Rear Subframe Corrosion

crotchrocket

crotchrocket

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Has anyone else noticed corrosion on their rear subframe? My bike is a December 2015, so only 14 months old. Its the second winter i've ridden it through and i clean it weekly as well as i can, but there are spots of corrosion appearing on the rear subframe, The paint looks really thin. The swing arm is starting to bubble at the gasket too. The rear brake lever and centre stand are corroded to hell too!






 
I think what you have on the cardan tunnel is not uncommon on a bike that has been ridden through winter without adding some additional protection, e.g. ACF50 or weekly washing and application of FS365.
 
If the metal is corroded below the paint layer and the paint is still intact, ie the protective paint layer has not failed, then no amount of washing or protective treatments will prevent what you are seeing as the corrosion is beneath the paint. The problem is down to poor surface preparation prior to painting and would seem to be a common issue on the WCs (eg the number of engines being replaced for bubbling/corrosion below the paint).

Andres
 
I hear what you're saying about ACF50 and i do use it, but not every time. Theres got to be an amount of reasonable use / cleaning allowed for in these paint finishes. Im not spending 2 hours or more a week cleaning my bike, i think thats unreasonable. I look after it just as much as any other bike i own or have owned, My Kawasaki is 20 years old and i used that through 3 winters not so long ago and its looking just fine. This is the rear brake lever.
 

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That looks poor . I'd be dropping it off for a warranty repair . Lots of salt down south , and agree you should not have that onm a 14 month old bike . I'd have a really good look round and get everything replaced that looks like that
 
I had similar (possibly not as bad) corrosion on the swing-arm side of the driveshaft, opposite yours. I got a new swing-arm from BMW. The bike was 3 years old, out of corrosion warranty and purchased by me second hand from them. No arguments, they just replaced that and the engine which also had a tiny bit of corrosion.
 
What a pain. I really thought the bike was doing alright, but didn't really notice any of this until the sun was out on Saturday. Really not looking forward to having it at BMW to replace parts either. I'll speak to them this Saturday at the launch event so they are aware and schedule it in a bit later on in the year (if replacement parts are offered / required )
 
Outtomunch said:
If the metal is corroded below the paint layer and the paint is still intact, ie the protective paint layer has not failed, then no amount of washing or protective treatments will prevent what you are seeing as the corrosion is beneath the paint. The problem is down to poor surface preparation prior to painting and would seem to be a common issue on the WCs (eg the number of engines being replaced for bubbling/corrosion below the paint).

Andres
Click to expand...

In a nutshell..... I hope it gets sorted for Crotchrocket.:thumb2
 
That is shite,buying a GS really is like a box of chocolates !
 
Outtomunch said:
If the metal is corroded below the paint layer and the paint is still intact, ie the protective paint layer has not failed, then no amount of washing or protective treatments will prevent what you are seeing as the corrosion is beneath the paint. The problem is down to poor surface preparation prior to painting and would seem to be a common issue on the WCs (eg the number of engines being replaced for bubbling/corrosion below the paint).

Andres
Click to expand...

It's a combination of both factors I think as the salt induced corrosion definitely gets through the paint surface too.
 
crotchrocket said:
I hear what you're saying about ACF50 and i do use it, but not every time. Theres got to be an amount of reasonable use / cleaning allowed for in these paint finishes. Im not spending 2 hours or more a week cleaning my bike, i think thats unreasonable. I look after it just as much as any other bike i own or have owned, My Kawasaki is 20 years old and i used that through 3 winters not so long ago and its looking just fine. This is the rear brake lever.
Click to expand...

I know what your are saying but I have had experience of 4 brand new 1200 GSes since 2005 and if you want to ride them all year then you have to protect them and for me that means two hours every Sunday, plus AC50 and FS365 or at the very least wash immediately after EVERY salty ride (the manual used to say this, not sure if it still does)
 
Engineer said:
I know what your are saying but I have had experience of 4 brand new 1200 GSes since 2005 and if you want to ride them all year then you have to protect them and for me that means two hours every Sunday, plus AC50 and FS365 or at the very least wash immediately after EVERY salty ride (the manual used to say this, not sure if it still does)
Click to expand...

That, frankly, is truly outrageous that it's needed. The EU (God rest it) did at least introduce regulation of cars so they didn't rust away terminally within a few years of purchase. WTF are bikes so bad?
 
ChazzyB said:
That, frankly, is truly outrageous that it's needed. The EU (God rest it) did at least introduce regulation of cars so they didn't rust away terminally within a few years of purchase. WTF are bikes so bad?
Click to expand...

Didn't the EU also command the manufacturers to use the eco shit paint that is going to save the planet ?
 
ChazzyB said:
That, frankly, is truly outrageous that it's needed. The EU (God rest it) did at least introduce regulation of cars so they didn't rust away terminally within a few years of purchase. WTF are bikes so bad?
Click to expand...

Not the economies of scale as car manufacture and price pressure - Also the average biker does not ride through winter and does only 3,000 miles per year so the manufacturers do their sums and this is what we get. I'd rather pay the extra for a very high quality finish but most bikers wouldn't so can't see it changing.
 
The bikes are £16,000 for gods sake not exactly built to a price are they.
The quality is simply not good enough.
 
Engineer said:
But I think they are built to a price because the volumes are a tiny fraction of car volumes and that is the root of the problem.
Click to expand...

blah, blah, blah, built to a price?? If I spunked 16k on a bike and it was rotting after 14 months I'd be fucking raging!

I am assuming of course that BMW don't issue documentation when they sell you a WC which says "only for dry sunny afternoon useage", if they do, then I take it all back, it's your own fucking fault!
 
oddshapedballs said:
blah, blah, blah, built to a price?? If I spunked 16k on a bike and it was rotting after 14 months I'd be fucking raging!

I am assuming of course that BMW don't issue documentation when they sell you a WC which says "only for dry sunny afternoon useage", if they do, then I take it all back, it's your own fucking fault!
Click to expand...

Fume away - by the way the manual still says the bike should be washed after every ride if exposed to salt.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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