stunning
great job sir
great job sir
You're gonna need a bigger boat !
- Thread starter Davy F
- Start date
Davy F
Registered user
Strip...blast...powder coat...reassemble. 
questimate what would it cost Davy?
Davy F
Registered user
The powder coat wouldn't be that much....£50 tops for the subframe. Time is free if you do it yourself. Seizure nuts/bolts might be a nuisance, but relatively cheap.
Thanks for that Davy, the stripping reassembly etc. is beyond my competence unfortunately.
Mine looks like that and it's only 31k miles. Was never washed by the first owner. Seen a few now around this age with this sort of look. Apparently there were quality issues then?
Bendy toy
Registered user
Mine was not that bad but another winter and it would have been close.
I stripped the subframes and had them powder coated in gloss black. I used a good system, but believe zinc electroplate would have been even better option under the coating.
My front subframe and engine top had been splashed with brake fluid so were in a very bad way. The engine was power drill wire brushed, etch primed and Hammerited. Steel was powdered. I also got the chance to clean up the alternator and sort out the front engine cover which was a terrible mess under the plastic belt cover. It is no way as well protected as the main engine cases. The top screws (M5 that hold the plastic cover) just sheared off.
The steering head bearing was tight so I swapped that while it was all apart.
I stripped the subframes and had them powder coated in gloss black. I used a good system, but believe zinc electroplate would have been even better option under the coating.
My front subframe and engine top had been splashed with brake fluid so were in a very bad way. The engine was power drill wire brushed, etch primed and Hammerited. Steel was powdered. I also got the chance to clean up the alternator and sort out the front engine cover which was a terrible mess under the plastic belt cover. It is no way as well protected as the main engine cases. The top screws (M5 that hold the plastic cover) just sheared off.
The steering head bearing was tight so I swapped that while it was all apart.
That Jocksers old bike?
Stripping a sub frame isn't as daunting as it might seem... I've only done it on an 1150 but with the Internet / YouTube/manual and folk to ask on this forum it really is doable. IMHO if you have a garage you could strip in a good afternoon, send off to powder coaters... Gives you time to clean electrical connectors and loom and replace bolts etc with nice shinny stuff. Subframe re connected in a good afternoon .... It's liberating to have a go 
Bendy toy
Registered user
Stripping a sub frame isn't as daunting as it might seem... I've only done it on an 1150 but with the Internet / YouTube/manual and folk to ask on this forum it really is doable. IMHO if you have a garage you could strip in a good afternoon, send off to powder coaters... Gives you time to clean electrical connectors and loom and replace bolts etc with nice shinny stuff. Subframe re connected in a good afternoon .... It's liberating to have a go
Its not a big deal but who knows why BMW refused to fit a cable connector at the engine end. The whole rear bodywork has to be removed and every connector disconnected. OK, that's needed when its going for repainting but there are other times when it would be so much easier if the designers thought about stuff which should be simple but isn't.
Bear in mind the cable routes they are not what you'd expect so take lots of photos. The air box is bolted to the subframe (not to the engine) so you need to undo the hose clips at the throttle bodies. Once its off you can check the clutch plate thickness. There's a handy cover on top of the engine but its normally buried under the air box.
If you go for powder coat make sure the stuff they use can handle the engine temperature. My coaters used stuff sold for alloy wheels which (at the front subframe) has crumbled around the engine mounts. It's ok at the back engine mounts.
cc rider
Registered user
Not sure what's the fuss is about?! my R1100R has got 87000mls on the clock and looks probably worse than that, (if I looked at it!)
I do hose it down after a rainy ride, to check that everything is still there, and it does get cleaned up regularly, about twice a year!
It also gets regular oil changes all around and maintain it regularly but it won't win any beauty contests!!
these bikes are like a toger, meant to be ridden, not looked at! I bought mine in october, I think, and did 8000mls before easter. It went up some Alpine passes in the snow, fog, drizzle & rain. On one particular trip I left Avignon one february morning and slept in Montreuil/Mer, (570mls).
Do you think that I was going to touch up the mascara and lipstick before retreating to the hotel bar?
I was considering selling it a few months back, but met a guy with a 1150 GS with 120000mls, not much better looking than mine, and he reckoned that it was still good for the same. I decided it was a keeper and will probably run it to the ground. Even in this condition it is a better long distance tourer than my other bike, old HD FXR.
