So the exhaust on my 2017 R Nine T was starting to show a lot of surface rust. I've ridden the bike in the rain twice, it's stored under cover in a garage both during the day and night. Clearly BMW used only the finest quality steal to make these exhausts (sarcasm). I shudder to think of the poor quality angle iron the world was denied for these fine pieces of engineering.
Anyway...I took it to BMW in Perth in December 2020 (where I bought it and where it had been serviced from new since Jan 2018 or so) and they put in a claim with BMW Australia. BMW Australia denied the claim, stating "lack of maintenance" despite it having all its required services on time. When I queried this, the reply was a firm no. BMW Aus' recommendation was to use autosol to polish the rust off....of a satin finish exhaust...I decided to not take their advice in that.
The next day the dealership manager sent me a text that they had a few used exhausts of other R Nine T's I could have, this was their show of good faith and nothing to do with BMW Aus. Good on them for trying to make it right and help out.
I decided to do some research to see if there's anything that might help. After chatting to some sandblasting places nearby that clearly wasn't the right option. So chemical treatments it was. After a lot of digging, and watching way too many YouTube clips about cleaning rusted tools and bolts. I eventually came across two random clips about an Autosol product called Metal Life Saver.
I managed to get some and gave it a bash today. The results were outstanding, the exhaust looks like new. 3 easy applications left for 1-2 minutes per application and the exhaust looks like new. All the water spots and surface rust just wiped away. Definitely one to consider if this happens to your bike.
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Anyway...I took it to BMW in Perth in December 2020 (where I bought it and where it had been serviced from new since Jan 2018 or so) and they put in a claim with BMW Australia. BMW Australia denied the claim, stating "lack of maintenance" despite it having all its required services on time. When I queried this, the reply was a firm no. BMW Aus' recommendation was to use autosol to polish the rust off....of a satin finish exhaust...I decided to not take their advice in that.
The next day the dealership manager sent me a text that they had a few used exhausts of other R Nine T's I could have, this was their show of good faith and nothing to do with BMW Aus. Good on them for trying to make it right and help out.
I decided to do some research to see if there's anything that might help. After chatting to some sandblasting places nearby that clearly wasn't the right option. So chemical treatments it was. After a lot of digging, and watching way too many YouTube clips about cleaning rusted tools and bolts. I eventually came across two random clips about an Autosol product called Metal Life Saver.
I managed to get some and gave it a bash today. The results were outstanding, the exhaust looks like new. 3 easy applications left for 1-2 minutes per application and the exhaust looks like new. All the water spots and surface rust just wiped away. Definitely one to consider if this happens to your bike.