So all the things you read were lies? Or inaccurate? Made up? I find that hard to believe. Most owner reports are positive with only about 25% having problems. Significant but not a death sentence. A friend who works for BMW NA owns the '09 GS too. He agrees its the best yet. You got a good one!

Ewan and Charlie were a huge boon for BMW. Sales went off the charts as a result of the series. If they had taken KTM's they would have had a much easier time in Muddy Mongolia ... but would probably have had more breakdowns. Really, their GS's did quite good, but were just too overloaded for some of the terrain and they were inexperienced riding off road.

They only got screwed by a dumb guy trying to Arc weld on the bike and burning out the computers. NOT the fault of BMW.

Too true. If your ride is all about pleasing your wife ... well, so be it. The GS is a great two up bike, not much competition. The Vstrom DL1000 isn't bad, half the price in the USA (not in Germany as Jap imports are taxed heavily to protect BMW) and more reliable. Not bad for pillion but the GS just pips it. Aprilia Capo Nord: No longer made but good two up, great , motor but not perfect. KTM Adventure: Good bike, bit smaller than GS for two. More fun and capable off road by a long way.
A few more like the Multistrada and Tenere'. I just tested the new Multi S.
Not a two up friendly bike, IMHO. Weird seat, too small.

This is simply a case of inexperienced riders.
No fault of those bikes ... trust me on this. The KTM is superb on tight switchbacks. Better than the GS, IMO. Don't judge your bike against bikes ridden by amateurs.

The bikes I listed above (Vstrom, KTM ADV, Capo Nord) have very little electronic gadgets. No ABS, No traction control, No power mode choices, no electronic Ohlins suspension. BMW has all these things (available as options) Lots to go wrong. I would buy an extended warranty.
Don't know if this is available in Germany. Most friends here buy an additional 4 years. So they get 7 years total cover. Only way to buy a BMW.
This is typical BMW. If you really knew their history ... going back to the 60's you would be rather shocked at the long standing patterns of denial/blame here. This is nothing new. David Robb has tried to turn this around but its still going on.

But in your case ... they may have a point. I'd keep those rusted areas coated with WD40 or other anti-rust product. Try some light steel/Alu wool to take rust off?? Or, take them off, sand them down and repaint them with good rust proof paint?

But you're getting off easy. So far you've avoided the more common failures these bikes can have. ABS fault codes, electrical gremlins, Shaft/bearing/U-joint failure, transmission failure.

Wow! That's quite a shock. Do you have an English language link about that story?? That's first I've heard of these problems.
Maybe Yamaha can go back and take off 20 kgs. and lower the price by $3000 USD too!