Chromed factory wheels ?

[Sonny]

I have been thinking of taking my wheels off and getting them chrome plated.  Seen a few pictures of others, real nice. No more hand rubbing.  Unfortunatly no local shops around here anymore.  Wondering if its worth the money?

Any comments ???

[Strider]

Hard6 has a guy that chromes rims down in Louisiana.  I have a set.  They sure look nice, but you still have to do a lot of cleaning since chrome doesn't like dirt. I have not been religious enough with my cleaning and there are now some pits on the rims - it is my fault for not cleaning them.  Sometimes I would rather ride than clean ya know.

[alph]

I’ve heard of some horror stories of bearing race ways getting screwed up, among other things when people have had their rims chromed.  I’d probably give it more thought.

[R J]

+1 what Warren says......

Brake dust is what ruined my rear wheel.

Now I'm considering have my old wheels Powder coated.

Front wheel on this was powder coated about 7 years ago.

Redid it in this color, if memory serves me correctly it was 4 years ago.

One quick swipe of the rag and it is clean.     Take the leaf blower and dry everything off or take it on a 100 MPH dry cycle.

[Garland]

I am one that had a problem with bearing fitment after chroming. I am going to switch mine back out for polished stock ones next tire change. I eventually fixed the bearing problem but the chrome is looking crappy after ten years.

[Sonny]

Thanks for the comments!  Back in my Harley days had to chrome everything.  There is some pic's of a Red & White Valk on the just pic's page with everything chrome.  Looks very nice.  I do know one thing for sure from my earlier Harley days.( Chrome won't get ya home.)

[robin]

Had my wheels chromed for quite awhile now and have had NO PROBLEMS with them it will be the best thing you ever did as far as cleaning it ain't no big deal go for it you'll love them.

[Sonny]

Robin,

Any pic's ?

[robin]

[Jess Tolbirt]

durining the chroming process you first have to electroplate copper and then nickle...
stop at the nickle and leave the chrome off....just as shiney and no bubbles in the future,,

all of todays oven racks are just nickle,,and most old colts are nickle...

[Brad]

durining the chroming process you first have to electroplate copper and then nickle...
stop at the nickle and leave the chrome off....just as shiney and no bubbles in the future,,

all of todays oven racks are just nickle,,and most old colts are nickle...

The nickel and chrome plating are not the problem.  The copper plating on the aluminum alloy is the problem.  A lot of plating shops have a very hard time preparing the aluminum alloy rims properly so that they do not react with the copper.  Many times the aluminum alloy and copper react with each other causing corrosion between the copper and aluminum alloy.  The copper then lifts from the aluminum alloy and takes the nickel and chrome with it.  That is why many shops only offer a one year warranty on their finishes.  There are some newer processes that do not use copper but in my opinion the finish is not very shiny.

[Jess Tolbirt]

this got me to wondering about that paint process,,,
http://www.alsacorp.com/killercans.htm
check it out,,,

[robin]

Wow you guys think things through to much just chrome the wheel and don't worry it mine has been chromed for 6 years now and no problems if ya like just do it!!!!!!!!!!

[Attic Rat]

I have sent 8 sets of wheels out to be chromed and the only company that I have found that does a good job and doesn't mess up the bearing races is

CLASSIC COMPONENTS, INC.
3420 W. Fordham Ave.
Santa Ana, CA 92704
(888) 327-4189
www.chromeplating.com

[Tundra]

  I love the look of a chromed stock valkyrie wheel, several here in Florida have done this, and several recently. I have heard of more than one, who had the chrome job pit so severely they had to buy new wheels. This pitting and corrossion was found between the wheel and the tire (inside) the bead area. So you can never see it until your tire is broken down for a tire change. If you don't burn thru tires every year and are a low milage rider, you may never see it coming. These were not from poor cleaning habits, to the best of my recall, it was from moisture trapped between the tire and wheel. I don't know if this was cause by or chrome related, or could happen to a stock aluminum wheel as well.
  Anyway, I'd sure hate to see you dump a wad of cash into chromed wheels and have this happen. I am not an expert on this subject, just thought I'd put this out for you to research or poll? Maybe someone else here has heard of this and can shed some light on the issue?

