Corrosion whinge

[howlindawg]

Gave the bike a thorough cleaning today and noticed that corrosion under the paint on the front wheel carrier and rear hub assembly is getting pretty bad. The paint is now bubbling around the front brakes, axle and mudguard mount.

The bikes only approaching 5 years old so really not impressed as the bike is kept immaculate.

The rear looks mostly cosmetic but I think the front is going to have to come apart and be refinished in the near future.
Has anyone undertaken this job?

[stevel]

Yes, I did it on a friend’s K1200GT. It’s an ideal job to do in conjunction with ball joints. Got the whole forks stripped and power coated at the local alloy wheel refurbishers for £50, and there’s zero sign of corrosion 2 years on. Need to be very clear with instructions to the powder coaters NOT to coat anything that isn’t already painted. And the pinch bolts at the bottom of the forks might give you a bit of a fight as they have both corrosion and threadlock holding them in. Hardest job is obviously getting the ball joints back in without harming the new finish - I clamped mine in a large vice with some clean softwood.

Just found the link to a photo of them after powder coating:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ef2nsl6r7oe577b/shiny.JPG?dl=0

Whenever we clean the bike, they still come up this shiny! Well worth it.


Steve

[howlindawg]

£50 for finish of that quality was a bargain.

How long did it take to strip the forks out?

[richtea]

If you have a warranty it might be worth asking if the corrosion is covered. I seem to remember some forum members have claimed for engine corrosion successfully. From the warranty book:

Suspension
Failure of the following parts: Telelever ball joints,
telescopic forks (excluding pitting) and seals. Front and
rear shock absorber units (up to 30,000 miles only).

[Matt]

Front and rear replaced on mine. Unhelpfully I forget if this was during the buying user approved warranty or the insured warranty. Either way is an acknowledgement that it's a bit crap.

[stevel]

On the GT it wasn’t actually that much if a job to get the forks out - bike on centre stand, handlebars ratchet strapped to the garage roof, front wheel out, calipers off,  side panels off then the two nuts on the ball joints, pretty much. Around 2 hours to get it all off, another hour to put it all back, provided you have the right tools - 50 and 55 mm spanners and sockets really help for the ball joints.

[howlindawg]

Thanks for the replies.
The bike's due a service next month so I'll mention it to the service manager and see what he says.
I'm not hopeful though as I'm out of warranty.

Good to know it's not a major job to remove the forks; I've heard horror stories about removing the ball joints.

[gibbo]

I'm still puzzled as to why us bikers have to put up with this inferior crap, especially with a BMW badge. If this were a BMW car with this sort of corrosion, everyone would be up in arms with complaints, there would an immediate recall on all affected models and it would make the national news headlines. Why do most carry on supporting and putting up with this? I'm glad I jumped ship when I did.

[Matt]

I'm still puzzled as to why us bikers have to put up with this inferior crap, especially with a BMW badge. If this were a BMW car with this sort of corrosion, everyone would be up in arms with complaints, there would an immediate recall on all affected models and it would make the national news headlines. Why do most carry on supporting and putting up with this? I'm glad I jumped ship when I did.

Don't worry, i'm sure we'll all say the same thing after we variously jump ship at whatever arbitrary future dates that will be .

[TomL]

Thanks for the replies.
The bike's due a service next month so I'll mention it to the service manager and see what he says.
I'm not hopeful though as I'm out of warranty.

Good to know it's not a major job to remove the forks; I've heard horror stories about removing the ball joints.

Depends if you are fussy about doing it the REPROM way with the BMW special tools.

Easy enough to do with an allen key and ring spanner for the nut and 50mm and 55mm sockets with an impact wrench for the ball joint. Not too many have sockets that large in their tool kit. Also depends wether you are anal about achieving the prescribed torque settings when tightening.

Some have also experienced problems with the thread stripping out when the ball joints are removed. Very difficult to achieve the high temperature required to soften the concrete that BMW use to stop the ball joints coming loose.

[Phmode]

I'm still puzzled as to why us bikers have to put up with this inferior crap, especially with a BMW badge. If this were a BMW car with this sort of corrosion, everyone would be up in arms with complaints, there would an immediate recall on all affected models and it would make the national news headlines. Why do most carry on supporting and putting up with this? I'm glad I jumped ship when I did.

I wouldn't put money on it. When BMW's started cracking their 21” alloys on Surrey's potholes, BM's answer was 'But the wheels were never designed for ise on cart tracks like the UK roads!'.

Strange how they never said anything when they upsold the basic model in the sales suite 

[Blobby]

Sometime it can be down to what you are using to wash the bike.
The foaming type of cleaners that you apply with a jet wash (I use it one on my car) are very corrosive and can find any small imperfections to get under the paint.. Saying that it is still no excuse for allowing it to corrode

[drumwrecker]

Sometime it can be down to what you are using to wash the bike.
The foaming type of cleaners that you apply with a jet wash (I use it one on my car) are very corrosive and can find any small imperfections to get under the paint.. Saying that it is still no excuse for allowing it to corrode

I cleaned my bike today with Karcher foam wash in my Karcher jet wash.

I haven't heard about the foam being corrosive before.

So anyone who has their bike professionally washed and ACF50 protected gets that treatment?

Just had a look at the bottle and it says phosphate free.

It appears that anything that cleans your bike also damages it. Same thing was being said about MuckOff a while back.

Anyone know better?

[howlindawg]

I use Zymol or Autoglym foam on my bikes, both of which are supposedly Ph neutral. I'd be surprised if either are unduly contributing to corrosion.

All my bikes and cars get treated the same and the 19 year old Moto Guzzi seems to be made of sterner stuff than the K. Given MotoGuzzi's infamous reputation for corroding away before your very eyes that's saying something!

[richtea]

Fairly Green hip-kid.