Contrary to my own advice, I bought a 2010 G650GS today. It was just too cheap to not buy it. Time will tell if it was a wise move, but at less than the price that a KLR of the same year goes for, I'll give BMW another chance.

Get a KLR...
 

I'm currently stranded in Lima awaiting parts for my R1150GS when the transmission input shafts bearing failed while I was several hundred miles from any BMW shop. I had considered doing the work myself with the help of a local shop in Ahycucho but wisely decided to ship it to lima instead. What a job it is to get to the transmission and clutch! Three weeks later and over $2,500 I'm still here waiting waiting on the parts to be shipped in from Germany.

Tires have also been a huge pain and not available anywhere except at a BMW shop which are weeks apart.... The next trip won't be on a GS

Honda v BMW for South America
 

Mr Steam Turbine, I am in Buenos Aires...let me know if I can help in any way.

Having assisted the Globebusters.com with the problem of procuring BMW parts needed as they toured South America, I am well aware of the cost and the unavailability of many BMW parts in South America, and the exorbitant South American import taxes levied on BMW parts.

We have two BMW G650GS in Spain, have toured to Turkey and back and have been more than pleased with performance and service. We availed ourselves of 3 "free" nights in Istanbul while starter and head gasket problems were resolved at no cost to us. BMW is a great bike for Europe, into Asia and maybe Africa - check with Chris Scott for all things African. And, the BMW warranty is impossible to beat.

Honda has manufactured the Honda TransAlp for crossing the Alps and manufactured the Honda Falcon NX400 for crossing the Andies. No ABS needed on South American ripio, trocha, etc., but no free hotels.

Today, there is a new Honda XRE300 marketed for overland and local travel in South America. After more than 50,000 K each on our 2 Honda Falcons NX400 rosa del desierto and I are seriously considering "downgrading" to the new Honda XRE300s - an amazing motorcycle for South America and it is very, very inexpensive when compared to a BMW.

Why? Why not?

xfiltrate

Sorry to hear of the bad luck, sadly you're not the first BMW rider to be in this situation.

I support your "Get a KLR" idea. Travel bikes (for me) need to be somewhat expendable, not too serious an investment and something one can walk away from and not be broken, trip ruined.

For $2500 I can buy a decent, nice running used KLR or DR650, add $1000 more, maybe something fairly pristine or a DrZ400 or XR400. NO where is cheaper for bikes (new and used) than California (maybe Japan?)

Yet we constantly see guys ship their $10K to $20k bikes from continent to continent. They must be truly attached! I wish I had that sort of money. And when it breaks down (as your case demonstrates) you'll also need LOTS OF TIME as well. Hope you find somone who can actually rebuild a GS trans. Not all reports from Lima in this regard are positive. Best of luck!

Thanks Xfiliate
 

Thanks Xfiliate. Right now I'm not reall pleased with my BMW but when I look back beyond the past three weeks it's actually been a reliable bike. I have cursed the oddball back tire size and the excessive weight of the bike since the start of my trip but the size and power has also been helpful at times.

The service at the Lima dealership has been good and they had the bike apart within 48 hours of arriving. I also had good service at the BMW shop in Rosario, Argentina but both shops simply didn't have parts and had to order then from Germany.

The Lima dealership told me BMW is opening a regional parts warehouse in Brazil next year to ease the problem but if a BMW fails in South America be prepare to go through a whole lot of trouble getting it fixed, including arrangement to have it shipped hundreds if not a thousand miles to the nearest shop, then waiting weeks to get back on the road.

I took advantage of the situation and flew to Iquitos for a week at an Amazon lodge.....

A whole three weeks ????

Yeah, I'm a less-is-more kind of guy. Rather than spend thousands flying a favorite bike around, I think it would make more sense to put the money towards buying whatever is a common, easy-to-service motorcycle in your destination country.... but that's me.

