Oh dear - here we go

The front of the engine is succeptable to stone damage from the front tyre flicking stones at a shiny finished area, I fitted cymark stainless shield & mines as good as new after 3+ years, (the shield is still pretty good too)
Cars are not a fair comparison as their inner wheel arches are coated with 'stone chip' coating or plastic guards nowadays.

If you get this replaced you have a very good dealer & treat them with care (& let us know their name for future custom)

In my opinion I'm surprised the item isn't in worse condition..

Looks like you enjoy the ride..

Good luck & let us know how you get on..
 
Do you clean your car every time you use it and I don't just mean ash the paint work, I mean get it up on a rams and clean the underside and engine bay too?
Because most people are fair weather riders the manufacturers don't bother to protect motorcycles to the level they should and its tough luck to those of us who ride all year round.

My van is 7 years old and has close to 200k miles on it, I use it for work 5 days a week and it gets washed every couple of months and there isn't a spot of rust on it. That is how a bike should be.

Does your van have exposed mechanicals and header pipes like the GS? I bet your van is flat panelled with galvanised sheet metal, with all mechanical parts enclosed away from the elements with plastic shrouds, and is very adept at ploughing motorways.
It is not reasonable to expect a naked engine/motorbike to remain like shiny new - as well as your van in the elements over mileage - if only given a wash once every couple of months. Unreasonable and ridiculous expectations by consumers are the source of most suppliers frustrations.

And yes: I do regularly clean my bike after most rides and my cars (wheels/arches too) get cleaned at least once a week, and my P&J after every drive. I've ridden my GS 8k miles since collecting it in October 2016, about 1100 miles per month through the winter months, and thr headers are still like a mirror and rest of the bike shiny (other than some stone chips on the front beak and screen). Sadly, there's no shortcut to being clean and remaining in tip top condition. True for personal hygiene and our bikes!
 
Not sure what else I could do. Have only had this bike for 11 months. Regularly cleaned by me. Not used over the winter. Treated with ACF 50 in October - just in case. What more 'TLC' could there be other than keeping the beast locked up in a heated garage. A sad reflection on the build quality in my opinion. My 2006 GS lasted seven years before getting this sort of corrosion and I rode it through some pretty awful weather.

Still love this bike but just a little disappointed with its finish right now.

I agree that BMW need to improve their paint finish and told them exactly that in a recent survey they sent to me - for me a single ACF50 application is never enough, I wash and FS365 the entire bike every week unless the weather has been dry - I also hand wipe ACF50 onto the final drive and front cover after every was too.
 
Why do people not clean or protect their bike regularly, and expect it to be aesthetically perfect? Do people only bathe once per quarter? I read all these posts about people claiming a replacement engine for what is a bit of surface corrosion on a bike not kept as clean as it should, and I really think it's taking the piss. If you don't look after things, don't expect them to last. Just looking at the original photo, it is clear that the entire area has not been well maintained - I note that the header pipes have been allowed to develop surface rust on it FFS.

I keep my car clean but not in the garage nor do I spray it with ACF 50 and this doesn't corrode. My view is that in this day and age, cars don't rot if they're not pampered so nor should bikes.

GSs are supposed to be the top of the range do it all bike so it should be acceptable to use it rather than tuck it up in the warm.

Today's BMW bike quality is sub-standard and I think the tide is starting to turn in that lots of previously repeat customers will buy elsewhere.

Everyone knows the handlebar switch gear is shit and has been since 2009. I've had several replaced and know others that have to so why don't BMW change to another supplier? My Honda and KTM switches are great so it's a pity those on my XR are not.
 
You could always spray the engine in under seal and stone chip......... might help??


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Sitting my GS and 1290S together, the quality of paint finish on the engine is night and day better on the KTM. You can tell that the paint on the GS is very thin; the paint on the KTM looks like it has been properly applied, and is very thick.
 
I really don't understand why BMW have cut corners here. To maintain the (relatively) high standard of finish of earlier BMW bikes can't cost an arm and a leg can it?

A few extra layers of paint or powder coat wouldn't have broken the bank and shaved big bucks off the bottom line profit!

Reputation in business is huge and to be honest doesn't cost a great deal. BMW might just be losing the plot here - and future sales. I love the bikes, we love the bikes, that's why we have this forum isn't it?

Come on BMW listen to your 'loyal' customers who just might be moving on...
 
I really don't understand why BMW have cut corners here. To maintain the (relatively) high standard of finish of earlier BMW bikes can't cost an arm and a leg can it?

A few extra layers of paint or powder coat wouldn't have broken the bank and shaved big bucks off the bottom line profit!

Reputation in business is huge and to be honest doesn't cost a great deal. BMW might just be losing the plot here - and future sales. I love the bikes, we love the bikes, that's why we have this forum isn't it?

Come on BMW listen to your 'loyal' customers who just might be moving on...

Spot on
 
I keep my car clean but not in the garage nor do I spray it with ACF 50 and this doesn't corrode. My view is that in this day and age, cars don't rot if they're not pampered so nor should bikes.

GSs are supposed to be the top of the range do it all bike so it should be acceptable to use it rather than tuck it up in the warm.

