Engine paint question

[air_cooled67]

I want to tidy the flaky paint up on the front cover of my engine (R1100S) any idea whats the best stuff to use for a close match?

Maybe I should just buy a sticky carbon cover instead!?

Cheers.

[sproggy]

BMW do a paint that's as close as makes no difference to the engine paint colour. I believe it's called "Silver Aluminium" and comes as a pack of two cans - base coat and lacquer. I used it on an R1200 valve cover and it's a good match, if perhaps slightly more shiny than standard. But you can take the shine off the lacquer if you want to.

I keep meaning to do my front engine cover too. I'm not a big fan of the stick-one carbon covers but when I get around to painting mine I'll apply clear film on top of the paint to protect it from stone chips.

[Ruffy]

Hi guys,i don't want sound like i'm gloating but my 1100 has a black engine and it's not been ridden in really bad weather but theres no flaking at all any where on the engine,it's an 04 if that makes a difference

[sproggy]

....not been ridden in really bad weather but theres no flaking at all any where on the engine

Fair weather biker, huh? Not using a bike tends to protect it fairly well from the effects of roads salt

I had an '03 Rockster with black engine paint and that certainly suffered as badly as the silver ones (perhaps worse as flaking is more obvious on black) so don't go gloating too much just yet......

[Cobbster]

Hi air_cooled67,

If you call your local main dealers and give them your chassis number they will give you the paint codes for your bike. I did this for my Pacific blue/ siver 1100 and they supplied me with the paint kit which consists of base coat and lacquer. These kits are great, being an ex paint sprayer myself I can recommend them highly.

Little tip, when applying the base coat, go for coverage not finish, keep the can well back off the area to avoid getting heavy patches. Make sure everything is evenly coated and don't worry if you have a slightly matt rough finish. After about 30 mins apply the lacquer and it will start to get a good finish. Wait a day or two and T cut the area and it will shine like new. Like Sproggy said probably better than the original.

Kits cost about £16 inc vat.

Cheers Cobbster.

[Ruffy]

I don't like to be called a fair weather biker sproggy,but none of us like getting cold and wet do we?As far as riding on salt ridden roads doing your bike untold damage that's something i used to do in the early days coz i had to but know i don't so i keep my bike in good nick but i do sympathise with bikers who have little or no choice coz iv'e been there done that and that's why iv'e got a bike without flakey engine paint!

[sproggy]

I don't like to be called a fair weather biker sproggy

No offence intended - only joking

My S hasn't been on the road since before Christmas when I realised that it was dissolving before my eyes with daily use. And the brakes started to sieze....

I've been riding a Transalp every day to work since then - it was in a right old state when I bought it (5 obviously uncaring previous owners, Cat D insurance loss, every panel damaged etc) but hasn't deteriorated further despite the fact that apart from a few squirts of FS365 it's had no cleaning or protection to help it along. How come an Italian-built, fairly budget Japanese bike can cope better than.............

The S won't see another winter - seems it just can't cope with it and I want to keep it in as good condition as I can - having a cheap hack winter bike is definitely the way to go imo.

[Ruffy]

I wouldn't like to ride my S all year either sproggy,after reading many posts on this site before i bought mine i'd already made my mind up on that subject,i wonder what riders of older beemers make of us whinging about paint flaking of the engine casings,probably they think were all nancy boys!!

[sproggy]

I've owned R80's, R100's, K100's, a K1100, 1150GS, Rockster, 1200GS and the S over the years (with plenty of Jap and Italian bikes as well). The airheads were usually old (I was despatching on most of them) and always stood up better to the salt, looking far better for their age than 11*0 oilheads. Those bikes were really well finished. The K100's were pretty bad - one of them would corrode after a few days in a damp garage. The Rockster and 1150GS were pretty poor (not as bad as the S, though - I rode the GS through 2 winters) and the 1200.....well, I hated it too much to keep it for even one winter.

So in summary: airheads good, early K's (really) bad, 11*0 oilheads better but not brilliant. 1200 oilheads....time will tell.

I rode a Ducati ST2 through a UK winter and that stood up better than the S.......but not that much better!

[Ruffy]

I rode my monster in the winter as well sproggy,just to prove they could be ridden in winter and the cycle parts didn't deteriate but i got bloody carb icing,ie cutting out at roundabouts and traffic lights and important road junctions and the like so i called in to baines racing at silverstone and they said the bikes weren't meant to be ridden in winter,o how i laughed!!!

[sproggy]

baines racing at silverstone ..... said the bikes weren't meant to be ridden in winter,o how i laughed!!!

They obviously live in that 'other world' where bikes are nothing more than summer toys. For some of us bikes are daily transport and if they're not fit for purpose then there's something very wrong.

[Ruffy]

There certainly is something very wrong when you get excuses fired at you as bad as that,they even said the grade of the petrol that we all use is something to blame on carb icing as well,when i was 16 and started biking those excuses were never used then but dukes weren't popular in the 70's :

[r550s]

I've got a foot in both camps here - I like an immaculate bike, but it's my daily transport too. My s has seen 40 miles every working day of seven winters and its still hanging on in there cosmetically. I spray Armorall over everything except the discs, and so long as you clean it every time it gets dirty, often daily (especially if there's salt down), it only takes half an hour because the dirt doesn't stick to it. The front engine cover is just beginning to get pitted behind the wheel, but there's no flaking. As somebody pointed out to me: it's all well and good painting aluminium to protect it, but what do you think the (aluminium) colouring in the paint comes from?

[sproggy]

so long as you clean it every time it gets dirty, often daily (especially if there's salt down), it only takes half an hour because the dirt doesn't stick to it.

Half an hour every day? I have neither the desire nor the time to spend half an hour cleaning the bike outside in the dark in sub-zero temperatures when I get home from work in the winter. I'd love the bike to be immaculate (I do my best) but there are limits. I last cleaned the Transalp before Christmas - since then it's been used every day on salty roads and there are NO RUSTY BOLTS - not on the disks, the calipers or anywhere else. And that's an area of the bike that hasn't seen any FS365.

[woofboxer]

so long as you clean it every time it gets dirty, often daily (especially if there's salt down), it only takes half an hour because the dirt doesn't stick to it.

Half an hour every day? I have neither the desire nor the time to spend half an hour cleaning the bike outside in the dark in sub-zero temperatures when I get home from work in the winter.

TOP TIP: I keep one of those pump up garden sprayer things inside the garage door during the road salting season. When I get in I spray off the forks and the other bits that get the salt - this only takes a couple of minutes and is do-able when you are cold, wet and pissed off!. Then I give the bike a proper wash once a week. This has always worked for me.