Thread: Corrosion issues and solutions

Originally Posted by korg20000bc

Yesterday I was taking off the front wings of the 2a GS, for the first time ever, and found some rust in the firewall and mudguard. Therse's a nice collection point for mud and crap in the angle bewtween the two. It seems like a bit of a design flaw to me. I reckon a better solution could be sorted out with the steel guard removed and a sheet of rubber, or something, secured. It could make a kind of open flap to let dirt fall out rather than just sit there and do its nasty work.
Also, I found some dissimilar metal corrosion where the front wings attach to the bulk head. I think this could be avoided with a piece of damp course cut to size and place in between or using gaffer tape or bookbinder's tape.

Does anyone have better options or actually used anything?

In the first case, I agree it is a bit of a dirt trap. I think the answer is probably regular cleaning - and it is not hard to remove the inner guard to do this. Also paint the area heavily, possibly with bituminous paint to keep water and mud from contacting the metal.

In the second case, I would use thin self adhesive neoprene foam (Clark Rubber have it) as it conforms to the irregularities and prevents any moisture getting into the joint. Make sure both surfaces are well painted as an additional protection.

John

Somebody here was putting some washers between the guard and firewall to let dird drop out between the 2 more freely. doesn't seem to be a bad isdea to me!

I made new panels between the guard and the firewall on mine - from zinc plated steel. That, combined with regular cleaning, and they haven't rusted in 15 years (I also galvanised the firewall at the same time).

Also, to make removal easier, instead of bolting in at the top, I made the plates clip on to the aluminium bracket at the top.

Some good ideas and options. Using washers as specers is a good simple solution.
Thanks