Melted Fairing

[mg5]

Has anyone had their fairing melt and/or had the paint bubble? If you have, was anyone able to diagnose what happened?  

 

Here is the back story...

 

In 25 years of owner an R1100RT I have unfortunately sat in traffic too many times to count.  I mention this because in those situations, the bike temperature has risen quite high for extended periods of time (but never in the red zone).  The fairing has never exhibited any damage at these times. 

 

I recently was changing my oil.  I placed the bike on the center stand, ran the engine for 5 minutes and then turned it off.  As I was starting to remove the plug I noticed that the fairing had literally melted.  Paint had bubbled and the plastic had separated.  The entire fairing side sections, motor spoiler and connecting pieces all we extensively damaged.

 

I am totally perplexed by this happenstance.  I did speak with BMW Motorrad USA asking about the issue and if at any time there had been any recalls for such a problem (none they could find)  and testing the water for "goodwill" with replacing the parts.  They have not said "no" as of yet on the parts however have hinted that after 25 years, it is most unlikely.

 

Any insights would be great. 

 

 

[dirtrider]

2 hours ago, mg5 said:

Has anyone had their fairing melt and/or had the paint bubble? If you have, was anyone able to diagnose what happened?  

 

Here is the back story...

 

In 25 years of owner an R1100RT I have unfortunately sat in traffic too many times to count.  I mention this because in those situations, the bike temperature has risen quite high for extended periods of time (but never in the red zone).  The fairing has never exhibited any damage at these times. 

 

I recently was changing my oil.  I placed the bike on the center stand, ran the engine for 5 minutes and then turned it off.  As I was starting to remove the plug I noticed that the fairing had literally melted.  Paint had bubbled and the plastic had separated.  The entire fairing side sections, motor spoiler and connecting pieces all we extensively damaged.

 

I am totally perplexed by this happenstance.  I did speak with BMW Motorrad USA asking about the issue and if at any time there had been any recalls for such a problem (none they could find)  and testing the water for "goodwill" with replacing the parts.  They have not said "no" as of yet on the parts however have hinted that after 25 years, it is most unlikely.

 

Any insights would be great. 

Evening mg5

 

 A LOT or 1100 riders have had that happen.

 

That happens when the engine is run for a long time at a faster idle with motorcycle not moving to get air flow (cooling) above the exhaust pipes.

 

Manual warns of no pre-ride warmup as the possibility that the choke (fast idle lever) might be engaged & that faster idle will quickly ruin the plastics above the exhaust pipes.  

 

If you are going to run it in neutral sitting still for very long you need to place a fan in front of the motorcycle to blow cooling air over the engine & exhaust.  

 

Was your idle RPM elevated? Even a little bit?

 

Those front pipes turn glowing dull red pretty quickly if the idle RPM is very high with no air blowing on them.

 

If you removed the CCP from the fuse box that usually raises the idle RPM a little & richens the idle a bit. (that makes more exhaust heat)

 

 

 

 

[MT Wallet]

I did the same thing and got the same result but to a lesser extent. I caught it sooner. I was just lucky.

[mg5]

The engine was running for only 5 minutes.  And, as I mentioned, I have been caught in traffic for more than 15+ minutes multiple times where the gauge was getting close to red and this never happened.  But it is the short duration of having the engine running and it still got so hot to extensively damage the fairing that is so perplexing.

[dirtrider]

12 hours ago, mg5 said:

The engine was running for only 5 minutes.  And, as I mentioned, I have been caught in traffic for more than 15+ minutes multiple times where the gauge was getting close to red and this never happened.  But it is the short duration of having the engine running and it still got so hot to extensively damage the fairing that is so perplexing.

Morning  mg5

 

My guess is the choke was on, or partially on (or at least the idle RPM was higher).  It only takes a few minutes to bubble the plastics with the engine idling high at a standstill.   

 

If you rode that motorcycle all those years with no plastic damage then there was nothing wrong with the motorcycle until it was well out of warranty so if by chance you didn't have the choke on during that 5 minute run-in-place then check your idle RPM, & make sure that isn't higher than specs, also, make sure that your engine is not over-fueling at idle. (is the CPP still in place & still stock?) 

 

I presume that you don't have an add-on fueling spoofer that changes engine fueling?

 

 

 

 

[Hosstage]

Idling an air cooled engine for 5 minutes without external fans blowing on it to keep it cool is not a great idea, even if the motor is running as perfectly as can be. I don't even like to leave mine idling for much more than a minute when riding in below freezing temperatures.

When stuck in traffic, we do what we can. Sometimes (though rare) that means pulling over and letting it cool off for a spell. You seem to have been lucky that it didn't melt in the past when stuck in traffic, this time it wasn't as happy.

I'm pretty sure you can count out a warranty or recall repair after 25 years.

[Mike279]

My 04RT came to me with the shark fins in rough shape and some fairing and lower cover damage.  Used like new fins in black found for 30 bucks. Some metal heat resistant tape free leftover.  Knowledge to not fast idle ever stopped, priceless.