Corrosion already!

New covers fitted yesterday by Lind. All now back to pristine condition and will be covered in ACF50 at the weekend like the rest of the bike is!
Great service from a great dealer.
 
My Lexus alloy wheels were all replaced under warranty with a tiny amount of corrosion after 20k miles.

The garage said Lexus know of the problem, but it is UK based only (one of few countries that uses salt) and it is cheaper to replace under warranty than change factory settings!

That may be the case for BMW now. Shame really, we should expect bikes to last well. I've had 2 boxers with over 60k miles and 10 years with no discernible corrosion anywhere
 
My Lexus alloy wheels were all replaced under warranty with a tiny amount of corrosion after 20k miles.

The garage said Lexus know of the problem, but it is UK based only (one of few countries that uses salt) and it is cheaper to replace under warranty than change factory settings!

That may be the case for BMW now. Shame really, we should expect bikes to last well. I've had 2 boxers with over 60k miles and 10 years with no discernible corrosion anywhere

I seem to remember seeing somewhere that the problem is to do with the type of paint finish that is now used; water based rather than 2 pack (Health & Safety reasons). How true that is I don't know.
 
2.5 years and 10.5k miles have taken its toll too ;)

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Shameless plug :) and on a serious note, ACF 50 is superb at protecting your bike, thats why I have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone who owns a bike, if you want to have it professionally applied I suggest using
www.allyearbiker.co.uk.

In any event check out the website some great tips on keeping your bike in tip top condition and corrosion free.
 
I to use ACF-50 on my 57 RT and it comes up corrosion free after a winter. I don't clean it so well in the winter mind, just hose off with water on a daily basis if covered in wet salt. (bike is used daily and the is a council salt celler with many tons of salt behinf my works unit so it get a covering in the winter)

I might do a couple of proper cleans through the winter usually one in Dec and the other if it warms up enough. Come spring a spring clean and all is well.
She's on 57,000 miles now and still looks like a much lower mileage bike when I clean her up.

I'd apply the ACF-50 my self tho, at least I know it's been done correctly, and I use a standard cheap spray gun and a small compressor to do it, It's really easy.
Dab some on with paint brush and wipe off with ACF soaked rag.

roll on spring
\v/
 
Last September I decided that the GS was not going to like another winter and that the (already quite bad) corrosion was going to get a lot worse. So I took the plunge and traded it in against an ex-demonstrator RT.

The RT is now 9 months old and has done less than 5K miles, none of which have been in salty conditions and to my horror is displaying signs of corrosion on both cylinder heads. I've been back to the dealer where they took photos and sent them off to BMW HQ so I'm now waiting to see what they have to say about it!

I must admit that I didn't expect this so soon.


I have had a similar problem wiht the rocker covers on my RT which is just over a year old an 8k miles.

Vines of Guildford have been first class - they took one look and immediately arranged replacements - no quibble, no argument just in total agreement that they should be replaced.
 
At the risk of repeating stuff that's been said before, nothing changes in the world of BMW motorcycles.

My RT is just coming up 2 years old and 12000 very enjoyable miles covered. I'm the first to admit that my priorities tend towards enjoying the bike rather than cleaning it, but it has been regularly treated with ACF50 (both DIY and professionally) and does get a rinse down from salty rides and it gets used in all weathers - except when there's ice on the ground (learnt my lesson there some years ago!). All that said, in the next 2 weeks it will have...a new front wheel, new rocker covers and new front engine cover - all replaced under warranty. The wheel is bubbling and peeling everywhere it meets the brake discs, and from two junctions of 'spoke' to rim; the rocker covers are thoroughly corroded all round the inner edge to a depth of several millimetres and the front engine cover has two 'old penny'-sized pieces of coating/paint missing.

There has been no issue with replacing these parts - as I said all to be done under warranty - but I am forced to wonder why this should ever be necessary :nenau.

Back in the day (30 years ago :rob) my single pot Honda CB250RS got hit with a pressure-washer about once a month, if it was lucky, and was liberally caked in cow shit and salt most of the time (the joys of growing up in the Eden valley) and when I came to flog it, at a similar age, it cleaned up like new. You'd have thought that advances in manufacturing, surface treatment and build quality in the intervening years would have meant that BMW could, by now, achieve results that Honda were getting in the early 1980s - or am I being totally unreasonable? :confused:
 
My first BMW way back in 2001, an R1100SS was after about 14 months, flaking all over the forks, front suspension wishbone and engine casing. I washed/dried it after every ride and took it back to BMW who looked at it and agreed to replace all the parts under warranty.

The bike was a real Friday afternoon bike, having broken down 7 times in 16 months, twice whilst on holiday, all problems being electrical, I swore never to have another, but here I am on an RT wondering if it will last the 3 years till I swap it.

Why did I get another after the above ?? in all honesty imho it's by far the best tourer out there, nothing else to touch it. But on the quality side I'm still not 100% convinced it will last as well as my old Honda ST1300 did.

Time will tell.
 
My first BMW way back in 2001, an R1100SS was after about 14 months, flaking all over the forks, front suspension wishbone and engine casing. I washed/dried it after every ride and took it back to BMW who looked at it and agreed to replace all the parts under warranty.

The bike was a real Friday afternoon bike, having broken down 7 times in 16 months, twice whilst on holiday, all problems being electrical, I swore never to have another, but here I am on an RT wondering if it will last the 3 years till I swap it.

Why did I get another after the above ?? in all honesty imho it's by far the best tourer out there, nothing else to touch it. But on the quality side I'm still not 100% convinced it will last as well as my old Honda ST1300 did.

Time will tell.

Would that be the same Honda ST1300 that has panels that quiver in the wind, has a sphincter tightening weave, a set of dial that can't be read in sun light and a thin panel paint coating?
 
Would that be the same Honda ST1300 that has panels that quiver in the wind, has a sphincter tightening weave, a set of dial that can't be read in sun light and a thin panel paint coating?

No
(as I have to leave a minimum 5 characters then) no
 
No
(as I have to leave a minimum 5 characters then) no

Oh right I hadn't realised that Honda had replaced their 12 year old design because the old one, I had, did all the above.....oh and I nearly forgot corroding fork legs....and chocolate nuts and bolts. but hey that's progress. Maybe the Police will start buying them again.
 


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