Yes Alex you are correct there, lots of people did.
Fortunately I bought the F650GS which was reliable but when the battery failed I was fobbed off with the 90 day warranty on batteries in Thailand whereas the rest of the world honoured the 2 years unlimited mileage warranty
I got the same spiel when the HP2 battery gave up after only months...then the new one (that had cost me 5,000baht) crapped out again after a few months and was again only guaranteed for 3 months. The aftermarket I got that time never died, I sold the bike with it...(but BMW made a point to tell me that my electrical system would not be guaranteed if I installed a non original component...they went as far as blaming the "non original" battery for the fuel pump problems I had...and the aftermarket exhaust (at that time I told them the fuel pump problems were certainly caused by the LED flashers I installed surely not because everywhere else in the world there was a recall).
But, as BMW Motorrad Gmbh explained, these issues are out of their control, the policy is set by BMW Thailand because normally BMW Motorrad only carries the responsibility for the new components, the execution of any recalls, warranty work and the labour costs associated with those are shared between BMW Thailand and the dealers executing the work. So we know where the money extorted for the free components goes...
As the motorcycling industry starts to grow in Thailand BMW Thailand will have to start changing their ways or face loosing a major market share because as the masses take on biking they will not get their volume increase sales from the few thai high-so as they do now. They will have to start passing some of those discounts down...
It would be hard to keep claiming an exclusive product when even Ducati is now significantly cheaper then they are. I would guess that they are now milking it for as long as they can but within a year or two we will see the R1200GS and it's Adventure brother in the same price range as a Multistrada...Benelli will also be cheaper as they have an established a joint venture with QuiangJiang Motor of China.
Only few small Europeans like Moto Morini have not yet entered Asia...Unlike MV Agusta that established a JV with Lifan purely to enter the Chinese market, companies like Benelli are more actively involved, supplying engineering and materials expertise for the "privilege" of having their models manufactured in China and Thailand like Keeway (Qijang/Benelli assembled in Thailand) for example.
The dynamics brought to the motorcycle industry by the ASEA deal will greatly outweigh the importance of Thai import taxes for vehicles (these taxes are not set to be eliminated like the taxes on Japanese motorcycles which are being phased out based on a different deal predating ASEA) as prices will be dramatically affected by locally manufactured "European" motorcycles...however, it will take another year until we see the lowest prices on some models and by the end of 2016-2017 the market will have adjusted and averaged out with prices reflecting more of quality build then origin of manufacturing.
If you're in the market for a new vehicle end of this year and next year will be the right time to get the best deals on your specific models you desire...just my opinion of course.
