Exploding Winglets !

[Magwych]

This was almost to bizarre to be true, anyone else experience this ?:

Rode home from London last night, 55 miles, tank was almost dry so filled up at my local petrol station. The GSA takes a while to fill, so there I am , nozzle jammed in the tank, idly reading what amazing torches cum multi tool, cum whatever I could but for £2.99. I hear a strange noise and turn around to fuel shooting out of my filler, a good jet of seeing as the filler neck is restricted by the fuel pump nozzle jammed into it. Clearly their pump fuel level cut out is US, so I have a hot engine and catalyst covered in fuel, not to mention the rest of the bike and a small lake of it surrounding the bike.

In the kiosk , I am trying to tell the "attendant" that their is safety fault with their pump, but it seems I am talking in Swahili, the only response muttered is "wot? ", fortunately the owner appears out of the back room , so I tell him, he is not surprised, " "oh, not again ...".

I digress. After the above mentioned conversation. I pay up, somehow the fill of a GSA tank, and ejection of a load of fuel over my entire bike and the forecourt is £26 worth of fuel , their pump is clearly cattle-trucked. Wiping down the still soaked tank, I noticed that the winglets had gone cloudy, and as I watched, before my very eyes, cracks started to appear around the mounting screws, radiating away from them. They continued to grow until parts of the right winglet came off. I have now totally b^ggered winglets ( photos below). Anyone else ever seen this ? Is petrol hallucinogenic ?

 

[Dave Cr]

Don't know whether you are lucky or not with this one. Petrol overspill on a hot engine etc. could have been disastrous. Have you seen the threads that suggest modifying the rubber tube inside the filler cap to prevent this happening again?
As for the cracking plastic, that's a chemical reaction that someone with a more thorough understanding of the process than me will be able to explain to you. Your assessment is spot on though!

 

[Alex B]

Petrol is basically a "solvent" and will readily try to solvate any substance including polymers fro mwhat the winglets are made. They're basically "plastics" which have been thermoset (I think that's right ... I was an organic chemist in a previous life).

The speed and severity of the reaction is a little surprising although the process is not. I splashed petrol on my GS1150 screen some years ago and it destroyed the screen totally.

I would report it to BMW as it suggests the winglets construction has little protection against petrol. I would theorise that if the winglets had been "waxed" over time, the reaction might have been slower, but your photographs are strong evidence !!

Wonder if BMW issue any guidance suggesting that solvents such as petrol will damage the screen materials (think they might be polyacrylates but some other person will come along in a minute and have more accurate information).

Hmm.

 

[Bub]

Tell BWM... them claim off the petrol stations insurance as its their faulty equipment that caused the problem....

I'd also suggest claiming for the cleaning of your trousers after they were also covered in fuel....

 

[alimey4u2]

Winglets are made out of "Lexan" which is surface hardened polycarbonate. The petrol compromised the surface strength allowing cracks to propagate along the lines of stress...

Think of it as an ice cream wafer ( do they still make them ?) hard on the outside & soft in the middle....

 

[Glyno]

I had the same happen to the screen of my k100 13 years ago,petrol everywhere and the screen cracked around the fixings instantly.....a right mess

 

[Deleted account 220427002]

Winglets are made out of "Lexan" which is surface hardened polycarbonate.

are you trying to say a 1200 is bullet proof

 

[(RIP) Tunneruk]

Did this happen at the petrol station on the Canterbury ring road by any chance?

 

[WindyChuffer]

This has nothing to do with BMW.

Get a price from a BMW dealer to rectify the damage, including labour, bike collection and return costs to/from your house to dealer, plus cost of replacement hire / loan bike for repair duration. Write to the garage

a)explaining the problem (what happened). Include a quote from the owner "oh no not again"

b) explain what you want to happen and include BMW estimate for repair

GArage will fwd your letter to their insurer.

Garage insurer will pay.

Something similar happened to me when I got contaminated fuel in a car. £700 later (mercedes dealer !), sorted. Garage insurere paid out No problem.

Dont accept anything less.

 

[Alex B]

I agree with Alimey4u2 (nice "materials science" response there, and accurate). Most of the thermoset and 'thermoresin' polymers react badly to petrol depending on how far it can penetrate the surface structure.

As WC says, it isn't too much to do with BeeM other than the unexpectedly severe reaction to the petrol... it's mostly between you, the garage and the insurer (maybe) but worth a good discussion with Be-Em. If I knew that could happen to the perspex as an owner, I'd be even more careful in future when refuelling. In fact, when I refuel, I always tend to use the free hand as a shield (and I always wear 4 sets of the "free" protective gloves double-up as a skin barrier and to shield bits of spray coming up and causing mischief).

