Paint Scrape Damage (Model B / TC Large Scratch Noticed on Both Sides of the Rear Swing Arm) - Anyone Else ..?

[Scott Semone]

I'm posting a picture of two large scratches that I noticed on the same spot, on each side of the rear swing arm of my Model B; they both look to be significant scrapes, where the left side has a metal bur from the frame.

I'm curious if other Model B and or TC owners have anything similar on their bikes? I'm thinking this might have been done during, service, shipping and or transferring of the bike from one dealership location to another; I did install the Wunderlich case protection bars on my bike, I can't imagine that I possible caused such a scrape on the frame.

Any ideas..?

 

[VARG]

No sign of it on mine. Could they be tie-down abrasions, or something related to suspension action in transport?

 

[Gr8adv]

Wow those are crazy big. And nearly the same shape. Not random.

 

[Scott Semone]

Wow those are crazy big. And nearly the same shape. Not random.

I agree, I'm thinking it was the dealership strapping the bike down at some point; either I didn't notice at the time of purchase, or after the first service. Either way - they owe me some touch up paint or something. I had some black touch paint from an Audi that we use to own, I touched it up for now in order to reduce any chance of rust oxidation.

I'll email my dealership and see how they handle this issue; I just want to make sure it wasn't me when I installed the case protection bars.

More to follow...

 

[VARG]

I noticed the start of the same dings after a solo 500~ mile ride on the TC yesterday. This was the first long ride with some light luggage after installing the Case Guards. There were definitely no marks when I started out yesterday and was riding all day. The bike has almost 9,000 uneventful miles on it, and these did occur while riding on roads I've travelled before. Pictures below. Are any other folks with the Case Guards seeing similar? Mine had a small mark on the right but the left had penetrated the paint and started to mar the metal underneath. Thinking a hard rubber bumper pad might be helpful in the interim, and if it is the Case Guards causing this then perhaps a modification is in order? Meanwhile cutting back on luggage and putting tape on it to observe further effects of the situation and further verify cause.

 

[Scott Semone]

I noticed the start of the same dings after a solo 500~ mile ride on the TC yesterday. This was the first long ride with some light luggage after installing the Case Guards. There were definitely no marks when I started out yesterday and was riding all day. The bike has almost 9,000 uneventful miles on it, and these did occur while riding on roads I've travelled before. Pictures below. Are any other folks with the Case Guards seeing similar? Mine had a small mark on the right but the left had penetrated the paint and started to mar the metal underneath. Thinking a hard rubber bumper pad might be helpful in the interim, and if it is the Case Guards causing this then perhaps a modification is in order? Meanwhile cutting back on luggage and putting tape on it to observe further effects of the situation and further verify cause.

View attachment 7033


View attachment 7034

I did reach out to Wunderlich about what I observed; I sent the protection bars back to Wunderlich, USA and they are reviewing with their Engineering folks. I'll follow-up tomorrow (Monday).

 

[VARG]

I did reach out to Wunderlich about what I observed; I sent the protection bars back to Wunderlich, USA and they are reviewing with their Engineering folks. I'll follow-up tomorrow (Monday).

Appreciate the update, Scott! Upon further examination I arrived at the conclusion I must also remove them to rectify the problem and return suspension to optimum travel. I'll wait to contact Wunderlich until you have a chance to see how they would like to manage the situation. It seems the issue occurs when suspension is under a heaver load, I expect riding at highway speeds generated enough travel for mine to make a sort of shearing contact. I do see that it appears the mark is more pronounced on the left side on both Thanks again ~ Dave

Update: removed the Wunderlich bars until a solution is available.

Update: I filled out contact form on the website. Reply indicated an investigation was in progress and would advise further asap.

 

[Deserteagle]

The same problem happened to me too. : (
Seeing the same case being observed on the forum. The Wunderrich Case Guard must have been the cause of the problem.

I was able to find scars that didn't exist on my bike as well.
The same pattern on both sides. -_-;;;

When the rear suspension analyzes the road surface and moves,
it can be estimated that interference occurs in some part of the guard when it moves. (This is my guess.)

If the Wunderrich product is the cause. The manufacturer will be held responsible.
It seems that users who have already experienced the same symptoms have reported it.
Please share the producer's answer and situation.

 

[Scott Semone]

I did reach out to Wunderlich earlier today, in order to check in on my protection bar issue status; they haven't heard anything back from Germany as of yet.

I did speak with a Wunderlich representative (Casey Hewett), who was extremely helpful during my initial observation; without hesitation, he approved an RMA for me to return the protection bars and sent me a UPS label via e-mail.

There wasn't any issues with a full refund or full credit in doing a return; I decided to apply the credit towards the J-&-H exhaust until Wunderlich Engineering folks (Germany) get an opportunity to look at my protection bar's fabricated dimensions vs their design dimensions. Wunderlich may need to modify their design, perhaps the EUR frame is slightly different from the US frame?

Attached is what I sent to Wunderlich at my initial observation:

 

[Deserteagle]

If there is any precedent for this kind of problem

I want to know how the aftermarket parts maker responded.
It's certainly not fatal, but it's true that damage was done to expensive riders' assets.

