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The insanity of BMW pricing for parts

  • <i class="fa--xf fal fa-check "><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" role="img" aria-hidden="true" ><use href="/data/local/icons/light.svg?v=1789222567#check"></use></svg></i> Discussion starter Discussion starter kratedisease
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Here is my 2 cents, I’m happy with extremely expensive parts and accessories. It’s coming from my primal part of the brain, one that didn’t change for 100000 years! Before - Good hunter have all food, good hunter have big belly! All girls like good hunter!
Today- Good hunter make lot of money, good provider drive BMW.
I have 5 of them, all girls are mine!!!!!!
 
kratedisease said:
Your not upset ? are you sure ?



I like to show off and brag about what a good deal I got, especially to those who defend and justify paying more.
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If anything, you’re the one that’s triggered.

Good for you, I’m glad that makes you happy but again, has no relevance without context so show us your bike, list the options etc
 
Alex-B said:
Here’s the cost just for the muffler for a current model Rocket 3 and a Ducati XDiavel. Still think BMW are alone?
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Sorry, I was not comparing the prices of Ducati or Triumph to BMW. I was only comparing pricing of Harley to BMW. ( whataboutism does not apply )
 
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Alex-B said:
If anything, you’re the one that’s triggered.

Good for you, I’m glad that makes you happy but again, has no relevance without context so show us your bike, list the options etc
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I never insulted you. Are you sure about your claim related to being triggered ? you seem emotional about this issue.

I bought the First Edition package R18 with the Premium package and Select package. The original price is 17,800GBP and I paid 9,300GBP

Unlike you, I prefer to pay LESS.

While some defend and rationalize paying MORE ( sometimes even using whataboutism) , I prefer to defend and PAY LESS.

If the pricing of a BMW R18 $10,000 exhaust system for a bike that costs $20,000USD ($17,000USD BASE MODEL) makes sense to you,.... that's fine with me.

I would never insult you because you prefer to pay more.
 
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kratedisease said:
I never insulted you. Are you sure about your claim related to being triggered ? you seem emotional about this issue.

I bought the First Edition package R18 with the Premium package and Select package. The original price is 17,800GBP and I paid 9,300GBP

Unlike you, I prefer to pay LESS.
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Good for you, so with all that money you saved you can buy whatever exhaust you want and the footboards? I wouldn’t have bought the R18 if it wasn’t for the offer so I don’t prefer to pay more but value for money is important.
 
Alex-B said:
Good for you, so with all that money you saved you can buy whatever exhaust you want and the footboards? I wouldn’t have bought the R18 if it wasn’t for the offer so I don’t prefer to pay more but value for money is important.
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Peace my brother, and ride safe.
 
Gr8adv said:
Idk. In all my 60+ years of riding and modifying all sorts of motos I have never needed or wanted to put a stock exhaust part back on my bike.
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I agree totally, this is why an UN-used still brand new complete exhaust system ( not a used "take off") listed for sale makes no sense to me, .....unless it was removed prior to the sale of the brand new bike that it came off of, ....and furthermore, the seller who listed it for sale actually believes that anyone ( other than Alex-B) would let go of and pay $10,000 for these parts.

( Sorry Alex-B, apologies, but I had to get that jab in for giggles, please forgive me....)
 
Gr8adv said:
Idk. In all my 60+ years of riding and modifying all sorts of motos I have never needed or wanted to put a stock exhaust part back on my bike.
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I'm exactly the opposite. Having primarily owned all Hondas with the exception of one Yamie and a Kaw since 1977...I have only once replaced the stock exhaust on a Honda 750...and it was because after 14 years it rusted out. IMO the stock exhaust is always the best quality of any available and are tuned for the bike. This R18C has a BEAUTIFUL, high quality exhaust system that sounds excellent. I have ZERO interest in changing it out for something that would most likely be of lesser quality.
 
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Since this thread is already a dumpster fire, I'll try to salvage it and offer my own experience. I've owned 3 BMW and 6 Harley motorcycles. In my experience, parts and accessories, whether from the factory or aftermarket, are noticeably more expensive for the BMW. Some examples?
BMW oil filter for my 1200 GS is $21
Harley oil filter for my sweeties 1200 Sportster is $15
A spark plug for that BMW is $16
A spark plug for that Harley is $5.50

I just had to put a primary gasket on a friend's Harley and it was $35. The gaskets I have purchased from BMW, like head bolt gaskets, cost me $55.
You can get a set of stock levers for a Harley for $60 from the factory, or $20 aftermarket. A single lever for my GS is over $70. You can buy factory Harley wheels for 4 bills, where BMW factory wheels cost double that. The list of examples goes on and on. Also I tried to compare prices on stuff lots of people would actually buy, not something few people buy like a stock exhaust. BMW parts are $$$. Harley parts are $$.

Heck, even synthetic oil costs more at the BMW dealer than the Harley dealer by a noticeable amount.