Remember when bikes were just metal bits, paint and chrome !

 

[Magwych]

Thanks for the responses, I had thought for a short time that I was seeing things!

Dave CR, I think the filler tube mod you mention was on the pre '07 models, there isn't a rubber insert on the later ones. Removing the rubber neck on those modelds helped with filling the tank, the last gallon had to be almost trickled in otherwise...

Bub, don't think I could get away with claiming for trouser cleaning, you should see the state they are in after a winter of crud, albeit a bit cleaner now after the petrol rinse.

Tunneruk, no it was at the Esso in Ashford. Was it the moronic attendant that you matched ? I think they get around

I must admit I am surprised that components near ( well, within a foot anyway) , are made of materials that can react like this to fuel. Who could possibly foresee any splashes of fuel happening in this area

 

[Dainese Brave]

I had something similar happen while abroad a couple of years ago.

It resulted in visable marks, and then cracks appearing (but put this down to vibration until now).

It was no way as instant as yours though, and I'd certainly try the route for compensation from the garage.....got to be worth a try anyhow, cos winglets aint cheap!

 

[theop]

I agree with you that they (BMW) do not design materials to withstand petrol splashes when they are fitted around the tank..

To their credit, The winglets (if you retrofit them to a regular GS like mine) come with instructions that say in block capitals not to bring them in contact with fuel and if so to wash down with water immediately.

Money as mentioned above should be covered by the garage's insurer. You should also feel lucky you only lost the winglets and not the entire bike and possibly the petrol station too in a ball of fire...

 

[The Bede]

... IIRC The manual does specifically advise caution when fueling because the winglets and screen are not "petrol safe"


... I know it could be interpreted as crap design, especially if you are fueling in countries where it is mandatory for an attendant to operate the pump and nozzle. However ...

... You may also notice how the engine cases and protectors scratch if they are spilt on the road
... Or that tyres may puncture if driven over a bed of nails

... BuMW aren't liable for everything

 

[everywherevirtually]

reminds me of that 1970's public information film where they were saying you should change your visor. I remember vaguely as an 8 year old somebody wiping a visor and it miraculously showing lots of little cracks. Of course if the petrol actually caused the cracks then this would have been a bit bogus.

 

[Den]

...


... I know it could be interpreted as crap design, especially if you are fueling in countries where it is mandatory for an attendant to operate the pump and nozzle. However ...

... You may also notice how the engine cases and protectors scratch if they are spilt on the road
... Or that tyres may puncture if driven over a bed of nails

... BuMW aren't liable for everything

Mr Bede, You are obviously not living in the real world. EVERYTHING is someone else's fault nowadays. Its in the declaration of human rights, page 5738, paragraph 27, rule 370783, part 9

370783 pt9:
If you are daydreaming whilst handling extremely hazardous substances which could possibly kill you and others in a most painful manner, and copious amounts are spilled... Enough to spray the machinery you are in charge of and make a 'lake' on the ground ..... It is someone else's fault, and therefore must be payed for by the person responsible.

 

[JKM]

Too late

Why do I always read things too late Filled up 2 nights ago, lifted nozzle out, petrol leaking everywhere. 10 mins later both winglets fecked . Ochwell can't take the money with yer

 

[Fanum]

Don't know whether you are lucky or not with this one. Petrol overspill on a hot engine etc. could have been disastrous.

How?

You can chuck petrol all over a hot engine and apart from the fumes and staining, nothing will happen

Ask Rob Farmer about when we took my 32 litre tank full of fuel off my very hot adv and we didn't know about the lobe balance pipe.......PANIC!!!!!



PS petrol needs a spark or flame to ignite it.

Sorry,

 

[allthegearnoidea]

Insurance claims, transportation oh my word!

My suggestion is pay the £9 for a new winglet, try not to spill petrol on them again and spend your time riding and having fun.

Maybe I'm missing a point here somwhere.

 

[Blackal]

How?

You can chuck petrol all over a hot engine and apart from the fumes and staining, nothing will happen

Ask Rob Farmer about when we took my 32 litre tank full of fuel off my very hot adv and we didn't know about the lobe balance pipe.......PANIC!!!!!



PS petrol needs a spark or flame to ignite it.

Sorry,

Err - what?

Al