RUST!!!!!!!
So I recently bought 6 new GS800's - September / October 2011, I put on a few extras from Wild at Heart ... foot pegs, spots, screens, etc. After having done 1 trip to the Transkei with a few of my mates in December, I returned to Cape Town and gave the bikes a good wash, after removing the caked on mud from the 14 day trip I was (and still am) horrified at the amount of RUST - on the foot pegs, spots and even on the brake discs and on some parts of the frame ... admittedly we fell a couple of times and I can accept a little rust on these abrasion areas but as for the rest I am a bit concerned.
Can anyone advise if they have the same problems and how should I deal with it, I have had 3 ADV 1200's and never had this problem ... are they making the 800 in China now?? Hmmmm perhaps the new consumer act can assist ????
Never had any Rust on any of my GSA's. Cannot imagine why the 800 would be rusting.
You say you bought 6 NEW ? What for ?
Do you mind me asking from where ?
Wayne
Ride Like the Wind
Um I bought them for my sons and my mates ... so they can ride with me.
I got them from Atlantic BMW Cape Town.
My bikes and my sons and my mates
You mention that you were in the Transkei, presumably you spent some time close to the sea? I live a few hundred meters from the sea and unfortunately the sea air affects everything that is not stainless steel. I've had a 1200GS for about 18 months now and have little spots of rust here and there, my previous road bike suffered from the same problem. I found that the best thing to try to inhibit this blight is to use a silicone-based spray after cleaning and drying the bike. Just be careful not to spray silicone anywhere near the brakes or saddle.
Unfortunayely the newer bikes are not made the same way as the older ones, bolts and nuts used are anodised not plated and anywhere close to the sea or just rain and corrosion sets in, I had my 800 for 3 years and had to work hard to keep the corrosion at bay, during winter if I did not get to clean the bike after commuting in the rain the rot would set in, hate to know what happens in colder climates where salt is used on the roads.
When we returned from th Gamkapoort dam late last year in the rain, the bikes obviously got coated in mud, and when we got home I didn't have the energy to wash them and so washed them about 2 days later.
I noticed spots of rust on my disks and exhaust. They came off faitly easily with a bit of elbow grease and don't seem to have returned so far. I must admit it was the same on Natalie's 2007 GS650, though only on the disks.
I don't have rust forming anywhere else though.
Thanks guys, I went in to see Ruan at BMW Atlantic and he is sorting it out .... I guess I will either have to use a rust retardant ... or put the bikes in those blow up plastic "dry bags". I have come to realize that with the downturn in the global economy EVERYTHING is being built substandard - I bought a brand new ski boat from a top SA manufacturer ... within 5 days there was rust seeping through the chrome and so called stainless steel. I just didnt think the Chermans would stoop to substandard raw materials for their parts.
Have a good one
see ya on the road (dirt road)
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