Originally Posted by zbomb

Sent the wheels off for powder coating and after 3 weeks got them back. Was happy with how they came out, its not chrome but for a bunch of reasons inclusive of cost, lead time and logistics - powder coating was the path of least resistance.

Challenges with reassembly all centered around the lack of masking. I had a shop reinstall the bearings and they did not tell me they had any issues but when it came to the brake discs and pulley - nothing wanted to go back on. The powdercoater did not mask either the outside of the hub or the flanges where brake discs and pulley seat. So, getting the parts to index and sit flush meant a lot of filing/grinding of the powder coat on the lip of the hub.

Got everything on and I swear both my front and rear brakes are far more spongy than they were before (I did not open either brake circuit, so no reason they should need to be bled). Granted, it's been a month since I've ridden it and in the meantime I've been riding my FXLRST which has a rock hard front brake and a firm but minimally useful rear, so maybe its just the one bike to another but I don't remember the difference being so stark. I have eyeballed the discs and from what I can see, they look centered between the pads.. I am concerned though that the very slight offset of the discs from the thickness of the powder coating and/or the discs not being perfectly flush to the hubs is contributing to this feeling. Just pushing the bike around it does not feel like there is any dragging, nor can I hear a disc dragging. I only got to take the bike out for a 5 min ride, the weather here has been garbage but I am wanting to do any other checks you guys suggest before my next 45 mile commute to work.

Originally Posted by zbomb

Just what I was afraid to read haha.

Yes, the only surfaces that were masked were bearings and threads.

Originally Posted by zbomb

My tuner Rob who hates this pipe with the fury of a thousand suns says the depression in the curve highlighted below is strictly due to the poor design of the TBR pipe. He told me well before the work was ever done it would be there and was backed up by the results.

Originally Posted by snake_eyes

It's not surprising, but still I think, pretty shitty of your powder guy. Finding out what NOT to coat should be part of the intake process, not to mention that whoever shot it saw the uncoated areas and shot them anyway. I just can't fathom the thoughts (or lack of) that go through someone's head when they do something like that. I guess that's why I don't work in a trade like that, I'd ask too many questions and slow down the process. Shrug...

Originally Posted by zbomb

In his defense, he’s a good guy and I’ve used him a bunch of times but I agree, masking a machines surface should be standard and I must admit, I’m embarrassed I didn’t understand the scope of the issue when I picked them up or assembled. I called him and will be dropping them back off this week. He’s going to try to chemically strip just the machined areas so the tires and bearings can stay on. If that doesn’t work, completely strip and re-do…. Which will suck and probably what will end up happening in the end of the day.

Originally Posted by Tommy C

I really like the color you chose for the wheels. It looks so much better than the black we see on so many Dyna Glides.

Originally Posted by snake_eyes

that is going to cause other issues down the road too.

Originally Posted by John CC

Snake eyes is being polite. The bolts will break, the pulley will fly off, and anything that gets in its way will break.

Search for threads on "pulley bolts broken".