Owners filed 12 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the wheels. No safety recall has been issued.
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheels | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Suspension | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
FAILURE OF CHAIN AND REAR WHEEL BEARING AT 7139 MILES ON A 8 MONTH OLD BMW F800GS. BIKE WAS TAKEN INTO BMW DEALER FOR NEW CHAIN AS OLD CHAIN WAS LOSING 'O' RINGS REAR WHEEL WAS REMOVED AND AT MY REQUEST BEARINGS CHECKED AS I HAD HEARD OF FAILURES ON FROM THE INTERNET. REAR BEARING WAS FOUND TO BE HIGHLY WORN AND 'GRITTY' FEELING. DEALER REPLACED BEARING UNDER WARRANTY. *TR
FUEL TANK ON NEW (600 MILES) BMW F800GS MOTORCYCLE HAS DEVELOPED A SIX (6") CRACK. SEPARATION IS APPROX 1/16". RETURNED MOTORCYCLE TO DEALER WHERE PURCHASED AND ISSUE HAS NOT BEEN RECTIFIED. *TR
NOTICED A CRACK ON THE SIDE OF THE GAS TANK. THE GAS TANK IS SPLIT OPEN. THIS SEEMS TO GREATLY INCREASE THE RISK OF EXPLOSION DUE TO GAS FUMES IF ANY HEAT SOURCE/SPARK MADE GETS CLOSE. *TR
GAS TANKS HAS CRACKS ON BOTH SIDES. *TR
REAR WHEEL BEARING FAILED AT 6000 MILES. THIS COULD HAVE LED TO CATASTROPHIC INJURY HAD I NOT FOUND THE PROBLEM DURING ROUTINE MAINTENANCE. CHECKING THE WHEEL BEARING IS NOT ROUTINE AT 6000 MILES. *TR
AFTER READING ABOUT SEVERAL FAILURES OF REAR WHEEL BEARINGS ON F800GS MOTORCYCLES I CHOSE TO INSPECT THE REAR WHEEL BEARINGS ON MY 2009 BMW F800GS MOTORCYCLE. I DISCOVERED THEM TO BE WORN AND ROUGH FEELING WITH EVIDENCE OF SERIOUS BRINNELING. THE MOTORCYCLE HAS 8800 MILES. UPON DISASSEMBLY I FOUND THE FIT BETWEEN THE WHEEL BORE AND THE BEARING ON THE DISC BRAKE SIDE TO BE TIGHTER THAN A P7 FIT FOR A HEAVY ROTATING OUTER RING WHEEL LOAD. THE FIT ON THE DRIVE SPROCKET SIDE WAS CLOSE TO A N7 FIT. I HONED THE DISC BRAKE SIDE OF THE REAR WHEEL HUB TO A N7 FIT AND REASSEMBLED WITH NEW BEARINGS. *TR
M / Y 2009 BMW F800GS MOTORCYCLE, BUILD DATE 10/08. REAR WHEEL BEARING FAILURE NOTED DURING ROUTINE MAINTENANCE AT APPROXIMATELY 5,500 MILES. CATASTROPHIC FAILURE COULD RESULT IN REAR TIRE LOCKING UP, CAUSING SEVERE INJURY OR DEATH. BMW DEALER IS REPLACING PARTS UNDER WARRANTY. *TR
I HAVE A 2009 BMW F800GS. I READ ABOUT CATASTROPHIC BEARING FAILURES HAPPENING ON OTHER F800GS REAR WHEELS AND CHECKED MY BEARING BY HAND WHEN I HAD THE REAR WHEEL OFF AT 8000 MILES FOR TIRE REPLACEMENT. THE BEARING ON THE ROTOR SIDE OF THE WHEEL WAS VERY NOTCHY AND IT WOULD NOT ROLL IN A CLOCKWISE ROTATION UNLESS MUCH FORCE WAS APPLIED. THE BEARING TYPICALLY RUNS IN A COUNTER CLOCKWISE ROTATION IF LOOKING AT THE REAR WHEEL FROM THE LEFT SIDE. THE BMW DEALER IN LAS VEGAS AGREED THAT THE BEARING WAS BAD AND REPLACED IT UNDER WARRANTY. EXPERTS HAVE EXAMINED OTHER HUBS FROM THIS SAME MODEL AND YEAR AND HAVE DECLARED THAT THE BORE IN THE HUB FOR THE BEARING IS TOO SMALL FOR WHICH CAUSES TOO MUCH CRUSH AND WILL DAMAGE ANY SUBSEQUENT REPLACEMENT BEARINGS THAT ARE PUT INTO THE HUB OVER TIME. BMW MUST BE MADE TO REPLACE OR MACHINE THE HUB SO THAT THE BEARINGS DO NOT FAIL. SOMEONE WILL BE SERIOUSLY INJURED IF THIS BEARING HAS CATASTROPHIC FAILURE AT SPEED. *TR
NO SPECIFIC IDENTIFIABLE EVENT(S) LEADING TO THIS FAILURE. IT MAY BE RELATED TO DEFECTIVE PART, MANUFACTURING OR IMPROPER FACTORY INSTALLATION. THE LEFT REAR WHEEL BEARING ON MY 2009 BMW F800GS MOTORCYCLE FAILED AND WAS DISCOVERED AT APPROXIMATELY 8800 MILES. THIS MATCHES APPROXIMATELY THREE DOZEN KNOWN ANECDOTAL REPORTS ON THE INTERNATIONAL ADVENTURE RIDERS INTERNET FORUM OF REAR BEARING FAILURE ON THE SAME MODEL AND MODEL YEAR BIKE. THE CONSEQUENCE OF REAR BEARING FAILURE COULD RESULT IN CRASH, PROPERTY / BIKE DAMAGE AND / OR PERSONAL INJURY. SOME RIDERS HAVE REPORTED ALL OF THE ABOVE. THE LAS VEGAS BMW MOTORCYCLE DEALERSHIP SERVICE MANAGER INDICATED THERE WAS NO OFFICIAL RECALL FROM BMW BUT THAT HE HAD THE SAME FAILURE ON ANOTHER BIKE TWO DAYS BEFORE MINE. IT WAS REPLACED AS A WARRANTY ITEM AT NO-CHARGE. *TR
REAR WHEEL BEARINGS FAILING WITH ONLY 7600 MILES. BEARINGS WERE CHECKED DUE TO MULTIPLE INCIDENTS AND CONCERNS ON AN INTERNET FORUM. WHEEL WAS TAKEN TO A WHEEL SPECIALIST WHO CONFIRMED THE WORN BEARINGS AND HAD TO REWORK THE HUB TO ALLOW THE BEARINGS TO FUNCTION PROPERLY SO AS NOT TO WEAR OUT PREMATURELY. BEARINGS WERE ALSO CHECKED BY THE DEALER CONFIRMING THE PROBLEM AND GIVING A WARRANTIED THE REPLACEMENT OF THE BEARINGS. *TR
REAR WHEEL BEARING ON THE ROTOR (LEFT) SIDE FAILED. *TR
OPERATING VEHICLE IN RAIN, AIRBOX FILLS WITH WATER AND STALLS ENGINE. VERY DANGEROUS BECAUSE OTHER VEHICLES ALMOST CRASH INTO ME. CANNOT RE START ENGINE. THIS HAPPENS ON HIGHWAYS WHILE TRAVELING. *TR
12 of 12 complaints, reproduced as filed.
No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.
Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.