Front cover corrosion pics

[(RIP) Mark H]

I,m starting a sort of cosmetic overhaul of my 1200rt, cos its nearly done 13000 miles, which is a lot to expect moden paint / plating to stand up to,
Whats the latest opinion as to keeping or junking the foam insert pictured below, its function is to deaden engine noise I presume, has any body removed and noticed any difference in engine noise ???

 

[Slowdown]

Mine was soaked with salt laden water and got binned when I was changing the front shock. I taped up the alternater belt bit with masking tape and sprayed the whole area with Waxoil.

There's no discernable difference in noise.

Oh and well reminded - I meant to replace the plastic cover bolts with stainless!

 

[(RIP) Mark H]

I,ve got some pics up now, and you can its quite a mess !, I,m planning to remove fairing brackets and clean up with a mini rotory wire brush, decrease, etch prime, and repaint with satin black, hopefully get a permenant fix to this problem, stainless screws would be a good move to methinks !

 

[araspitfire]

Do yourself a favor and don't use a steel wire brush... bits break off, embed into the aluminium and cause more corrosion down the road...

Carbide flapper sander wheel would be better IMHO...

Al....

 

[(RIP) Mark H]

Cheers Al,
Hav`nt got the carbide flapper sander wheel, I,m using some Brass rotory brushes, its bringing it all off ok, I,ll post up some pics when its done but wont be for a few days cause I,m waiting for some A4 marine grade stainless fixings and the etch primer

 

[BMW TEKKY]

Pure quality

We used to get this sort of erosion on Skodas and Ladas in the 70s and 80s!!!

 

[willi5852]

Told buy BMW technician to dump the foam, so I did. Havnt noticed any real difference in noise since. But having said that, who wants a quiet bike !

 

[(RIP) Mark H]

Been busy, bikes having a total brake fluid change and all oils plugs, filters, valve gear adjust ect as well as the "cosmetic restore", got some acid etch primer on order plus some satin black top coat that cures on at 200 deg, (engine heat will do it)

had a play with the front cover, the original finish is really flakey, tried a bit of paint stripper to move a stuborn bit as a sort of test patch and it came off a treat (bottom left)

 

[Firefox]

Would anyone accept this kind of corrosion on a car these days? That RT cant be more than four years old. Even FIATs have ten year anti-corrosion warranty these days.

On removing the corrosion, LIDL or ALDI not sure which are doing air compressors this thursday. They are also doing grit blasting gizmos at a very reasonable price!!

 

[(RIP) Mark H]

Would anyone accept this kind of corrosion on a car these days? That RT cant be more than four years old. Even FIATs have ten year anti-corrosion warranty these days.

On removing the corrosion, LIDL or ALDI not sure which are doing air compressors this thursday. They are also doing grit blasting gizmos at a very reasonable price!!

I got the bike new in March 05, so it will be 3 years old in a weeks time, I do the odd winter rally, like Princetown and Bedgeleret, but dont commute on it, its had quite "Dry" life really, I think BMW have had to adopt water based finishes like all other manufactures (Mainly for health and safety reasons) and the material just aint so durable, I,m hoping that by using the Etch primer and the "baked" on top coat it will last longer, I,m also dumping the foam insert which was holding moisture, finaly, I,ve got a "fender extender" on order to keep some of the road crap off the Front of the Engine.

I,ll keep posting pics as I go,

PS, good spot on those compressors from Aldi`s, I,ll be getting one

 

[BMW TEKKY]

ktm?

Im beginning to wonder if I should have parted with my hard earned cash at the KTM dealer.
They seem to make their bikes with finishes:mad to withstand what they are designed for.

 

[basil]

Thats why i now have KTM,s.crap build/finish quality.

 

[Andy Davies]

I left the foam in but soaked it in wax to make it closed cell. So far (18 months) there hasn't been a recurrence of corrosion.

Andy

 

[The Nutter]

I've had mine replaced twice under warranty. The second replacement was a black cover from an RT as I was trying out the theory that the black paint and the silver paint might have different properties, the black being less likely to bubble up. At the same time the dealer suggested removing the sponge, which I told him to do. Just finishing the second winter with this one and there is no sign of the corrosion returning. I suggest leaving the sponge out. I've not noticed any increase in engine noise.

 

[ECM]

It's a bloody GS desease. Complain at your dealers about it, even if it is out of warrenty. I had mine replaced for the second time after 2.5 years. Took some "hard talking" but BMW finaly picked up the tab.

 

[The Nutter]

Gotta say I did enquire when mine was replaced for the second time under warranty how much it would cost me to get done once the warranty was up. Was told about £260! Nice to get it done for free. I was told about a year or so ago by my dealer that BMW were looking for a new supplier for this part because of the warranty claims they were suffering. The 1150 GS ones always look good even when stone chipped. I think BMW have taken a backward step here.

 

[(RIP) Tunneruk]

Would anyone accept this kind of corrosion on a car these days? That RT cant be more than four years old. Even FIATs have ten year anti-corrosion warranty these days.

On removing the corrosion, LIDL or ALDI not sure which are doing air compressors this thursday. They are also doing grit blasting gizmos at a very reasonable price!!

Take a look under the bonnet of your four year old car and see what all the mechanical bits look like???? I bet it's corroded and flakey like nothing on earth. Are you going to give the car's engine bay a cosmetic freshen up? .................. I doubt it very much!
Cars and bikes are so very very different.
Yes most cars come with quite a lengthy anti-corrosion warranty on their bodywork and paint these days but it doesn't cover the bloody engine getting surface corrosion or the bolts on the suspension going rusty.

You guys that whine on about corrosion really should step back and think about it sometimes!

 

[The Nutter]

Unlike cars, all parts of a bike are cosmetic because they are on display! My 10 year old car has very rusty brake discs and drums but it's not a problem as you can't see them. Ditto the engine. You wouldn't be happy with that kind of effect on a 10 year old bike. Doing a like for like comparison between bikes and cars is pointless. A furry engine on a fully faired bike is not a huge issue if you can't see it. I think the point that people are trying to make is a lot of other bikes don't suffer this kind of corrosion and they're often cheaper than Beemers.

 

[Captain GSA]

English weather+salt+exposed engine alloy etc = furry bits.

There are sprays and stuff that quick fix this.

My bike was fine up to the moment I rode along the motorway the other day

Ally panniers, bits of engine, bolts etc .........furr Furr FURR.

A wash and spray....... job done

 

[(RIP) Mark H]

Front cover stripped to bare metal using paint stripper, and finished with wire brush, and wet & dry sanding paper

Etch primer coat (Pictured)

Final coat, simoniz satin tough black (Pictured)

Now got to wait 72 hrs for paint to "cure", fixings left in will be polished back to stainless finish, and am waiting for rest of timing chest bolts to arrive (ordered A4 marine grade stainless)

.