BMW Guards have removed paint!!

Post by **Sullivj** » Mon Apr 24, 2017 2:23 pm

Shocked to remove my BMW guards after about 500 miles, to find that they've removed lots of paint!

Had I known this was likely to happen, I would have left the engine covers without guards.

Seriously unimpressed!

guest2360 · Post by **guest2360** » Mon Apr 24, 2017 2:38 pm

That paint looks like it's melted as opposed to rubbed , Never seen that before.  Is there not normally a slight gap between the cover and the head.  What's the other side done.

Post by **fatnfast** » Mon Apr 24, 2017 2:55 pm

Zooming in on the picture and looking at the finish in other places it looks like the cover has been repainted at some time?

guest2360 · Post by **guest2360** » Mon Apr 24, 2017 4:18 pm

Just had a look at the same bike in our workshop.  There should be a rubber shock in between the plastic and the bottom half of the cover.  It keeps the whole guard about 2mm off the head.  This rubber can leave a mark along the bottom of the head but it doesn't burn or melt.  you seem to have a long strip of damage on the head going up through where the rubber sits.

Post by **Sullivj** » Mon Apr 24, 2017 5:25 pm

The other side is just the same.  Yes, the paint has melted, not rubbed, where the rubber shock piece touches on the head.

I think fatnfast is on to something... Putting the plug covers side by side, shows that one has also been repainted at some point. One is Matt black (as BMW intended),and the other has been plastic painted, some of which has rubbed off!)

Post by **simbo** » Mon Apr 24, 2017 6:31 pm

Looks like it's been 'Lacquered' and stuck to the inside of the cover when hot.

Post by **Sullivj** » Wed Apr 26, 2017 3:17 pm

For now, I can't justify new head covers, so I have changed the plugs and refittd the guards, which hides the paint flaws.

I also noticed that both of these large bolt caps had been removed at some point. Thankfully, they had been placed just to the left, and had sat on a ridge there for a few thousand miles..!  It makes me wonder how much of my bike was stripped down before I bought it!

guest2360 · Post by **guest2360** » Wed Apr 26, 2017 3:31 pm

Sullivj wrote: For now, I can't justify new head covers, so I have changed the plugs and refittd the guards, which hides the paint flaws.

I also noticed that both of these large bolt caps had been removed at some point. Thankfully, they had been placed just to the left, and had sat on a ridge there for a few thousand miles..!  It makes me wonder how much of my bike was stripped down before I bought it!

Re: BMW Guards have removed paint!!

Have a dig in your handbook at the bikes service history.  If it's been to a dealer their records will show all work done to it.  There is no reason they shouldn't disclose it to you. 

Post by **Sullivj** » Wed Apr 26, 2017 5:16 pm

I do have all invoices for work dome at BMW dealers.

I think that the bungs may have been removed as part of accident repair work, done outside of a dealer network.

Post by **Ganesh** » Wed Apr 26, 2017 6:15 pm

Hi, most of the observations about the head covers having been repaired seems right, colours seem off. There also should be a gap between the protector cover and the head as pointed out already. I fitted the aluminium covers to my 2010 model, I got them as a salvage a[size=2px]pparently they came from a GS that had been thrown down the road so a bit scratched. I[/size] had them polished to take the scratches out, half the price of a new set and looks great. Lucky enough to have a few manufacturers in Havant I know, took them about 5 minutes. [size=2px]The head covers could be polished by any engineering manufacturer that makes components in metals if you can take them off. Pretty sure you could go the extra bit and have them powder coated (any colour you like). [/size]