Rethinking preconceived notions...BMW F 750 GS

Dirt_Dad

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She probably hasn't yet found what that is doing to her pants.
argh

If she likes the bike that much, my thought is to just buy chains and be happy.

So was the service at Dulles, District, or Bobs?
Trust, me...she has seen what it is doing to her Klim gear purchased earlier this year. Not happy about it.

Service was at Dulles.

I'm still deciding what I think of the dealer. This ain't Romney, that's for sure. Definitely more upscale then I'm used to. But 3 weeks after buying the bike, when I'm at a Tenere event in Colorado, the dealer is sending me a FedEx due to issues with how the sales contract was completed. Then 3 weeks after that I finally get notified from BMW Financial Services the account has been establish. After logging in to my new account, I find the numbers, all numbers (amount financed, monthly payment, and even the amount I sent to the dealer in the FedEx) are complete wrong.

I'm not sure who is getting the blame on this one, the dealer or BMW FS. It's not worked out yet, and it could impact my intention to pay off the bike before the next interest hit later this week. Beware of those teasers that say 'finance with BMW and we'll give you a $1k off.' So far, I'm not impressed.
 

Dirt_Dad

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They make small cans of chain lube/wax too.
Actually 3 of the 5 bikes currently sitting in my garage are chain drive. The other two have suffered a neglected life. Having this one my inspire me to give a little more attention to the other chains in my life. I could probably use a larger can.
 

Nikolajsen

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I could make my chain on my previus Transalp to last 25.000 miles...
Only lubricating manual.
And only when the "rollers" would be blank (glossy?), (but ASAP after this)
Also never any adjustment, only when changing tire of course.

And if possible when the chain would still be warm, the the not wantet stuff in the oil will evaporate so quickly, the the oil will be sticky when you start driving again.
But still a mess of oil...but not as much as with a scottoilet, my buddi have one on his Transalp.
And åh boy, what a change it makes on a scottoiler, when the weather is cold or warm....:eek::mad:
 

Highwayman

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I will also admit theyre great bikes to ride. Before my S10 purchase Id always rent a GS through EagleRider for trips to other states. Always enjoyed them. The biggest drawback for me personally against owning one vs a S10 is dealership network. There just isnt anywhere close to the network of Yamaha. Every small town has a Yamaha dealer or one nearby.
 
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RonH

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Sounds like the "BMW owner experience" they sell along with the motorcycle has not changed much since I had one back in 1990. Take to dealer, dealer screws up multiple items, pay your fee, argue with dealer over multiple items screwed up, ride a couple thousand miles, repeat, repeat forever.
As to the chain, I hate the mess and there is no getting around that unless you never lube. I would assume BMW uses a tiny chain guard, if any, for cleaner looks. All the miles I put on a chain were on old Kawasaki KZ650 and KZ1000 that had this big ugly black plastic guard. Ugly, but mostly confined oil mess to the wheel at least.
Is that a BMW factory filter? I've never seen a gasket failure on a filter in my life of riding and driving.
 
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EricV

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My experience with the F650GS twin chains were that a fresh chain would need an adjustment within about 600 miles, then be fine for nearly the life of the chain. However, the next time I realized it needed to be adjusted, that was my signal to order a new chain and sprockets ASAP because it would quickly go down hill from there and continuing to adjust the chain was self defeating. I usually kept a set of take off sprockets and never used anything but steel sprockets on that bike. The BMW factory chains are continuous loop, so require removal of the swing arm to install. Nuts, and creates a huge labor charge for the dealer. They act like no one has been using rivet master links all these years. I carried a clip master link as an emergency repair, but also a rivet master link and the rivet tool in the pannier. Never needed to re-do a rivet master link on any of our trips, including the wet 30 day Alaska/Yukon trip. YMMV.

edit - we usually saw 20k from a chain on average, using DID chains. 15k or less from a BMW OEM chain under equal circumstances.
 

twodogs

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Hey DD,

The old guy here...... or the canary.

Remember who is to be happy. You or DM. :rolleyes:

Keep it simple for both of you. The best on your problem solving.
 
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ballisticexchris

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My gosh!! This thread has turned into a shaft vs chain. I'm blown away by some of the responses here.
 

