V7C Corrosion problem

[drmikenz]

hey guys,

I've had my V7C since June last year and within about 7-10 days of taking delivery, various 'chromed' parts looked like they were showing what i can only describe as corrosion. Mainly around the fuel filler cap, the cylinder heads, 'throttle bodies' and foot pegs. I've polished these numerous times with Autosol but within a week or so they are covered again with this white powdery substance Bikes kept in a garage at night and sees only a bit of wet weather riding. MG dealer is NZ is pretty pathetic but trying to get replacement parts under warranty. Anyone else had similar problems with their V7's ?

 

[Penderic]

I have had my bike for a year and I have lots of fasteners become dull and some rusty. (I live in a very damp winter climate) I have also polished the he11 out of the alloy heads, footpegs, and fuel cap with Autosolve.... so I know exactly what youre talking about!

Here's is the problem with the fasteners - the dull looking ones are plated with zinc or maybe a chromate wash, but not with a high quality chrome plate....Cheap! The first time you touch em with a wrench, they are going to start rusting.

The only solution for dealing with the dull and rusty fasteners is to replace them with a set of polished stainless steel fasteners.

Polish the alloy with Autosolve or SimiChrome, and then protect the alloy surface from the air and elements by a layer of good car wax (best wax is carnuba wax). My gas cap looks good for about 3 or 4 months and needs a light repolish and buff up (2 minutes labour)

The alloy valve covers do take a lot of work to polished up - I got a few dark spots and stains that were very hard to buff out. Too much work actually. So I just had em show chromed a month ago!

I also show chromed my 4 footpeg alloy castings, the alloy fork stem nut and the steel washer under it, and the transmission inspection threaded plugs.

 

[Penderic]

White powder forming on alloy is caused by the aluminum surface 'ph' getting too high or low, usally from exposure to acids or salts and moisture. Wash with neutral ph water - and dont trust what comes out of the tap!

Then protect with wax!

I used to polish my early bikes a lot and got quite good at it. Takes time.

If the alloy surface is rough, I would smooth it out using finer and finer grades of abrasive waterproof paper. Then polish with Autosolve and a lot of rubbing.

I did that with my V7 Classics footpeg alloy castings. They looked shiney from the factory but they have a rough surface that eventually get dingy and dull looking.

Yet to chrome: engine oil drain bolts, axle fasteners and spacers.

 

[Penderic]

B)

 

[Penderic]

Sorry for all the posts....one more thing

.....On the fuel throttle body grey alloy, the service guy at the dealer, told me to try using a car care spray called 'Tire Black' - it is used to make dirty tires (the rubber sidewalls) look clean and new.

I used a 1/2" bush to apply the liquid to the metal, from a empty margerine tub that I sprayed a bit of the stuff into.

Re-applied once so far and still looks ok.

 

[cvcaelen]

My V7c is in it's 3th winter
it's my commuter-bike, so it's been riding salty roads,
there's some rust on some places,
what doesn't get hot is sprayed with WD40: after every wash renew
after the winter the bike gets a thorough clean-up so it's ready for the summer.
I ride my bike more than I clean it

Christiaan

 

[Holt]

Over at the Mild Side, Frederik posted this link.

motorstophelder.nl/anti-corrosie/index.htm

It's in Dutch, but the pictures says it all.
Those wax-based anti-corrosion goos has been used up here for decades, and are unbeatable.
Since the pure thought of driving a motorcycle in the wintertime here is ridiculous, salt and rust isn't a problem. In this very moment all smaller roads are covered in 3 cm pure ice. Before that it was 10 cm of salt-laden snow. And has been since mid-November.
But spring will come. One day....

 

[drmikenz]

thanks for all the advice guys! since your obviously better bike cleaners than me, any tips on getting those chrome wheels clean ?

cheers
M

 

[Holt]

thanks for all the advice guys! since your obviously better bike cleaners than me, any tips on getting those chrome wheels clean ?

cheers
M

Buy a pair of Breva wheels.

 

[Paxo]

I used WD40 sprayed on a rough cloth to get rid of some small spots of rust on my wheel rims, but in the past I've always found polishing with Autosolve regularly after a thorough washing did the job.

 

[sign216]

Over at the Mild Side, Frederik posted this link.

motorstophelder.nl/anti-corrosie/index.htm

It's in Dutch, but the pictures says it all.
Those wax-based anti-corrosion goos has been used up here for decades, and are unbeatable.
Since the pure thought of driving a motorcycle in the wintertime here is ridiculous, salt and rust isn't a problem. In this very moment all smaller roads are covered in 3 cm pure ice. Before that it was 10 cm of salt-laden snow. And has been since mid-November.
But spring will come. One day....

Holt's link is really interesting. For those that don't want to wade through the Dutch, the winning compound was Tectyl Superwax from Valvoline. It sprays on and dries to a wax film. Excellent protection, but it might impede conductance for electrical contacts.
The closest oil based product was ACF50, which was a close second. It's designed to protect aluminum aircraft parts and electronics. WD-40 came in middling.

 

[drmikenz]

thanks guys, i'm going to try some wd-40, autosol and elbow grease!

 

[Charlie J]

Move to Australia.Weve got proper water.

 

[drmikenz]

you know a kiwi could never accept aussie water..

 

[Holt]

Move to Australia.Weve got proper water.

- and a lot of it, as I hear.
Hope your feets are still dry!

 

[sign216]

Looking at my V7C, and I noticed a similar problem. Rust peppering on a mirror stem! It looks like dirt, until you try to wipe it off. Bike is housed in a semi-heated garage, and I avoid rain (don't we all).

The rust looks like the plater didn't do a good job in prepping the piece for plating. It's really aggravating to see the rust come through the chrome.

 

[oldmanjob]

No rust on these mirrors :lol: :lol:

 

[Paxo]

Seems that I've had that problem with every bike I've owned but put it down to flies in body armour.

 

[icenian]

Holt's link is really interesting. For those that don't want to wade through the Dutch, the winning compound was Tectyl Superwax from Valvoline. It sprays on and dries to a wax film. Excellent protection, but it might impede conductance for electrical contacts.
The closest oil based product was ACF50, which was a close second. It's designed to protect aluminum aircraft parts and electronics. WD-40 came in middling.

Interesting that only one product (tectyl) worked better than butter, or vaseline.

This does beg the question, though, who smothers their bikes in butter and vaseline? I mean, if it works, fair enough; but there had to be some guy who was first to find this out. Now just how did that fella come to have a bike covered in butter?

Much be a Dutch thing I guess. It's a very liberal country. I can't imagine that there are many other places in the world where you could disappear into the garage and spend an hour or two with your bike with a few pounds of butter and a large tub of vaseline, without it resulting in unacceptable domestic disharmony.

:unsure:

 

[drmikenz]

Much be a Dutch thing I guess. It's a very liberal country. I can't imagine that there are many other places in the world where you could disappear into the garage and spend an hour or two with your bike with a few pounds of butter and a large tub of vaseline, without it resulting in unacceptable domestic disharmony.

:unsure:

its ok to love your bike, just don't LOVE your bike :mrgreen: