Powdercoat Bubbling on Frame
Thread Starter
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Tourer
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 417
Likes: 4
From: Mission, Kansas
Powdercoat Bubbling on Frame
I was cleaning up the bike this morning and found something disturbing on the frame.
On the front of the frame on the brace above the voltage regulator, theres a spot that is about the size of a quarter that is bubbled up on the powdercoat.
The powdercoat in the middle had flaked of and it is rusty underneath. I looked the bike over and didn't see the issue anywhere else on the bike. This is on a '09 FLHX and I've only had it about 3 1/2 weeks. I have 3100 miles on the bike.
I needed to go to the dealer anyway to get the ABS download, so I brought it in and showed it to them. The service dept. took pics and said they would send them to Harley and see what they said. They said that they didn't know what Harley would do, but they said they normally didn't warranty paint issues, but they haven't dealt with any frame problems like this. They did say that if they did warranty it, they would probably have to replace the frame.
They better fix this, I'm not upset yet, but from the way they talked they didn't think that it would be covered by warranty.
If they deny the warranty claim, I'm going to raise holy hell.
Has anyone else experienced this with a newer bike? I thought I saw a thread several months ago that was similar, but I couldn't find it and didn't remember what the outcome was.
I'll keep you posted on what I find out.
Heres some pics of the damage.
On the front of the frame on the brace above the voltage regulator, theres a spot that is about the size of a quarter that is bubbled up on the powdercoat.
The powdercoat in the middle had flaked of and it is rusty underneath. I looked the bike over and didn't see the issue anywhere else on the bike. This is on a '09 FLHX and I've only had it about 3 1/2 weeks. I have 3100 miles on the bike.
I needed to go to the dealer anyway to get the ABS download, so I brought it in and showed it to them. The service dept. took pics and said they would send them to Harley and see what they said. They said that they didn't know what Harley would do, but they said they normally didn't warranty paint issues, but they haven't dealt with any frame problems like this. They did say that if they did warranty it, they would probably have to replace the frame.
They better fix this, I'm not upset yet, but from the way they talked they didn't think that it would be covered by warranty.
If they deny the warranty claim, I'm going to raise holy hell.
Has anyone else experienced this with a newer bike? I thought I saw a thread several months ago that was similar, but I couldn't find it and didn't remember what the outcome was.
I'll keep you posted on what I find out.
Heres some pics of the damage.
Road Master
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 959
Likes: 1
From: Westerville, OH
Dude,
That almost looks like a scrap from when the dealer uncrated your bike. Personally I wouldn't make a big deal about it. I would let the dealer put some paint on the spot and go on my merry way, but that's just me.
Good luck!
That almost looks like a scrap from when the dealer uncrated your bike. Personally I wouldn't make a big deal about it. I would let the dealer put some paint on the spot and go on my merry way, but that's just me.
Good luck!
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 4,741
Likes: 45
From: Indian Land, SC
I think if it was my bike, I would sand the area down to get rid of the rust, tape and newspaper the area off to afford over spray, prime the sanded down area with Krylon black primer in a spray can, then spray the area with high gloss Krylon spray paint. After a week, give the area a good coat of wax and your be good to go...
In the area where it's located, you will not see it and the paint will blend in well.
If, and that's a big if, HD does do something, do you really want your bike stripped down and put back together on a new frame?? It will not be put back together 100% correctly like it came from the factory....
That's what I would do but its your bike, so do what feels right for you....
In the area where it's located, you will not see it and the paint will blend in well.
If, and that's a big if, HD does do something, do you really want your bike stripped down and put back together on a new frame?? It will not be put back together 100% correctly like it came from the factory....
That's what I would do but its your bike, so do what feels right for you....
Road Warrior
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 1,955
Likes: 7
From: The Great Northwest
I personally would lean towards the touch-up solution rather than having the dealer perform a complete frame swap. Seems like more problems could result from that. You should be able to examine the rest of the frame to assure that this is an isolated problem or "scrape" and not a general flaw in the paint process. Good Luck.
