BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

I agree, think we should point out faults, so others know where to look and what to look out for. Luckily my 2014 paint is still good - fingers crossed

Jacksnipe wrote: Those pics of BM corrosion are typical and I have seen same on more BM's than BM's without it. In simple english it is shite and should have been sorted by BM way ago. For the record the BM is a machine and not an icon and to point its shortfalls out is no bad thing, its not like you are slagging off a religion ! It is an expensive inanimate object that should be better finished, period.  :alas:

+1 agree. My PanST1300 has a far better finish and better quality switch gear. HOWEVER the RT is a far better bike dynamically. Things have moved on. So I keep the RT away from salt, let the Pan take the strain but when the roads are dry and twisty the RT comes out to play. Maybe one day in the future these modern VOC friendly paint finishes will become more durable for our winters. Lets all hope so.

Yes, definitely highlight quality issues. Do not take it for granted and keep nagging at the dealers, when it's justified.....needless to say!

I have just worked out why BMW have started painting the engines and swing arms black. It's to make corrosion harder to spot!

Nah, they have just found some old paint they used on shafts in the 70s

It may be that the modern water based paint systems are not as good as the older spirit/oil based ones. They will doubtless improve in time, meanwhile we do the R&D at our own expense.

blokeonthemove wrote: It may be that the modern water based paint systems are not as good as the older spirit/oil based ones. They will doubtless improve in time, meanwhile we do the R&D at our own expense.

+1

Given that I can personally trace the paint / corrosion issue back to 2010 (I'm sure there are others who can take it back even further) I remain unconvinced about the improvement over time concept.

I came across the bloke who bought my Apr 2005 RT yesterday's.  He has commuted on it daily for the last 9 years , has suffered no failures or corrosion problems.  All he has done to it is regularly wash and polish and never misses a service.  Wish I'd kept it. And all the bits are silver.

blokeonthemove wrote: It may be that the modern water based paint systems are not as good as the older spirit/oil based ones. They will doubtless improve in time, meanwhile we do the R&D at our own expense.

Yes, that's my thoughts on it as well! Pain in the arse environmentalists, EU and woolly liberals!! Oh, and anybody else I've left out! ::)

Same issues on my previous Harley's. Water based paint is crap. Period.

Took the bike to the dealers again on Saturday,  got a phone call from them today
BMW have agreed to a new engine, Swingarm, Driveshaft..  Excellent news

Think that is really good news for a 2 year old bike. Not many manufacturers would cough up for that. You would think with all the warranty claims, BMW might want to sort out their paint, can't be that hard.

I would say change not many manufacturers to no other manufacturer.  But as we all know it shouldn't happen in the first place.

Maz12 wrote: Took the bike to the dealers again on Saturday,  got a phone call from them today
BMW have agreed to a new engine, Swingarm, Driveshaft..  Excellent news

Well done for persevering excellent result.