Disappointed ... corrosion problems ... BMW 0, Honda 1

retroman

retroman

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Checking the bike over this morning, mightily displeased. Rust/corrosion on:

Brake caliper bolts
Front fork ends
Front wheel spindle
Mirror stems - look like they are from a 20 year old bike

The H&B bars are also corroding where they meet infront of the engine

OK I use my bike daily and its stored outside, but I wash it every other week, WD40 it and its always covered with a breathable cover when not in use

Wouldn't mind but the bleeder is only 18 months old ... planned to keep this bike forever but it will have rotted away in 5 years at this rate

My old Honda came up like new after weeks of winter neglect ... I feel a warranty claim coming on

:mad: :mad: :mad:
 
Hi retroman,
I feel the same, the finish on the BMWs is nowhere near the standard of my VFR, and the GS I have is only 6 months old.

Spent the morning with the front wheel out tring to sort the corrosion & changing bolts & fasteners fo SS ones.

I did mention it to SPS when I took it in for a service last week, in the hope of getting something done under warranty. The impression I got from the service desk was tough, should have taken more time cleaning it, and they dont change theses items under warranty. Mind you if they did, it would probably be the same again in a few months.
Oh well I suppose this is what is the guys mean when they say owning a mbw is a more involving experience .?

Baz
 
Mines starting to look a bit grotty as well, same sort of stuff as yours, also the paint around the exhaust ports is bubbling up and turning yellow, looks pretty sh1te!:(
 
As the engineers will say, youv'e been using this, well if you will use it what do you expect.
 
SH*te

Have owned,
Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki even a Hyasung (check spelling),
Now a Bvm 1150gs,

Without doubt the worst by a long way for build quality, is my current 1150 gs.

all mine and the wifes bikes have recived the same TLC, so its not a case of neglect.:(

To say I,m dissapointed is a understatment.

Dealer backup / support second to none (yeh right)...

If me bike was,nt so much fun I,d sell it...:D
 
Jimb said:
As the engineers will say, youv'e been using this, well if you will use it what do you expect.
Click to expand...

I accept that up to a point, but if Honda can get it right why can't BMW??

GSes do look better once they are a bit gnarled but not at this stage of the game. Not at £9k at any rate.

And bollox to that '2nd bike winter hack' nonsense. These things are advertised as being built to last - so why aren't they??
 
gotta say i feel the same, had a gsxr 750k for 5 years sold it with 50,000 on clock, apart from service and 3000 mile oil changes the only thing it needed was a rear shock, the obvious tyres and pads,18,000 out of c&s kit,riden most of the year, finish was still good when i sold it. treated myself to a gs cos i wanted one for a while, 3 year old 11,000 mls on clock thought i would nt have to spend money on it for a while but am gonna have to get the rr bearings sorted, when i got it home and gave it a proper clean i noticed how bad the finish really was. i thought that the previous owner had just neglected it and ridden it through every winter but ive come to realise its just normal for these ,should i have bought the brand new gsxr600 for the same money??
 
Why should BM improve their build quality? We keep buying the things. They can sell all they make.
 
Yeah, not what I expected from BMW, not a patch on their 4 wheel efforts.
However I have had both rims and the front wishbone replaced outside the warranty period - the claim was even suggested by the dealer!
Now only the fork legs and mirrors look Sh*te.
Still the best bike I've ever had though.
 
What's the quality of the rest of their bikes, are they all as bad as the GS?
 
My 1100S is nowhere as good as the build quality of the R1100R I had before. If I didn't keep on top of it, it would be looking like a bag of shite by now. BMW are living on past glories as far their build quality is concerned, most of the dealerships certainly don't seem to give a damn about it once money's changed hands!

I remember going to Southport Superbikes when I was looking around for my 1100R a couple of years back. At the time I had a Yam Fazer 600 to part ex. The sales guy there said something about; "it will have rotted apart within the next year or two"
"Nothing like the build quality of BMW if you want a bike to last" he said ......Yeah right mate!.....Bollox.

I often wonder if BMW marketing /reseach or whatever read these forums. If not, it's time they did 'cause I think we're all getting wise to the "BMW is best" lie. You can only get away with for so long - people ain't that daft, especially when it involves paying the high prices demanded for the prestige of owning a BMW!