Today's BMW bike quality is sub-standard and I think the tide is starting to turn in that lots of previously repeat customers will buy elsewhere.

Everyone knows the handlebar switch gear is shit and has been since 2009. I've had several replaced and know others that have to so why don't BMW change to another supplier? My Honda and KTM switches are great so it's a pity those on my XR are not.

This is not an issue of quality. I am fairly certain that if you drove your car without any body panels on so that the hot engine, headers/exhaust, and all electricals/ancillaries were constantly exposed to the weather, 1 foot off the ground, just like your GS is, your 'car' would look as bad as a motorbike.

I think people really really really need their logical head testing if they think a naked motorbike with exposed electricals (with reference to the comment on switchgear) should be expected to maintain an aesthetic or qualitative finish as well as a fully galvanised body panelled and enclosed car, without any additional preventative maintenance. Hot metal + water + dirt/salt is a natural climate for corrosion. Solution: maybe GS owners should just Waxoil their entire bike from new?
 
BMW QUALITY

I really don't understand why BMW have cut corners here. To maintain the (relatively) high standard of finish of earlier BMW bikes can't cost an arm and a leg can it?

A few extra layers of paint or powder coat wouldn't have broken the bank and shaved big bucks off the bottom line profit!

Reputation in business is huge and to be honest doesn't cost a great deal. BMW might just be losing the plot here - and future sales. I love the bikes, we love the bikes, that's why we have this forum isn't it?

Come on BMW listen to your 'loyal' customers who just might be moving on...

Couldnt agree more in my biking career i have owned approx 15 bmws 11 of them gs,s never had any major issues with them until my last two, must say it was sorted under warranty but the quality is deffo going down hill,waiting delivery of a Tenere will see what thats like? maybe in a couple of years BMW will sort things out:nenau
 
Yesterday I was looking at an old Honda VFR 800 parked up here. It seemed well used and the guy on it wasn't a fair weather ( I'm sure by the look of him) rider and the paintwork on his bike was very very good a bit of corrosion underneath the fairing but nowt really. I didn't see the mileage but fork down tubes had no pitting so obviously Honda got it right back then late nineties.
 
You can bury your heads in the sand for as long as you want, but it is true. They are nowhere near as good as they used to be. Now that may be down to money saving by BMW or the environmentally friendly paint they must use now, but the fact remains that they do corrode at an alarming rate compared to the older ones. I have just bought a 12yr old GSA that is in better condition than my 14 plate GSA with 4800 miles on the clock when I got rid. I am fastidious about cleaning my bikes and had ACF'd it since it was new. But it was rusting up on the pannier rails, the welds are shocking. The underside, the centre stand the bolts everywhere. It was an amazing bike, but as a direct comparison with a very much older bike. It is loosing big time.

We all love our BMW's and are committed to the brand, but come on BMW sort out the quality issues or you will loose this loyal band of brothers.
 
Surely given the number of engines and final drives they have had to replace it would be cheaper to add a bit more paint or introduce a different coating procedure, I have asked my local dealer as to how many engines they have replaced but they are not allowed to say apparently.....
I have a 20 year old R1100RS I use throughout the winter and yes it is acf50'd but the finish is holding up really, really well.
 
....

We all love our BMW's and are committed to the brand.....

Don't be ..!

Commit yourself to a good bike, not a brand!
I am not loyal to any brand, I'm loyal to myself and to having and owning a good bike. I've made it no secret that I've loved the last two KTM 's that I've owned, but that doesn't mean I'll stick with them out of 'loyalty' ...
What will my next bike be ..?
It'll be a good one that's made well, performs well and ticks all my boxes.





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Is it just the modern way of building down to costs? with computer controlled minimum spec etc. I've an old old yacht 1967 vintage which kept me sane when my Linda got cancer. This morning I sailed with a friend who I've taught to sail ( well sort of) he has bought a very modern yacht when we put her on the mooring and had a cuppa the sun was shining on the hull and I kid you not you could see the reflection through the hull my old lady has grp hull at least 1/2" thick. All modern stuff must be made to the minimum standards, or am I wrong??
 
Is it just the modern way of building down to costs? with computer controlled minimum spec etc. I've an old old yacht 1967 vintage which kept me sane when my Linda got cancer. This morning I sailed with a friend who I've taught to sail ( well sort of) he has bought a very modern yacht when we put her on the mooring and had a cuppa the sun was shining on the hull and I kid you not you could see the reflection through the hull my old lady has grp hull at least 1/2" thick. All modern stuff must be made to the minimum standards, or am I wrong??

No Fishy you are absolutely correct, the engineering department no longer has any say in the costing process, and have to cow-tow to the accountants, who can't tell the difference between quality components and utter shite.
 
Duckspeed very true, and they (accountants)are who we are in the hands of everything is costed down to the last penny. We are at the mercy of mammon as my gran would say.
 
I could live with the accountants shaving the pennies if I was buying a cheap bike where most of it is made in China. But paying top dollar for a 'premium' bike is a different matter. I'd sooner pay an extra £20 and have a decent paint job.

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