Rear Subframe Corrosion

So as a new owner a brief synopsis would be that I've spent a massive amount of money on a bike that's advertised as go anywhere do anything. However the actual reality is that I can go anywhere and do anything as long as I apply as much care to cleaning it after each journey as the NHS did to my eldest when he spent six weeks in intensive care after being born?

Regardless of now having to ACF50 it every week, wash it with ph neutral shampoo, hose it down after every ride and sacrifice poultry to the Gods of Paint this may make no difference what so ever..?

That about right? Have I misinterpreted 'Go anywhere do anything..?'
 
That paint finish looks like the first coat, let it go tacky then hit it with some paint.
A BMW car has 100 microns on every panel.
 
So as a new owner a brief synopsis would be that I've spent a massive amount of money on a bike that's advertised as go anywhere do anything. However the actual reality is that I can go anywhere and do anything as long as I apply as much care to cleaning it after each journey as the NHS did to my eldest when he spent six weeks in intensive care after being born?

Regardless of now having to ACF50 it every week, wash it with ph neutral shampoo, hose it down after every ride and sacrifice poultry to the Gods of Paint this may make no difference what so ever..?

That about right? Have I misinterpreted 'Go anywhere do anything..?'

FFS Cinderella

It can go anywhere and do anything but BE HOME AND WASHED BEFORE MIDNIGHT.....

You know the Pumpkin Law.
 
So as a new owner a brief synopsis would be that I've spent a massive amount of money on a bike that's advertised as go anywhere do anything. However the actual reality is that I can go anywhere and do anything as long as I apply as much care to cleaning it after each journey as the NHS did to my eldest when he spent six weeks in intensive care after being born?

Regardless of now having to ACF50 it every week, wash it with ph neutral shampoo, hose it down after every ride and sacrifice poultry to the Gods of Paint this may make no difference what so ever..?

That about right? Have I misinterpreted 'Go anywhere do anything..?'

If you are that concerned? can I make the suggestion that you don't buy one ! :rolleyes:
 
If you are that concerned? can I make the suggestion that you don't buy one ! :rolleyes:

I'm not concerned, just bemused - picked up mine on the 24th April and it has 1k on the clock from the daily commute. Last bike was a Ducati Streetfighter used on the same commute, that did 25k in three years and didn't corrode. And it's not like Ducati are known for robust bikes is it?
 
I'm not concerned, just bemused - picked up mine on the 24th April and it has 1k on the clock from the daily commute. Last bike was a Ducati Streetfighter used on the same commute, that did 25k in three years and didn't corrode. And it's not like Ducati are known for robust bikes is it?

The paint was coming of my 2002 Ducati Monster engine in huge flakes after a few months - all engine cases were re-placed under warranty - and that was with proper paint from the old days.
 
Having read all these recent threads on corrosion I thought I better have a closer look at my bike which is a March 2016 GS TB. I bought it 2nd hand from the Edinburgh BMW dealers with 8000 miles on the clock, I've since added another 3500 miles. So I've now discovered the start of corrosion on both sides of the engine by the cylinder heads and most of the spoke end connectors. The day I picked up the bike I treated it to ACF50 and fitted a fender extender and a mudsling. It's been washed regularly and wasn't used during winter and kept in a garage yet it's still corroding. I never looked after my previous bikes (VFR's & Triumph Tiger) like I have the GS and they were used to commute through winter and no corrosion issues. Looks like a visit back to the dealers.
 
Having read all these recent threads on corrosion I thought I better have a closer look at my bike which is a March 2016 GS TB. I bought it 2nd hand from the Edinburgh BMW dealers with 8000 miles on the clock, I've since added another 3500 miles. So I've now discovered the start of corrosion on both sides of the engine by the cylinder heads and most of the spoke end connectors. The day I picked up the bike I treated it to ACF50 and fitted a fender extender and a mudsling. It's been washed regularly and wasn't used during winter and kept in a garage yet it's still corroding. I never looked after my previous bikes (VFR's & Triumph Tiger) like I have the GS and they were used to commute through winter and no corrosion issues. Looks like a visit back to the dealers.

Have you been reapplying ACF50, or did you just apply it once?
 
Tell me, how do you think ACF is going to protect painted parts where the corrosion starts from under an unbroken skin of paint?

Andres
 
Tell me, how do you think ACF is going to protect painted parts where the corrosion starts from under an unbroken skin of paint?

Andres

Can you tell me how corrosion starts under an unbroken skin of paint? It can't.

The steel would have to be untreated and the paint would have to be porous, damaged or so thin it doesn't cover all the metal.

Or the steel would already have to be rusty and proceeding enough to damage the new paint coating to allow continued exposure to air and water.
 
Have you been reapplying ACF50, or did you just apply it once?

This whole thread, and the other concurrent ones, are becoming a joke, and not in a funny way. I know I'm a grumpy old twat but things like "or did you just apply it once?" just make me laugh. In the last 52 years I've gone from James and Velocette to Honda, Suzuki, etc. and then onto BMW and Triumph et al.

