BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

BMW Boxers and K 1200 GT subject to recall for brake line replacement.

The German luxury auto and motorcycle manufacturer BMW said on Tuesday it would recall 122,000 motorcycles worldwide owing to brake problems.
A BMW spokesman told AFP the company had uncovered a risk of leaks in the K 1200 GT motorcycle's braking system.
The recall concerns models built between August 2006 and May 2009, some of which have already been checked, the spokesman told AFP.
"Over time it emerged that even corrected braking systems did not resolve the problem 100 per cent," he said.
Vibrations generated by the motorcycle's operation were found to cause leaks that affected the front brake, the company said.
BMW has not heard of accidents linked to the problem, but "would gladly have foregone having to make another recall," the spokesman said.


Australian owners affected by the issue will be contacted by BMW Motorrad Australia and advised to take their motorcycle to their BMW Dealer to have the replacement brake hoses fitted. The technical campaign affects less than 2000 motorcycles across Australia and New Zealand.

The models affected are the R 1200 GS Adventure, R1200 GS, R 1200 R, R 1200 RT, R1200 ST and K 1200 GT built between 2006 and 2009.

Any customers with a BMW Motorcycle that may be affected can call their local BMW Motorrad Dealer for clarification.

Mark, I read about this on MCN online this morning and when I got home from work this evening my recall letter had arrived.

Sean

I don't see any R's listed here. Maybe it's not up to date?

http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/motor ... index.html

I have an 08 R1200R and received a call from the dealer last week about this recall. I live in Germany, so maybe they got it quicker being so close to the source! I was lurking here looking for info on it and didn't see anything until now. The only info I could find about brake recalls was from 2 years ago. I was begining to worry that my bike slipped through the cracks or something. The salesman from the dealership called me the day they found out, way after normal business hours, because he remembered me mentioning a long ride I've got coming up & he wanted to make sure I got the bike in before I left Bravo! Looking forward to picking it up tomorrow.....

What is being changed in this recall on the R12R???

They said there was some instances of brake lines binding and causing leaks...something like that. Mine look fine.

Edsillt wrote:I live in Germany, so maybe they got it quicker being so close to the source!

So is this a totally new issue or is this the recall that was handled for most US owners around 2008? I think then they replaced the brake lines with braided ones. It sounds this current recall is related to the routing of the lines?

Even my mother called me today, saying her little local newspaper in Germany reported there are something like 125,000 recalls worldwide on BMW Boxers and the K1200GT. Now she is worried...

It may be true that recalls make it to the US later. At least with my car it was like that: German dealers did recalls, mother was concerned, I got a letter to inform me about the recall at least half a year later...

Well here in Canada there are aware of it and my dealer is currently in the process of recalling people with affected bikes. Apparently it is not somethng to be really worried about. It is not like your brakes suddenly don't work. My R1200R (2010) is not affected but my husband's GSA 1200 (2009) is.
Stef.

It's a new recall - all R12R's up to production date of 05/05/09, including those of us who already got new brake lines in the last recall.

Full details on the MOA website: http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/showthread.php?t=45573

BMW did note that it's a very small number of failures (a fraction of a percent) and the leak apparently isn't sudden or at least doesn't suddenly become serious.

Stef. wrote: Apparently it is not somethng to be really worried about. It is not like your brakes suddenly don't work.

Actually the bulletin says "If the level drops until the reservoir is completely empty the result can be failure of the front brakes."

Take home lesson: Pre-ride check should include looking at the reservoirs.

Bill

I have to admit... I am a little bit upset. I got no call from the dealer and no letter from BMW about this safety recall on my 2008 BMW R1200R.

I called my dealer and on my 08 R1200R there is no recall except the one brake recall which was taken care of some time ago.
Peter

As far as I've seen - the US dealers haven't been notified, and the letters haven't gone out to the US owners. I suspect BMW-NA is still gearing up to handle the parts for the recall. Not receiving anything doesn't mean you won't receive a notice. And dealers generally rely on BMW-NA to notify the owners.

If you read the link I posted - the scope of what is being changed (including the brake lines which were changed in the first recall) is clear.

Just like the accelerator pedal recall on my Toyota Camry. The dealers were the last to know.

Owners picked it up off the Internet.

Just as Don says, the dealers have to wait for the parts to arrive before they can remedy it. Until then, you have to wait.

Thanks for the replies guys. I understand the circumstances better now.

FWIW, I plan to keep an eye on my front lines and reservoir, but wait until I need a brake flush anyway to have the work done. Remember, recalls never expire...

Cheers, Tom

Just wondering if anyone has received a recall letter from BMW yet? I haven't heard anything at this point.

No, not yet.

According to the NHTSA web site report of June 22,

BMW IS RECALLING 4,922 MY 2007-2008 R1200R, MY 2006-2007 R1200 GS, MY 2007 R1200 ST, AND MY 2008 R1200 GS ADVENTURE MOTORCYCLES. DUE TO THE CURRENT ROUTING OF THE FRONT BRAKE LINES, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT DURING RIDING, THE BRAKE LINES COULD BE UNDER STRAIN. IF THE VIBRATION/STRAIN IS SIGNIFICANT, THE BRAKE LINES COULD SPLIT AND START TO DEVELOP A LEAK. IF THE LEAK BECAME SIGNIFICANT, BRAKE FLUID COULD ESCAPE. IF THIS HAPPENED, THE LEVEL OF FLUID IN THE RESERVOIR OF THE FRONT BRAKE SYSTEM COULD DROP.

They can issue all the recalls they want but I'm never giving my bike back. It's mine and I'm keeping it.