R1200GS Corrosion

[Narcoda]

What is going on with BMW build quality? An all season, all terrain Iron-elephant of a bike corroding in all directions after 16 months? I have recently replaced the entire front engine block and all front disk bolts (luckily under warantee) and had to replace the ECU and the Immobiliser! I live on my bike as I work on the move- It seems that I am the only bike on the road between October and March every year- Yes the roads are salty, yes the rain is relentless- not to mention gale force winds, sleet, being wheel deep in snow, packed ice, freezing fog- BUT this is supposed to be a hardcore bike no? If it wasn't for good dealership back up, I'd have given in and bought myself a (gulp) off-road jeep by now- thank god I dont have a driving licence for 4 wheels... anyone else had similar experiences?

 

[Schtum]

... anyone else had similar experiences?

Yes. New front engine casing and two new cylinder heads....yes, heads not rocker covers....replaced under warranty because of corrosion. Along with new front discs which warped and three lambda sensors, the failure of which seemed to be associated with changing the heads. Then there was the rear crankshaft oil seal and a gearbox oil seal which were changed on separate occasions and umpteen remaps of the ECU.

 

[Narcoda]

TIPS?

Any tips for preventing my bike being eaten alive by the elements? My dealer suggested something about removing the foam behind the front of the engine block panel- (apparently this soaks up the salt water) and smear the back with grease... I wasn't too sure what he meant- any tips greatly appreciated-for all areas on bike... (currently use cans and cans of WD40 and ACF50)

 

[Schtum]

Any tips for preventing my bike being eaten alive by the elements? My dealer suggested something about removing the foam behind the front of the engine block panel- (apparently this soaks up the salt water) and smear the back with grease... I wasn't too sure what he meant- any tips greatly appreciated-for all areas on bike... (currently use cans and cans of WD40 and ACF50)

There's a foam sound deadening pad behind the black plastic cover on the front engine casing. I thought that dealers were changing those for the latest model without the foam pad when they replaced front casings under warranty. There have been quite a lot of front casings replaced because of corrosion.

Other than that, you seem to be doing the right thing. Mine corroded in spite of being lathered in FS365 before I even rode it off the dealer's forecourt. Thereafter it was washed whenever I was out on gritted roads and it was retreated with FS365. I suspect that the ultimate solution is to have every painted metal part of the bike blasted and painted with two-pack epoxy or have the engine parts ceramic coated. Not cheap and not what you expect from a £10K motorcycle.

 

[Narcoda]

"I suspect that the ultimate solution is to have every painted metal part of the bike blasted and painted with two-pack epoxy or have the engine parts ceramic coated. Not cheap and not what you expect from a £10K motorcycle"

I love this idea! Where can I get this done?

 

[Schtum]

"I suspect that the ultimate solution is to have every painted metal part of the bike blasted and painted with two-pack epoxy or have the engine parts ceramic coated. Not cheap and not what you expect from a £10K motorcycle"

I love this idea! Where can I get this done?

Well.....I know a man who can do it. Lindsay Henderson at Henderson Metal Cleaning at Jock's Lodge, Edinburgh tel. 0131 661 0870 for the paintwork or he'll powder coat if you insist.

This thread will give you an idea of Lindsay's work and my friend Dave's spanner skills but that's another matter....

http://www.bikersoracle.com/vfr/forum/showthread.php?t=29890

For the ceramic coating, these people....

http://www.camcoat.u-net.com/index.htm

I'm just about to have my VFR exhaust pipes coated by them. c. £200.

 

[riderbob]

Cheaper option is to coat your bike in winter in ACF 50. If you do a search you find find a lot of threads on ACF 50 and other options to protect your bike.

 

[Narcoda]

Mr Schtum- Many Thanks I shall be looking into this, great to get contact numbers and website info... Still as you said this won't be cheap and I wouldn't have thought I would need to do this on a bike of this spec. (10k, all terrain, all season (pah!)) Please let me know if you come up with any other anti-corrosive tips- I can use all the help I can get (just seen you are in Scotland too- heavy road salt conditions!)- regards

 

[Narcoda]

Cheaper option is to coat your bike in winter in ACF 50. If you do a search you find find a lot of threads on ACF 50 and other options to protect your bike.

Luckily I found the ACF 50 and use litres of WD40- ACF seems to last longer- I did consider greasing the front brake disk bolts- but then thought wiser of it-
(reminds me of the time I decided to clean my back wheel whilst it was on the centre stand and in gear- the rag wrapped my hand got pulled into the mech and the sprocket punctured 4 of my fingers and stalled the engine- lots of hospital time!)

More tips please-

 

[Schtum]

(reminds me of the time I decided to clean my back wheel whilst it was on the centre stand and in gear- the rag wrapped my hand got pulled into the mech and the sprocket punctured 4 of my fingers and stalled the engine- lots of hospital time!)

I know a man who lost most of his thumb cleaning the chain on his bike that way. Tip.....fit a Scottoiler to your chain driven motorcycle.

 

[Narcoda]

I know a man who lost most of his thumb cleaning the chain on his bike that way. Tip.....fit a Scottoiler to your chain driven motorcycle.

Scottoiler (makes note)- I am now scared of chains so prefer shaft drives- I had a 1977 Yamaha XS750se that a butcher street-chopped,3 headlights, badly painted yellow frame, double brake light conversion!, I ended up covering that in black hammerite paint, never rusted! Bought it for £400 sold it for £410! Thing is I haven't got it in me to cover my GS in hammerite...yet!

 

[Tricky]

Any tips for preventing my bike being eaten alive by the elements?

Don't ride it in winter..

 

[Narcoda]

!

Don't ride it in winter..

and do what instead???

 

[ktmmark]

I use my trusty 12 year old 1100gs in winter ,use wd40 to protect it only the bare alloy wheels are a pain

 

[Devon]

and do what instead???

Is there really a m/c on the market that will not corrode when used on salted winter roads? And I note you live in Cornwall where the salt air rusts everything anyway? Why not invest in a winter hack for the worst 3 months of the year? I have.
Pi##er in some ways but beats wrecking your pride and joy.

 

[(RIP) Kaister]

buy a 10 yr old 1100GS for the real work and keep the 1200 for weekends

 

[Narcoda]

good idea

buy a 10 yr old 1100GS for the real work and keep the 1200 for weekends

How much is a second hand 1100gs?

 

[cookie]

cover the bike in ACF50 & just ride it.

 

[Narcoda]

corrosion everywhere

I have just looked closer at my bike- and found that the rubber shoe/seal on my swingarm is cracking and splitting (i hate road salt)- any advice on sorting this? silicone? RUST NEVER SLEEPS!!!!