For the bike keepers - way into the future...

[MondoRich]

So you've bought yourself a "keeper" good choice, but If / when corrosion strikes engines, final drives and swingarms - what will the plan be?

Is there a way of removing BMW's paint in the end and applying another finish, perhaps something more robust?

Do we have to dismantle the whole thing (I think I know the answer to that) almost down to components?

What do people with 40 year airheads do?

Just want to start saving up

 

[Schtum]

Yes, dismantle it into its constituent parts. Have them bead / vapour / soda blasted as appropriate. Find someone who can paint them in two-pack epoxy (increasingly difficult in this age of solvent quotas and water-based paint). Reassemble the parts into a motorcycle.

 

[(RIP) trickytree]

Ride the fucker and call it patina

 

[ChazzyB]

Hammerite...

 

[Karlread]

Find a decent powder coasters who do bead/sand blasting as well. Make sure they etch prime it first, I think for the right firm they will be inundated with jobs. Perhaps Tunneruk will pick up the mantle for us and would do a group discount. It will be a real PITA breaking the bike down to strip the parts off it though.

 

[Neil W]

Different kettle of fish stripping down a 20 or 30 year old bike and rebuilding than something like a 2 year old R1200GSA.

Done it numerous times on older stuff to carry out restoration work and it is relatively simple , on a new bike the initial strip down will be a nightmare ,then take look at the electrics and fuel injection system to deal with

 

[steele01]

Must admit this has been something I've been considering how is the LC going to hold up in the long term, if I keep it or twist to an older r80 or 1150 gsa

 

[Tomcat]

Wipe it with an oily rag. It'll last for your lifetime and more.

 

[Neil W]

Must admit this has been something I've been considering how is the LC going to hold up in the long term, if I keep it or twist to an older r80 or 1150 gsa

Long term the problem with the WC models and many other modern bikes is never going to be the mechanicals or even the shall we say sometimes sketchy finish (which are relatively easily fixeable) it is and always will be the problems which will develop regarding the ever more complicated onboard electronics that control every aspect of the bike from the ESA/ABS to the injection system via the ECU and Canbus wiring.

All of these are unlikely unless you are unlucky to effect a recent bike (although I do know of at least one 2013 bike that has needed two ECU's and eventually a wiring loom ) and even when the bike is 4 or 5 years old people will bite the bullet and replace expensive electronic components.

What happens when the bike is say 10 years of age and the extremely complicated electronics start to play up , or the alternator goes belly up and requires engine removal to be replaced or an intermittent wiring fault starts to cause CANBUS errors , or the ECU and the ESA stop talking to each other and yet again you have to go to a dealer to have it recalibrated , if you don't own a GS911 it is going to get expensive.

So it will end up 10 years down the line where it is no longer cost effective to fix these faults unless you are fully versed in the workings of these systems and have the kit to work on them that these bikes will be either disposed of or disappear into sheds and garages never to turn a wheel again.

It is already happening in the car world (where electonics and wiring faults are costing more than the owners can afford to diagnose) and I can't see many being able to successfully tear out the ABS/ESA systems and get the bike running correctly

 

[Sleepy]

It is already happening in the car world (where electonics and wiring faults are costing more than the owners can afford to diagnose) and I can't see many being able to successfully tear out the ABS/ESA systems and get the bike running correctly

I agree with all of that, I would also add that the technology is outstripping the ability of 'technicians' who try to fix them.

My wife owned a 2001 Mini Cooper, that after seven years (perhaps longer) was declared a write off after the ECU and the ABS pump packed up at the same time, it was suspected that the problems were connected, but no one at the BMW garage knew what caused them...

 

[MrMcNamara]

I agree with all of that, I would also add that the technology is outstripping the ability of 'technicians' who try to fix them.

My wife owned a 2001 Mini Cooper, that after seven years (perhaps longer) was declared a write off after the ECU and the ABS pump packed up at the same time, it was suspected that the problems were connected, but no one at the BMW garage knew what caused them...

I run the Engineering & Project functions for several manufacturing sites. My experience matches the automotive world but with some caviats. New machines are not as well built as the older ones - customers will not pay for quality! Electronics are getting far more complicated but fail generally within the first 6 months or not at all. diagnostics are getting far better. I look after my 2014 GS - its immaculate, if it breaks, I will enjoy diagnosing / repairing as I have done with my previous, earlier Boxers its part of ownership & part & parcell of ownership. the chop in mearchants dont know what they are missing!

 

[tadhgocuilleain]

So you've bought yourself a "keeper" good choice, but If / when corrosion strikes engines, final drives and swingarms - what will the plan be?

Is there a way of removing BMW's paint in the end and applying another finish, perhaps something more robust?

Do we have to dismantle the whole thing (I think I know the answer to that) almost down to components?

What do people with 40 year airheads do?

Just want to start saving up

I wrote a thread about the protection detail I performed on my 1150GS Adventure to protect the paintwork, as it's a keeper for me. That thread is here. I know it won't last forever, though. If/when it needs repainting, it will get a complete strip down, sand or soda blasting and resprayed.

Long term the problem with the WC models and many other modern bikes is never going to be the mechanicals or even the shall we say sometimes sketchy finish (which are relatively easily fixeable) it is and always will be the problems which will develop regarding the ever more complicated onboard electronics that control every aspect of the bike from the ESA/ABS to the injection system via the ECU and Canbus wiring.

All of these are unlikely unless you are unlucky to effect a recent bike (although I do know of at least one 2013 bike that has needed two ECU's and eventually a wiring loom ) and even when the bike is 4 or 5 years old people will bite the bullet and replace expensive electronic components.

What happens when the bike is say 10 years of age and the extremely complicated electronics start to play up , or the alternator goes belly up and requires engine removal to be replaced or an intermittent wiring fault starts to cause CANBUS errors , or the ECU and the ESA stop talking to each other and yet again you have to go to a dealer to have it recalibrated , if you don't own a GS911 it is going to get expensive.

So it will end up 10 years down the line where it is no longer cost effective to fix these faults unless you are fully versed in the workings of these systems and have the kit to work on them that these bikes will be either disposed of or disappear into sheds and garages never to turn a wheel again.

It is already happening in the car world (where electonics and wiring faults are costing more than the owners can afford to diagnose) and I can't see many being able to successfully tear out the ABS/ESA systems and get the bike running correctly

I completely agree. That's why I chose an 1150 over a newer bike. It's still old-school enough to be repairable by someone with my knowledge and tools.

 

[Karlread]

I wrote a thread about the protection detail I performed on my 1150GS Adventure to protect the paintwork, as it's a keeper for me. That thread is here. I know it won't last forever, though. If/when it needs repainting, it will get a complete strip down, sand or soda blasting and resprayed.



I completely agree. That's why I chose an 1150 over a newer bike. It's still old-school enough to be repairable by someone with my knowledge and tools.

And that is why as well as having a R1200RT LC which is now on it's second engine and swing arm only having covered 5600 and not ridden between October and April that I also have a 20 year old R1100RS with 67,000 miles on the clock and ridden in winter. I wonder which one will go on to last another 20 years......