Author Administrators My Rides (3) Report Share Posted May 11, 2017 And now a petition https://www.change.org/p/bmw-motorcycles-bmw-motorrad-should-investigate-and-report-publicly-on-fork-stanchion-separation-issue?recruiter=553014422&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_page&utm_term=mob-xs-no_src-no_msg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Eric Hall Posted May 15, 2017 Author Administrators My Rides (3) Report Share Posted May 15, 2017 This Facebook page dedicated to the stanchion problem (now at about 491 followers) is reporting that BMW's going to issue a recall shortly and send some type of clips to the dealer to perform a modification of the fork caps. Stay tuned for BMW's official announcement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Eric Hall Posted May 17, 2017 Author Administrators My Rides (3) Report Share Posted May 17, 2017 More recon work on this from other forums and discovered a few tidbits... Interestingly, either BMW and/or their dealers (BMW Denver) seem to be nullifying warranty claims on this if the rider had risers and/or scratches on their crash bars (basically blaming the rider). Of course we all have seen how the bike are marketed (GS Trophy, BDR, etc...) Very interesting speculation on the reason why they changed the fork design was to save weight. Seems to be plausible. Save money too though? Perhaps. There's a "fix" being marketed for this problem called the BT Cycles Stanch Clamp. Link here. $147 And a graphic from inmate Brokein2 that offers his explanation for the forces causing the failure: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Eric Hall Posted May 18, 2017 Author Administrators My Rides (3) Report Share Posted May 18, 2017 Because the front telelever shock does all the damping and compression, the forks are simply stanchions that act to keep the wheel straight but don't perform and typical fork-like function. They are basically just cylinders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Eric Hall Posted June 21, 2017 Author Administrators My Rides (3) Report Share Posted June 21, 2017 This is a pic of the first time I heard of this problem last November on Dennis's bike And then there's a very long thread building on a South African page on Facebook about this problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Eric Hall Posted June 21, 2017 Author Administrators My Rides (3) Report Share Posted June 21, 2017 Article on the topic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGorman Posted June 24, 2017 My Rides (4) Report Share Posted June 24, 2017 Interestingly, either BMW and/or their dealers (BMW Denver) seem to be nullifying warranty claims on this if the rider had risers and/or scratches on their crash bars (basically blaming the rider). Of course we all have seen how the bike are marketed (GS Trophy, BDR, etc...) Very interesting speculation on the reason why they changed the fork design was to save weight. Seems to be plausible. Save money too though? Perhaps....I typically don't nose around in the BMW camp but saw Eric's post of FB and having friends who have GS models, took a look. Looks like they are safe, none are LC motors.Has any of these riders mentioned noticing any warning signs before they let loose like a clunking? Scratches on a crash bar? Sounds like the dealer didn't want to process it. KTM and Arctic Cat have great warranty service, especially goodwill warranties. I've been asked to warrant some sketchy stuff over the years but my guess would be the fork caused the scratches, as in a loss of control. Besides, crash bars are meant to be scratched! BMW should have threaded those like the lowers of a traditional fork. Those bikes aren't exactly svelte. Be interesting to see what the fix is.Marketing has been the topic for this weekend's dual sport. Guys new to the Adv scene are wanting to ride our east coast dual sports, which are run on true enduro single track trails, on GS's with 50/50 tires. BMW and KTM do an awesome job of showing us what their beasts can do in the hands of a pro. It's not really fair to the consumer who finds out 30 yards down a muddy dingle track, just how difficult it is to ride an XL Adv. I'm a fairly confident rider/racer and my 640Adv is pushing the limits on those particular trails, it'd have to be bone dry to ride my 950. In fact, I'm opting to ride my 250 Sunday with all the rain today. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Eric Hall Posted June 24, 2017 Author Administrators My Rides (3) Report Share Posted June 24, 2017 Scratches on the crash bars as in if you've ever dropped this bike we're not going to claim your forks under warranty because you've "crashed" it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Eric Hall Posted June 24, 2017 Author Administrators My Rides (3) Report Share Posted June 24, 2017 I wrote this yesterday in my blog section after an anonymous source came forth saying that the crimping of the forks was just a band aid for a previously flawed design outlined in a service bulletin dated April 2013 (just weeks after the fatal accident of Kevin Ash at the GS launch). I had read the crimping solution was designed from the get-go as a way to reduce weight (and cost?) but it seems it was to cover up another bad design. In hindsight, BMW probably should have redesigned the forks but the cost, retooling, redesign with possible new geometry could not derail their launch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Eric Hall Posted June 24, 2017 Author Administrators My Rides (3) Report Share Posted June 24, 2017 BMW South Africa is on board (as is Australia) now for getting this fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Eric Hall Posted June 24, 2017 Author Administrators My Rides (3) Report Share Posted June 24, 2017 Another anonymous tip just received... An anonymous fried of mine (here in Southern California) called me just now to report that... A service tech at his dealer told him "not to ride your LC GS/GSA" until this fork issue is resolved. Service technician also says it's his belief that BMW Motorrad USA on Monday will release a statement of recall This recall says they are not to sell ANY new or used inventory until this issue is resolved 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Eric Hall Posted June 24, 2017 Author Administrators My Rides (3) Report Share Posted June 24, 2017 Let me point something out here. Not to toot our own horn but have you heard anything about this issue from any of the usual motorcycle press? Didn't think so, but I Googled "BMW Fork Stanchion" to see and found NOTHING from any of the press. Why would they bite the hand that feeds them? However, I did see us in the #2 spot! That's called "credibility." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Eric Hall Posted June 24, 2017 Author Administrators My Rides (3) Report Share Posted June 24, 2017 Not necessarily a correction but updated info on the blog post I did yesterday about this so-called "confidential" April '13 recall... Turns out it was publicly available information. I just found it this morning Article from Motorcycle USA "BMW has issued a recall for its redesigned 2013 R1200GS. The recall concerns a loose locking bolt for the front fork. The defect potentially affects 15 units shipped to BMW dealers. Documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration state BMW discovered a potential issue in late January 2013. A BMW endurance riding test showed a loose locking bolt on the company’s proprietary telelever front fork, with the torque determined to be below spec. Subsequent tests in January and Februrary revealed the extent of bolt loosening – concluding that “an insufficient seal between the locking bolt and fork tube would cause the bolt to loosen over time.” 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGorman Posted June 25, 2017 My Rides (4) Report Share Posted June 25, 2017 Only 15 units? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Eric Hall Posted June 25, 2017 Author Administrators My Rides (3) Report Share Posted June 25, 2017 2 hours ago, MGorman said: Only 15 units? The recall notice I saw said 16 but I think they were the first 16 units delivered back in 2013. This was April, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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