Shock Corrosion

Yup. And mines only four months old and has only a few miles (<1200). But cats have peed back there too so...I'm not sure if it's the gulf of mexico breezes (live about a mile from it) or the cat urine.

At least I'm not the only one with cat pee problems. :?

Well - I think this is one particuar vulnerability of the Burger, the general standard of frame preservation, weld finish and paint scheme is really cheap and very very nasty. If you have found the problem you have already - take a look under your bike and I bet you have 'orange spot' around the frame welds too. Fortunately or unfortunately depending upon perspective my new lardy is clean and unsalted so far.

Suzukis have never been top of the line when it comes to corrosion resistance. I had four Suzuki motorcycles back in the 80's - they were generally cheaper and faster than much of the competition - but their paint finish and chrome was not as good as Honda's, BMWs, etc.. I think they have improved a lot since then, but I still avoid taking mine out when there is salt on the roads. I'd be willing to bet that the Honda Silverwing is superior to the Burgmans in corrosion resistance. Not sure what I'd expect from the Yamaha Majesty.

I've never understood all of the praise I've heard about Honda fit and finish. I was impressed with the CB400 Super Sport and the Transalp - but that's been it. I guess I had a few too many times when my XR650 wouldn't start and so I jumped onto my much older DT250 to go riding. I eventually traded the XR650 for a slightly older DR650 which always started within 3 kicks.

FWIW: I started out riding a Honda XR50, then I made a big jump to an XR80. Then I bought a Yamaha RD200 - and the Yamaha parts were just made so much better that I didn't buy a Honda for 10 years...

pauljo said:

I'd be willing to bet that the Honda Silverwing is superior to the Burgmans in corrosion resistance.

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Nope, not at all!
I owned a Silverwing previously and it had corrosion problems especially on the frame welds and also on the exhaust support.
Browsing the German SW-forum confirms that corrosion IS actually quite common.
First off I was convinced about the Honda "Superior" product quality. I got off that idea pretty quick after I got my Burgy: glove compartments close at the first attempt, no razor-blade sharp edging of the under-seat storage compartment, no funny noises coming from the body panels, no drive-belt slipping, and so on.
Suzuki did a far better job than Honda! Just my opinion.

I wonder if the big scooters are going to have more of a corrosion problem due to the way that we ride them? I mean, I'll ride mine to work on wetter days than I would a regular motorcycle because I can keep my feet drier. So my Burgman has been exposed to more weather and wet roads than my Bandit 1200 was...

I guess corrosion would be more of an issue on the scooters, mainly because of the inaccessibility of the frame as opposed to a motorcycle. Alot harder to remove salt, dirt, etc. without removing body panels.