Are hard chrome tubes worth the price difference?

My stock tubes on my 85 Low Rider are 30 years old with well over 100K on them and they look fine. My guess is that Harley didn't do hard chrome, or am I wrong?

 

You cannot put decorative chrome on a fork tube...fork tubes are hard chromed and then ground to size. If you took a fork tube to a place that does bumpers, and had it chromed...more than likely it would not fit in the bushing on reassembly. I have seen new tubes sold that say "show chrome" but keep in mind that some the cheaper aftermarket tubes are junk.

 

This is exactly where my question came from.

Sounds like I'm better off just buying from HD so I know what I'm getting.

 

The reason they are ground to size is because chrome doesn't go on evenly, it is out of round due to the electrical currents involved.


And it is proper chrome, like an old tap :-)

 

Yup! That's why yours have lasted this long.