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[Denial]

Getting a new front tire and the dealer just called me and said the chrome is peeling inside my wheel and that is what is causing my slow leak.
They are going to try to sand it down a bit but I think that is a temporary fix.
Looking for any ideas short of buying a new $750 Thunderstar for my 2001 SERG.

[grc]

Getting a new front tire and the dealer just called me and said the chrome is peeling inside my wheel and that is what is causing my slow leak.
They are going to try to sand it down a bit but I think that is a temporary fix.
Looking for any ideas short of buying a new $750 Thunderstar for my 2001 SERG.

If the plating is peeling in the bead area, I don't know of any quick and easy fix.  Trying to sand and feather the edge of the plating is not likely to work for any length of time.

Rather than buy a new $750 wheel, see if you can find a good plating shop that can strip and replate your existing wheel.  They are harder to find these days, but there still are American companies doing good plating.


Jerry

[Rimjam]

A little smear of RTV silicone fixed my slow leak on the '80 Sturgis wheel. I put a dab on my finger & applied in the bead area after mounting the tire.  Just let it cure before airing. Of course there's always the tube option.......

[gordy]

Did the same as above but used Permatex #4.  Still holding air after 6 months

[FrankD]

I had the same problem with both wheels on my 01 except the outside peeled. This is one reason why I personally dislike HD dealers and Harley. I paid $3k over list. Out of warranty (12 months) that's actually 6 months if you live in New England. I had under 1300 miles but on the odometer and the dealer and Harley did nothing for me.

Basically my fault I never took care of the chrome BS. The bike was showroom condition then and still is today. The bike has never seen rain or salt air. They accused my German Sheperd of pissing on the front wheel but could not come up with an explanation for the rear wheel and a few other parts. I recall the buckhorn bars on my 89 FXSTS doing the same thing. Harley vendors had plating problems back then. I also had a few other parts that did the same thing.

 I had the wheels rechromed. You can sand and prime the area or tube the wheel. I never really got over the treatment Seacoast Harley gave me after purchasing three other motorcycles from them over the years. To this day I will never buy another Harley. They want over list price, but do nothing for you down the road. Maybe their attitude has changed due to the economics. I just recall the Mid 90's to around 2009 they had a take it or leave it attitude.

[spydglide]

Actually, putting a tube into a wheel that's peeling chrome inside might not be the failsafe solution you'd want.  I had some peeling chrome cause a tube to go down flat on a trip.    spyder

[ltank]

I was lucky. I bought a discontinued 19" Thunderstar complete kit on sale 300 bucks from Surdyke. I have dual disk front brakes.
No problems.

[CVODON]

Tubes and peeling chrome do not mix. Alot of the aftermarket 2 and three piece car wheels have a coating of silicone about 1/8" thick, evenly applied from bead to bead. I watched a guy on video do it, he put it on with a paint brush, very sloppy. Prior to doing that he cut a piece of hard cardboard that exactly fit the width and shape of the inner wheel. He took the cardboard and used it like a putty knife to shape the silicone. He stated they let it cure 24 hours and had never had a leak and had done thousands.
Might be worth a try, Cheaper than a new wheel.

[Puzzled]

There's a product called Ride-on. It's a sealant and balancing agent.

Ride-on is commonly used in the big wheels where the Vee rubber tires are notorious for leaking. I use it in my 30" for balancing without any issues. For the New wheel guys it doesn't void the finish warranty as it's water soluble.

[VANAMAL]

Same thing on my 05 seeg. Flat front tire and when we dismounted it the chrome was all peeling. Cleaned it up and its holding air but it needs to be dealt with