2009 BMW R 1200 RT — Complaint #820224
Open-data reference.
NHTSA Complaint about STRUCTURE:MOTORCYCLE:KICKSTAND/CENTER STAND filed October 15, 2010
NHTSA complaint #820224 (ODI reference 10360679) concerns a 2009 BMW R 1200 RT and was filed on October 15, 2010. The owner reports the failure occurred on October 7, 2010. The vehicle had 16,257 miles on the odometer at the time of the incident. The report was geocoded to Illinois based on the filer's self-reported location. The affected component is categorized as structure:motorcycle:kickstand/center stand, one of NHTSA's standardized taxonomy codes used to group defect patterns across make, model, and year.
The filer flagged the following severity indicators: crash: no, fire: no, injuries: 0, fatalities: 0. No crash, fire, or fatality was associated with this report, which places it in the early-warning stream rather than the priority-review stream. Because a VIN was supplied, this complaint is tied to a specific vehicle and not just a model-year cohort.
Individual complaints are consumer-submitted and unverified by NHTSA engineers — the agency's role at this stage is to collect, index, and make them searchable. What matters for federal action is the pattern: when many owners of the same BMW R 1200 RT cohort independently describe similar structure:motorcycle:kickstand/center stand failures, defect investigators have grounds to open a PE and request manufacturer data. Related filings for the same vehicle and component appear below, and the detail page for the full 2009 BMW R 1200 RT shows the complete component-level complaint distribution alongside any active investigations or recalls.
Complaint Description
SIDE STAND INTERLOCK SWITCH FAILURE ON A 2009 BMW R1200RT MOTORCYCLE. THE SWITCH IS DESIGNED TO PREVENT THE MOTORCYCLE FROM BEING DRIVEN WITH THE SIDE STAND IN THE DOWN POSITION. THE SWITCH ON MY MACHINE FAILED WITH THE SIDE STAND IN THE UP POSITION AND THE MOTORCYCLE BEING DRIVEN DOWN THE ROAD AT APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH. WHEN THE SWITCH FAILED THE MOTOR STOPPED RUNNING, WHICH CAUSED THE REAR WHEEL TO SKID. I WAS ABLE TO PULL IN THE CLUTCH TO GET OUT OF THE REAR WHEEL SKID AND STEER THE MACHINE OFF THE ROAD. I WAS ABLE TO BY-PASS THE INTERLOCK SWITCH IN ORDER TO START THE MACHINE AND RIDE IT HOME. THE ONLY REPAIR WOULD BE THE REPLACEMENT OF THE SWITCH. THE PROBLEM I HAVE IS THAT ONCE THE MACHINE IS IN GEAR AND MOVING DOWN THE ROAD THE FAILURE OF THIS SWITCH SHOULD NOT CAUSE THE MOTOR OF THE MOTORCYCLE TO STOP UNEXPECTEDLY. THE LOSS OF ENGINE POWER COULD LEAD TO INJURY OR DEATH. IF THE SWITCH FAILS WHILE THE MACHINE IS BEING DRIVEN DOWN THE ROAD IT NEEDS TO ALERT THE RIDER OF A FAULT BUT
Complaint Details
| NHTSA Complaint ID | 820224 |
| ODI Number | 10360679 |
| Date Filed | October 15, 2010 |
| Failure Date | October 7, 2010 |
| VIN | WB10388079Z |
Source: NHTSA Vehicle Complaints Database. Component taxonomy and severity codes are standardized by NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.