BMW Roadside Assistance Plan for Scooters?

[Lee]

So as a brand new owner of a 2016 C650GT, living in the rural corner of NorthEastern California, I am curious to find out what this plan really provides for if one needs to call their assistance number. The closest dealers to me are in Chico California, Reno Nevada, & Medford, Oregon. All of which are still a ways away from me. If any of you have had any experience with this service, I would welcome hearing what your experiences have been. Thanks in advance!!

 

[Snowdog]

Your dealer should be able to explain it to you.

 

[JaimeC]

I had one bad, and one good experience (both described in detail in the forum).
The bad: I broke down in a section of New York State where the closest dealerships were in either New Jersey or Connecticut. After many hours of trying, Roadside Assistance was unable to find a towing company that was licensed to operate across State lines, OR one that was willing to tow me to the closest dealership in New York (which happened to be in Manhattan) due to the distance. I ended up calling my friends with trailers who finally came to my rescue. Once my scooter was safely home, however, Roadside Assistance WAS able to get it to the local dealer (I broke down on a Sunday so there was no reason to have my friends leave it at the dealership instead).

The good: Last year I broke down in the Finger Lakes region of New York. Roadside Assistance was able to locate a service pretty quickly that picked me up in a timely manner and brought the scooter to Country Rodes Motorsport in Rochester, NY. However, once it was fixed it was up to me to fly up to Rochester and ride it home.

 

[kreiman]

I've had much better experiences with the AMAs (American Motorcycle Association) roadside assistance than with BMWs. When you join the AMA you get their roadside assistance program free of charge. One big advantage is that it covers any vehicle you may be driving/riding/towing, 2 wheel or 4 wheel, including trailers. Another plus is that your membership dues help fund lobbying Congress to vote for or against legislation that impacts motorcycles. They were recently successful at killing the EPA's E-15 fuel mandate which we should all be happy about. Higher ethanol levels in gasoline directly relates to higher service costs for all scooter/motorcycle owners. Ethanol is one of the biggest scams ever sold to the American public. As a chemistry professor once explained to me, oxygenated fuels don't actually reduce exhaust emissions, they simply cause more oxygen to be included in the exhaust emissions.

 

[JaimeC]

The difference between AMA MoTow and BMW Roadside assistance is that AMA MoTow will pay up to $100.00, whereas Roadside Assistance covers the entire cost of the tow to the closest BMW authorized service center (when they can find a towing service that'll cooperate, of course).

But I did have AMA MoTow help out when my CAR broke down on me last year. The idiots at the local Midas repair shop replaced the ball joints with the wrong size and the front end of the car simply collapsed getting off the highway. A reminder why I normally never let ANYONE touch my Subarus except the Subaru dealership. I had a similar incident with my FIRST Subaru and Meineke; you'd think I'd learn...

 

[wsteele]

Last summer the wifes bike was disabled in Conway NH (battery died and and could not find a replacement) anyway tried to use AAA found out that you have to have recreation Veh. endorsement on your AAA ( we have now 25.00 extra per year) the tow home was $690.00 plus loss of a day at hotel and just a PITA. Her bike uses a high CCA battery and no one had any thing close that would turn her bike over. Her bike is automatic Honda DN01 the new battery was $230.00

 

[Snowdog]

Last summer the wifes bike was disabled in Conway NH (battery died and and could not find a replacement) anyway tried to use AAA found out that you have to have recreation Veh. endorsement on your AAA ( we have now 25.00 extra per year) the tow home was $690.00 plus loss of a day at hotel and just a PITA. Her bike uses a high CCA battery and no one had any thing close that would turn her bike over. Her bike is automatic Honda DN01 the new battery was $230.00

Did you try jumping it? Was the charging system OK?

 

[wsteele]

The battery is so tucked in under the seat that if she stalled or the battery finally shorted out, you would be SOL The charging system is working fine. Her bike uses the same battery as a ST 1300 four cylinder bike

 

[Snowdog]

For anyone in the same position, if your battery is dead and the charging circuit works, you can jump it and usually get it home or until you have to shut it off. Then you can jump it again. How many of you carry jumper cables on your bike? I do, and I have gotten bikes going with them.
I jumped a bike up in Maine recently, up in the mountains and no cell signal.They would have been there for hours.
Probably a good reason to join MOA, and get the book of people who will help.

BTW, if your bike won't turn over and you have eliminated all the stupid stuff such as side stand , kill switch, brake etc., always start by cleaning your battery terminals first, ALWAYS!! This is even more important if it is the first hot day of the year.
Carry a small SS brush.