BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

Well the final drive and bevel box have been replaced again, under warranty.  Douglas Park Motorrad have again been outstanding.

I had a corrosion and coating engineer have a look at the bubbling as well.  He thinks that it is not corrosion under the coating, but the coating coming away from the parent material due to the surface not being prepared correctly before the coating system is applied...

Well at least it is changed, lets see how long this one lasts!

I have one of the very early 2014 models and have zero corrosion, despite being just 20km away from the ocean and just 5km when I am parked at work.
Looking at all the other forums, corrosion doesn't appear to be a common issue with the Wehead.

Same age, same non problem. 

My front wheel was resprayed because somewhere along the line the front tyre had been changed by the previous owner which happened to be BMW Head Office. BMW thought that a tiny chip of missing paint might be down to a stone hitting the wheel or less than careful removal of balancing weights rather than corrosion. Hence the offer to repaint the wheel rather than replace. I considered this to be a generous offer. I now have a near as makes no difference new bike but paid a used bike price!

Anyone use ACF-50? Spraying this on twice a year is supposed to suppress any corrosion very effectively.
(See TheMissidenFlyer's bike cleaning video on you-tube)

NSrider wrote: Anyone use ACF-50? Spraying this on twice a year is supposed to suppress any corrosion very effectively.

My bike is now covered with ACF-50.  I had the dealer spay it when the final drive was replaced.  I have only done about 500 miles since it was applied.  It does makes the bike look scruffy as all the road dust and dirt sticks to the coating.  That, however, will be a small price to pay if it keeps the bike in good condition and it is still  sparkly fresh after a good deep clean come spring...

If deep cleaning involves high pressure washing and the use of de-greasing chemicals you might end up encouraging corrosion all,over again.

NSrider wrote:Anyone use ACF-50? (See The Missiden Flyer's bike cleaning video on YouTube)

Yes, I use ACF-50, have it professionally applied once a year by All Year Biker in the UK, http://allyearbiker.co.uk/

All Year Bikers Halo Smart Clean treatment video:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXXetSfHDdk

The Missiden Flyer's bike cleaning video is very similar:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZcP7KQ0mG0

Some things never change!  I've just come back to an RT after an almost 10 year gap.  I had plenty of warranty work done on my 1100 and 1150 air heads.  I even had a complete new set of forks replaced because the corrosion was so bad the dealer was embarrassed even though it was out of warranty by over a year!


Which brings me to BMW - service that is second to none! Simple.


Inbetween the RTs I had two Yamaha FJRs.  They were equally bad for corrosion but the dealerships were not as helpful.


It strikes me RTs are prone to year round use and suffer because of it.  I've tried plenty of products over the years and come back to WD40 time and time again.  Regular application on everything metal after a wash.  Seems to be a good solution.

My 2014 watercooled RT has started corroding badly, seems like others are too.


There are some scary pictures on here :- [size=78%]http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread ... ues-result[/size]

Can we have some pics of the corrosion on your bike please. My 14 seems to be corrosion free but I haven't crawled underneath it recently. 
As your bike is still under warranty and they should all be up until sometime in June you should make a beeline for your nearest dealer.  I recently saw a GS which was 1 yr 11 months old with over 30K on the clock having a complete new engine fitted due to corrosion.  The bike looked like it had never been cleaned in its lifetime but it was all done under warranty.

Nobby wrote: It strikes me RTs are prone to year round use and suffer because of it.  I've tried plenty of products over the years and come back to WD40 time and time again.  Regular application on everything metal after a wash.  Seems to be a good solution.

WD40 is only a water displacement product it will wash off quickly and as far as I know was never designed to prevent corrosion. IMHO ACF50 is a far better product. It was designed to protect US aircraft on aircraft carriers from the salty environment. I think a common mistake people make is they get their bikes protected by ACF50 and presume that it will be good for a year. ACF50 will wash off in time. So any part of a bike exposed to the elements will become unprotected. These areas need ACF50 to be reapplied.


When I was active on the Ducati forum there was a guy who posted a pic of his year old Multistrada covered in corrosion. He had ACF50 applied when he bought the bike form new. HORROR !! However after further investigation it was discovered he lived by the sea, kept the bike under a cover outside and powered washed it every week ! I'm guessing the ACF50 treatment was all washed off within a month. No wonder it corroded.

The sad facts are that modern bikes will corrode if left dirty, wet or attacked by salt. My 2014 RT has clocked up 17K ridden all year and has zero corrosion. How have I achieved this ? All my riding is for pleasure so I have time after a ride to wash and blow dry the bike. Its kept in a garage and is always clean. I protect it with ACF50 and a good quality wax. The bike is stripped and cleaned twice a year. I am very fussy. My biking buddies take the piss but I have a corrosion free bike. So clean and protect or except it will corrode.

Nearside {wonder what its like under the plastics.

Picture 2 {think u might have to blow these pics up bigger}