Dirt_Dad

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Hey DD,

The old guy here...... or the canary.

Remember who is to be happy. You or DM. :rolleyes:

Keep it simple for both of you. The best on your problem solving.
As always, your wisdom in appreciated...and very nice to hear from you.

My chain grumbling has pretty much ended at this point. However, she is fully up on the back and forth with the dealer on the incorrect numbers. Can't really keep her away from that one...she's poised and ready to send the payoff. Just have to get final word from the dealer on their corrective actions.

The bike is good. The BMW dealer front office and service department make me wish Romney sold BMWs. Which is exactly what I told Kevin when we were out there on Saturday. I don't think he's going to do it.
 
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ballisticexchris

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It's painful for me to read having so many issues with a new bike. I feel for you. I went through almost the same thing with my KTM 300EXC. It was the biggest money pit I ever owned. I ended up fixing most all the issues myself.
 

Dirt_Dad

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The bike issues are minor. An oil filter that was due for change, and an automatic oiler that I haven't figured out yet. I'll want to get her highway pegs somehow, but that's about it with the bike itself. Not awful.

To be still figuring out the contract 6 weeks after buying the bike is definitely an irritant. But this too shall pass.
 

EricV

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I'll want to get her highway pegs somehow,
If you have crash bars on DM's bike, this may work: LINK

I don't think this is do-able for the GS, but a nice price point. LINK

We had an older pair of these mounted to the crash bars, but I just think the price is obscene for what you get. LINK
 

Dirt_Dad

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I believe her high crash bars are too high for any of these. Probably need to install lower bars first.
 

TNWalker

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ballisticexchris

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That oil filter leaking was not acceptable IMO. As far as highway bars, I'm on the fence with those. Has she ever ridden long miles without them? I'm actually thinking of getting a set myself. OTOH, they look like something to snap off or get shoved into the cases in a tipover. As I get older it's becoming harder to stay planted in the saddle between fuel stops. I really wonder how much the highway pegs help. I'm still able to manage with seated squats and stretches while riding.

Yet another highway peg option that may or may not work. The price is not too bad.
https://www.t-rex-racing.com/Universal-Highway-Pegs-for-T-Rex-Racing-guards-p/hwpegs.htm

Steve
I was looking at those in another thread. Very adjustable and cheap!!
 

TNWalker

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I have been running the Moto Werks pegs on my Tenere' with Yamaha engine guards for years. Those along with the RDL seat make it an all day bike for sure. They work great.

Steve
 

EricV

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I believe her high crash bars are too high for any of these. Probably need to install lower bars first.
Possibly, but the Moto Werk ones would hang down quite a bit, which should give you a viable option on the upper bars. (first link in my post) That was where I was heading with her SWMotech bars before I changed here over to Rumbux bars.
 

Tenman

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Motowerk pegs stuck to far out for me mounted on Altriders. They looked like they could destroy something if I dumped it. If you get some. Hold them in position and decide. If you stick a bolt in them. They won't take them back.
 

Dirt_Dad

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Possibly, but the Moto Werk ones would hang down quite a bit, which should give you a viable option on the upper bars. (first link in my post) That was where I was heading with her SWMotech bars before I changed here over to Rumbux bars.
I took a second look (not on the phone). They do look like a possibility. I'd have to take a look to see where they might go in a tip over. Hate to have them end a trip in the event of a simple fall.
 

EricV

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I took a second look (not on the phone). They do look like a possibility. I'd have to take a look to see where they might go in a tip over. Hate to have them end a trip in the event of a simple fall.
Yes, that is a very real consideration for any highway peg. Even the Kuryakyn Longhorn pegs I use on my Rumbux crash bars had to be placed as inboard as possible to avoid breakage in a fall. Mounted to the lower crash bars they are unlikely to do damage to the bike, but when I had them mounted outboard and dumped the bike crossing a ditch it snapped one off on impact. :(

It's a trade off we all have to decide on. Sacrifice the highway peg possibly in a tip over and enjoy the extra comfort of being able to move your feet around while riding, or as you said, risk potential additional extra damage to the bike in a drop.
 
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