Corroded wheels and bad tyre pressure....

Hi everyone

I noticed recently the pressure was going down too much too quick in my tyres... I frequently check the tyres, no punctures, and the valve stem wasn't leaking as it has done in the past. This leaky tyre pressure is proving to be an ongoing problem especially over the winter months.... Eventually I was topping up the air every week. Anyway I needed a new rear tyre plus the scoot needs a new MOT (Ministry of Transport yearly road worthiness test) so took it in to get done and the mechanics said the bad tyre pressure was due to corrosion inside the wheel, and air was leaking out around the rim as a result. So I had the wheels powder coated....... Apparently that will fix it once and for all as the coating aswell as looking pretty, prevents corrosion....

Am still waiting for the back tyre.... (Michelin Pilot Sport) But in the mean time called in to have a look at the powder coated wheels, and they have done a great job.... The Wheels are stripped, sand blasted, then coated. The coat has a plasticky style finish, and I am assured is super durable.... So hopefully no more crappy tyre pressures for me..... But the wheels were badly corroded, you can see the pitting despite the powder coat. Check out my photos.. Sorry I only have pics of the finished wheel, and from my low res camera phone.

SO TAKE HEED, those of you that are riding through the winter and salted roads.... In the space of just one year, the insides of my wheels managed to deteriorate so much that the air began to leak out between the tyre and the rims. Last winter I had the tyres replaced so got to see the inside of the wheels and they were OK. But now about 10 -11 months later they have really corroded on the inside. The outside wasn't too bad cos I'd painted it with special aluminium paint, but I should have painted the inside too, or better still had them powder coated back then. The mechanics said it is a common problem, and scoots seems to suffer more than bikes. They added it was one of the worst they had seen. Lets hope Honda now fit decent bloody wheels to their new Silver Wings.

I shall be riding through the winter as normal when I get my S'wing back so will let you know how I get on and if the tyre pressures stay good.....

The photos are mostly of the back wheel, as the front wheel has got the tyre on (you can see it in the background of the pic of my wheel-less scoot as she sits all forlorn on the ramp....) Note the pitting on the back wheel!!

Bernardo,

Did I miss the final outcome of this problem? Have you posted photos of the finished wheels somewhere?

Did you miss that Bernardo said he had only "after" photos?

Yes the photos here are indeed the wheels after they were powder coated! Believe me they were in a sad state thanks to all the corrosion from the ravages of winter riding and road salt... Now a few months since then and having seen the last few months of winter the powder coats have lived up to thier expectation, no more frequent tyre pressure issues, no corrosion and much easier to clean. :D

Jon, - yes I did, hence my post. My apologies.

I was most interested in the result of the powder coat relative to the tire pressure issue and did not recall seeing a follow up to that. Glad to see that powder coating resolved that issue.

Was changing the color an option and if so why did you not choose to go that route?

I could have changed the colour... I did think of bright yellow at one time but that may have looked a bit naff, so call me old fashioned, I decided in the end to stick with Silver, It is after all a Silver Silver Wing.....!

The powder coating is amazingly durable...... Where before dirt sticks and starts to corrode, now you can wipe it off with a bit of rag or kitchen towel even.... :D

I'm sure that you know this, but for what it's worth, preparation is what is needed for either powder coating or plating. I had a frame of an old Yamaha 750 powder coated some years ago. The coating shop also did a lot of plating (chrome, nickel, etc.). They told me that the only difference between powder and metal plate as the final product was going to be price since the copper plate was not needed for the powder and the paint was less expensive than the other metals.