Three weeks
 

Right about now that three weeks is feeling like three months. The shop has the bike mostly assembled and discovered the hydraulic clutch master cylinder is bad and they don't have the parts to rebuild it. We're hoping to find a generic cup seal from a hydraulic supplier in Lima but if not it's another three weeks....jeiger

Always trade up!
 

I agree with brclarke that buying a locally registered moto and selling locally is the way for a ¨foreigner¨to tour South America.

Time may be a consideration, if you have ¨a lot¨of time , Woody Allen´s favorite number, than it would be possible to bring along enough money to buy one motorcycle and additional funds for however long you plan to tour that country, then sell the bike and walk with the money. Don´t forget to bring soft luggage, tank and tail bag, GPS, kit you will need, tent, jacket, gloves , helmet etc...

A sample of used bikes available in Argentina can be found here...

[url=http://www.de-venta.com.ar/agencias-de-motos-0km-financiadas-y-motos-usadas-particulares.php]..:DeVenta:..

Frick'in BMW
 

I made it exactly three stop longs before my hydraulic master cylinder failed. We're trying to get another seal from a hydraulic supplier and hopefully that fixes the problem.

Turns out, the original hydraulic clutch master cylinder is not sold in individual parts so you have to by the entire master cylinder rather than a simple rebuild kit. Price: $650! and two weeks to get it shipped in from Germany,

Yea, I'm just loving this German technology......... jeigerbeerjeigerbeerjeiger

Jeeez ... bummer! Maybe someone can "improvise" something?

If you've got two weeks ... maybe another side trip is in order?
Book a Galapagos tour out of Ecuador. Great way to spend a week or so.

Best of luck ... hang in there ... and tell those mechanics to stop looking for problems. (in the USA, BMW dealers take seminars on how to "find" things that need to be done ... and then "sell" the idea to the owner. (this is TRUE)

Sounds about right...... There should be a warning alarm on every BMW which tells you that you're more than 50km away from a BMW workshop.

And another alarm for when your bank account drops below £3000. Because that's what you need in reserve for 'on the road' repairs.

One thing that is good about BMW's though....

While you're broken down waiting a month for your £3000 worth of parts (Don't forget the import tax) , you get to know a random part of the world that you would of normally ridden straight though.. These are the places that you will remember..

However, sods law dictates that it's normally the arse end of Terd town with winter closing in behind you...

Excuse my sarcasm. It's Christmas and I'm rewarding myself with a good old fashioned BMW bashing :clap:

Yep!
 

That's my philosophy. Buy local, tour, sell local, well, in the same continent. Besides the obvious avoidances (like the cost of shipping), planning is half the fun to research and arrange purchases in advance. Plus, one gets the chance to try different bikes, suited to the terrain.

My first was an F800GS, then a KLR650 and now I've sourced a good DL650.

I haven't done the cost/benefit, but can say that each time I've sold for around $1,500 less than I purchased. To me it's worked out cheaper than renting, a title in my name to permit cross-border movement, no concerns with onward shipping, no waiting, no administrative hassle, etc, etc. Most importantly, I've never had to wait days/weeks to sell.

10 weeks to get the parts to fix my BMW!
 

It took three weeks to fix my BMW transmission in Lima, Peru only to discover the clutch matercylinder was bad and it was going to take another three weeks to get the parts, seven weeks after arriving at the Lima BMW shop and the day I was supposed be be back on the road they discovered the rear para lever bearing is bad and it's going to be another three weeks to get the part! Thats a ten week stay in Lima waiting on the BMW dealership to get my bike back on the road because they can't get parts and take forever to work on the bike.

Total cost to date: seven weeks in a hotel $2000, Parts and Labor in Lima $1600, airline flight to California to get the parts the shop couldn't $1000. Price of a brand new KLR $6000. Enough said?

Skip the BMW and enjoy your vacation!

beer

Sorry to crash the thread but someone mentioned to:

"Check the valves"

How does one do this? What am I looking for?

:eek3:

Good luck mate!