NHTSA Complaint #11312113 — 2013 BMW K 1600 GT

DURING A RIDE WITH MY 2013 BMW K1600 GT THAT TOOK PLACE ON 12/15/19, I NOTED PROBLEMS WITH THE MANUAL TRANSMISSION, WITH DIFFICULTY IN SHIFTING GEARS. THE BIKE HAS APPROXIMATELY 25, 400 MILES. I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE BACK HOME WITH DIFFICULTY. I TOOK THE MOTORCYCLE TO THE SAN DIEGO BMW DEALERSHIP TO ASSESS THE PROBLEM. THE ATTACHED REPORT DOCUMENTS 'DAMAGE ON GEAR DOGS FOR 6TH AND 4TH GEAR. CORNERS OF DOGS SHOW ROUNDING AND ARE WORN TO A POLISHED FINISH'. THE DEALER CONTACTED BMW TO ORDER THE DAMAGED PARTS, BUT THE REPLY WAS THAT THESE PARTS ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE BECAUSE BMW HAS SINCE MODIFIED THE TRANSMISSION. THE ONLY OPTION WAS TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE TRANSMISSION AT THE COST OF $ 5407.07. THE EXTENT OF THE DAMAGE, CONSIDERING THE RELATIVELY LOW MILEAGE, WAS SURPRISING. I SUBSEQUENTLY BECAME AWARE THAT BMW IS RECALLING THOUSANDS OF 2017-2020 K1600 GT, GTL AND B MODELS FOR TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS RELATED TO PRODUCTION OF PARTS LACKING THE APPROPRIATE HARDNESS LEVEL. IT APPEARS THAT MY 2013 BIKE EXPERIENCED SIMILAR PROBLEMS. POSSIBLY, THE TRANSMISSION HAS BEEN FROM THE INCEPTION A WEAK SPOT AS ATTESTED BY BMW EFFORTS TO MODIFY IT OVER THE YEARS, WHICH CULMINATED IN THE ABOVE NOTED RECALL OF 2017-2020 RECALL. IT SEEMS THAT OTHER YEARS SHOULD BE RECALLED AS WELL.