BMW 1200 GSA Battery life (in French.... C'est de la Merde !)

[Barry Neves]

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Hi Azoulay! You have my sympathy! If you remember my black 1150GS which you were thinking of buying - well after you checked it out the battery died on me. I replaced it with a new BMW battery costing 7,000 baht and then returned to the Philippines. When I got back a couple of months later the new battery was also dead despite the bike having been having been started in my absence to maintain it. When I took it back to Barcelona they simply said it was my fault and would not replace it. Fortunately, one of the mechanics there must have felt sorry for me and approached me as I was leaving and handed me an address written in thai, telling me I could get a better deal there for 1,600 baht. I took a taxi to the address, and sure enough the guy sold me a battery at that price which is still going strong today, I believe, some 4 years later!!! The mechanic told me that he personally would never consider a BMW battery. So much for BMW quality and service. Bon chance - Barry

[GSForLife]

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When I got back a couple of months later the new battery was also dead despite the bike having been having been started in my absence to maintain it.

The bike needs to be ridden for the alternator to kick in to initiate the recharging effect on the battery. Merely starting the engine isnt sufficient. But then again, OEM battery from BMW, seriously not worth buying these days.

[monsterman]

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BMW, Mercedes and VW, 3 german makes that trade on perceived super quality , but that was 20 years ago now no better than Japanese , italien ,korean ,british etc and the Service and quality statistics back that up Mercedes benz were recently found to have the 3 most unreliable cars in EU service and warranty records by dealer survey ,,,

[Changnoi1]

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Because I was really disgusted with BMW Thailands dismissal of my warranty claim on a battery I brought the subject up with a BMW dealer in the UK who advised me to e-mail BMW in Munich about it, I did and all they did was to send the e-mail off to BMW Thailand who just said the same thing again that its only a 90 day warranty in Thailand, I dont think that they really give a toss in Munich either to be honest, they only pretend to care in countries where customer relations are important

The problem with the batteries is that they are just shit (by monopoly of a Thai clan who owns the only factories in Thailand AND is the sole importeur of batteries in Thailand). All legalized by your national maffia. And as there is no customer protection by law here, they can get away with 90days warranty. Same goes for cars, although the warranty is 1 year and they say "O it is normal that your battery dies in 1 year, just buy new". For my car I did buy the most heavy battery I could buy (grey import from Japan) with 5 years written warranty (from the shop selling it).

So next time you buy something ... check all the warranties and if you do not like it do not buy it. Or ask for better written warranty although I am afraid that BMW (and example Toyota or Ford) will not do that.

Chang Noi

[KZ]

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Sorry to hear about your dead battery, Azoulay, that is real poor performance for any battery under any condition!
I remember leaving my almost ten year old XS650 in a garage under cover for fifteen months. I didn't plan to leave it that long so I didn't disconnect the battery and left the gas in the tank. Upon return, I switched the ignition on just for fun and was very surprised to get a green light! I even pressed the starter button and the engine made one crank; I then kicked it and it started on the second kick! I couldn't believe it. I filled in 5L of gas I brought, the tires were half flat, but good enough to make it to the next gas station. Pumped up the tires and off I went! Did an extended highway trip that day and the battery recharged itself, the bike started every day after that. Maybe they don't make things that way anymore!
Bad thing was I got stopped by the cops, my driver's license was expired, the tax was expired and I had no insurance. Total amount 550 $ US fine - in 1990!