Some 168,500 water-cooled BMW R 1200 GS and GS Adventure models need to be checked and potentially have their Telelever forks updated.
While it’s not a safety recall, BMW has issued a ‘Service Campaign’ to check the fork tubes on all the water-cooled GSes made between November 2013 and June 2017.
The problem is that the upper fork tubes have plugs in their tops, which in turn connect to the steering yoke. These vital plugs can work their way out, with some riders claiming they have come out completely, leading to crashes as the forks separate. The issue has been documented on the website http://bmwfatalflaw.com
Under the new service campaign, dealers will check the fork plugs and replace the fork stanchions – complete with new plugs – if a gap is observed between the plug and the stanchion. If there’s no gap, they will be left but will be checked again at the bike’s next service.
It’s believed that the problem arises because of the way the plugs are held in place. The tubular fork stanchion is crimped onto the plug with four punched-in indents. While this should permanently connect the two, it seems these four fixing points are not always holding. The latest forks are understood to have been redesigned to use a crimp that runs all the way around the circumference of the stanchion to solve the problem.
BMW Motorrad posted this message on its Facebook page:
Service Campaign R 1200 GS and R 1200 GS Adventure
As part of a service campaign, BMW Motorrad is checking the fixed fork tubes of the front forks on motorcycles of the R 1200 GS and R 1200 GS Adventure models for the production period November 2013 – June 2017.
BMW Motorrad has determined during ongoing field observations that the fixed fork tube of the specified models can suffer preliminary damage due to unusual incidents with momentary high stress without the user noticing the damage, e.g. through changed drivability. Such high stress can be caused e.g. when driving over an obstacle, during a fall or when driving through deep potholes with unvarying speed. Preliminary damage to the front wheel rim is also not unusual in such cases, but need not be necessarily present. Potential preliminary damage to the fixed fork tube manifests itself through a gap between the pipe and the pressed in top seal plugs. For the check, the rubber grommet mounted in this position must be pushed down.
BMW Motorrad has therefore decided to check the above-mentioned vehicles and repair them if required. The owners of the affected motorcycles will be informed by BMW Motorrad. The service campaign is free of charge for customers.
BMW Motorrad South Africa was the first to announce the service campaign, and revealed a little more detail on what to look out for. It said: If the fit of the pressed in seal plug has become loose, the gap may increase through longer usage and where the vehicle experiences high stress situations. This usually results in oil leaks, a clacking noise as well as increasingly imprecise steering. If these signals are not observed or are ignored and further high stress incidents occur, the plug may become completely loose. Subsequently, critical driving conditions cannot be ruled out.
If you’re the owner of one of these bikes and have any concerns, get in touch with your dealer to ensure the service campaign is carried out.