[Garland]

I have sent 8 sets of wheels out to be chromed and the only company that I have found that does a good job and doesn't mess up the bearing races is

CLASSIC COMPONENTS, INC.
3420 W. Fordham Ave.
Santa Ana, CA 92704
(888) 327-4189
www.chromeplating.com

Maybe they are doing a good job now, but that is the company that ruined my races ten years ago.

[Sonny]

Everyone,  thanks for all your input.  As of now both wheels are in near perfect condition. No pits marks or decay. I have seen some great videos posted on doing some home polishing of motorcycle wheels that removes the factory turning marks into a finely polished finish. Video shows end result is nice but looks like a very time consuming process.  Don't know still undecided!

[RedValk]

Sherry and i have had our Rune rims custom painted to match the bikes. When i talked to Honda....they said DO NOT powder coat the rune wheels....because the paint/poxy process they used to coat the wheels to start with...required heating them...and the process to powder coat them subsequently COULD cause the material to be compromised in strength? HEY, I'M JUST REPEATING WHAT THE HONDA ENGINEER SAID ABOUT RUNE WHEELS.....i'm NOT an expert on powder coating or wheels !    However, i AM an ENGINEER...and i can tell you i took classes in Mechanical Engineering on bending, rupture, properties of materials, etc. And i do know heat DOES effect metals, of course...so...what they said MADE SOME SENSE. now, that was for RUNE wheels, and NOT Valk wheels......

So, we painted ours...

Sherry's (not on the bike yet, they are her Christmas present for the bike!). Painted in the same red and a BMW silver to match her red Rune:



Mine....both on and off pics...in black and silver...of course:










They had ample hardener in the paint...and...i waited a couple of months before mounting mine. i'm doing the same on hers now...letting the paint get GOOD and hard. Mine have been mounted over a half a year...and ridden quite a bit. NO scratches or dings in the paint from mounting or riding ....so far! But granted, one does have to be careful changing tires not to scratch that edge where it is painted....

[John Schmidt]

I have sent 8 sets of wheels out to be chromed and the only company that I have found that does a good job and doesn't mess up the bearing races is

CLASSIC COMPONENTS, INC.
3420 W. Fordham Ave.
Santa Ana, CA 92704
(888) 327-4189
www.chromeplating.com

Maybe they are doing a good job now, but that is the company that ruined my races ten years ago.

Yep, did the same thing to my rear wheel, had to send it back and have them fix it. Plus, I had to have them redo the chroming job after the first time. Sent it back immediately, was an absolute mess and the rechrome job wasn't much better. My bike was up on jacks that entire summer...about 3-4 yrs. ago, don't recall exactly. If I had it to do over, I'd either polish/seal them, or paint them and not chrome. Classic was a real pain to deal with, they acted like they were doing me a favor to fix their screw up. And when I told them Helen Keller could have caught the ruined bearing race so their inspections were useless....they got a little defensive. So I asked how they justify sending it out the way it was if they're so exacting. No answer! When I got them back the second time, they included a formal letter to the effect this was all they were going to do for me....take it or leave it. I sent a copy back to the jerk that signed it, and told him I'd be more than glad to show my wheels to anyone that asked, and show the "wonderful" caliber of work....along with the company name. When he "suggested" I had better not do that, I told him to go for it....their work was my best defense.

[Sonny]

I guess that is a chance ya have to take if you going to do it.  Looking back at all the money I spent on my Sportster and 1984 Wide Glide for chrome it realy doesn't seem it's all that it is cracked up to be. Might just do the fine sanding and polishing to give them that (almost) chrome look. Not sure I'm willing to try the clear coat once they are done. If I do and somehow make a mistake getting them back to the condition they are now will be really difficult.