I finished from work the other night to find a small puddle of oil under neath my RR6 thou. It was pitch black so I could only see a drip on the bottom of the sump bolt so I checked the oil and all was fine so rode home.

By the time I got home it was daylight so I cleaned up the oily area with some degreaser and removed the r/hand belly pan to investigate further.

This is what I found.....

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj227/fastbikefinder/DSC00134c.jpg

and...

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj227/fastbikefinder/DSC00135.jpg

I am so shocked. The salt has eaten through the coating on the alloy sump, and then eaten the alloy aswell, so much so that it has gone all the way through and started leaking oil.

Where you can see it's eaten away around the sump bolt boss it is actually loose gooey metal that is nearly soft to touch!!

The bike is kept very very clean, and protected with ACF50 etc. I changed from Suzuki's due to salt rot not expecting my precious Honda to suffer but she has and I'm devastated.

The bike ran out of warranty last june but I've managed to initially claim an 'expired warranty' claim.

Honda were going to fix it, but are now messing me around, stating that their warranty does not cover corrosion, which contradicts the warranty book as that says that parts of faulty manufacture will be replaced.

I am now having to build a collection of photos of RR6 and RR7 sumps


So please if you have an RR6, or RR7 that you use all year round like me then check your sump for the pitting signs of corrosion before it ends up like this.


Please can anyone at all email me photos of their RR6 / RR7 sumps with mileages so I can compare and build my case???

I so far have 3 other sample bikes, all with pitting, or first signs of corrosion on the sump....one of them is an RR7 with only 700 miles on it.

I would really appreciate any help at all.

Thanks everyone in advance!

Simon

It will really help if I can get photos from people with RR4/5/6/ and RR7's, of their sumps in any condition, with their mileages so I can build my case for Honda uk

Some people have asked me to take pictures from a distance so they can see what part of the bike I mean, so here goes....



Ok, heres some distance pictures, from underneath and also from the side via the oil filter...

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj227/fastbikefinder/bladesumpdistance.jpg


http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj227/fastbikefinder/bladesumpdistance2.jpg


If anyone has an RR6 or RR7, or even RR4 or 5 please please email pictures of the same areas with close ups with your mileage too, it will be really really appreciated, no matter what condition your bike is in, thanks

And here are some pictures of an '08 registered RR7 with only 700 odd miles.....Part of my evidence building towards Honda UK

Also shocking!!!


http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj227/fastbikefinder/urban3.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj227/fastbikefinder/urban5.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj227/fastbikefinder/urban6.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj227/fastbikefinder/urban7.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj227/fastbikefinder/urban8.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj227/fastbikefinder/urban9.jpg

Looks all too familiar for my liking!!

oh my god.......

Now upto 9 cases!!!!!

Just heard from four other owners tonight - not good results, they are all suffering from corrosion on the bottom leading edge of the sump below the drain bolt.

6th case RR6, 14k - Dry use only!!!!
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s238/thacks1/IMG_0540.jpg
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s238/thacks1/IMG_0539.jpg

7th, RR6, 13.5k, dry use only!!!
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b82/nuttytart_abdn/Picture001-1.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b82/nuttytart_abdn/Picture002.jpg

8th, RR6 - 8k miles, dry use only
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j213/dazzajones/Sump002.jpg
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j213/dazzajones/Sump004.jpg

9th - on an RR4
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f5/Mustrun/IMG_1612.jpg

I have advised all owners not to use their bikes in the rain at all.

It's a Honda epidemic!

Here's case no.12

RR7 - 12,000 miles

The bike isn't very old!

http://www.servimg.com/image_preview.php?i=8&u=12651685

I am also going to 2 dealers in the morning, with camera to take photos of 2nd hand stock Blades.

Then when thay ask what I'm doing I'll tell them the problems with the sumps and then once they know , because I've told them, they wont be able to sell any bikes that I find with the problem for the full retail price without having to legally tell the potential buyer of the problem.

They'll have to take losses on the bikes to get rid of them, telling the buyer about the problems.

Can anyone else do the same at dealers near them??

Take photos, and record mileages of sale bikes, then tell the dealer the problem.

At the end of the day - If the dealers cant sell the bloody things for what they want becuase they will have to drop the price - or spend hunders them selves fixing them before sale then this may work to our advantage!

I have had an interesting email from a Metallurgy company today, I've cut and pasted it below,

It is from a Company called TWI in Cambridgeshrie, http://www.twi.co.uk (http://www.twi.co.uk/)

RE: Corrosion in motorcycle sump

AddThursday, 19 February, 2009 16:49:03
To:fastbikefinder@yahoo.co.uk
Cc:Peter Oakley

Dear Simon,

Thank you for your e-mail regarding galvanic corrosion in your
motorcycle sump. It is not possible to make a judgement on whether this
is the cause of the failure from the photographs. We would only be able
to provide an expert opinion following examination of the original
failed samples and by analysis of the materials involved. However, this
is likely to run to several thousand pounds in time and analysis costs.

Even without knowing the exact failure mechanism, a product of this type
should not fail within the time period that you indicate,
and we would suggest that
you approach Honda from a non-technical point of view making that point.
I hope that this helps and wish you success in your claim.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best regards,
Ian Froment,
Section Manager, Membership Development
TWI Corporate Development

Tel: +44 1223 899000
Fax: +44 1223 892588


TWI Ltd.
Granta Park
Great Abington
Cambridgeshire
CB21 6AL
http://www.twi.co.uk (http://www.twi.co.uk/)

I have also spoken to Ken Corbo - of www.metallurgicalservicesinternational.c om (http://www.metallurgicalservicesinternational.c om/) in America, who has been very helpful.

I've been trying to find a metallurgist who will state in an email the the sump in the photos have suffered from galvanic corrosion, but unfortunaltey they are to clever and wont without first hand analysis.

He gave me the following - very helpful links which I hadn't come across over here and they seem to be quite specialist sites.



http://corrosion.ksc.nasa.gov/galcorr.htm



http://www.engineersedge.com/galvanic_capatability.htm

Honda's letter states sorry and blah etc, then, but we do not cover corrosion under warranty.

NOWHERE IN THE WARRANTY BOOK DOES IT SAY HONDA DO NOT COVER CORROSION - THERE IS A MENTION ON PAGE 13 WHICH DOESN'T SAY CORROSION BUT:

QUOTE P13, LAST PARAGRAPH EXACTLY:

'Any damage that results from the passage of time (natural fading or painted surfaces, plated surfaces and other deterioration)'

The sump is not a plated surface! and I do not consider 2.5 years with 15,600 miles a passage of time.

If the bike was over 10 years old then I may feel differently.

To everyone out there - Take a look at page 12 of the warranty book.

To quote last paragraph on page 12 exactly:

'In the event of a suspected manufacturing or material defect occuring after the expiry of the warranty period, please bring it to the attention of your Honda dealer who will , together with Honda, give it full consideration in accordance with our normal warranty conditions as listed'

For Honda to turn out and write to me telling me they do not cover corrosion under warranty is somewhat inacruate compared to the Honda published warranty books that are given with the bike.

The problem with the sumps is down to dissimilar metals in the galvanic series being used.

It is a manufactuiring fault, and a safety issue

The above is very vague, but as the Daily Express solicitor from another warranty issue with Aprillia, and the Metallurgist from Cambridgeshire to me have both said, and we all know - A problem of this type should not fail within this short period of time.

If they start seeing a lot of people with the problem trying to claim then that will surely help the cause?