dceggert,
I've been riding BMW since 1974. In all those years (200,000+ miles on five different machines), I had one warranty claim (a shock absorber on a 1981 R80 G/S). It was handled quickly and professionally. I hope I am as lucky with my FLDE.

 

I hate when that happens.. Especially at the same time..

 

I had 3 minor warranty issues that I wanted to deal with in October before my manufacture's warranty ran out during the winter. My dealer (1.5 hours away) was happy to pick up and deliver the bike. They also took care of the clutch recall while it was there.

 

That's the way it is supposed to work! My experience started with the 2005 GS I had. Headlight switch stopped switching to high beam; It broke because "I was being too rough with it." Warranty denied. Two years later the NHTSA forced a recall and BMW supplied the same switch with the same failure. The internet was full of self mods that allowed me to fix mine. The internal switch was too far recessed and the button would not activate it.

Then moving on to the 2006 K1200GT with the cam chain jumping off the sprocket causing catastrophic engine failure; warranty denied. Luckily it has not happened to me. Same bike; plastic fuel line breaking causing fire; warranty denied. Also lucky it did not happen to mine.

R1200 (all models) 2005 to 2012 rear drive failures; warranty denied.

2013-2017 GS and GSA fork tube collapse. Again, customers were doing things too rough. NHTSA forced another recall.

In most cases there are design changes in updated models.

Love the bikes but part cost and Customer Service being run by Scrooge leaves a lot to be desired. An example is the ABS module causing a stir here having issues due to contaminated fluid; HD module $800; K1200GT module $6200. That for a $5000 used bike. When it goes so does the bike. Adds a new dimension to a brake flush!

 

Had a Harley dealer while in College Station (over an hour away) tell me they would come out and pick up my bike for service and drop it back off to me. I had to explain that I wasn't local, and that I bought from a different dealer, and they said "we don't care, we still do it."

So yeah, I think it's a dealership thing, not a factory thing. My local BMW dealer is five minutes away, and after anxiously waiting the K1600B, I was disappointed to find I didn't fit on it. I asked them about the low seat option, and they said "we don't have it." I said "let me know when you do, I am extremely interested." Flash forward six months, I'm riding my new Harley and I get a call from... The BMW dealer. He said "are you still interested? I said "well, yeah, if I can fit on it." He said "you're telling me the only reason you haven't bought yet is because we haven't got the low seat for you to try out?" I said "yep." .He told me he'd get right back to me.

That was a year ago. Never heard from him again. Flash forward to a couple months ago, my favorite tech has left the Harley dealer and gone back to the BMW dealer (where he worked before going to Harley). I stopped by and talked to him. While there I told him about my experience with the BMW dealership and he said "well, let's go get one and try it out." I was all "okay!" Now, remember this is now halfway through the bike's second model year, right? He went to parts and to sales, both departments only pulled their thumbs out long enough to say "low seat? We don't have that."

So, seriously, to hell with that BMW dealership, there's no way I would spend a dime there. And since there's no other BMW dealer within an hour of me, I have given up on the K1600 entirely.

So some dealers try their hardest to satisfy the customer, and some dealers suck ***. Doesn't matter which brand they are.
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In the mid 1970's we were touring through wyoming on my new BMW when the oil seal on the shifter shaft started to leak a little. We stopped at a BMW dealer to have it repaired and he said, we are really busy and its a very small leak could you maybe wait untill you get home and have your local dealer fix it? I said if I wanted oil on my foot I would have ridden my Harley ( I also had a 1952 pan head at the time), he then said pull it inside we will take care of it right away. I guess I said the right thing.

 

I have a 2016 bmw s1000r and a 2018 slim, BMW's service is MILES better. They don't ask questions, they just fix stuff. BMW seems extremely concerned that every customer enjoy their experience from start to finish. Not to mention BMW engineers actually fix issues with the bike instead of acknowledging them, say they are working on a fix, and then NEVER, EVER, getting to it.

I would never own a harley as my main bike. I quite frankly do not trust this company anymore. You get less quality, less features, less service, less performance, less everything for more money with harley. Harley is a premium brand that doesn't offer anything premium. If you've been a harley fanboy your entire life I encourage you to ride a European bike and see just how much better the experience is.

Having said all this, I'm working on fixing my 2018 softail issues myself, since Harley can't do it (top kek), and once finished I'm sure it'll be a great bike. These new engines really are a treat to ride, it's too bad they had to put shitty bottom dollar parts around it.

 

My dealer offered to pick my 2018 up for the clutch recall. I just rode it in for the recall.