Rubbing plates to protect your bike.

[cookie]

plate looks horrible and hides whatever is going on behind. probably traps dirt and salt behind it too, despite "flooding with acf 50", which would have protected the area if it could have got to it.

corrosion is the result of neglect as usual. maybe the paint on the older bikes could just stand more neglect?

 

[Bendy toy]

While there is always a grain of truth in theses myths the full facts don't stack up. It's just a way for vehicle makers to fob people off.

This is the RHS. It's possible to wash this and sure enough the paint is great. But under the rubbing plate is also great.

Now check out under the frame where it's impossible to wash.

LHS from beneath. The protected from stone chips top tube is every bit as bad as the main tube.

RHS underneath

LHS pillion footrest underneath
Is no better but it gets washed with rest of the bike.

This really proves the point.
How many have seen the rear lamp bracket. Fully enclosed in bodywork but looks like it's been painted with black hairspray.

 

[TLSgazza]

The previous owner must have ridden that in the north sea, I thought mine was bad

 

[cookie]

my own 2011 1200GSA

i hate cleaning bikes.

bought new, ridden home from the dealer & acf50 applied to all vulnerable areas - wheel rims, hubs, spokes, front engine cover, rear axle. none on the frame AFAICR.

quickly rinsed with a hose before garaging after being ridden in salt, and occasionally after being in rain and general road filth. this was usually done straight away while the bike was hot and put away in garage wet to drip. couldn't have ever spent more than 5 minutes doing this.

i plastered another layer of acf50 on the rims and engine cover after about 1118 months as it was looking a bit dry. i didn't remove the original layer of acf50 or the shit that was embedded in it.

in 3 years of ownership, that bike was never properly washed. i did shampoo the bodywork once, but not any of the frame. i put some autoglym on the bodywork once too.

there was no corrosion anywhere on that bike. i did occasionally rub areas with my thumb to check, then quickly touch it up. the timing cover was unmarked and all the paint was still attached, and there was no dopey looking great bit of sheet metal hanging off the front of it either.

it was traded in recently, still covered in gloop and road shite. the trader that bought it phoned my dealer up to tell him to get more bikes like that as it was mint after a scrub up.


so if your bike looks as shit as that one in the pictures, theres either a manufacturing fault, or you have neglected it. and since you would have noticed how shit it was a lot earlier if you'd actually been checking, then i'd say again - it's neglect. if those areas had been protected with acf50 they would not have gone rusty even if the factory applied no paint at all.

edit: i'll give you the rear lamp bracket though

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

edit: i'll give you the rear lamp bracket though

You're all heart

 

[Wrinkly]

POR-15
Stripping the front subframe is a monster job.
Does anyone know of a corrosion stopper that works?
e.g. something like POR-15. The Eastwood website says a lot but independent info would be better.

Check out BILT HAMBER LABORITORIES

I've used their stuff for years and never had any corrosion problems.

I've 2 pieces of mild steel stuck outside my shed,one has been left untreated the other is coated with "Bilt Hamber" dynax uc.

The untreated one is totally rusty the treated one is totally as the day it was put there.

The AUTO-BALM which is a polish is also excellent as are all their products.

Steve

 

[Bendy toy]

Cookie. The problem was noted a year ago. Before last winter, I cleaned the accessible bits back to metal and covered with high zinc content gloss black paint. All completely pointless.
This time I'm having it powder coated.

In terms of cleaning I'm not anal about it but ACF-50 gets used everywhere. If that makes hidden areas loom gloppy then so be it. Protection is the main aim.
These pictures show how RHS is all I would expect it to be. Dirty because I defy anyone to clean inside the frame, but paint is good. However, LHS is flaking off. It's about as well protected as the lamp bracket.

 

[Bounce]

Bendy, I'm certainly going to keep an eye on this thread. I've part stripped the rear and applied a 'primer' coat of rust converter to the easily accessible parts to halt any further oxidation.

The rest of the removal exercise will be done once I've completed a few forthcoming trips, but I'll take some pics and compare them with yours, as mine is on a 57 plate with black frame.



PS: excellent quality photo's too, which always helps the learning/education process.....

 

[Pukmeister]

Id get that shot blasted and hot zinc dipped before applying a top coat.

