Corrosion - how to stop it getting any worse?

Jon P

Jon P

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I have recently bought a very nice 2007 GS. One owner and only 4500 miles.

There are some very small areas of light corrosion on parts of the engine, the final drive and the front 'swinging arm'. It is only very slight. The paint serface is not bubbling, just a little 'crazing'. Certainly nothing that requires repairing.

I have not really had seen this corrosion on previous GSs as I always bought new.

How do I stop it getting worse? I am only using the bike for pleasure so always have time to properly clean it after rides and as with all my previous bikes, once the bike is dry I wipe down the metalwork (frame, engine etc) with WD40. The bike lives in a heated garage. Will this be enough to stop it getting worse?
 
One hears really good things about ACF50, should be far superior to WD40. You sound like you want to be on the safe side, so I'd switch to that and be done with it.
 
Since buying mine I've had it professionally cleaned and then treated with ACF50 around september time and before winter kicks in. So far mine is still looking OK, just a bit of discolouring here and there but non of the white fur yet. I ride through the winter too.
 
Jon P said:
................... The paint serface is not bubbling, just a little 'crazing'. Certainly nothing that requires repairing.

I have not really had seen this corrosion on previous GSs as I always bought new.

How do I stop it getting worse? ..........................
Click to expand...

If it's what I think it is then it appears to be more a fault with the paint/curring than corrosion. I had the FD replaced on my then new '05 under warranty as it crazed really badly. I now have some on the rear of the gearbox but it's been there for a few years now and not got any worse so I just ignore it.

Re general corrosion I have, over the years used chain lube, engine oil, WD40 that Scotoiler stuff and ACF50 and TBH I'm not convinced they worked any better than what I now do which is hose the bike down if the roads have been salty and if (and it's a big if) I can be arsed...............

Andres
 
Looks like I'll give ACF a try - I like cleaning my bikes, always have, to me it's part of the ownership.
 
ACF-50 seems to be the cleanest way to reduce corrosion. You could also try some anti corrosion sprays used to treat metal parts for storage. They generally look horrible but even chrome can be looking good come the springtime. When the gunk is cleaned off of course.

The issue with the paint BMW use is its great toughness. It's great until it gets pinholed (which it always will sooner or later). Corrosion then seeps under the paint and for a long time continues out of sight. Eventually there will be enough aluminium oxide to blister the paint but by then there will be some pitting in the base metal.

Once it pits there is only one solution - dip the part to remove the paint and have it refinished. I personally prefer powder coat because heat curing helps to drive away any last vestiges of moisture, but there are other options. There is a lot to be said for leaving the metal bare and keeping it polished. No coating to trap corrosion but it does demand effort from the owner. The other option os cleaning off the affected paint always leaves a rough edge which (sooner or later) corrosion will creep under.

I have tried shot blasting to remove the paint, but it was tougher than the metal underneath so it had to be dipped by a specialist. The usual (cheap) alkali dips will dissolve aluminum. It cost me £14 per wheel for dipping and £25 for powder coat.

That's not much help for engine cases etc but seems to be the way it is. The coating is too tough and seems to cause more trouble than it solves.
 
On my boats (sea going) & trailers, i've been using both ACF50 and Corrosion Block, the trailers get submerged twice a week in salt water throughout the season, all they get is a quick slosh off with the hose after i've flushed the outboard, any corrosion that was there when i bought the rig has not got any worse if anything its got a bit better.

I've also done the landy all over underneath and in the engine bay, with both products and ACF50'd the painted cappings and hinges all the little nooks and crannies where they start to rust, plus a coat of ACF50 on all the paintwork, and that all seems OK as well:thumb2

I liked FS365 on the bike but it did work out expensive when i was riding through the winter.
 
+1

For ACF50 - although it sounds like your always going to be giving the bike a full wash down and dry off treatment after every ride and it lives in completely luxury (heated garage).

With the above some spray on or paint brush it on and leave it - whilst others rinse off with cold water only after a ride and maybe occasionally re-apply.

Sounds to me if your doing what you said with wash - dry - wipe down or blow excess water away with leaf blower - WD should be more than able to keep it as it is :thumb2
 
ACF50

Some will disagree but I would say that if you enjoy keeping your bike looking nice and shiny then ACF50 is not the product for you. This is stuff is good if you are going to take a chance and leave all alone until winter is over but you will have to trust what is going on under all of the collected road dirt and salt.

I use 365 and wash the bike every week this has kept corrosion away over many winters, there again if I used my bike for commuting every day I would go the ACF50 route.
 
Ive not found ACF-50 is especially messy but the bike does look dull until it gets a proper detailed wash. But like all the others its a preventive only so any corrosion under paint will simply continue chewing away until its cleaned out.
 
I just don't know this prob with corrosion the same was said about Suzuki's but I always washed my bikes with cold water then dried them as best as I could sprayed WD 40 on the bright and ally parts.Must have been lucky from my old K 1000 through from the Vstrom to this 1200 GS no probs with any corrosion. My neighbour is a fine weather rider and hardly goes out at all but his pan does have corrosion maybe we have to use the bikes instead of mollycoddling them. The old guy that had this 2005 1200 I'm riding now certainly put the miles on it but hey no yes no corrosion at all even the dreaded lower from ally cover is immaculate!!
 
"Corrosion - how to stop it getting any worse?"

Leave it at home in a nice dry garage, buy a hack for the winter
 
My bike was kept in a nice dry garage for 4 years by its first owner. To be fair it looked fab. It's lived outside for the past year and by summer the rear subframe was corroding (probably stone chips) and the steering frame strut under the petrol tank had paint flaking off. The subframe paint was cleaned off and touched up with black zinc paint. It's cleaned when its dirty, regularly treated with ACF-50 and continues to look good.
 
My bike has no crud catcher and front timing cover has the usual alloy corrosion below the plastic belt cover. When I took off the belt cover the corrosion ran inside for a good distance which seems odd as there is unlikely to be any salt in there. So it seems anyway.

I suspect the cover joint edge had vibrated and fretted its way through the paint. This let in the weather, causing paint bubbling above and below the joint line. Stone chip damage can't have helped but (in my case at least) it isn't the whole story.
 
Cheers for all the replies - I ordered some ACF-50. (can't get it in Halfords).
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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