BMW has issued a ‘service campaign’ for motorcycles made between November 2013 and June 2017 due to a fault in the fixed front forks. The campaign affects around 1,50,000 motorcycles.
The fork tubes on the R 1200 GS and R 1200 GS Adventure can suffer potential damage from high stress incidents without the user noticing. This could be caused while riding over an obstacle or through deep potholes at higher speeds or during a fall. A gap between the pipe and top seal plugs signify the damage, although there could also be potential damage to the front rim. To rectify this fault, the rubber seal needs to be pushed down to its original position.
BMW Motorrad is calling it a service campaign instead of a recall because a recall would need legal obligations, whereas a service campaign puts the responsibility on the owners. This also means that the manufacturer will only fix motorcycles that show a gap in the fork tubes and the motorcycles without this potential gap will be left with their current suspension. BMW issued this campaign after reports poured in regarding the fork stanchions leaking oil and in extreme cases, separating. These cases were mostly reported on off-road conditions when the fork is under extreme stress.
BMW Motorrad India began operation in April this year. BMW launched the R 1200 GS and R 1200 GS Adventure in the same month and credits majority of its sales to its adventure motorcycles. The R 1200 GS is priced at ₹ 16.13 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) while the R 1200 GS Adventure comes with a ₹ 17.75 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) price tag. There is no official statement about how this recall will be affecting the bikes sold in India.
