CORROSION & POOR QUALITY 12/2/05

[ELIMINATOR]

My GS 1150 is an import & was registered in Germany in Nov. 03. Sold in UK May 04, I bought it with 996 miles on the clock. It has only seen one winter yet the bottom of the forks are about to start pitting where the paint is chipped. Brake hose fittings are looking a bit shabby as are the screws in the footrest pannier bits.
My 'F' reg Honda CB1 400 has better fork legs despite NOT being washed, with such dedication as the BM.

Are BMW just good at advertising because the product is crap. Two servo pumps, two master cylinders, something replaced in the ignition switch [it was sticking] & the sender unit for the gear indicator display.
The typical customer is getting on! As I am. I bet BMW car owners wouldn't put up with this crap, so why do we. I think they sell the bike as a lifestyle, limiting the supply to falsely keep the prices inflated.
I won't be buying another one, stick with Jap bikes.

 

[ELIMINATOR]

What surprises me more than anything is that I still own it!!!
But at the moment the pleasure of riding it outways the other crap. BUT FOR HOW MUCH LONGER????

 

[Alex B]

Stick with it EL.....

it's a bike which "should" have a very long lifetime ...... in theory. Give it a bit longer and if it continues to play up then maybe should should consider ..... but please not Japanese !

 

[ELIMINATOR]

Harley Sportster was a fun test drive, ground clearance a bit of an issue. Dock gate 20 were a bit surprised when I said it decks a bit too easy.

 

[ELIMINATOR]

I have just smeared vaseline on the fork lowers, what do you think? It's OK spraying Scotoil FS 365 over everything, but I think the problem is chipping, hopefully this will stop the salt penetrating the paintwork. I haven't put enough on to get on the brakes. I HOPE?!

 

[Mzokk]

You could stick silver gaffer tape over the fork lowers. I'm just going to repaint mine when the salt is off the road. I've got a 2002 1150 and would have to agree the finish is crap. The 1995 MZ Skorpion I used the last two winters has more corrosion resistance.

 

[ELIMINATOR]

At work I can get my hands on the self adhesive vinyl that is used for the signwriting on vans, buses, etc. Comes in a multitude of colours including clear, I'll be using this when I go back in.

 

[Hector]

Corrosion

on't lets be snobby about all Jap. bikes, my four gear(honest) CB1000 has been a "best buy" since 1997, 40K later I'm sad to see it go.(New R1200 GS) Will it be as trouble free after hacking it with the "elite" on several Continental tours? Pillion up, full luggage, no probs.

 

[Kropotkin]

Sell it and buy a honda. No more complaints then.

Of course, you may have to find someone to wake you from the coma riding a honda usually induces, but what you gain on the swings, you lose on the roundabouts.

My 2000 GS corrodes. But then, I don't wash it. It's a blast to ride, and I ing love it. So my top tip is stop whining, and get riding.

 

[ELIMINATOR]

I do 12000 miles a year on the bikes. I don't own a car, just don't like poor quality kit. I work in the quality departmwnt of an engineering company. [German]

So you could say that I do ride.

 

[Kropotkin]

I do 12000 miles a year on the bikes. I don't own a car,

Same here. I ride close to 15k a year, but have accepted that stuff is going to corrode if I ride in the winter, thanks to the generous helpings of road salt sprayed on the roads.

I could of course wash the bike down every time I ride it, then spray it with some protective stuff or other. However, back here in the real world, I could use that time to sit on my fat arse. Or ride some more. My bike's a keeper, so I don't worry too much about resale value, as I expect that condition is going to be less important when I try to sell it with 100,000 miles on the clock.

But it sounds like you are unhappy with your GS anyway, so I would sell it. I'm not, so I'm keeping mine.