I still love my 'S' and I'll put up with all it's foibles because it is fantastic to ride. I can do without the corrosion, the worn pivot pins and the prospect of a bevel box which can give up on me tomorrow...all on a 13,000 mile bike! I'm under no illusions that it's any better than any other bike out there. BMW marketing is bloody good tho...We all buy in to the dream of a tough reliable machine. Pity the reality doesn't quite match it.

Dave.
 
Don't get me wrong, I love my GS and its the best bike I've owned. But what really hacks me off is that the build quality on some parts of the bike seems bulletproof whilst on other bits its rusting away before my eyes.

Why the discrepancy? Built-in obselescence, perhaps??
 
I think the build quality on the Adventure is a lot better and is one of the reasons I bought a :GSA and not a standard :GS ...... ie. the anodised wheels for one .

About 4 years ago I had an 1100:GS and the build quality on that was excellent!

My Adventure's coming up to two years old now but has no signs of rust or furing of fasteners etc. I've ridden it plenty of times now in the salt and rain............I even waited a couple of days before I washed it after a recent snow blizzard and it still came up like new :D !

Maybe it's the new salt they've put down in the UK in the last year :eek: ????
 
I've had my Adventure since last July, and am really quite pleased with the way it's weathering. I've tried to get at least a short ride every week during the winter, but admit to being one of those sad b---s that cleans their bike before putting it back in the garage.
I owned 2 Hondas before the GS, and I think the GS is the equal of my VFR and better then my VTR. If they were so bad, how come that the dealers seem to be full of secondhand bikes that look in decent condition, many of them with 20-30K on them?

Regards,

Charles
 
Two and a half years old (the bike not me) 30,000 miles ('01 GS). Take it across the Solent each week. The ferries vehicle decks are all open to the elements so the bike is given a good dousing with natures finest salt water spray. Certain parts have no finish left on them (forks and spokes etc) , other bits are bubbling away nicely (mirror stalks, and fork bridge etc) whilst other bits seem fine. The rims on the wheels are unmarked.
Must say the rust on a B*W seems of a higher quality than that exibited on my previous Jap bike.
 
Like me, my GS is displaying a degree of patina!

You are right though, Honda have the best build. Just say it quietly on here.;)
 
Yes my 2001 1150GS is showing signs of erosion, corrosion and rust but compared to my 2001 Pan Enormous I part-ex'd against it is pristine.

I accept Honda's build quality is better than almost any other manufacturer but not all models stand up to it and certainly in my case their second to top of range bike was severely lacking.

Both MBW & Honda have taken in my bikes for Warranty issues pertaining to corrosion at their cost but on bikes in the £8--9K bracket they are poor and nothing up to the standard of my 11 -y-o GS or my 13 y-o (as was K100RS) or my '89 VFR750 (in white, gorgeous :D).
 
I'm not trying to defend BMW here, I think some of the corrosion issues are unacceptable, but I haven't seen any evidence of superb Honda finish. All of the Hondas I've seen (Mainly VFRs) have suffered from appaling corrosion, they may look nice and shiny but as soon as you look under the bodywork it gets scary. A friends early VFR recently had the downpipes rot through and it cost him over £300 to upgrade to the later stainless downpipes, this was on a very well looked after low mileage machine that only gets ridden in dry weather.
 
I think that my ten year old bike looks fine. OK the wheels do need some work, but I prefer to ride it than worry about polishing it. I tend to ride anywhere from 100 to 1000 miles a week and basically wash the thing in ten minutes once a week in the winter and when it needs it in the summer. It is by no means "pristine" but it runs very well and I aint going to get rid of it. Therefroe I don't care if my wheels are a bit rough.

The solution for the guys with a lot of money is to get two:D . One to stay in the garage and one to ride....

I paid 6000euros for it three years ago and now 60000KM on top of what it had when I bought it I know I could sell it for 5000Euros. It is a no brainer. No other bike would keep its price so well. Although I did get it for a very good price in the first place. (rich guy who just wanted it out of his space,7 years 15000KMs, DOH)
 
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