Corrosion

[edmac]

Howdy folks,

I just got notified from my local dealer that the BMW techs are saying that they will not cover a replacement frame for my 07 1200gsa because in their opinion the bike was not kept washed. This is a load of crap as the bike is always kept clean and garaged.
i am about to contact customer care but thought i would ask for some advice here. the bike still has 6 months warranty left with 30,000 km on the clock.

any thoughts?

 

[Stewart H]

That is as bad or worse than the corrosion on my 100,000 mile 98 1100, and that has definitely been left unwashed.
Stewart

 

[Fanum]

Got any pics going back over the last couple of years of the bike? If they show it's reasonably clean, take them along as supporting evidence maybe?

EDIT......though the real question might be "should it have to have been scrupulously clean to have not rusted like that anyway?"

 

[edmac]

Yeah i have a few older pics, bear in mind this machine is not even 18 months old.

 

[MattW]

That's appalling.

I'd say you have a very good case - 'fit for purpose' must be at question here?

There have been plenty of threads on here regarding corrosion warranty claims and the best approach to take - I'd be so mad I'd start throwing solicitors letters at them but this might not be the best idea...

 

[Slowdown]

Code - 0167 - Rust Forming on the frame.

You should have bought a GS911

 

[Account removed]

Howdy folks,

I just got notified from my local dealer that the BMW techs are saying that they will not cover a replacement frame for my 07 1200gsa because in their opinion the bike was not kept washed. This is a load of crap as the bike is always kept clean and garaged.
i am about to contact customer care but thought i would ask for some advice here. the bike still has 6 months warranty left with 30,000 km on the clock.

any thoughts?

We have a number of dealers use this site, maybe one of them can comment ?

 

[Dainese Brave]

That is horrendous!

I'd like to know what BMW regard as 'being kept clean'?.....do they mean being left in the garage over the winter????

 

[patboy]

That is bad corrosion! I'm chasing SE London Motorcycles due to the front engine cover corrosion on mine and its an 05 bike. I think you have a good case. They always come out with crap about you have not washed the bike etc. I'm always cleaning mine even in the winter and its garaged.

 

[APB]

Mine had 15k on it and ridden through 4 winters, all I did was wash it after riding it and then sprayed it with wd40 and wipe in.
Did this all its life and hardly any corrosion at all!
Its all in the cleaning.

 

[NorthernBoy]

That is as bad or worse than the corrosion on my 100,000 mile 98 1100, and that has definitely been left unwashed.
Stewart

That corrosion is completely unacceptable, I'd persevere with the dealer, and if they don't agree to replace the corroded parts, mention to them that you will go to the small claims court and sue for the cost of having it done elsewhere. mention that the bike seems to be not fit for purpose.

They sold you something to use on the roads of Britain, and that is not acceptable corrosion even if you had never washed it at all.

 

[Nice 'n' Fat]

Now that's what I call corrosion

I'd be interested to know just how much your dealer would give you for the bike in p/x against another?

 

[elefantmanshawn]

Why the hell did you let it get to this stage?,there must have been rust bubbles long before it broke through,when was the last dealer service and was any rust noted then?

 

[BuGsBuNnY]

That is unacceptable, washed or not washed. What an utter load of rubbish from the dealer! The local guys I deal with bend over backwards to help, every time. (even with a pedantic anal sod like me)

Ring customer services and suggest in the strongest terms that they speak to the dealer asap and replace everything that has rusted. Be ready to email them the pics, it always helps. Their email is [email protected]
Customer services will contact the warranty department and take it from there. They will also contact the dealer that services the bike.

Keep copies of all correspondence, dates, names etc. If it goes pear shaped, it will show you have tried your best to resolve the issue before resorting to any legal action. (my bet is that this will be sorted long before that, but best to be prepared)

Keep us updated.

 

[BBB61]

How long ago did you first notice the problem and at what point did you take it up with the dealer?

 

[Gazzabart]

worst yet

thats the worst i have ever seen
could you post a pic of the full bike clean
cant make out how and why that frame got that bad in such random places
looks like you kept the tin of nitromors next to the tin of polish and got em mixed up
if its under warranty - go to war with BUMW
there is a thread on here for the cleanest bike
dont worry about submitting a pic cos i dont think you would win
good luck anyway and dont take no SHIT

 

[edmac]

Why the hell did you let it get to this stage?,there must have been rust bubbles long before it broke through,when was the last dealer service and was any rust noted then?

I couldn't see the rust underneath the 18 months of crud, that was a joke I figured i would just leave it go until nearing the end of the warranty.

 

[edmac]

thats the worst i have ever seen
could you post a pic of the full bike clean
b

I will take one tonight and post it tommmorrow.

Email sent to customer care so lets see how it goes, i will keep ye posted!

 

[NeverRodeBefore]

That's terrible... it looks like it spread under the paintwork. It's almost as though you had a miriad of tiny stone chips.

Un-exposed steel will corrode if the circumstances in the environment are correct. In this case the paint layer must not have adheared correctly or has been permiated by direct impact or chemical attack. The water would then gain access to the steel and start to form corrosion pits. These would cause the surrounding steel to begin to corrode and cause the steel to blister under the paint layer. This is the same basic reaction that you've got with the alloy on the wheels. For some reason the oxide on the alloy parts expands more than the oxide on the steel, so it always looks worse.

If you get no where with BMW on a replacement frame, then it's possible to chemically treat the rusted steel sections and repaint after that. You'll never get a brilliant finish short of paying a fortune to a specialist, but the rot can be stopped. Stopping the rot on the alloy parts is considerably harder.

Just had another look at the alloy wheels and I see it's where the steel bolts are fitted, so galvanic corrosion could well be speeding up the problem. Forgive me, it's been a while since I covered this, but basically the two metals in contact with one another will form an electron based circuit, especially with a conductive media (water will do) at the joint. This causes the alloy to degrade in preference to the steel.

The only way to avoid this is by having an inert layer of either rubber or simply nice thick paint to stop the direct contact. Grease will also have a similar effect, but of course it needs to be 'topped' up from time to time.

Do you live in a marine environment, or perhaps use it for launching boats

If you've taken 'reasonable' care over the general care of your bike, it shouldn't have gone this bad so quickly.

 

[NeverRodeBefore]

Oh perhaps I should mention, I'm a metallurgist specialising in Hardmetals, so corrosion isn't something that usually crops up in my job. I did however spend some time studying corrosion in a fair amount of detail. Still got a textbook at home... makes a nice read