 

[Bendy toy]

I'm having it dipped to shift all paint then shot blasted zinc passivate primed and finally powder coated. What the primer won't catch is dessicated by the curing oven.

Pix by iPhone 5S.

 

[Pukmeister]

I'm having it dipped to shift all paint then shot blasted zinc passivate primed and finally powder coated. What the primer won't catch is dessicated by the curing oven.

Should come up nicely, same treatment later for the front subframe??

FWIW My '08 GSA MU frames have decent paint unlike yours for some reason, I just wash regularly and use WD40 over the entire bike (except disks/pads and tyres obviously). I touched up the heel rub with black enamel then wrapped it with black electrical tape to prevent further rubbing.

 

[Bendy toy]

Sounds like the same sort of treatment mine gets.

The rubbing areas will get some clear waterproof tape or maybe helicopter tape. I might put the same down the bottom insides of the frame rails to soften stone impacts.
The brake master cyl cover could do with being bigger - heels have rubbed the swing arm. Which is otherwise pristine. Which puts a dent in the stone chip arguments.

 

[Bendy toy]

The back subframe is out. What a bar steward of a job that was. Corrosion is clearly worse on the LHS. But these are the front seat support mounts (latch mounts look much the same). Both have been totally sealed under rubber for the life of the bike. The little M4 threads and the tube spacers are pristine like new.

 

[Bendy toy]

The engine top under alternator above LH cylinder was badly corroded. It wasn't obvious until I took the front swing arm off.
Engine paint was crunchy with lots of white fluff underneath. The bad area had also gone to the front cover. The LHS steering struts were both red rusty at the bottom ends.
However engine top on right is perfectly good and both front frame struts are as good as new on the right.
So I'm thinking maybe someone goofed, perhaps with brake fluid they didn't clean up.
It looks like my back frame is a rogue but front frame and engine top corrosion looks accidental.

 

[WindyChuffer]

Why aren't motorbike frames galvanised? After all, galvanised metal can be painted. Cost?

 

[Bendy toy]

Fiat pioneered galvanised panels on the Uno and that wasn't a costly car. That was pre treated sheet metal. Hot dipping is costly but steel can be electro zinc plated. Whatever was used on my bike, looks like a single coat. Its certainly not powder coat and I cant see much sign of any primer.

The alloy parts however seem to be well protected - unless someone pours something nasty all over it.

 

[Bendy toy]

Fiat pioneered galvanised panels on the Uno and that wasn't a costly car. That was pre-treated sheet metal. Hot dipping is costly but steel can be electro zinc plated. Whatever was used on my bike, looks like a single coat of nothing special.

Ive used a dremel to chamfer all the cut edges - sharp corners can thin the new coating leading to more trouble. The little grinder will whip through whatever paint was used it looks like one single coat. Who knows what BMW were thinking of.

 

[Roymondo]

Some of those photos could just as easily be of my 2011 GSA (I posted a couple in another thread a month or so ago). I really couldn't face the prospect of stripping out the whole rear end just to get the subframe properly treated/powder coated, so opted instead for a quick'n'dirty job - Remove exhaust and pannier brackets, clean up exposed tubes and apply 2 coats (brushed) of smooth Hammerite. The resulting job won't win any awards, and will probably need re-doing in a year or two, but it certainly looks 10 times better than it did (provided you don't stand too close...)

 

[roamer]

Rubbing plates,

Wow that is serious corrosion,,
If anyone is interested I have a set of genuine bmw frame guards that are stainless and don't trap dirt, in original box ,,
They would compliment all the effort doing the re coating and do look quite good,

 

[Bendy toy]

I did a quick clean up with ZG-90 black paint last year but cold not get at it all.

The FD bearing failed last week so shkles it's away with Mikeyboy the bike is it bits. The front forks and swing arm are at one end of the garage with the back swing arm

The engine is on a stand but also hanging from the garage rafters.
Front subframe is out
Back subframe out
Front engine cover off
Alternator is off
Corrosion on top of engine cleaned up primed and painted with silver wheels.
Only the oil cooler and beak stuff is still attached -also supported on a rope. Really I should have taken that all off. Less work is not less work.

I've also left the throttle bodies on because I can't get the cable splitter box off. But it's not really mattered.
If the mood takes me to pull the gearbox off I might do that next week. The output oil seal is leaking so front might also be going home.