Forks, corrosion

[RickSkye]

So we are all checking for a gap at the top of the forks......
Pulled the rubber down and noticed corrosion on the forks.
Tried cleaning it off but it has corroded enough to feel with the finger nail. Brocken through the surface chrome.
Looks like the rubber is a perfect moisture trap.
Bike new Dec 2016

Any one else got this?

 

[Edmund Kean]

Not yet. Although frequent checking activity will no doubt affect the elasticity of the rubber which won't help.

I'm sure there will be someone advocating the use of ACF50 under the rubber sleeve.

 

[DC]

look on the bright side ....your fork stanchions can't be leaking oil, if theres corrosion there..

 

[Engineer]

So we are all checking for a gap at the top of the forks......
Pulled the rubber down and noticed corrosion on the forks.
Tried cleaning it off but it has corroded enough to feel with the finger nail. Brocken through the surface chrome.
Looks like the rubber is a perfect moisture trap.
Bike new Dec 2016

Any one else got this?

That's why I pull down the rubber thingy and dry the chrome each time I wash the bike - after owning four GSes one learns their little foibles

 

[matchbox]

Guess I'm wrong but I thought the stanchions are stainless?

 

[Engineer]

Guess I'm wrong but I thought the stanchions are stainless?

Chrome plated.

 

[RickSkye]

Not sure about acf50 and the rubber thingy, i poped some silicone grease under it.

 

[RickSkye]

And i have had to put a tywrap on the rubber thingy to stop it sliding down.
Not a brilliant design.

 

[Sea Dog]

Not sure about acf50 and the rubber thingy, i poped some silicone grease under it.

And i have had to put a tywrap on the rubber thingy to stop it sliding down.
Not a brilliant design.

To be fair, you have lubricated it!

 

[RickSkye]

"Not a brilliant design" should have appeared in the previous text.
Refering to "crimping a fork onto a bit of bar and covering it up with bit of rubber"
Intuitivley, not that supprising they can work their way loose.

 

[scoobert]

Yes. Welcome to the BMW rust mess.

 

[Engineer]

Yes. Welcome to the BMW rust mess.

That's what happens when one isn't meticulous with washing and drying.

 

[scoobert]

That's what happens when one isn't meticulous with washing and drying.

I don't have two hours a day to commit to washing, drying and polishing my bike.
Its the highest maintenance thing I have, and I am married.

 

[Engineer]

I don't have two hours a day to commit to washing, drying and polishing my bike.
Its the highest maintenance thing I have, and I am married.

Two hours a week is more than enough, wash it, dry it and spray with a protective coating, FS365 all over (except brakes and tyres) and a bit of ACF50 wiped on with a cloth on to the rear drive, front cover and centre stand - I have had 4 x 1200 GSes ridden all year including winter salted roads and non of them ever rusted.

 

[scoobert]

Two hours a week is more than enough, wash it, dry it and spray with a protective coating, FS365 all over (except brakes and tyres) and a bit of ACF50 wiped on with a cloth on to the rear drive, front cover and centre stand - I have had 4 x 1200 GSes ridden all year including winter salted roads and non of them ever rusted.

I am not washing my bike every week. That would be insane. Maybe if I was retired? Honestly, putting fuel in it every 5 days is an inconvenience for me.
If my Jeep, that I take to the beach, needed to be washed once a week I would call it not a big deal. I only wash it every 6 months or so, and its rust free after 4 years. The bike used to be washed every 3 weeks, until it rusted out.
The finishes on the BMW are shart, and needs to be changed back to what they used on the oil head bikes.

 

[Engineer]

I am not washing my bike every week. That would be insane. Maybe if I was retired? Honestly, putting fuel in it every 5 days is an inconvenience for me.
If my Jeep, that I take to the beach, needed to be washed once a week I would call it not a big deal. I only wash it every 6 months or so, and its rust free after 4 years. The bike used to be washed every 3 weeks, until it rusted out.
The finishes on the BMW are shart, and needs to be changed back to what they used on the oil head bikes.

This argument has been used time and time again but it is mostly false, there are plenty of very scabby 1150s about and for the same reason they were not looked after. The rusty chrome that you show in that photograph is typical of any neglected motorcycle chrome going back to the first bikes I had in the 70s be they Japanese or British or whatever - it is nothing new so you should not be surprised.

If putting fuel in is an inconvenience for you then it is clear where the main problem lies.

 

[Glen]

I am not washing my bike every week. That would be insane. Maybe if I was retired? Honestly, putting fuel in it every 5 days is an inconvenience for me.

 

[scoobert]

This argument has been used time and time again but it is mostly false, there are plenty of very scabby 1150s about and for the same reason they were not looked after. The rusty chrome that you show in that photograph is typical of any neglected motorcycle chrome going back to the first bikes I had in the 70s be they Japanese or British or whatever - it is nothing new so you should not be surprised.

If putting fuel in is an inconvenience for you then it is clear where the main problem lies.

I am not sure how many hours people in the UK work a week, but here I work 48+5 hours commute time each week.
On top of that I have a 50' sailing yacht that I maintain, A Cessna 172, 2 motorcycles, a shooting hobby, 1 scooter, a jeep wrangler, a wife, a baby, a full diving kit, a photography hobby, I am building a duplex by hand, and I travel international for fun. That does not leave much time for polishing the BMW after my daily commute. I thought once every 3 weeks was a great compromise.
The forks rusted, as did the rest of the bike, in only a few months. My old BMW f650GS that was in worse conditions (winter road salt) did not start showing frame rust until year 4. So if you are saying they changed nothing since 2011, I would say you are incorrect, as I have owned a newer and older bike, and only the new one rusted out. As to you time demands sir, I think you are way off base calling me a neglector. An outdoor product should not have to be spit shined every 5 minuets of ride time.

 

[flatdog]

Well countered sir!!!

 

[Kenny]

Scoobert is 100% right though; build quality is suffering badly...but then again, people are still buying them ??????????