Seeking advice on replacing or repairing a piece of bodywork on 2003 K1200GT

I put a six-inch horizontal crack in the right (starboard) lower fairing on my orient blue 2003 K1200GT (BMW part #BB46637674132).

I have a standing request with Beemer Boneyard for the piece of bodywork in that color. I've had two people contact me who have the part in the other color made that year (a type of sea green).

One would think the easiest thing to do would be to buy the part and have it painted, but I've been unable to find a bodyshop to do it. I'm assuming because it's such a small low-margin job it's not worth the bother.

1 -- Does anyone know of a place I could send the part to have painted?

2 -- Is that a way of repair the non-weight bearing crack?

Thanks much

Mark Hoffman
Fond du Lac, Wis.
markfreebie@hotmail.com

markfreebie said:

I

1 -- Does anyone know of a place I could send the part to have painted?

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Shipping it both was will be very expensive because of the large box.
You'll need a box approx 44"x32"x10"

Sometimes auto body shops don't like to paint bike parts because of the complex curves and shapes.

I calculated a UPS price without insurance.
For an example I used Iowa to California.
The shipping cost would be $125 each way for a total of $250.

I would fix it structurally myself, maybe a piece of sheet metal epoxied from the back side, even a couple of rivets all the way through. Then wait for a undamaged part, in the correct color to pop up somewhere. I've fixed a lot of faring pieces that way, and sometimes the repair is so un-noticeable I leave it. Depends how important it is too you.

I have had very good success in repairing body parts using an epoxy-aluminum sheet-epoxy sandwich. For epoxy I have used JB Weld as well as other high strength epoxy materials. For aluminum sheet I have used coke or beer cans cut to size (scissors work well). Coke cans are a bit less thick than some beer cans; bud lite cans in the "bottle shape" are thicker than cylindrical beer cans.

I have had motorcycle painters make repairs. Typically they use fibreglass and body putty sanded to yield a smooth surface. I've found that local motorcycle paint shops can easily match the color if they have a sample to work from. Most recently I dropped my 77R100RS and needed to have part of the upper fairing repaired and repainted. It cost me $350, but the part looked brand new. The motorcycle paint shop guy took the sample part to a place with a color scanner that could mix paint in the exact color. I gathered that this is pretty commonplace.

markfreebie said:

I put a six-inch horizontal crack in the right (starboard) lower fairing on my orient blue 2003 K1200GT (BMW part #BB46637674132).

I have a standing request with Beemer Boneyard for the piece of bodywork in that color. I've had two people contact me who have the part in the other color made that year (a type of sea green).

One would think the easiest thing to do would be to buy the part and have it painted, but I've been unable to find a bodyshop to do it. I'm assuming because it's such a small low-margin job it's not worth the bother.

1 -- Does anyone know of a place I could send the part to have painted?

2 -- Is that a way of repair the non-weight bearing crack?

Thanks much

Mark Hoffman
Fond du Lac, Wis.
markfreebie@hotmail.com

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Mark,
Good points made by others about the costs of shipping, and alternative ways to reinforce the broken area from the back. However, is you want to just pull it off the bike, send it away, and get back a "looks like new" repair and paint job I might have someone for you in my area. This guy runs a body shop and does most of the high end bike body and paint work in the area. He has repaired and painted a number of BMW bike body panels for me over the years and it was impossible to tell that they had ever been touched. Bike panels are expensive for what that are because of the prep work and getting a paint match. But, for me, it's been worth it because I had an otherwise sharp bike I wanted to keep looking good. Everyone is different in this respect. If you are interested, PM me and I can get you hooked up with this guy.

No matter which way the OP goes on his part repair/replacement, the very first thing he should do is drill a 1/16” hole just touching the very end of the crack. That will help stop the crack from continuing to extend until it’s a two-piece body panel.

Best,
DeVern

GTRider said:

No matter which way the OP goes on his part repair/replacement, the very first thing he should do is drill a 1/16” hole just touching the very end of the crack. That will help stop the crack from continuing to extend until it’s a two-piece body panel.

