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[GregMan]

Hey all,

Sad day today.... took my FLSTFSE2 into the dealer to replace the rear tire.... waiting in the coffee shop... get paged.... go see the manager.... he says "I have something to show you".... I say "No one likes the sound of that"

Turns out, the tech when he was removing my wheel weights removed the chrome on my rim as well.  My bikes are mint.... never see rain let alone snow or salt.  The chrome always clean and pristine.  They used a plastic pry tool that was about an inch in width and looked like it was well used and lost its edge so it could not cut the adhesive.

Anyhow.... Anyone had this happen to them?  Any advice on how to deal with them.... I was getting nowhere... They comp'd me the balancing and install, but this is a $1400 rim I am going to replace because it looks like crap now and I am not feeling the love!!!!!  Nor is my wallet.

I am going to burn one and drink some tequila!!!!!  Cheers,

[Fired00d]

Peeling chrome is not something new (for MoCo chrome).... the fact that it happened while they were working on the bike they (dealership) should take care of the damage (IE: replace the wheel). They could replace it under the "good faith warranty" that all dealers are allowed... what this is, is $$$ that is giving/allowed from the MoCo to take care of customers that are no longer under factory warranty. I would go back and talk to the dealership owner, give him the opportunity to correct the situation and if he/she doesn't contact the MoCo Customer Service directly... explain your situation and see if the can contact the dealership on your behalf to get it resolved... if all that fails register a complaint against the dealership (with the MoCo) and also w/your local Better Business Bureau. Good luck with getting this resolved.

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 

[jethro_3(deceased)]

And if you get no where politely remind him that any ding on those service reviews hurts their bottom line.   

[grc]

Actually, in this case I don't see any liability for the dealership.  It's not their fault Harley gets their aluminum parts plated by people who don't know how to properly plate aluminum.  This is what happens when bean counting management overrules the engineering folks and gives the contract to the lowest bidder who doesn't meet all the technical and process specifications.  The bond of the chrome to the wheel should be many times stronger than the adhesive weight's bond to the chrome plating.  Obviously in this case it was not.  And odds are if testing was performed on other locations on that same wheel, you would find more plating failures.

Btw, Harley has a history of failures with various chrome plated aluminum parts.  It's not just wheels, but also mirrors, footboards, and anything else made of aluminum.  They usually try to BS any customers who complain, blaming the pitting or peeling on the environment or where the owner stores his bike or anything they can dream up other than p-poor part quality. 

Before I'd pay Harley one red cent toward a new wheel, I'd check with some of the aluminum wheel repair and replating shops.  If the wheel is in otherwise good condition, I'd bet you could have it repaired for a third of what Harley wants for a new one.  I know there are some guys on this site who have had their wheels replated, since we've had these discussions many times in the past.

Jerry

[Unbalanced]

The fund that was mentioned by fired00d that they have for use at their discretion for customers outside of warranty,  I believe is referred to as a coupe fund.   I would try this route first.   

If you look into the route of having the wheel re-chromed.   Space Coast did our 04 and the chrome is fantastic.   They have also done 4 sets of front legs/cow bells for us as well as many other parts.   The wheel was $600.00.  triple nickel plated.

http://spacecoast-plating.com/steel-plating-melbourne
Telephone:  321-254-2880

Address:

Spacecoast Plating
 975 Aurora Rd.
 Melbourne, FL 32935

Email:
info@spacecoast-plating.com



[RonandJanet]

Man this sucks! I can imagine how you feel. I hope the dealer helps some even if they don't cover all of it. I see the point that this is a manufacturing issue not the dealer issue (same thing would have happened if you had gone to someone else). If you bought the wheels from the same dealer I think should drive even more credence for the dealer to fix this for you. I hope this works out good for you.

[dayne66]

Reminds me of Goldilocks......this one is not on secure enough(fender dents).....this one in on too well......I guess mine was on just right.

Maybe some dental floss and Goof Off would be better than prying it off?

[grc]

Reminds me of Goldilocks......this one is not on secure enough(fender dents).....this one in on too well......I guess mine was on just right.

Maybe some dental floss and Goof Off would be better than prying it off?

It might have postponed the inevitable, but if the plating job had been good you could have grabbed the weight with a pair of pliers and pulled it straight up without pulling the plating with it.  Using a plastic pry tool, like the ones called spudgers used by electronics folks to take cases apart, is perfectly acceptable for this job as well as prying up nameplates and moldings and anything else where you want to protect the surface so a flat blade screwdriver wouldn't be a good idea.  I've got a large one and a small one that I use for all sorts of things.  And with wheel weights, the adhesive tape usually separates anyway, with part staying on the weight and part staying on the rim.  That plating had to be pretty weak to come off the way it did.

Jerry

[Keats]

I agree with Jerry on this one.

If the dealer had done something irresponsible is one thing, but how can a dealer accept these costs for taking reasonable care removing a wheel weight?

Not the dealers fault or liability.

Had they used a chisel is a different story.

Should they have to warn everyone that removing a wheel weight might have this result, and do you feel any better with the warning?

It sucks because it is not your fault either.

chit happens

[mark]

X2 on poor chrome plated aluminum by the MoCo.  I've had two CVOs and both had peeling chrome on aluminum parts.

[CVODON]

Not the dealers or tech who completed the jobs fault. Also not, in this case, Harleys fault. No matter who does it, Chrome even in 2015 sometimes looses it bond with alloy parts. Just the way it is. No need to bad mouth HD or the dealer in this case. I would have the wheel rechromed by a quality shop, but it will be hard to find one with an unlimited warranty.

[Mount'nman]

Use Balance Beads...  Weights not needed.

[moscooter]

Actually, in this case I don't see any liability for the dealership.  It's not their fault Harley gets their aluminum parts plated by people who don't know how to properly plate aluminum.  This is what happens when bean counting management overrules the engineering folks and gives the contract to the lowest bidder who doesn't meet all the technical and process specifications.  The bond of the chrome to the wheel should be many times stronger than the adhesive weight's bond to the chrome plating.  Obviously in this case it was not.  And odds are if testing was performed on other locations on that same wheel, you would find more plating failures.

Btw, Harley has a history of failures with various chrome plated aluminum parts.  It's not just wheels, but also mirrors, footboards, and anything else made of aluminum.  They usually try to BS any customers who complain, blaming the pitting










or peeling on the environment or where the owner stores his bike or anything they can dream up other than p-poor part quality. 

Before I'd pay Harley one red cent toward a new wheel, I'd check with some of the aluminum wheel repair and replating shops.  If the wheel is in otherwise good condition, I'd bet you could have it repaired for a third of what Harley wants for a new one.  I know there are some guys on this site who have had their wheels replated, since we've had these discussions many times in the past.

Jerry

 
Jerry,  I did a quick search and could not find the "commercial" from Harley that I seem to recall from last two or three years.  But it was one where they were bragging up their (Harleys) new "in house" chroming facility.

In other words,   if that is indeed the fact,  it's not some cheap (outsourcing) to the lowest bidder/vendor for the chromed stuff,  it it their own work.

I totally agree that the chrome out there now on HDs the last few years is in no way as good in quality as it was back in the early 90's..............

[grc]

The bike he's talking about is a 2006 model though, so I don't think that recent story about them moving it in-house would apply.  And even if they did move it in-house, considering how poorly they do other things in-house, I don't know if that would necessarily be a good thing.

Aluminum is harder to plate than steel, but that is no excuse if the process is designed correctly and followed meticulously.  Those two things don't seem to be Harley strong suits, if you know what I mean.

Jerry