2009 BMW K1200LT — Problems, Recalls & Safety Data

ABS MODULE FAILED WHILE THE BIKE WAS MOSTLY SITTING OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS. WHEN I CONTACTED AN IDAHO COMPANY RUMORED TO REPAIR THE INTEGRAL ABS AKA IABS AKA ABS III MODULE, I LEARNED THEY HAVE OVER 100 CORES (BROKEN UNITS) ALREADY IN STOCK AWAITING THE POSSIBILITY THROUGH EXPERIMENTATION THEY MIGHT EVENTUALLY BE ABLE TO REPAIR THESE. APPARENTLY, THESE HAVE FAILED NOTORIOUSLY SINCE ABOUT 7500 MILES AND I CANNOT UNDERSTAND WHY THERE ARE SO FEW COMPLAINTS TO THE NHTSA ABOUT THEM. BMW DOES NOT SELL ANY REPAIR PARTS FOR THIS UNIT AND THE MSRP IS OVER $2500 JUST FOR THE PART. THEREFORE, THERE ARE A LARGE NUMBER OF 853 LB. BIKES DESIGNED TO STOP WITH ABS BRAKES RUNNING WITHOUT THEM.

BRAKE WARNING LIGHT FLASHING, I HAD BRAKES, NO LEAKS, AND FIRM HARD BRAKE LEVER. I TRAVELED HOME, A 98 MILE TRIP ONE-WAY. THREE MILES FROM HOME, I SQUEEZED BRAKE LEVER AND HAD NO BRAKES, AFTER STOPPING I REALIZED I HAD BRAKES, BUT I HAD TO SQUEEZE BRAKE LEVER VERY HARD, SAME WITH FOOT BRAKE. I TRAILERED THE BIKE TO MY BMW DEALER, AND WAS INFORMED I NEEDED A NEW SERVO MOTOR. *TR

FUEL TANK LEAK AT FUEL PUMP FLANGE. CAUSED BY FUEL TANK DISTORTION, FROM REACTION TO US FUEL. BMW DOESN'T WANT TO REPLACE THE FUEL TANK. THE DEALER IS STILL TRYING TO GET BMW TO REPLACE THE TANK. RAZEE MOTORCYCLE CENTER. RHODE ISLAND THE DEALER IS THE BEST DEALER I HAVE EVER DEALT WITH. CONTACT [XXX] THERE ARE OTHER MOTORCYCLE COMPANY'S HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM AND ARE REPLACING THE TANKS WITH METAL ONES. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

MOTORCYCLE HAD BEEN HAVING PROBLEMS FOR SEVERAL WEEKS GETTING PROGRESSIVELY WORSE. CLUTCH WOULD NOT ENGAGE AS IT SHOULD. NOTICED PROBLEM RIGHT AFTER 24,000 SERVICE, BUT COULDN'T SAY WHAT WAS WRONG; BY TIME I CONVINCED MY HUSBAND TO RIDE THE BIKE, HE JUST BARELY GOT IT TO DEALERSHIP WHEN CLUTCH WENT OUT COMPLETELY. MECHANIC AT SHOP WAS ABLE TO PUSH BIKE IN FIRST GEAR WITH ONLY A MINIMUM AMOUNT OF EFFORT. BIKE IS ONLY 3 YEARS OLD AND HAS HAD THE ACTUATOR REPLACED TWICE, REAR SEAL REPLACED, 3 SETS OF BRAKES AND NOW A COMPLETE CLUTCH ASSEMBLY. RESEARCH ON-LINE SHOWS PROBLEMS WITH A "DRY CLUTCH" BY BMW GOING BACK 20+ YEARS. EVERY TIME I TOOK IT IN FOR SERVICE, THERE WERE COMMENTS ON THE DUST ON THE REAR AXLE AND TIRE AND IT WAS ASSUMED THAT IT WAS BRAKE DUST; WHEN CLUTCH FINALLY WENT OUT, DUST WAS FROM WEAR OF THE METAL ON THE CLUTCH. *TR