BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

RTMan10. I use the recommended BMW bike cleaner and follow up with a spray and wipe of AC50.(after drying off) I also take the fairing lowers off to so I can check everywhere. The second engine never saw salt but still blistered in 800 miles or so. There does not appear to be any hard and fast rule as to the cause but BMW must know something that they are not telling us. Hence the change to black finish. If BMW admitted there was a problem the floodgates would open. I also run a cheap scooter for my daily commute, it rarely gets washed but is holding up very well all things considered. Better than the RT that's for sure.

Must be costing BMW a small fortune which no doubt will be passed onto us as higher prices.

BMW recommended cleaners?  I has a bottle of BMW cleaner.  You sprayed it on rubbed it in if necessary then washed it off after a couple of minutes. It was very effective at removing stuck on grime and also removing the protective wax I use on all joints and shiny alloy bits.  All these cleaners are also degreasers and because of this I no longer use them.
I don't need to commute through the winter like many so my routine of car shampoo, dry and wax polish keeps it clean and corrosion free.

limesgmt wrote: I lived just outside of Munich 20 years ago and they never put anything on the roads, salt was considered a pollutant.
They put winter tyres on their cars in November and that was it until spring.
The black ice was horrendous!

Think that was when the Greens were in power, no salt on the roads, but loads of trees destroyed by vehicles slipping and hitting them  8)

The Mercedes pirouetting on the road bouncing from kerb to kerb is something I'll never forget  .
There was absolutely nothing he could do until he had run out of momentum.
They managed though, winter tyres on the cars, snow ploughs and it never ever, ground to a halt like it does in the UK when we have a quarter of an inch of snowfall.

RTMan, Is you quoting from the BM dealers book of fob off tricks like : " You used it in the rain, at night, in the day, the water you washed it with was too hot, it was too cold, it was the wrong shampoo, you used too much !!!

The truth is the finish is Kak and not up to the job.

No just the ownership of 8 RTs over the last 21 years all without any corrosion problems.

Haven't had mine from new, but bought it in January with 2k on the clock, since then I have used it for Blood Biking and put on 7k. So the other owner may not have used it much, so maybe at the end of this winter i can comment if the rust has started, but upto now all good.

Jacksnipe wrote: RTMan, Is you quoting from the BM dealers book of fob off tricks like : " You used it in the rain, at night, in the day, the water you washed it with was too hot, it was too cold, it was the wrong shampoo, you used too much !!!

The truth is the finish is Kak and not up to the job.

+1 I total agree, The engine in my 2014 rt lc was changed by BMW as a goodwill gesture @7500 miles three small blisters in the silver finish but the coating was not broken Ie manufacturing defect as admitted by BMW I looked at loads before I bought mine most in Bmw dealers most had corrosion on bolt/Torx heads for the extra money I would have thought Stainless steel bolts as standard My 1999 Blackbird that I part exchanged was in better condition than my 2014 lc is now

futterweasel wrote:


+1 I total agree, The engine in my 2014 rt lc was changed by BMW as a goodwill gesture @7500 miles three small blisters in the silver finish but the coating was not broken Ie manufacturing defect as admitted by BMW I looked at loads before I bought mine most in Bmw dealers most had corrosion on bolt/Torx heads for the extra money I would have thought Stainless steel bolts as standard My 1999 Blackbird that I part exchanged was in better condition than my 2014 lc is now

So you are talking about bolt heads not going brown as well. I have only looked for bubbling on the engine and drivetrain, will inspect my bolt heads as well, although I don't think I'm too bothered about bolt heads rusting. Guess you could sprue them up with a bit of wire wool.

Jacksnipe wrote: RTMan, Is you quoting from the BM dealers book of fob off tricks like : " You used it in the rain, at night, in the day, the water you washed it with was too hot, it was too cold, it was the wrong shampoo, you used too much !!!

The truth is the finish is Kak and not up to the job.

+1
Had the swingarm changed on my 2014 lc due to bubbling under the coating, among other issues, after 10,000 miles!
I had a Blackbird for 7 years put over 60,000 miles all year round, washed exactly the same as my beemerr & no corrosion at all.
For a 'premium product' the finish on the '14 bike left a lot to be desired. The '17 model I  have now seems OK tho I've only put 2500 miles on it, the  black engine & transmission  are a bugger to keep clean.

2006 RT and no rust anywhere : )

Well I've been and gone and done it!  Went to view the black engined RT and after a few moments decided that she is the one. Phil at Williams gave me an excellent p/x price  because of the problems I had experienced with the 2014 model. So after the Christmas break I will pick up' Roxette' who will be my fifth RT and who will hopefully give me years of pleasure without the heartache of the previous one 'Juliette'

You give your bikes names nice. Mines just called the BM

Nothing wrong with giving your bike a name.  All my 1100s were Mr Blobby.  My 1600s, Heavy bas...d.  And my 1200s, the BM