Quality of Finish

[Right Hand Drive]

Well, I have just come to clean the bike after 3 weeks away and found a number of what I can only descibe as "quality" issues. Or rather lack of quality. At the bottom of the engine front cover the silver finish appears to be "bubbling". I've seen this reported on the RT forum and over there they say that the dealer usually removes some kind of foam insert underneath the cover as it apparently holds water. Secondly, both front and rear discs appear to have rusted/pitted slightly in the area underneath the brake pads. I had this on my previous bike (an 1150RT) and the discs were replaced under warranty. Apparently the sintered pads cause this. Thirdly, the rubber gaiter between the drive shaft and gearbox appears to have developed cracks on the convoluted sections. I don't know whether this is normal and just surface cracking or whether it is a foretaste of more serious deterioration. I'm wondering whether anyone else has had any similar issues. The bike is not used much in winter and always cleaned and put away inside the garage dry. I'm really disappointed in the quality of finish. What would happen if I did use it through the winter I wonder. Two other issues I also had. The baffles in the silencer came loose. New silencer put on under warranty and then went rusty in a couple of weeks. It has now had a third silencer fitted. Last month the BMW top box cracked around the hinges and was also replaced. It has never been dropped or mistreated. I am slowly becoming very disillusioned about the quality of the parts on this bike. Certainly my dealer has been helpful but I'm getting fed up of continually having to go back. The bike is only 15 months old and treated very carefully. Its a shame, because otherwise it is such a great machine.

[deilenberger]

I don't seem to have any of those issues.. of course my bike is used year round. Perhaps that's the difference.. (and it doesn't rain quite as much in NJ-USA as in the UK..) BTW - the rust under the brake pads is "normal" when the bike is put away wet - no real way around it. As long as it cleans up the next time you use the bike it's a non-issue.

Removing the foam insert shouldn't be too onerous a job - you have to move the oil cooler out of the way (I believe this can be done without disconnecting it) - then it's just a few screws to get the cover off. Perhaps a "fenda-extenda" on the front fender might keep this area from getting so wet..

[Right Hand Drive]

Don,

Thanks for the reply. Yes the British tend to pile salt onto the roads for the whole winter which doesn't help. But I have been very careful about cleaning my bike. I do wonder how it would have survived had I used it all winter through, given its minimal exposure to the UK cold season. The top box cracking and silencer longevity worry me too. I do think that the quality of the older bikes was much better. My 1150RT was used for 5 years all year round and, apart from the corrosion on the discs, it was as good as new when I part ex'd it for the R1200. The thing is I really like the R so will persevere with it. As I say, my dealer has been great about replacement of the faulty parts so far. I'm wondering when they will get fed up of me though.

[celticus]

I worried about the lightness and cheapness of parts as compared to my old airhead but this is a new lighter bike. Lightness is what we want right? It has to come from somewhere.
Mine is holding up fine so I guess I'm not letting the non permanence of the parts bother me.
Mark

[deilenberger]

I'd have to agree with Mark. Adding lightness isn't easy. I have several friends who have owned various GS's.. and bitch about how much plastic is used on the R1200GS. What they don't bitch about is how the bike is close to 80 lbs lighter than the R1150GS. The weight has to come off from somewhere.. so far I haven't seen any evidence that it came off anyplace that would result in a failure of the bike. It's mostly decorative stuff that is thinner, plastic or not there. I can live with that without any problem since I find the lightness of the bike to be a delight.