I think that manufacturers should give common-sense rewards in order to give customers trust.
(Re-installation labor, replacement for improved products, compensation for damaged genuine parts)

I am a Korean user, and I would like to ask you to report the same case of others, including myself, to Wunderrich once more.

 

[Scott Semone]

I didn't want to jump to any conclusions until I did some additional spot checks; I wasn't sure if I perhaps installed something incorrectly, or if it was an isolated one-off manufacturing error related to the set of protection bars that I recently received. Originally, I thought it was a mark from being strapped during service or during transport; it wasn't actually clear to me until I noticed the freshly scuffed paint the next day, after making repairs to the previously scuffed area.

I can say that the Wunderlich folks jumped on it immediately in asking me to send them back for further review; I imagine they needed to be shipped back to Germany in order to be further analyzed. I'm sure Wunderlich will stand behind their product and make it right, they seem very easy to work with; it's the hurdle of getting the product back to Germany in order to understand the problem.

I did forward the issue earlier this afternoon, mentioned I saw another R18 owner with what, looked like the exact problem that I documented; it might be worth taking some pictures and sending them a note through their website.

 

[Scott Semone]

I didn't want to jump to any conclusions until I did some additional spot checks; I wasn't sure if I perhaps installed something incorrectly, or if it was an isolated one-off manufacturing error related to the set of protection bars that I recently received. Originally, I thought it was a mark from being strapped during service or during transport; it wasn't actually clear to me until I noticed the freshly scuffed paint the next day, after making repairs to the previously scuffed area.

I can say that the Wunderlich folks jumped on it immediately in asking me to send them back for further review; I imagine they needed to be shipped back to Germany in order to be further analyzed. I'm sure Wunderlich will stand behind their product and make it right, they seem very easy to work with; it's the hurdle of getting the product back to Germany in order to understand the problem.

I did forward the issue earlier this afternoon, mentioned I saw another R18 owner with what, looked like the exact problem that I documented; it might be worth taking some pictures and sending them a note through their website.

Attached can be used as a guide in order to check for the issue on our R18 community bikes; hopefully, it is limited to a small manufacturing run and not widely spread and can be easily corrected:

 

[Vyk]

I have the exact same issue. And when I ran my finger on the round flat part of the protection bars I found scrapped paint pieces on both sides.

 

[VARG]

The B/TC bag protection bars appear to have been removed from the Wunderlich website. This would seem to indicate they have fully embraced the issue and I'd expect further information about the solution, or future of the product won't be long in coming now.

 

[Scott Semone]

The Wunderlich folks strike me as a company that will stand behind their products; hopefully this will be corrected at no cost to their R18 customers. For now, remain patient and provide as much useful information as possible in order for the Wunderlich folks to work through the problem and get an idea of how far it extends.

Has anyone installed these outside of the TC & B models; I saw a couple of threads where folks were toying with the idea of protecting soft cases on the classic models with the Wunderlich product?

 

[Vyk]

This morning I submitted a technical support request regarding the issue through their website.
I received a very prompt phone call from them.

First, as someone mentioned above, they told me they took these bars off of the website.
Also, Wunderlich Germany is working on updates to these. The black ones are easier to modify so they will be ready first. They are trying to work it out all the customers. Main factors will be how long it'll take to produce these modified versions and how fast they'll ship them to the US.
I was also told that this problem wasn't really happening in Germany but in the US.
I asked about whether I should take the bars off of my bike. They told that all the damage that could be done has already been done so if I wanted to, I can continue riding the bike with the bars installed.

I've had two bikes fully decked out in Wunderlich gear, prior to this bike, to the point where my friend joked to me that whenever I get a new bike, I should just write YES on the catalogue and sent it to Wunderlich lol. Their stuff always hold up very well. This is the first time I'm having any sort of issue with their product but that call made me hopeful that Wunderlich will make it right.

 

[Deserteagle]

Anyone else having the same problem, any progress?

Reported on this issue. Wunderrich replied that they could send in a new case guard.

Unfortunately. I live in Korea, so I can't ship directly from Germany, and I added an opinion to communicate with the dealer in Korea where I bought it.
The damaged part is obviously not a serious problem in terms of safety and functionality, but it is a permanent damage caused by this product.

It seems that a realistic compromise will have to be made with Wunderlich regarding compensation.

 

[Scott Semone]

I think you have enough supporting information from this thread, in order to have Wunderlich replace your protection bars, or credit you back.

I personally touched up the scrape with a touch up paint pen and then applied some clear coat; I'll keep an eye on it.

 

[Deleted member 1344]

Wow, after seeing those pics I now know where to look. Will check again tonight to see if damage has occurred. I am hoping to find none. This is serious in that we can't have frame damage to the swing arm.

 

[Deleted member 1344]

Okay, I found the same problem!
On the right side the scrape is a small circle about 2 to 3 mm in diameter. The scrape is surface paint only.
It appears the inside bubble weld on the Wunderlich bars could be filed down with a short bastard file just enough to give clearance. Not sure if I should do this or not. If not the bars have to come back off.

On the left side the scrape is longer. It is very gradual at first but shows signs of slight dig. Tomorrow I plan to remove the left side panel, take a peek from underneath with a mirror on a stick and then file that bubble weld down just a tad to provide clearance. There is no damage thus far except for paint (I need to repaint).

Keep us updated Scott on anything you learn.