BMW vs OTHERS

All to do with motorcylcles.............


1. Do you think the BMW brand is superior to other manufacturers and why?

2. Do you think BMW is a premium brand worth paying more for than others and why?

3. Do you think BMW riders are any different to that of other brands and why?


answer any or all, let's hear your opinions........

I think the BMW system in South Africa is superior to other systems in terms of Reliability and turn around time. It is probably the best value for money system for the rider that uses his bike everyday.

The same is probably not true for professional racers and within Europe ??

I am not going to answer your questions directly BUT:

1. Do you think blonds are superior to redheads and why?

2. Do you think blonds are premium and worth paying more for than others and why?

3. Do you think blond riders are any different to that of redheads and why?

I do not know the answers either ... boils down to personal choice I guess...

My technical knowledge of bikes are extremely little so if anybody is still interested - here is my 2 cents worth...

For the past few years I have been involved in the Magnum Classic Motorcycle Rally that is being run each year in August from Badplaas, usualy around the same time as the economy run. The rally is for motorcycles pre 1980. At these rallies my designated job is usualy the sweep.

Compared to other brands, if I must remeber quickly I picked up a BMW twice once for a puncture and once for a magneto issue.

This Bike gets ridden once a year at the rally and has won the past two rallies



Another brand at the start



a Collection of BMW's at a lunch stop



The Pretoria old Motor Club also host as one of it's social second Sunday events a bike day (by the way this years day will be on the 14th Sept)

These bikes arrive by trailer





This Bike was ridden to the event



So, yes I am a very pro BMW person

Excellent new thread - compliments. Personally i have been a Honda fan since 1976, when i first started riding, without a license then - detail to follow on the who's who thread as soon as i have all the old photos scanned. But that as an aside.
I have been the proud owner of a R1100S that was stolen in Aug 04, whereafter i bought my first LT, and upgraded in 2007 to a new LT. My inputs to your 3 points are as follows. (Without sounding snobish)

1. Yes - I do, the planning and development going into the bikes speaks for itself. Its reliability and the general superior roadholding speaks for itself. In the bigger picture - would even say that, given the special features developed and inlcuded in all models, makes it the safest bikes on the road.

2. Yes - again. All the special features such as ABS, servo asisted braking and the rest makes the bikes safer, but will surely hike up the prices. The difference in the initial pricing is quickly made up by the low maintenance cost. A service every 10 000kms, on average a service for the LT is in the region of R1000 to R1200. All maintenance cost considered, the running maintenance cost of the LT is roughly R0.01 per km.

3. Yes - again. To a certain extent and now i am not downgrading the other brands or brandowners - will always have a soft spot for the Honda brand - as mentioned. We have paid roughly 30% to 40% more for our bikes than the same models under the other brand names. So without sounding snobbish that gives one a certain feeling of i am riding a better bike - in my opinion - resulting thereing that we might feel a little above the rest.

I bought the LT to provide me with the packing space - for daily commuting to and from work, that one would have in a smallish car. It is also the ultimate touring bike and given it shortcomings, such as a slower pull-away, more difficult to wiggle in traffic (because of it size), relatively low top-end of only 220, the special features it gives me makes it stand out for me. Given the same choice to make - i will everytime chose the LT. Regards and safe riding. LeRoy

1&2 :I am not the type of guy you would normally associate with BMW brand. In army uniform and not the top rank when i decided 2 years ago I had walked in at 2 bike shops of opposing brands in Zambesi. I was promptly ignored , could be my camouflage uniform was just too good, or they had already classed me as not worth talking to. when they eventually spoke to me they tried to get it over and done with in about 5 minutes flat. Thereafter walked in at BMW and they immediately spent 2 hours explaining all the bikes to me. I bought my 650GS then and 3 weeks ago got me my dream bike the 1200GS. Will never look to another brand again. Just because of the time and patience spent by the BMW personnel to ensure that their customers are happy. Therefore I am happy to pay the extra premium and know that I get the best care and service .

Q3: I don't do much of bike riding in a bunch but when I encounter another BMW on my road I will usually get a nod/wave or some sort acknowledgment . I once got to a holiday resort and they asked me what bike I was riding. I said"BMW". The reply was thank goodness , the other brands drink too much and try to break the place down. BMW are relaxed guys.

That's my 2 cents worth

HP

Now my question is - have you taken part in the monthly club rides. I also rather tour on my own, but every once in a while riding and touring in a group is nice. Should try it. Maybe it is the pack animal instinct still manivesting itself. Regards. LeRoy

MadnohB - seems like you got a wide variety of opinions here. So many people so many different opinions. Agree with you on one issue - given the chance again i will at a moments notice again buy a Beemer. Have done roughly 80 000 kms on Beemers without any incident over the last 4 years, and in great comfort. Regards.

Was waiting for a reaction……actually expecting some eyebrows to lift.

My “perceived” opinion initially was that the brand is superior to others. In practice the reality proofed otherwise.

No argument with the enjoyment factor……just those little (sometimes not so little) niggles that are somewhat annoying. Granted, once something does go wrong, the BM guys are super efficient in fixing it and with minimum inconvenience to the owner. But……..- and I must be honest to myself - my other brand bikes never required these type of attention.

methinks the BMW R & D is not up to scratch or it’s a case of money before R & D….. lets keep them Euros rolling, we will fix as we go along.