Road Master
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 808
Likes: 1
From: so.jersey
I was cleaning up the bike this morning and found something disturbing on the frame.
On the front of the frame on the brace above the voltage regulator, theres a spot that is about the size of a quarter that is bubbled up on the powdercoat.
The powdercoat in the middle had flaked of and it is rusty underneath. I looked the bike over and didn't see the issue anywhere else on the bike. This is on a '09 FLHX and I've only had it about 3 1/2 weeks. I have 3100 miles on the bike.
I needed to go to the dealer anyway to get the ABS download, so I brought it in and showed it to them. The service dept. took pics and said they would send them to Harley and see what they said. They said that they didn't know what Harley would do, but they said they normally didn't warranty paint issues, but they haven't dealt with any frame problems like this. They did say that if they did warranty it, they would probably have to replace the frame.
They better fix this, I'm not upset yet, but from the way they talked they didn't think that it would be covered by warranty.
If they deny the warranty claim, I'm going to raise holy hell.
Has anyone else experienced this with a newer bike? I thought I saw a thread several months ago that was similar, but I couldn't find it and didn't remember what the outcome was.
I'll keep you posted on what I find out.
Heres some pics of the damage.
On the front of the frame on the brace above the voltage regulator, theres a spot that is about the size of a quarter that is bubbled up on the powdercoat.
The powdercoat in the middle had flaked of and it is rusty underneath. I looked the bike over and didn't see the issue anywhere else on the bike. This is on a '09 FLHX and I've only had it about 3 1/2 weeks. I have 3100 miles on the bike.
I needed to go to the dealer anyway to get the ABS download, so I brought it in and showed it to them. The service dept. took pics and said they would send them to Harley and see what they said. They said that they didn't know what Harley would do, but they said they normally didn't warranty paint issues, but they haven't dealt with any frame problems like this. They did say that if they did warranty it, they would probably have to replace the frame.
They better fix this, I'm not upset yet, but from the way they talked they didn't think that it would be covered by warranty.
If they deny the warranty claim, I'm going to raise holy hell.
Has anyone else experienced this with a newer bike? I thought I saw a thread several months ago that was similar, but I couldn't find it and didn't remember what the outcome was.
I'll keep you posted on what I find out.
Heres some pics of the damage.
looks to me like somthing may have gotten on the powdercoat .like maybe brake fluid ot some kind of caustic .is the powdercoat like soft or smeary ? looks that way to me .just my opinion
Thread Starter
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Tourer
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 417
Likes: 4
From: Mission, Kansas
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Elite HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 4,271
Likes: 29
From: Green Country,Oklahoma
That's why anymore,it's used older bikes for me and spend a little fixing them up.I'm tired of expensive crap,I'm not talking about only Harleys though,seems like about everything nowdays is made cheaply by people that don't care.
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Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,034
Likes: 45
From: Michigan
I thought powder coat was damn near indestructible and brake fluid wouldnt hurt it? I do know it will and can flake off if something chips it and moisture gets under it.. It can rust under the powder coat if its given a path to do so and you dont even see it till its too late.. Im with a couple of the other guys.. clean it up good and throw some paint on it.. Hell I dont even look at my frame ?
maybe I should .....
maybe I should .....
Cruiser
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 163
Likes: 1
From:
I understand your frustration, but I wouldn't let the dealer strip my entire bike and rebuild to a new frame for that one spot. If you had a plaque all over your frame, that would be different. Plus I doubt that they will even do that to remedy the problem, they are going to do a paint touch-up.
Like a couple of other suggestions I would just scrape it down to bare metal and repaint it.
Ask the dealer if they will throw you a free can of black gloss for your trouble.
Like a couple of other suggestions I would just scrape it down to bare metal and repaint it.
Ask the dealer if they will throw you a free can of black gloss for your trouble.