AI DamageBMW R1200 GS: problems, complaints, bulletins
Summary for the BMW R1200 GS across 16 model years: 248 owner complaints and 19 NHTSA service bulletins, plus repair videos. Pick a year for details.
Model years
What fails most often
- 1 Fuel/propulsion system 35% of all complaints
- 2 Powertrain 19% of all complaints
- 3 Service brakes 13% of all complaints
- 4 Fuel system 12% of all complaints
- 5 Suspension 9% of all complaints
- 6 Engine 8% of all complaints
- 7 Electrical system 7% of all complaints
- 8 Structure 5% of all complaints
- Fuel/propulsion system: 86 complaints (35% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Powertrain: 46 complaints (19% of all), 3 of them with a crash reported by the owner; manufacturer bulletins for this component: 12.
- Service brakes: 31 complaints (13% of all), 3 of them with a crash reported by the owner; manufacturer bulletins for this component: 8.
- Fuel system: 30 complaints (12% of all).
- Suspension: 22 complaints (9% of all), 2 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 248 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel/propulsion system | 86 | 1 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 46 | 3 | 12 |
| Service brakes | 31 | 3 | 8 |
| Fuel system | 30 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension | 22 | 2 | 0 |
| Engine | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 17 | 1 | 18 |
| Structure | 12 | 0 | 8 |
| Wheels | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Exterior lighting | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Equipment | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Engine and cooling | 2 | 0 | 6 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
The contact was unsure if any warning light illuminated, but it caused the contact's father to lose control of the motorcycle, and to avoid striking other vehicles, the contact struck a pole and a utility box. The contact's father stuffed severe injuries causing the contact's father to pass away.
Without warning the motorcycle steering went into what is commonly know as "death wobble" or "tank slapping" with the steering uncontrollable rapidly moving right to left and immediately crashing causing severe injuries to driver.
Drive shaft failure which took out the swing arm while doing speed of 35-45 mph on back country road. If on highway or increases speed, incident may cause loss of life
While traveling at approximately 25 mph on a national forest road the front suspension collapsed causing me to lose control and crash and causing injury manufacture replaced everything under warranty no definition too why part failed
I was traveling approximately 40 mph when the handlebar on my motorcycle violently jerked to the left for a split second and corrected itself. This was not normal and very dangerous. I looked at the handlebar and noticed that it wasn't straight or square to the direction I was traveling.
I experienced a 100% no brakes situation coming into a slow speed 90 degree turn on a back road. Luckily I hadn't been going to fast and was able to down shift and scrub a little speed but forced with only engine braking and a very old asphalt road covered in gravel I had to lay it down to stop from going into a 60ft+…
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
What to check before buying
- Fuel/propulsion system. Fuel smell, leaks, rough running, fuel-system codes.
- Powertrain. Shift quality under load, harsh shifts, transmission codes, CV joints.
- Service brakes. Pedal feel, ABS operation, leaks, discs and hoses.
- Fuel system. Fuel smell, leaks, rough running, fuel-system codes.
Manufacturer service bulletins
Bulletin titles as filed with NHTSA.
- Driveshaft Maintenance Schedule Change
- Mainly sporadic, isolated but also permanent faults occur in the throttle grip sensor, throttle…
- The electrical system of BMW vehicles has been subject to an ongoing development process over the last few…
- Since October 2023, a new maintenance schedule is valid for all K5x models
- Multiple factors may cause the driveshaft to become damaged; among them are corrosion in certain parts…
- BMW Motorrad is aware of a number of cases in which the screw connections of the Paralever link and/or the…
- TEC26 Turbo Charger Return
- Tec25 Wishbone Return
- Tech24 Snap-in Adapter Return
- MINI engine oil part number transition and model year 2016 engine oils
- MINI "Enhanced" dealer self authorized (DSA)K goodwill program
- Stress corrosion cracks may occur on the studs of certain milled footrests from the BMW Motorrad special…
Other models of this make
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.