Was wondering if anyone else with a polished aluminum rear wheel has had any problems with the finish pitting and comming off. Talked to my dealership, they said it is caused by the brake dust and isn't covered under the warranty. I wash it every weekend and wiped the wheels down every couple days. What else can I do? The bike has less than 4K miles and is only 9 months old.

 

I had aluminum wheels on my 2003 , what a pain in the A. when I bought the wife a bike in 2004 the first thing to go was the aluminum rims. I a lot easier washing and then waxing the chrome rims. I bought my 2009 ultra in sept. before the Canadian price increase and the first thing to go was the aluminum rims. I luv the new rims but not the constant polishing required to keep them from pitting. the easiset way I found to keep them from oxidizing and then pitting was to get aluminum polish and a round cloth buffing wheel a put it on a drill. Rub aluminum polish on the rim and start to buff with the cloth wheel. they wil turn absolutly black as you polish and you have to do it at least 2 times around as the polish never gets any cleaner as you buff the aluminum. after you have polished the crap out it if wax it. Big problem is the aluminum polish gets all over the tire and its a pain to get off. wheel needs to be polished pretty well every 1-2 months or it will keep oxidizing then pits. 2nd option new chrome rims. 3 rd option get your rims chromed. I see some of the guys in here had their new 2009 ultra rims chromed and they look really nice. 4th option if your not into all chrome I have seen rims powder coated. most I have seen are shiney black with specks of silver or gold in powder coating. lots of options all it costs is money which is getting scarcer by the minute now a days.

 

I use Blue Majic metal polish on my wheel to polish them,then I use a good sealer so the shine will last.
I would call Harley and complain about your problem!

 

If you want to keep the brake dust off, Switch your pads to Lyndell's

They have some that are dustless. They WORK...I have them on the wifes deluxe, and the white walls never get black anymore.

So..as others have said...Clean and polish...but niether will keep it off till you change the brake pads.

 

Harley won't do a thing...Brake Dust is normal, and expected. Get the better Pads (HD does NOT sell them) and your problem goes away.

 

I have the same issue on both of my wheels on the 07 ultra, not only did I take it to two dealers I spoke with the MOCO service manager at americade and got the same answer from all of them. One dealer did offer to clean them up and make them look like do for 160.00.

 

I have a sportster and a rd glide . I use a product called Flitz made in germany , found it mentioned in the gun groups used to polish them.
check there web site and it says use the cheapest paper towels to apply. then I use a old cottone sock to polish , repeat about 3 times . look great and only 1 time a season.

Also have lyndal pads on the rdglide helps plenty.

sold at true value hardware stores.
a little goes a long way.
Sportsterleroy

 

Thanks, were can I get those pads if HD doesn't sell them?

 

I agree going with the Lyndell's would be the way

 

1200 Custom rear wheels are notorous for peeling, especially around the edges of the slots.