BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

Afternoon All:

I have decided to have the valve covers on my R1200R repainted due to two 'get-offs'.

Neither is scratched too badly-but the aesthetics bother me. I will get a set of engine guards to prevent this sort of damage in the future, as I will also order new spark plug covers.

What grade sand paper should I use??

TIA

Chris

Sorry, don't have an R1200R yet, but I do know a bit about painting. Can you post some pictures of the damage you are trying to repair. It makes a difference whether you need to repair the surface from gouging, or just need to scuff it to give the paint some teeth.

Sorry all:

The are some deep scratches and gouging-as magnesium alloys are rather soft.

Regards;

Chris

You won't be able to repair any gouging without removing far too much material. If you are REALLY desperate you might be able to get some body filler (Bondo) to hold in there, but I doubt it.

Anyway, to prep the metal for paint, start with a good wet/dry (usually black) sand paper at about 100grit, use it wet and use lots of water. Work your way up to 600 grit using 150, 200 then 400. Then you can shoot primer, then paint. Do not go without primer. Remember at all times that cleanliness to key to paint. Before your ever start to spray the surface has to be perfectly clean and dry (even fingerprints cause problems).

If you are really looking to do a nice job, and you are as particular as you seem, I sincerely doubt you will be satisfied with what you can turn out by yourself on your first attempt. Try to find a custom paint shop, they could probably do it for less then you expect if you just take them the valve covers..

You really need some of these:









To avoid this:

Can the plastic head cover guards be removed with the new crashbar installled?

I dinged up one of my covers and put these powder coated metal GS guards on. Another option.

icecave wrote:Can the plastic head cover guards be removed with the new crashbar installled?

Yes... everything can be accessed with the bars installed, including the plastic BMW "protector".

What is the cost of the bars? (When the bars cost more than the valve covers.. they don't make a lot of sense..) And what are the chances of breaking an engine casting due to the force on the bar mounting points in an at-speed get-off?

One reason for getting valve cover protection is to keep the covers from getting punctured. This happened in my crash earlier this year. If the cover hadn't broken open I probably could have ridden out of the remote location I was in, but instead I was stranded and had to be towed. I've heard of people carrying plumber's putty with them for this scenario as well.

tobes wrote:One reason for getting valve cover protection is to keep the covers from getting punctured. This happened in my crash earlier this year. If the cover hadn't broken open I probably could have ridden out of the remote location I was in, but instead I was stranded and had to be towed. I've heard of people carrying plumber's putty with them for this scenario as well.

Get a pair of HP2 emergency valve covers - they're a rubber "sock"/"condom" that goes over the head in the event of a punctured valve cover.

riceburner wrote: Get a pair of HP2 emergency valve covers - they're a rubber "sock"/"condom" that goes over the head in the event of a punctured valve cover.

Cool, I didn't know they existed. Now I do. Thanks.