One of the other advantages is there are a dozen companies that make just about everything you need for a Harley, some which are pricey and some which are quite affordable. You want a sissy bar for your Softail? You have a dozen options ranging from $40 to several hundred. You want a sissy bar for your R18? Well, you can spend $450 on Wunderlich, wait 2 months to get one for $150 from Poland or roll the dice on something from Ali Express made of pure Chinesium that may not fit or have all the parts or a decent finish. Same goes for handlebars. These are pretty common items for people to add or change. I just put a really nice handlebar on my sweetie's Sportster and it cost $80. No chance I can put a bar on my R18 for that.

Anyway, as an owner of both brands and being agnostic when it comes to brands, I thought I'd offer my experience.
 
I concur with PistolPeteSTL.

This R18 is my first BMW bike, and I am in shock at the pricing of the parts and accessories for the R18. As a past and current owner of Honda's and Harley's, I always observed premium pricing for Harley parts as compared to Honda, but BMW takes it to a whole another level of insane high pricing.

very shocking to me. ( I am a cheap bastard by nature )

We need to KILL these high prices !! .....and NOT defend high prices.

 
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kratedisease said:
I concur with PistolPeteSTL.

This R18 is my first BMW bike, and I am in shock at the pricing of the parts and accessories for the R18. As a past and current owner of Honda's and Harley's, I always observed premium pricing for Harley parts as compared to Honda, but BMW takes it to a whole another level of insane high pricing.

very shocking to me. ( I am a cheap bastard by nature )

We need to KILL these high prices !! .....and NOT defend high prices.

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In an ideal world parts would be cheaper. I don’t disagree with you. But, understanding what goes into the pricing of a part is important.

Honda is one of the largest volume motorcycle manufacturers in the world. They sell about 15 million motorcycles each year! The economies of scale allow them to have much lower costs on their parts and thus lower prices.

Harley until the Pan America only made cruisers. There are really only 3 major models (touring, softail & sportster), with most of the other models being parts bin variations on each other. I know the argument about the Street Glide vs Road Glide, but aside from fairing, they are the same bike mostly. So Harley has a lot of models sharing many of the same parts thru which they get economies of scale. Harley sells about 200K bikes annually (though trending lower past few years), and the bikes haven’t appreciably changed over the years (due to demand that way), so parts are often usable across many years and models of bikes, keeping costs low & thus prices. This has made it very appealing for aftermarket to build parts for as the tooling investment can likely be shared across a huge range of “models”, but also across many years and even “generations” of bikes.

BMW has always been a premium manufacturer, not a volume one. Being European based means they also tend to build to Euro specs (like having catalytic converters in the exhaust system). Last year was BMWs best year ever making just under 200K units. But, BMW has bikes in nearly every segment and a substantial percentage of those sales are GS models (Adventure bikes). The R18 is a brand new bike and a category BMW didn’t have any bikes in (unless you count the few years of the R1200C 20+ years ago).

If we are conservative and say parts for Harley can be used over ~10 model years. That’d still give an install base of at least ~2M bikes that parts can be amortized over. BMW at this point might have sold 10K R18s across all models. Is it any wonder BMW parts and aftermarket availabilty and thus prices won’t be the same as Harley or Honda?
 
nielsm said:
In an ideal world parts would be cheaper. I don’t disagree with you. But, understanding what goes into the pricing of a part is important.

Honda is one of the largest volume motorcycle manufacturers in the world. They sell about 15 million motorcycles each year! The economies of scale allow them to have much lower costs on their parts and thus lower prices.

Harley until the Pan America only made cruisers. There are really only 3 major models (touring, softail & sportster), with most of the other models being parts bin variations on each other. I know the argument about the Street Glide vs Road Glide, but aside from fairing, they are the same bike mostly. So Harley has a lot of models sharing many of the same parts thru which they get economies of scale. Harley sells about 200K bikes annually (though trending lower past few years), and the bikes haven’t appreciably changed over the years (due to demand that way), so parts are often usable across many years and models of bikes, keeping costs low & thus prices. This has made it very appealing for aftermarket to build parts for as the tooling investment can likely be shared across a huge range of “models”, but also across many years and even “generations” of bikes.

BMW has always been a premium manufacturer, not a volume one. Being European based means they also tend to build to Euro specs (like having catalytic converters in the exhaust system). Last year was BMWs best year ever making just under 200K units. But, BMW has bikes in nearly every segment and a substantial percentage of those sales are GS models (Adventure bikes). The R18 is a brand new bike and a category BMW didn’t have any bikes in (unless you count the few years of the R1200C 20+ years ago).

If we are conservative and say parts for Harley can be used over ~10 model years. That’d still give an install base of at least ~2M bikes that parts can be amortized over. BMW at this point might have sold 10K R18s across all models. Is it any wonder BMW parts and aftermarket availabilty and thus prices won’t be the same as Harley or Honda?
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But why are spark plugs 2x or 3x the cost ? why are oil filters 2x or 3x the cost. why is oil 2x or 3x the cost ? NO manufacturer makes motor oil, plugs or filters. They buy it from the supplier and put it their box and sell it at a premium.

also, I don't need my floorboards made out of billet. I don't need my floor boards designed by Roland Sands so he can get a commission for designing them. Cast metal that is chromed would be fine.

but, as I started the thread.....
$10,000 USD for an OEM exhaust system for a $20,000 USD bike ( and $17,000 cost base bike) is insane in the membrane- insane in the brain ! price gouging, nothing more.

