Oh yes the salt air will rust it up and I mean fast. My bike sat outside not even close to the ocean for only a few days while at biktoberfest and when I got home every part that had ever been nicked was rusted.

 

A friend of mine had a problem with rust on his Harley here in Texas when no one seemed to have a problem. It turns out he stored his pool chemicals in the garage (and you guessed it) right next to where he parked his scoot.

 

I heard a guy talking about his buddy who had the same problem. The wife stored pool chemicals in the garage next to his bike. When he pulled it out in the spring everything on the side of the bike next to where the chemicals were was oxidized. Ruined everything even the chrome.

 

bump for the edit

 

I'm bringing this back because I have a 08 street bob that has the white oxidation on the black cases and polished cooling fin edges. The bike has been kept in a cold garage covered. Last winter I had no issues and the last bike with the same finish was kept the same way for 7 years with no problems. There are no chemicals in the garage. I was wondering if anyone has a good idea to get it off. Also, I always use WD40 on my ATVs to protect the motors and it never hurt the finishes. I did'nt use it on my HD but was wondering if it would protect the HD motor or harm the black finish. To be honest this may be the last nail in the coffin for my and HD. To many stupid issues with them.I'v been riding for 22yrs and my HDs have given me the most crap. I hope someone has a easy clean-up for this. Thanks.

 

I gotta tell ya...my '09 is suffereing from the same thing. if you wanna see how bad your cylinder fins are fairing...get your flashlight and shine it on them. If they're going bad you'll see it. If not, you're one of the lucky ones.

I got the 103 kit and apparently there's no corrosion inhibitor on the new jugs. Bad idea from Harley to cut costs to the point we feel it. Wait, they've been doing that for years.

The fins on my '05 SEEG went bad, but that bike was 4 years old and driven in ALL conditions. I just got some scotch brite pads and polished the fin edges. They truned out perfect. But on a bike that's only a few months old..? Hmmm..

I do live at the beach, but always tend to my bikes appropreatly. Clean them; wax them; and protect the surfaces that can corrode with varying prodcuts. And cover them with just a large sheet to keep the dust down. And they've all looked great even over time. This one isn't going to last like that.

My dealer saw it and agress there's an issue, but what can be done? Very little...MOCO isn't going to warrenty this cause of too many varibles in the garage, like fuel; fertilizers; sprays, etc. They'll say these things affect the finishes. maybe they do, but this bike came this way. I think this bike, which was a dealer trader, sat outside some. The 103 kit must've been sitting on a loading dock too...

O well...it's all good and forgotten when i fire it up...

 

I had the same problem when I was at Fort Bragg, which is miles from the shore. Bikes don't like to be left out in the rain. If you do, prepare to do a lot of polishing.

 

I have noticed that the finish (black powder coat) on the engine of my SG is not the same as the finish on my 99 FatBoy (evo). It looks like a total different color.

My Fatboy is a nice deep black and the SG is a lot lighter shade of black.
But I haven't noticed any corrosion problems...Yet!

 

The first winter I had my Night Train (Chromed it out), I parked it in my shed under a cover. In the spring I took the cover off and the chrome had spots all over it, took hours to clean up. The next winter I used S100 corrosion protectant, sprayed it on like they said, covered it. In the spring, the bike looked good, but the protectant had hardened on there and took hours to clean. The next winter, I sprayed down the bike (But not the paint) with WD40, put the cover on, put a bucket of Damprid under the cover with it. In the spring the bike looked good, and the WD40 came off easy. That is the only success I have had keeping it looking good during the winter.

 

This is a huge help you guys. I had a 97 heritage, stored it in my heated garage winter and summer, never had any corrosion anywhere, i live in Ontario Canada, very humid in summer, but no salt in the air. I just bought a 2008 Street glide, from a dealer who brought it in from the U.S. This bike has only 6500 miles and is covered in corrosion, the aluminum highlights on the wheels are badly corroded and discolored, the motor fins are corroded with a white residue the same as all the zinc coated bolt heads, there are some black, painted parts, that are pitted and rusting also. The chrome seems to be fine. Only aluminum, zinc or exposed painted parts are deteriorating. I spent 6.5 hrs sanding out and buffing one side of the front wheel to bring back the aluminum finish. Lots of cleaning left to do. I will try the scotch brite on the motor fins.