Sad actually if one thinks about it as some of the “recalls” that we have seen lately are quite serious (read dangerous) stuff. For example there was a recall very recent where the bolts securing the front brake rotors of a specific model (certain vin numbers) had to be replaced with bigger/stronger bolts.

On the bright (cynical) side ……..recalls are also affecting other brands

Reckon you are quite right iro the R & D not being up to scratch. Took a K1200S the other day for a test run whilst the LT was in for its 10 000 km service, and as i changed to 6th on the Ben Schoeman the bolt on the gear change broke completely off. Had to ride back to Bavaria in top gear.

Now this is but a small item - could have resulted therein that the clutch got burnt out - continuously pulling away in top can have that effect on a clutch. What worries me most is what about more serious issues - brake assemblies and suchlike. Regardless of this i still regard the BMW in the same light as i always have and always will.

But yes, Bavaria (Germany) can sharpen up on their R & D and Quality control to decrease on the number of recalls and changes to be made after a model has been launched. Regards.

Talking of R&D in Germany, I am watching the development of the new BMW S1000RR superbike with great interest. Because they are going to race it from next year, they will have to put the necessary effort into the R&D if they want to be competitive. Reliability is essential if you want to compete with the Japs & Italians on the track. So we should reap the benefits because the S1000RR will be available to the public next year. Hopefully it will not take their eye off the ball in term of the other models. Wonder who in the club will have the first S.

I dont think that is a very difficult gues - believe Jamie has already placed his order.

Well, I might just be one to order one too. Will be a nice bike to alternate with the RT. One for the week-end fun and one for the Long Haul.

Andre wrote:Well, I might just be one to order one too. Will be a nice bike to alternate with the RT. One for the week-end fun and one for the Long Haul.

so sê ek ook mos.......

Amazing how much fun these tiny superbikes offer......it's like an addiction

Indeed an addiction. I spoke to Julian at Lyfestyle BMW today and he reckons, although nothing official yet, they will be very competitively priced

Tend to agree with both Jamie and Andre - the sheer pleasure of riding is an addiction. Even though i ride the LT every day during the week - work and back - i still thouroughly enjoy riding over the weekend with Elsabe.

LeRoy Olivier wrote:Tend to agree with both Jamie and Andre - the sheer pleasure of riding is an addiction. Even though i ride the LT every day during the week - work and back - i still thouroughly enjoy riding over the weekend with Elsabe.

...and what has that to do with superbikes?

..Other than them passing you.

You are missing the point here - the point made here is about the riding experience and pleasure we get out of it. Regardless of the bike you ride - and given the comfort at which we can travel at, at 220, for as long as the gas lasts - enough said.

As an aside - during the long weekend at the end of April we (Elsabe & Myself and Andre) travelled down to Natal - and ran into a very heavy wind/rain storm on our way down - the superbikes we encountered during this storm could not keep up with us whilst we went out merry way at whatever speed we were travelling (In comfort) - will not mention it on an open forum.

But given your age of 96 - i seriously doubt if you should ride anything other than a walking ring.

LeRoy Olivier wrote:You are missing the point here - the point made here is about the riding experience and pleasure we get out of it. Regardless of the bike you ride - and given the comfort at which we can travel at, at 220, for as long as the gas lasts - enough said.

Seems then as if I misunderstood the direction of the converstaion between Jamie and Andre talking about the S1000RR..

by MadnohB Yesterday at 2:59 pm

Andre wrote:
Well, I might just be one to order one too. Will be a nice bike to alternate with the RT. One for the week-end fun and one for the Long Haul.

so sê ek ook mos.......

Amazing how much fun these tiny superbikes offer......it's like an addiction

...and Andre's reply

by Andre Yesterday at 3:41 pm

Indeed an addiction. I spoke to Julian at Lyfestyle BMW today and he reckons, although nothing official yet, they will be very competitively priced

.....so I thought they were in fact discussing the joys of superbikes - hence my reply.

LeRoy Olivier wrote:
But given your age of 96 - i seriously doubt if you should ride anything other than a walking ring.

That is not a typo. You will notice my 'birth' date is the date I activated my new profile. The forum would not allow me to insert the year as 2008 - so that is how a managed to put that birth date in - by deduction 96 from 2008.

The '96' is the final count of posts on my 'old' profile after the final two posts I made there after Admin had reduced my posts from the 106 it was on to 94, thereby 'downgrading' me from SBD to Biker.

This because of complaints on the forum that there were "nonsense" posts just to up the post count(suppose the term 'banter' is selective?) and that these 'nonsense' posts should be deleted. So, I then decided as a matter of principle to delete that profile and start my posts from scratch under a new profile - after all we are not keeping score here are we?

Not at all - also knew immediately that the age 96 referred to was the number of posts on your previous profile - i profile i still think you should have kept and kept on with. But that is a personal opinion. Regards.

In addition to my previous post - Just got back from this year's Magnum...
BMW Breakdowns = 0 Other bikes breakdows....



Just out of interest, how to fix your well used leathers.....

BMW is the way to go ..

(Wahl, glad to see you could view the forum again - maybe a computer memory problem or internet speed at that time ??)

Yes I think it was a speed issue - when I got home and plugged into the ADSL it was OK again