I do hose it down after a rainy ride, to check that everything is still there, and it does get cleaned up regularly, about twice a year!
It also gets regular oil changes all around and maintain it regularly but it won't win any beauty contests!!
these bikes are like a toger, meant to be ridden, not looked at! I bought mine in october, I think, and did 8000mls before easter. It went up some Alpine passes in the snow, fog, drizzle & rain. On one particular trip I left Avignon one february morning and slept in Montreuil/Mer, (570mls).
Do you think that I was going to touch up the mascara and lipstick before retreating to the hotel bar?
I was considering selling it a few months back, but met a guy with a 1150 GS with 120000mls, not much better looking than mine, and he reckoned that it was still good for the same. I decided it was a keeper and will probably run it to the ground. Even in this condition it is a better long distance tourer than my other bike, old HD FXR.
cc rider
Registered user
Not sure what's the fuss is about?! my R1100R has got 87000mls on the clock and looks probably worse than that, (if I looked at it!)
I do hose it down after a rainy ride, to check that everything is still there, and it does get cleaned up regularly, about twice a year!
It also gets regular oil changes all around and maintain it regularly but it won't win any beauty contests!!
these bikes are like a toger, meant to be ridden, not looked at! I bought mine in october, I think, and did 8000mls before easter. It went up some Alpine passes in the snow, fog, drizzle & rain. On one particular trip I left Avignon one february morning and slept in Montreuil/Mer, (570mls).
Do you think that I was going to touch up the mascara and lipstick before retreating to the hotel bar?
I was considering selling it a few months back, but met a guy with a 1150 GS with 120000mls, not much better looking than mine, and he reckoned that it was still good for the same. I decided it was a keeper and will probably run it to the ground. Even in this condition it is a better long distance tourer than my other bike, old HD FXR.
I do hose it down after a rainy ride, to check that everything is still there, and it does get cleaned up regularly, about twice a year!
It also gets regular oil changes all around and maintain it regularly but it won't win any beauty contests!!
these bikes are like a toger, meant to be ridden, not looked at! I bought mine in october, I think, and did 8000mls before easter. It went up some Alpine passes in the snow, fog, drizzle & rain. On one particular trip I left Avignon one february morning and slept in Montreuil/Mer, (570mls).
Do you think that I was going to touch up the mascara and lipstick before retreating to the hotel bar?
I was considering selling it a few months back, but met a guy with a 1150 GS with 120000mls, not much better looking than mine, and he reckoned that it was still good for the same. I decided it was a keeper and will probably run it to the ground. Even in this condition it is a better long distance tourer than my other bike, old HD FXR.
Bendy toy
Registered user
Another year and my front strut would have rusted through. By the looks of the OPs his rear subframe will be pretty close in places.
Get it shot blasted and see what comes out. Hot dip galvanise is the best of the best or zinc metal spray with the usual etch primer and paint over the top.
Cost under £100 for blast and zinc spray. A bit more for hot dipping and it's not done everywhere.
Why the fuss? Because Ruth pits are very hard to fully clean out zinc will stop the rot.
Get it shot blasted and see what comes out. Hot dip galvanise is the best of the best or zinc metal spray with the usual etch primer and paint over the top.
Cost under £100 for blast and zinc spray. A bit more for hot dipping and it's not done everywhere.
Why the fuss? Because Ruth pits are very hard to fully clean out zinc will stop the rot.
Davy F
Registered user
Well, o conclude the original story, the owner has now sold the bike. A (indie) dealer bought it off him for £5.5 k which he was disappointed with. I told him that said dealer obviously hadn't looked too closely before parting with the cash. It's now been in the shop and it's virtually welded to the dealers showroom floor. 
Well, o conclude the original story, the owner has now sold the bike. A (indie) dealer bought it off him for £5.5 k which he was disappointed with. I told him that said dealer obviously hadn't looked too closely before parting with the cash. It's now been in the shop and it's virtually welded to the dealers showroom floor.
Would this dealer just happen to be one I met with you at the Belfast Bike Show....?
Hot dip galvanizing will probably distort the frame.
Also you will need to drill 5 mm vent and drain holes at both ends of all enclosed tubes.
