Who said 1200 models corrode and can't do the miles .......

Neglect? Mine's a 2005 and has been parked outdoors all its life, ridden almost daily through every winter (and summer and spring and autumn) since purchase and is rarely washed and has no frame rusting like that

So do tell how any 'neglect' has caused that ?

Same as mine which lives outside and gets roundly abused although I do use WD40/FS365 etc regularly and power wash as and when i remember. She's a bit tatty on the rear subframe and front engine case (mainly due to the nasty shite they put on the Dalton Highway which rots everything) but good everywhere else.

From the look of those pics, it's very badly gone but I would hazard a guess that it rarely gets a bucket of water or has any protection whatsoever. The exhausts are covered in burnt on road grime and everywhere on the bike looks completely unwashed. Saying that, a couple of weekends with some decent truckwash (gets rid of road grime like nothing else), wet and dry, solvol and hammerite would have that thing looking a load better.
 
Neglect? Mine's a 2005 and has been parked outdoors all its life, ridden almost daily through every winter (and summer and spring and autumn) since purchase and is rarely washed and has no frame rusting like that

So do tell how any 'neglect' has caused that ?

Well to me it looks like he's neglected to clean the fucker

My own GSA has done not far off double that mileage, is occasionally washed, regularly dowsed if FS365 and has no rust on it apart from the two cap head bolts that hold the Touratech headlamp guard on and BMW never supplied them bits :augie

If it ain't neglect, then it must be abuse :blast
 
Anyone else noticed earlier tonight the irony of the top two threads in this section?...
 

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Mines seen 2 winters of commuting and is holding up pretty well. The centre stand is very rusty (Jeffries are replacing it under warranty) but other than that just a couple of furred bolts on the forks and the lower engine casing is starting to look a bit rough. I only clean it every 6 weeks or so - too many other things I'd rather be doing! I do use ACF50 which helps, but I had the same regime on a Kawasaki Versys and that was pretty scruffy after a year.

It's just a bike though - it's meant to be ridden not looked at. As long as it's mechanically sound I really don't care too much if it still looks perfect or not.
 
Perhasp it was one of those that fell in the sea in containers off the south coast....

BTW have any of those surfaced?, what happened to them all?

Bikes sink don't they? Last seen as motorpike and side carp.

I'll get me coat.
 
While I don't claim to be the world's most enthusiastic bike washer/polisher, it does generally get a going-over with a sponge and bucket of soapy water and/or a pressure washer every few weeks. The main reason it looks completely unwashed in those photos is because it had been ridden home on some very shitty lanes in a thunderstorm/downpour that day.

I don't expect my bikes to remain pristine - I'd rather ride them than sit and look at them. My main point being that the previous bike (also a BMW, also owned from new) did 18,000 miles in two years, under exactly the same conditions, with the same care/cleaning regime and lived outside under the same cover. Apart from some minor paint flaking around a couple of joints in the alloy castings it was pretty much spotless when I px'd it for the GS. Every bike I've ever owned has been treated pretty much the same and only one of them (a 1976 Honda 250) came anywhere near the GS for corrosion/scruffiness. When I sold my old GPX750 it was 13 years old and the frame paint was fine, as were the alloy parts.
 
My Yamaha 900 Diversion had some serious corrosion around the rear shock top mount. All the paint had flaked away and rust was flaking - yes that bad!!! The rear swing arm had rust as standard. Powder coating usually sorted it - assuming the coaters did their job properly. Mine had to be done again because the first job had not been properly prepped.

Standard brakes were notable for seizing and needed to be stripped ideally annually or at least biannually to avoid the pistons seizing up. Standard front brakes had power but no control. On or off TBH. But Blue Spot brakes are a straight swap and did for the bike what it always needed.

Rear suspension was notable for wearing out and causing what felt like transmission backlash. Forks and rear shock were low rent to say the least. Exhaust was quick rot chromed mild steel. Replaced by stainless PDQ.

My engine did 75K with me and had the (8) valve clearances done at 70K. One was just below minimum all others were within spec. That job scrapped the oil cooler - notable for its weak hose banjo mounts. The clutch also began to slip around the same time and cost £60 to fix including new springs.

Paint and finish was not as good as BMW. Engine covers were eventually powder coated along with fork yokes, wheels and some other parts. The frame was showing its age but (apart from mentioned above) nowhere like the rusty BMW.

The suspension was to be honest on the rubbish side of acceptable. Handling was nowhere close to a GS even on smooth roads. Fairing rubbish. Headlight rubbish, but the standard GS isn't exactly fab. Carbs were solid with no signs of deteriorating but linkages hidden under the petrol tank were looking rough.

Canbus - None
ABS - none
Fuel injection - none
Weight - similar to a R1200GSA

Would I go back to another Yamaha Diversion 900? Only if I'm so broke the Beemer has to be sold.
 
I reckon you were unlucky Ramondo and got a bit of a lemon unless of course you have been sand racing on the fekker :augie

Neil

Not that unlucky, it's quite common.

Over last winter my 2011 GSA and my 2010 Speed Tripple were garaged in a garage with a leaking roof, as the garage was carpeted it retained the moisture.

Result of this controlled scientific experiment ;-

Triump = one, minor bubble in the engine paintwork. Unnoticable unless you're looking for it.

GSA = approximately 300mm pile of Aliuminium Oxide with a seat on.

Both bikes were in the same used but very clean state prior to the experiment.
 
Yes fortunately my garage has gaps all around the door which equals a good draft which avoids damp. Your right science can be horrible on you pride and joy.

As for the Triumph. What more can I say but British workmanship!
 
Yes fortunately my garage has gaps all around the door which equals a good draft which avoids damp. Your right science can be horrible on you pride and joy.

As for the Triumph. What more can I say but British workmanship!

Between the Polish spanner monkeys at Hinkley and the Chinese parts, the only thing british is the compressed air used for the tools.

But at the moment it's as close to a British success story as we can manage.:D
 
Here's a couple of photos of a 2011 bike with about 27k miles on the clock:View attachment 259162View attachment 259163View attachment 259164View attachment 259165

OMG!!!!!
I know we're responsible for maintenance to a certain degree but that's just plain ridiculous!
A little bit of Mother Nature and that bikes ready for the scrape yard...That's an awful shame......
I guess it's getting like everything else...produced cheaply,sold expensively and made so you purchase often...
 


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