I got a set of HD 9 spoke chrome mags put on my 07 RK last October. I put about 700 miles on them until the weather went to heck and had to put my ride on the lift for a few months. When I got her out a couple weeks ago I noticed that the rear wheel is pitted all arount?!? My front wheel is fine and I put S100 corrosion protection on the both wheels in December. Does anyone have thoughts on why this happened and what can be done to correct?

 

Well, even though no one responded I thought I'd provide an update. I got back to the dealer last week and presented my rim. He said he would replace the rim under warantee so I am very happy for that. He did continue to say that they were pitted because I did not wax them enough and water made its way under the chrome and corroded the aluminum. He says that chrome is porous and needs to be kept sealed or water will get in.

I had a set of the same chrome mags on my 05 and they were perfect after 18 months. I keep the mags on this bike as clean/waxed as before. I also have had numerous cars/trucks over the years with chrome bumpers, wheels, etc and neglected them big time with no wash and definately no wax and they never pitted as bad as the rear mag on this bike that is 6 months old and babied. None of the other chrome on my bike is pitted at all

So does anyone have thoughts, is the dealer blowing smoke where the sun don't shine? I'm happy that he will replace it under warantee but I don't like being fed a line

Thanx

 

Maybe a defective wheel.. the front was fine right..

dealer prob blowing too much smoke that day.. least it was covered 100%?

 

NO HE IS NOT blowing smoke, chrome is porous and it will let moisture and corrosionin. That's what chrome polish is for. I would say in your case, most likely something went wrong in the chroming process that allowed it to corrode prematurely. Some aluminum just will not take plating, has to do with outgassing or impurities in the metal and other technical stuff that's too involved to get into here.

 

Thanx fxstcguy98, I will definately be keeping up on the cleaning & waxing. I knew that it is best to keep it clean & waxed, but pitting in less than 6 months could not be right even if I didn't clean & wax the chrome. The dealer is replacing under warantee, so he must agree too.

Thank you both for your responses

 

Chrome wheels are EVIL, but we still love them. I have had two rear wheels pit on me on the same bike. Another bike in the same garage has 6 year old wheels and not a single issue. Go figure!

 

IMO, the dealer is blowing smoke. Good chrome shouldn't rust or pit. The idea of chrome is to be a durable, hard finish, that protects metal and doesn't need babied to keep up. Think about the chrome work that Detroit put on cars, it sat out in the weather all the time and took decades to rust. My 1994 Toyota pickup has chrome bumpers on it. It sits outside all the time, gets rained on, road salt on it and still has shiny bumpers. I've never "waxed" the bumper to seal the pores.

Here's what is causing the pitting on your wheels....First,poor chrome. Second, brake dust....The brake dust is metallic. It sits on the chrome and even the slightest moisture will cause rust. Ever notice rust on your front rotor after a rain? It's not from the rotor rusting, because they are stainless. The rust a stain from the dust.