No pools, spas etc... No chemicals, in fact, the bike was in two garages both stored in the bag. I doubt the bag is air tight, but if condensation "in the bag" was an issue, then I'd find some sign of water when I opened it up. No signs of any moisture at all. By the way, those desiccant packets do work very well. I'm a photographer and even with prof. gear you once in a while get moisture in the camera. Throw it in a zip lock bag with one of the smaller desiccant packets in it (ounce or less) and the moisture is gone in 24 hours. Yep, we salt the roads. But like others have said... I just assumed that the chrome would be impervious to most elements. Never had an issue on my Yamaha's for years. I'm thinking chrome spoke wheels just don't work so well.

Joe

 

Yea some of the Harley chrome on my bike lacks a little to be desired. No flaking, just some flaws that may eventually lead to peeling. Nothing to do but replace it I guess. To bad it doesn't happen under warranty. Replacing wheels would be a hard pill to swallow.

 

Yep, I"ve already been looking at some. Not just the HD options but others as well. 900+ is a bit steep!!! I'll be doing some searching here for the best deals on wheels I guess ;-(

Joe

 

We work and clean on other peoples bikes all the time...I've noticed somewhere along the lines of the year 2000 and up model lines, have a much softer chrome plating. We've seen rust on 07s and 08s, but then again, they use plenty of salt on the roads here.

 

Just another reason to say no to the demon of shine...the false idol called chrome...
I'd powdercoat everything if money flew out my butt...but until that day I'll polish and curse the factory and their cost cutting, screwing the working man ways...

 

If you're too close to the ocean, there's always the salt air that will take a toll on metal over time as well. Always had to wash the scoot when I was stationed in Jax FL to keep the rust demons away.....

 

Wax, wax and more wax before storing

 

Wax will do nothing to fix a poor chrome job. There is no need to wax good chrome.

 

I've noticed a couple of areas on my my sled that the chrome leaves a little to be desired. The rocker boxes on my Fatboy are some of the worst I've seen, lucily no peeling where seen. When they get real bad I'll pull them off & send them to the chromer. Anything chromed can usually be rechromed or powdercoated. That May be your most cost effective fix.

 

My experience is that Harley chrome is soft. I suspect it is not copper-nickle-chromium (triple plated), probably due to environmental issues with the old fashion methods of plating.