I bought my brand new ZERO MILES, still on certificate of origin -never titled, right out of crate new first edition package fully loaded with premium and select packages for $11,500usd after all incentives, with the dealer still making a few bucks.

I will NEVER DEFEND HIGH PRICES, the more you bitch and complain to dealers about their prices the more feedback goes to bmw, the more pressure to have BMW lower their prices. OR, keep buying BMW acessories or wonderlich accessories, and their prices will remain high. If you Don't buy wondelich now on product launch, in a year or so you will find all their stuff on clearance on their web site for 50% off. I CAN- AND I WILL WAIT. I waited to buy my R18 first edition knowing that all BMW bikes are heavily discounted at the end of model year when dealers are stuck with tons of left over bikes they discount heavy, $3000 to $5000 off.

I can wait.....I rather pay less.
 
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kratedisease said:
But why are spark plugs 2x or 3x the cost ? why are oil filters 2x or 3x the cost. why is oil 2x or 3x the cost ? NO manufacturer makes motor oil, plugs or filters. They buy it from the supplier and put it their box and sell it at a premium.

also, I don't need my floorboards made out of billet. I don't need my floor boards designed by Roland Sands so he can get a commission for designing them. Cast metal that is chromed would be fine.

but, as I started the tread.....
$10,000 USD for an OEM exhaust system for a $20,000 USD bike ( and $17,000 cost base bike) is insane in the membrane- insane in the brain ! price gouging, nothing more.

I bought my brand new ZERO MILES, still on certificate of origin -never titled, right out of crate new first edition package fully loaded with premium and select packages for $11,500usd after all incentives, with the dealer still making a few bucks.

I will NEVER DEFEND HIGH PRICES, the more you bitch to dealers about their prices the more feedback goes to bmw, the more pressure to have BMW lower their prices. OR, keep buying BMW acessories or wonderlich accessories, and their prices will remain high. If you Don't buy wondelich now on product launch, in a year or so you will find all their stuff on clearance on their web site for 50% off. I CAN- AND I WILL WAIT. I waited to buy my R18 first edition knowing that all BMW bikes are heavily discounted at the end of model year when dealers are stuck with tons of left over bikes they discount heavy, $3000 to $5000 off.

I can wait.....I rather pay less.
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I’m not finding the 2-3X prices you mention. Pulling from Harley’s site and MAXBMW’s parts fiche: Basic Harley plugs range from $7-11. The Screaming Eagle performance plugs are about $23 each. The OEM BMW R18, which are performance plugs are $23, same as the Harley ones. An OEM Harley oil filter is about $15, the BMW is $20. 4 quarts of Harley synthetic oil with the filter is $75, or about $15/quart. BMW synthetic is about $17.50 a liter. These aren’t 2-3X cost difference, it’s up to 30% more expensive depending on the item.

But again, why would someone be replacing every part including the original hangers and mounting parts for the headers, catalytic converter, header covers, mufflers? BMW generally engineers stuff so it’s a lot of parts that can be sacrificial, so usually it’s only a couple that are damaged & need replacement, not everything. I can’t imagine any realistic scenario where someone would need to spend the $10K. Maybe someone scratched or dented the manifold covers in a low speed drop on one side. Fine, that’s about $300. If they also busted up the muffler on that side, that’d be more pricy, bumping it to about $2100. The Base R18 mufflers are expensive, but they are also distinctive design, not a generic straight round pipe, so it makes sense they are much more expensive. If someone crashed hard enough to need to replace the manifolds as well as all the mounting hardware and on both sides of the bike, my guess is that is the least of the damage.

It is fair that there is limited aftermarket, but as I mentioned, it’s a small install base right now. BMW generally delivers the bikes with high performance already and until the R18 they weren’t really about beautiful looking bikes, so they don’t have a history of a big after market accessory catalog. It is definitely an area they can improve on. I have stuff from Wunderlich, Altrider, Rizoma & Touratech on my bikes. The quality on them is top notch, much better than I’ve seen from many other aftermarket brands, so it’s understandable that’s its pricier as the goal isn’t to hit a price point, but to be very high quality. As BMW is a premium brand and not a high volume one, it’s typically been higher tier aftermarket brands.
 
Yeh.

BMWs are not cheap bikes to own & tweak - but that's always been the way, and should not have come as a surprise.

I've forgotten what I paid for my r18c, but felt like it was a good deal at the time. So I'm happy.

I reserve the right to moan about every bill that comes in going forwards, but to be fair, I do that for **EVERY** bill no matter the cost.

Grumpy git rules.

There were cheaper bikes out there I could have bought, heck, whay are we not comparing to those Royal Enfields? They are like tuppence. For 2.
 
Don’t any of you own Porsches BMW’s or Mercedes’s? Or do you all drive Toyotas, Kia’s and Chevrolet’s.
 
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