There weren't things like ACF50 to cocoon or pamper your bike with. We had proper salt on the roads then and lots of it because it was cheap and we had harder winters with ice and snow for weeks at a time. The engineering and technology in the 60-80's was crap compared to now. We started buy "Jap crap" and found it wasn't so crap. It rusted a bit but so did everything else at the time. Vauxhall Victors left the factory with rust as a no-cost option. But the Japs worked at the problems and ended up with a far better product than was available elsewhere. Even the BMW's of the time weren't that bad.

There must be quite a few old bastards like me on here and I'm sure you'll not have experienced anything like this over the years where you have to wrap your bike in cotton wool and not take it out in the rain. That's another thing that makes me laugh, selling your bike and claiming it's "never been out in rain and only used in summer when it's dry"! Feckin' wuss, you shouldn't have a bike. Probably own matching twat suits.

The quality of these BMW's is shite, people complain and complain on here and then go buy another one. Good on yer, you deserve everything you get, so stop complaining and buy something else. My brand spanking new BMW rust bucket lasted under 3 months and 1,700 miles before it went back to the Fatherland. I was told I'd ridden it in the wet and salt had started the corrosion. I agreed and handed it back.

And another thing before I slink off to my cave. Has anyone ever bought an extended warranty for anything else apart from a BMW motorcycle or a chinese microwave (probably the same QC standards). Until I got my BMW I didn't even know there was such a thing.

We're doomed!
 
This whole thread, and the other concurrent ones, are becoming a joke, and not in a funny way. I know I'm a grumpy old twat but things like "or did you just apply it once?" just make me laugh. In the last 52 years I've gone from James and Velocette to Honda, Suzuki, etc. and then onto BMW and Triumph et al.

There weren't things like ACF50 to cocoon or pamper your bike with. We had proper salt on the roads then and lots of it because it was cheap and we had harder winters with ice and snow for weeks at a time. The engineering and technology in the 60-80's was crap compared to now. We started buy "Jap crap" and found it wasn't so crap. It rusted a bit but so did everything else at the time. Vauxhall Victors left the factory with rust as a no-cost option. But the Japs worked at the problems and ended up with a far better product than was available elsewhere. Even the BMW's of the time weren't that bad.

There must be quite a few old bastards like me on here and I'm sure you'll not have experienced anything like this over the years where you have to wrap your bike in cotton wool and not take it out in the rain. That's another thing that makes me laugh, selling your bike and claiming it's "never been out in rain and only used in summer when it's dry"! Feckin' wuss, you shouldn't have a bike. Probably own matching twat suits.

The quality of these BMW's is shite, people complain and complain on here and then go buy another one. Good on yer, you deserve everything you get, so stop complaining and buy something else. My brand spanking new BMW rust bucket lasted under 3 months and 1,700 miles before it went back to the Fatherland. I was told I'd ridden it in the wet and salt had started the corrosion. I agreed and handed it back.

And another thing before I slink off to my cave. Has anyone ever bought an extended warranty for anything else apart from a BMW motorcycle or a chinese microwave (probably the same QC standards). Until I got my BMW I didn't even know there was such a thing.

We're doomed!

Haha +1

However, in our days Houses cost £15,000 not bloody motorbikes.

So you'd expect we would have advanced somewhat in the meantime.

People moan about everything nowadays because partly they have an audience 24/7 now.
 
Can you tell me how corrosion starts under an unbroken skin of paint? It can't.

The steel would have to be untreated and the paint would have to be porous, damaged or so thin it doesn't cover all the metal.

Or the steel would already have to be rusty and proceeding enough to damage the new paint coating to allow continued exposure to air and water.

You answered your own question.

Poor surface prep and in some cases (subframes) no primer coat.

Make yourself a cup of tea , look at all the photos in the numerous threads on this subject, look at mates/dealer's GS's and note how the vast majority show bubbling under an UNBROKEN skin of paint.

If you disagree with me tell me how else that can happen?

Andres
 
That's what happens when the accountants order cheap recycled steel from China, made from old Cortina's.
 
You answered your own question.

Andres

I did answer my own question because your statement didn't make sense.

Corrosion can't start from under an unbroken skin of paint.

Its either already there, or the paint skin is porous or already cracked.

I don't drink tea. :beerjug:
 
I did answer my own question because your statement didn't make sense.

Corrosion can't start from under an unbroken skin of paint.

Its either already there, or the paint skin is porous or already cracked.

I don't drink tea. :beerjug:

You've lost me, sorry?

I can agree on the tea thang though, coffee addict here :)

Andres
 
Hi Nutty, yes I did reapply the ACF50 a couple of times and a few spays of FS365 as well for good measure. Considering the bike wasn't used over winter when it was wet and was washed regularly as well I think it had been well looked after but still didn't make any difference to the bubbling paint.

I spoke to the dealer and sent them the pictures - they are going to get in touch with BMW, they also said not to call it corrosion as it's a paint / adhesion defect.
 


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