Triumph alloy wheel corrosion

The wheels on my 07 America have got a bit of minor worming on them too, as has the triple tree, risers & fork bottoms. I was under the impression the earlier alloy wheeled modeled Americas had polished & lacquered wheels but the later models were just polished.
If thats the case then yours should polish back up with some wire wool, autosol & polishing wheel on a bench or in the chuck of a power drill. Although you shouldnt have to on a bike as new as yours.

Im more disappointed in the Triumph warranty exclusions, wtf does it actually cover?..... Appalling to say the least.
In general i think the finish of the America & Speedmaster plus possibly other models too is shit. I have considered, a few times now, tidying mine up & fucking it off for something Japanese. Never had issues with the finish on any of my other bikes. This is the first Triumph i have ever owned & will probably be the last! The finish quality & durability is proper cheap shit!

I am toying with paying to get my wheels powder coated, hopefully with a chrome effect finish. i know it probably wont be mirror like finish but its got to be considerably cheaper than actually getting the wheels chromed?

 

What colour you going to coat them mate?

 

I warned all my customers who bought any Triumph from me with alloy wheels. The reason why Triumph doesn't laquer them is because when the did the laquer chipped and corrosion started to set in without the owner realising until it was too late. When you do realise your left with quite a nasty pit where the alloy has desolved. So now they leave them bare and advise the sales person to let the new owner know. I've always said to use autosol and wipe with ACF 50.

 

In this case, Age of bike isn't the issue, its the uncoated Aly that is.
They are said to be bare by many and if this is so, then they are exposed to the elements, bike covers do little if anything to prevent dampness and many would say that they make the problem worse.

When I looked at buying an America recently I looked at a may 2013 which is still is only 7 months old as I write. Bike was/is in a main dealer with 650 miles on it and the wheels were shocking. I resolved then that If I bought one, It would have to have lived in a garage or be brand new. I was lucky, I found one with 800 miles on the clock, 18 months older and used only on dry days in the summer and the wheels are perfect.

Consider the effects of frost carefully with use of a bike cover. Metallic parts that are good heat conductors can easily become covered in frost under a cover. This is particularly true if the air was damp under there before the temperature dropped. Something that is very likely, A water vapour molecule needs a driving force to permeate through a material, it can never all pass through something for the sake of it. It has to have a pressure differential in order to drive it out and this cannot exist in what is essentially an open bag. This frost melts in the morning and the water vapour, even if the cover is supposed to be breathable will begin to corrode your unprotected parts. I worked for years in Automotive design and was a fastener specialist for a large German automotive fixings manufacturer having parts specified to all the worlds automotive manufacturers. I could tell you things about corrosive atmospheres that would bore you to death. I've moved on to much nastier corrosion applications now and I make a living out of just this subject.



If I get a bike dirty, I wash it before I put it away and I stand oscillating fans on the floor in the garage until my bikes are dry. And I won't ride now that the gritters have been out until well after the last of the salt is washed away in the spring. If you ride in winter then never wash it with hot water if its got road salt on it, always use cold water in this case and rinse rinse rinse.

Bottom line is, bare aluminium needs extra protection and or very regular cleaning and drying.

Al