I posted this problem over at the Merkans' site but thought it might be of interest here. For various reasons (weather, illness, guests) I've not used the bike (2013 America) for a couple of weeks and it's been sitting outside under a waterproof cover. Uncovered it yesterday and was horrified by the state of the wheels. How the hell did it get that corroded in 2 weeks? They were nicely polished only 14 days ago. My planned ride turned out to be 2 hours of unsuccessfully trying to rescue the wheels. It seems that Triumph dealers should be warning new owners that the wheels must be cleaned and oiled regularly as Triumph won't entertain any warranty claims on them. Here's the disclaimer on the Triumph website 11. Other items excluded from warranty are seats, luggage, paint, chrome, polished aluminium items, or trim deterioration caused by normal wear and tear, exposure or lack of correct maintenance. - See more at: http://www.triumphmotorcycles.co.uk/...and-conditions My Citroen has cast wheels and has been sitting on my drive for 6 years, has rarely been cleaned, has done 60,000 miles and nary a sign of oxidation or corrosion. My NEW bike has been sitting on my drive for 3 months, been cleaned and polished every couple of weeks and the wheels look like shit. WTF can't Triumph get it right? I'm currently lining up some powder coating but really shouldn't need to.
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?
Yes, I was told that at some point they stopped coating them as they were getting too many warranty claims Unfortunately, no amount of Solvol will get rid of the corrosion marks. I tried special alloy wheel cleaner, Solvol and even a pressure washer and although they appear shiny from a distance you've only got to get up close to see the damage. I could maybe try power tools but I really shouldn't have to. Two weeks of "neglect" and shit weather. Fucking disgraceful and it appears there is nothing I can do about it. You're right, what does Triumph's warranty actually cover? I've never had the issue with previous bikes either. Even my Guzzis weren't as bad. Powder coating for me too.
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
That's pretty much what my dealer says about Triumph and lacquer. The problem is that if the owner isn't warned (I wasn't) then corrosion sets in very quickly anyway and mine will not polish out. I'm the first to admit I'm not keen on cleaning bikes but I've never seen anything like it in 40 years of riding bikes and in this case I had actually cleaned and polished the bike before it went under cover. In response to Al, I must admit I'd like a garage but I doubt I'd clean the bike after every ride even if I did have one! My bikes would get an ACF50 treatment around now and I wouldn't touch them until the spring except to clean/lube chains and stuff like tyre pressures and considering they lived outside corrosion wasn't really an issue before. I'm not sure I'd have been so keen on the bike if I'd have known the alloy was untreated. Nonetheless, I think I'll end up with some smart powder coated wheels!
