Bubbling chrome on wheels....
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 2,620
Likes: 1,091
From: Eastern IA
Salts bad enough , now they also use alot of calcium chloride , when it dries you can see a cloud like dust on a gravel road when traffic passes over it , the roads are white , if you don't get that crap washed off right away it destroys chrome and other finishes.
Road Master
Joined: Oct 2022
Posts: 960
Likes: 668
From: USA
The stock wheels on my 2015 Ultra Limited have a chromed outer ring that's developed a few areas where the chrome looks to have "bubbled". Nothing has flaked off but areas have definitely "lifted. Obviously, I'm way beyond any warranty claim so I'm wondering if it would be possible to repair and re-chrome? I know lots of stuff can be fixed, if one throws enough money at it, so has anyone actually bothered to fix, re-chrome or reasonably solve the issue?
I did read a few posts from 8 to 10 years ago from a few that were experiencing the same issue but no solutions offered other than buying new wheels......an expensive solution.
I did read a few posts from 8 to 10 years ago from a few that were experiencing the same issue but no solutions offered other than buying new wheels......an expensive solution.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 3,041
Likes: 1,529
From: Bunola pa
mine started doing it maybe 2 years ago after a winter ride. the finish is pretty much blistering. i imagine the op is having this issue. its not from changing tires, its a chemical reaction, probably from the nacl they put on the roads here in pa, blistering the finish up. ***** shiny has these style rims in stock so they had to have taken them to begin with.
Road Master
Joined: Oct 2022
Posts: 960
Likes: 668
From: USA
mine started doing it maybe 2 years ago after a winter ride. the finish is pretty much blistering. i imagine the op is having this issue. its not from changing tires, its a chemical reaction, probably from the nacl they put on the roads here in pa, blistering the finish up. ***** shiny has these style rims in stock so they had to have taken them to begin with.
From *****'s site:
Last edited by Ken45; Mar 5, 2023 at 10:20 PM.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 3,041
Likes: 1,529
From: Bunola pa
what you show there is the stock wheel. its available like that, or chromed. i dont know what finish that is, its sort of shiny like chrome, but i wouldnt qualify it as chrome. i havent decoded what im doing yet, ***** is a good possibility, but the only other version is chrome, so ive got to assume thats the not chrome version.
Road Master
Joined: Oct 2022
Posts: 960
Likes: 668
From: USA
what you show there is the stock wheel. its available like that, or chromed. i dont know what finish that is, its sort of shiny like chrome, but i wouldnt qualify it as chrome. i havent decoded what im doing yet, ***** is a good possibility, but the only other version is chrome, so ive got to assume thats the not chrome version.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2017
Posts: 3,041
Likes: 1,529
From: Bunola pa
That is the lower level of the chrome wheel. It is machined aluminum and it does not have a protective coating so it is prone to corrosion. HD sells a protective product of some kind for bare aluminum, I do not know how well it works. If you get wheels from ***** Shinny you may have to eat the core charge or hopefully they will work with you. I am glad that I ran into this post because I now Have ***** Shinny book marked. Maybe I will get a set of Chromed lower fork legs for my bike someday, probably better quality than HD for half the price.
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Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 2,325
Likes: 1,155
From: Oklahoma
The wheel in the pic looks like what came on my 16 RGU, on those its not chromed, it is polished aluminum and black (though not real glossy black) and ***** Shinny will take those all day long (if they are not damaged). The Ultra Limited came with them chromed where that wheel is polished aluminum, and the black is a real glossy black. I had a neighbor with a 15 Ultra Limited and his chrome started flacking/bubbling right along the edges where the chrome meets the black paint on a couple spokes and along the wheel (not near where any tire tools would be). That happened in 2017 and he got his replaced by warranty about a month before his 2 years was up.
I traded my polished aluminum version in for chrome ones from ***** Shinny a couple years ago and couldn't be happier with his work.
I traded my polished aluminum version in for chrome ones from ***** Shinny a couple years ago and couldn't be happier with his work.
Last edited by Ssitruc; Mar 6, 2023 at 05:18 PM.
Road Master
Joined: Oct 2022
Posts: 960
Likes: 668
From: USA
Last edited by Ken45; Mar 6, 2023 at 07:18 PM.