2009 BMW R 1200 R Complaints

Fuel gauge stopped responding, leading to running out of fuel while moving. This is a common failure on many bike models from BMW from 2005-2013. I have had this happen 4 times so far, and each time the fuel level measuring strip in the fuel tank was replaced. This repair is costly, and has proven it is at best a temporary solution. This is an unsafe condition since loss of engine power from running out of fuel can be quite dangerous on a motorcycle.

TECHNICIAN FOUND THAT THE ENGINE DOES NOT RESPOND TO THROTTLE INPUTS. DISCOVERED LEFT AND RIGHT THROTTLE BODY REQUIRE REPLACEMENT DUE TO CABLE CAMS ARE BROKEN. BOUGHT THIS BIKE FOR PARTS. CHOSE TO FIX IT UP GIVEN LOW MILEAGE. LOOKS LIKE PLASTIC CAM FRACTURES FREQUENTLY. LUCKY I FOUND OUT BEFORE I TRIED RIDING IT. NEWER MODELS BY MANUFACTURER AND AFTERMARKET PARTS OFFER METAL CAM. EVEN MY KIDS CAR SEATS NEED TO BE REPLACED AFTER 10 YEARS BECAUSE OF “PLASTICS FATIGUE/FAILURE”.

On 06-19-2023 i was North bound I275 north of 8 mile about 715pm. I was in the left lane going about 68 mph. All of a sudden my It felt like my throttle cable broke, when I twisted it there was no motor response forward and backward, but my motor was red lining against the Rev limiter, so I pulled in the clutch and it did not slow down at all. Actually I sped up to over 100 mph, thankfully there was noone in front of me, I steadily pulled on the front brake and stepped on the back brake until I came to a stop. The length I went was at least 1 1/2- 2 miles from when I thought the cable broke till I got it stopped. I had it towed to southeast bmw in Plymouth, MI. It's still in the shop as of July 31,2023. So I don't know what exactly went wrong yet. They are waiting on a part and said the throttle cable didn't break. My question is why did I continue to go faster while the clutch was in. Besides what ever went wrong on the bike and heavier pants, myself and the bike were not harmed.

The OEM plastic 90° quick discount fitting on top of the fuel pump started spraying fuel. I started smelling fuel on the interstate highway 10 and by the time I could pull over safely off the interstate I was covered with fuel. The fuel was running down on the hot exhaust pipe’s on the front left side of the motorcycle and spraying all over my face and legs. I could have been set on fire and burnt to death because of where the fuel was spraying from. This also could have cost the lives of the people on the interstate had i burst into flames and lost control of the motorcycle. When I called the BMW dealership in Tucson AZ the service tech told me that they had a medal aftermarket 90° fitting that would fix my problem. I replaced the fitting and the fuel leak was fixed. This motorcycle fuel pump was replaced 07/01/2014 at mileage 12,482 because of a fuel leak recall. I’m filling this report because this fitting fail happened without warning 15,700 miles after the fuel flange recall. This must be a common problem for the service tech to know over the phone the fox and have a aftermarket medal part that fixed the fuel leak. The location of this potential leak makes it extremely dangerous hazard.

2009 BMW R1200RT MOTORCYCLE REAR BEARING FAILURE THAT LED TO A FINAL DRIVE FAILURE. At highway speed, heard clicking noise from rear of bike. While parked on center stand and spinning rear wheel, heard a terrible grinding sound. Who knows what would have happened had I not exited when I did. This left me stranded, requiring a tow; repair took two days and was over $3,000.

The fuel strip located inside the tank which sends an electronic signal to the dash gauge indicating the amount of fuel available until the low fuel warning light comes on malfunctions and eventually fails. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request. On three separate occasions (two on 55 mph + roads with two + lanes of traffic and once on a local 35 mph one lane road) I was driving and the fuel level indicated a sufficient amount to travel to my destination when the tank abruptly ran dry with no warning and I had to coast to the side of the road stranded and had to call for roadside assistance. The problem occurred within two to three years of the vehicle being in service. The factory warranty covers 3 years/3600 miles. To the best of my knowledge, the problem first occurred in 2011 or 2012. I am not sure if the first occurrence was covered under the original manufacturers factory warranty but I would not pay out of pocket cost to have the fuel strip replaced. After many complaints and incidences from other owners the manufacturer notified owners by mail that the fuel strip warranty was extended to 12 years from original date of sale. By extending the warranty terms I would hope that the manufacturer planned to give its engineers time to come up with a permanent fix for this ongoing problem, but chose to only keep replacing the defective part with another sure to fail part continuing in a cycle of frustration and endangering rider safety. My vehicle is now in the 13th year of service and is no longer covered by the extended warranty. I voiced my concerns to the BMW Customer Service representatives and they acknowledge the warranty has now expired with no permanent fix or resolve to the original problem. This malfunction has been well documented at BMW motorcycle dealers both in the US and worldwide. My concerns have fallen on deaf ears. Check the service records at any BMW motorcycle dealer and you will find many replaced fuel strips under the warranty.

Throttle body cams broken, no symtoms, could have caused crash from complete power loss to the engine, could have crashed or been hit. Dealer replaced.

MY SECOND MOTORCYCLE TO HAVE THROTTLE BODY CAM FAILURE. THIS IS BECOMING AN ISSUES AS THESE BIKE REACH HIGHER MILEAGE.

BMW HAVE RECALL CAMPAIGN NO. 20V-471: FUEL PUMP. THE DEALER IN MY AREA (5TH GEAR CYCLE 1200 W SW EXPY DR, BROKEN ARROW, OK 74012) IS NOT ABLE TO SCHEDULE SERVICE BEFORE END OF JULY. BIKE CURRENTLY IS UNUSABLE AS FUEL DRIPS OVER THE EXHAUST.

THROTTLE BODY PLASTIC CAMS BROKE ACCELERATING INTO ON RAMP OF I4 IN ORLANDO. THIS CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO IMMEDIATELY SLOW DOWN TO IDLE INTO REAR APPROACHING TRAFFIC.