Best,
DeVern

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IF he continues to ride this bike, then I would agree (done the same myself), but if he is ready now to get that panel repaired then there would be no need for a hole and it would only complicate the crack repair by some degree.

Plastic welding

markfreebie said:

I put a six-inch horizontal crack in the right (starboard) lower fairing on my orient blue 2003 K1200GT (BMW part #BB46637674132).

I have a standing request with Beemer Boneyard for the piece of bodywork in that color. I've had two people contact me who have the part in the other color made that year (a type of sea green).

One would think the easiest thing to do would be to buy the part and have it painted, but I've been unable to find a bodyshop to do it. I'm assuming because it's such a small low-margin job it's not worth the bother.

1 -- Does anyone know of a place I could send the part to have painted?

2 -- Is that a way of repair the non-weight bearing crack?

Thanks much

Mark Hoffman
Fond du Lac, Wis.
markfreebie@hotmail.com

Click to expand...

Hola Mark!

When I had my '03 K1200RS re-painted a few years ago I needed some minor bodywork done which included repairing a 4" crack in the lower front section of the right body fairing. I shopped around for a paint/body shop that did plastic welding and when I got the part(s) back the fairing was perfect. There are a number of ways to fix a cracked fairing, and they all have their strong points, but in my experience plastic welding is the way to go.

IMO- going with used body parts (which usually need a bit of bodywork/painting) is always a crap-shoot.... in addition to the shipping costs. A fairing needs to be in pretty bad shape to be irreparable, and yours is definitely a prime candidate for repair.

To echo some of the previous comments- if you plan on riding the bike before repairs are made you definitely want to drill a "stopper" hole at the end of the crack.

Cheers,

Viejo

you should be able to find a local place to paint it. instead of big body shops, check with local MC shops to find out who they use. also try any big auto detailing places. some of them have paint booths. i have several automobile plastic parts at a local detailing place right now for paint. they don't do metal accident repair, but they repaint individual parts and panels as part of their business.

If you want to repair it yourself, I've had good luck with PlastiFix. You can find more information here:

https://www.polyvance.com/Repair-Broken-Fairing/

Cheers,
Mark

Drill

A 1/16” hole on the end of the crack will not be large enough to relieve the stress, the crack will continue right through it. Believe me, I’ve seen many too small stop drill holes on aircraft sheet metal, fiberglass and plastic. Boeing calls out for a 1/4” hole in their SRM. If the panel is made from ABS plastic, some fiberglass and the black PVC glue will work, put it on the inside. Nothing else will stick to ABS.

If you want to do it yourself.

If you go to a body shop supply place they have a product that is used for repairing plastic. It comes in a small bag and has kevlar strands mixed in. You just squeeze out what you need ( keep it small as it drys fast ) and add some hardener. Apply it to the backside of the crack. Make sure the crack is stable ( tape the painted side ) and place a small amount of the mixture to 1" up and below the crack, smooth it out the best you can. Before it dries completely, you will want to file the area you have just filled to get it fairly smooth. Once this stuff dries it is incredibly hard to sand or file, so make sure you do some rough filling before it completely dries.

I've used this stuff on several bike restorations and even used it to reapply the small tabs on plastic sidepanels of K bikes, R bike fenders etc. It works really well and is stronger than the original.

If you want to paint it yourself the body shop supply place can put your paint colour in an aerosol container with a hardener. You have about 2 hours to spray in before it hardens in the can. With the above repair you might be able to just use a touch up paint to fill the crack, tape both sides of the crack on the painted side. Then when it sets up you can buff it to blend it in.

If you want a shop to do it, just about anybody that does custom auto body work will fix and paint the cracked piece.

GREGFEELER said:

I might have someone for you in my area. This guy runs a body shop and does most of the high end bike body and paint work in the area. He has repaired and painted a number of BMW bike body panels for me over the years and it was impossible to tell that they had ever been touched.
If you are interested, PM me and I can get you hooked up with this guy.

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This looks like a good solution for the OP.
I would feel better transporting the panel myself instead of worrying about damage in shipping.