NHTSA Complaint #10850478 — 2010 BMW S 1000 RR

MOTORCYCLE ENGINE POWER CAN STOP SUDDENLY, WITHOUT WARNING, AT ANY TIME DURING OTHERWISE NORMAL OPERATION. ENGINE DIES IMMEDIATELY WHEN THE SLIGHTEST BIT OF THROTTLE IS APPLIED, LEAVING THE RIDER POWERLESS AND COMPLETELY VULNERABLE TO SURROUNDING TRAFFIC AND CONDITIONS. MY BMW S1000RR MOTORCYCLE WAS OPERATING COMPLETELY NORMALLY, THEN UPON ENTERING A BUSY STREET FROM A PARKING LOT THE VEHICLE DIED SUDDENLY, WITHOUT ANY WARNING LEAVING ME STRANDED IN ONCOMING TRAFFIC. I IMMEDIATELY STARTED THE ENGINE, ONLY TO HAVE THE ENGINE DIE AGAIN WHEN I APPLIED THE THROTTLE. I PUSHED MYSELF OUT OF TRAFFIC TO SAFETY AND HAD THE VEHICLE TRANSPORTED TO A DEALER. UPON ARRIVAL AT THE DEALERSHIP, THE ENGINE STARTED AND THE BIKE OPERATED NORMALLY FOR A FEW MINUTES BEFORE IT RESUMED THE SUDDEN LOSS OF ENGINE POWER. THE DEALERSHIP TRIED TO FIND OUT WHAT WAS CAUSING THE PROBLEMS BUT WAS UNABLE TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE. AFTER 4 MONTHS BMW MOTORAD FINALLY ADVISED THE DEALER TO REPLACE THE THROTTLE BODIES, WHICH IS APPARENTLY A WELL-KNOWN REMEDY TO A WELL KNOW FACTORY DEFECT THAT EFFECTS THE SUBJECT MOTORCYCLE. I HAVE CONCERNS THAT BMW HAS PRIOR KNOWLEDGE OF SIMILAR MALFUNCTIONS FOR THIS VEHICLE THAT ARE RELATED TO DEFECTIVE OEM PARTS. I BELIEVE THAT BMW MAY HAVE PRODUCED AND SOLD OTHER S1000RR'S THAT MAY HAVE DEFECTIVE OEM PARTS OR OTHERWISE KNOWN SAFETY ISSUES THAT CAN CAUSE EFFECTED BIKES TO TOP SUDDENLY, WITHOUT WARNING, WITH POTENTIALLY LETHAL CONSEQUENCES. IT SEEMS THAT BMW HAS FAILED TO ALERT OWNERS OF THIS PROBLEM, DESPITE HAVING NUMEROUS CASE HISTORIES AND WARRANTY CLAIMS OF A SIMILAR BASIS. BMW SHOULD ACT RESPONSIBLY AND ADVICE OWNERS OF THESES KNOW DEFECTS, SO THEY CAN AVOID RIDING THE SUBJECT BIKES UNTIL THE BIKES ARE CHECKED OUT AND RENDERED SAFE.