Yesterday, when washing my '09 Street Bob, I noticed the black paint was starting to flake off the front wheel.





Anyone else notice this problem?

It looks like the rust is just starting to form.

This is the original front tire (with 7,000 miles on it). Therefore there is no chance that the wheel rim was damaged while installing a new tire.

 

looks like scratches to me not flaking? it should be powder... have you spoke to HD about it?

 

I have seen that before. It just starts lifting off due to corrosion underneath the powder. We have had issues with HD rims here on the coast due to the salty air.

 

the way the paint is cracking and lifting its pretty clear its coming up from the steel - i'd agree w/ above that there must've been rust forming under the paint (rather than the paint failed and then the rust started)

def take it to a dealer and get it replaced (hopefully)

 

You have got to be kidding, these rims are not powder coated? Definitely a warranty issue!
CB

 

they should all be coated, if it is lifting it is from crap powder... to be hoenst they prob just coated right ove the chrome... and that is why you do not do that! hope you get it fixed bud

 

I had Blackbike wheels build me a set of wheels and they use their in house bare rims and powder or chrome them to order. The price was right and the work is second to none. Plenty of Reputable builders use them and have been featured on many writeups in all the top mags. If you send them your wheel to relace with whatever size powdered rim you wanted,spokes and labor would probably be around 450 bux. You could have them do you up a 21 incher.

 

This is original stock 2009 Harley Davidson Street Bob that I purchased new in August 2009. The wheel (and tire) are original stock. As I mentioned, 7,000 miles on that front wheel.

There is no evidence of scratching or contact with anything that might have damaged the paint or coating, whichever. It looks like powder coating since it is very thick.

It looks like the raw steel surface of the rim wasn't prepped right. Maybe some grease or oil that didn't get removed before they applied the paint or powder coating. I didn't break off the flap of black coating, but it is obvious the unbonding goes back at least 1/4". I'm sure it would break off if I used the car wash sponge on the front wheel rim at the next washing.

I haven't had a chance to take it back to the dealer yet. I take it there this Saturday.

 

This is bad. I'm quoting myself and replying to my own reply.

I rode my '09 Street Bob 35 miles to Republic Harley Davidson in Stafford. I know I could get the warranty adjusted at any Harley dealer (3 or 4 closer), but I just wanted to keep it at the dealer where I bought it.

Within a couple of minutes, the service manager said he had seen this flaking coating before on some Dyna models. With minimun problems, he wrote up the warranty work order. He will call me when the replacement wheel comes in. It should take about 1 hour to change out to the new replacement wheel.

It is so nice to get a warranty issue resolved without arguing, fighting for your rights, etc. They saw the problem, and they will order the new parts and fix the problem. That's my idea of a good warranty.

I digress, but when I bought a new 2010 Ford pickup truck in December, they gave me the runaround for 2 weeks before they finally fixed the CD player. That was an unpleasant experience. Almost had to take them to court to get them to fix the damn thing.

It's nice doing business with Harley Davidson. Thank you to the H-D team at Republic H-D.

Note to webmaster: I wanted to post a "thumbs up" icon, but it ain't on this forum.

 

Glad everything worked out for ya. Do you mean a smiley like this:
or like this:
or this: