2021 BMW R - 18 Limited Edition Issues and Failures

[motorcyclesinthewild]

Hey guys, I wanted to post something that has been hidden within the BMW community. 

 

A client of mine recently purchased the New 2021 BMW R-18, First Edition. My client was excited to finally receive his bike and immediately put a 100 miles on it.  However, to our disbelief, we noticed that the left exhaust pipe started to blow blue smoke. We sent the bike back to the BMW dealership that we purchased it from and they had BMW mechanics evaluate the engine. 

 

BMW deemed that the engine had catastrophic failure. After a few weeks, we were told that BMW would only replace the left cylinder head. My client was not happy with the news, as an engine with “catastrophic failure“ should have fully been replaced. 

 

After doing some research, we noticed that not many criticisms/issues have been reported on the these bikes.  It seems that BMW is trying to keep negative reviewers silent.  However, another manufacturing issue that came up in the motorcycle community is that the fork head screw is not torqued correctly. I have link a video below for you guys, leave a comment and let us know your thoughts!

 

https://youtu.be/Tmac8Y6U3uQ

Edited January 28, 2021 by motorcyclesinthewild
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[Davidtav]

It is obviously disappointing to purchase a new vehicle and have a problem with it. I have no experience of BMW motorcycles. 

i did once purchase a brand new car. The engine definitely had catastrophic failure when almost new. It stuck a con rod through the engine block. It was a Rover Metro (it was a long time ago!) … anyway Rover repaired my engine. Including a new block. All of the parts were swapped over to the new block. It never occurred to me that they should have replaced the engine completely.
 

Personally I’m thinking that the important thing is that the manufacturer identifies the issue. And rectifies it. Unless I’m missing something, they seem to be offering to do that. 
 

So I agree it’s disappointing. But personally I would be happy to have the engine fault repaired. 

[Gerontious]

It’s been the case with practically every brand new model BMW going back to at least 1993, with only a very few exceptions that new models come with faults to the extent that new adopters are effectively “Beta testers”. For those with long experience of these bikes it’s well known that buying a brand new model is a mistake. Wait for at least a year until all early problems are ironed out with recalls... though bmw don’t call them that. Actual recalls are very rare. They call them ‘campaigns’ and are generally kept semi secret within the dealer networks. Once a problem is identified it’s graded on urgency and they are mostly repaired at service. Or occasionally the owner will receive a letter advising them to contact their dealership. BMW only do recalls. When forced to by the authorities.

[motorcyclesinthewild]

Thanks for the responses! It is more of the principle. You charge someone money for something they should not have to worry about issues only after one hundred miles. Hopefully this weather changes fast so I can get out and ride.

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

Nothing new with BMW not coughing up to engine issues. Back in the 90's our neighbour bought a brand new 5 series. Within a few weeks it was recalled for a minor issue they said was due to British petrol being substandard. He wasn't a practical guy so never looked under the bonnet.

 

The car was built with an all alloy engine, one of the selling points as it kept the weight down and the handling balance better. When it was out of warranty he took it to a local indy to be serviced. The guy rang him to ask when the engine had been replaced.

 

He'd found that engine installed had a cast block. It seems the alloy engine blocks were failing so the engines were replaced with an older version and very few people ever noticed.

 

 

[S-Westerly]

Our last BMW was a high end 3 series. At about 4 years of age its gearbox failed. Dealers replaced it and only charged labour. Replacement was refurbished box and apparently there were known issues. Got rid within the year.

[Bender]

2 hours ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

Nothing new with BMW not coughing up to engine issues. Back in the 90's our neighbour bought a brand new 5 series. Within a few weeks it was recalled for a minor issue they said was due to British petrol being substandard. He wasn't a practical guy so never looked under the bonnet.

 

The car was built with an all alloy engine, one of the selling points as it kept the weight down and the handling balance better. When it was out of warranty he took it to a local indy to be serviced. The guy rang him to ask when the engine had been replaced.

 

He'd found that engine installed had a cast block. It seems the alloy engine blocks were failing so the engines were replaced with an older version and very few people ever noticed.

 

 

Petrol I belive was the problem,it was down to Nikasil liners, jags had same issue, no need for new engine just new liners, jag stopped using those liners in 2000

[Bianco2564]

Don't know about BMW  bike engines but some of their cars are less than shining examples of reliability.

My own M3 had a big end bearing recall when 18 months old and are still a failure point due to wear, mine will need doing again in the near future.Add to that head gaskets and Vanos problems.

Other BM engine types,V8 & V10 also suffer from bearing failure.

The N47 diesel engine found in many 1 & 3 series has a major problem with cam chain failure, the fact the chain is at the back of the engine makes changing it an engine out job.

The latest M3 & 4 engine has an issue with the cam chain hub slipping on the crank.

Makes you wonder how they have this image of engineering marvels.

[Ian Frog]

Wow this is an eye opening thread !

I am so glad I replaced my old Merc with another the same !

Unless someone knows something different? (3 litre V6 diesel).

Cheers

Ian

[skyrider]

13 hours ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

Nothing new with BMW not coughing up to engine issues. Back in the 90's our neighbour bought a brand new 5 series. Within a few weeks it was recalled for a minor issue they said was due to British petrol being substandard. He wasn't a practical guy so never looked under the bonnet.

 

The car was built with an all alloy engine, one of the selling points as it kept the weight down and the handling balance better. When it was out of warranty he took it to a local indy to be serviced. The guy rang him to ask when the engine had been replaced.

 

He'd found that engine installed had a cast block. It seems the alloy engine blocks were failing so the engines were replaced with an older version and very few people ever noticed.

 

 

the early british leyland cars had alloy cylinder heads and they warped

[motorcyclesinthewild]

Hey Guys,

 

Thanks for the feed back! Problem was BMW Mechanics told us catastrophic failure. They then contact BMW in Germany and then the Head of BMW in North America. Neither of them responded for weeks. I wrote multiple emails back and fourth to them and they decided to replace the head. My client, which I assist with his collection of motorcycles was not happy because they deemed it was a catastrophic failure then changed their minds. As my first video on youtube, it may not have conveyed that well LOL.

[Bender]

3 hours ago, Bianco2564 said:

Don't know about BMW  bike engines but some of their cars are less than shining examples of reliability.

My own M3 had a big end bearing recall when 18 months old and are still a failure point due to wear, mine will need doing again in the near future.Add to that head gaskets and Vanos problems.

Other BM engine types,V8 & V10 also suffer from bearing failure.

The N47 diesel engine found in many 1 & 3 series has a major problem with cam chain failure, the fact the chain is at the back of the engine makes changing it an engine out job.

The latest M3 & 4 engine has an issue with the cam chain hub slipping on the crank.

Makes you wonder how they have this image of engineering marvels.

Mate of mine has had m3's for years, he had trouble with the double Vanos on one,it used to hiccup when floored.

 

BMW never did fix it, he changed it for another, that was fine.