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Strange spots on the rocker cover

ugocon

ugocon

Active Member
Hi all.
I noticed since the beginning this group of spots that seem to have corroded the finish of the covers.
Covers are stock and I tried cleaning them (even scratching...) but with no luck.
What could have caused the spots?? (they're just underneath the tank)

And, of course, if we guess their nature how can I get rid of them?

I reckon the "spotting" happened only once, because no new spots have added since months.

I mounted the HD headbolts few weeks ago and they are clean.

Thank you and ciao
Ugo
 

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mmmm... they look like white mold spots, closer to water spots then.
But they seem printed in the metal.

Yes a polish should work, but I wonder what kind of substance could have caused them.

One question: the stock covers of the Street Bob 09 are chromed?
They don't look so shining like other chrome parts of the bike.

Ciao
Ugo
 
One thing to try: Remove the covers and either take them to a body shop and have them polish them or you can do it yourself. All you need is a grinder and a cloth buffing wheel to fit the arbor on the grinder. Purchase some polishing rouge and polish them. I have done this on my sporty and it renews the luster of the parts. I wouldn't recommend polishing plated stuff because the rouge can be aggressive on the metal. And also remember to use a soft touch when polishing due to the aggressive nature of the rouge. Once you achieve the luster you desire, simply clean the parts and put em back on the bike.
 
Not being real sure on the type of cover but in the pic. it looks like the chrome cover is a 2 piece. If so does the top part of the cover have the same spots as the side? And also in the pic. it looks like some oil on the fins, wondering if this is the bike in your aviator, I have a rocker cover on the Road king with a dimple in it and the dealer will warranty it as if it was leaking oil, maybe you could see about the same, warranty type repair
 
Looking at the picture you posted the chips seem to be in a rather straight line following down the cover allowing for the wiggle factor of a plug socket on the plug. The cover like Hobbit said appears to be the polished aluminum that may have a clear coat on it, some do and some don't.
My idea judging on the shape and position of them in comparison to the spark plug is that someone changing a spark plug with a short handle ratchet was not paying attention to what they were doing and the end of the handle was banging the cover as the plug was being put in with each turn of the ratchet.
If you judge the length of a deep plug socket and ratchet on top of that, it would be contacting in that area.
Look on the other side of the plug or the other cover/plug and see if there are marks similar to when the plug may have been taken out too. JMHO.


 
The only way to clean it up if it has clear coat on is remove the cover use a paint stripper to remove the clear coat then polish the alloy and re apply clear coat
you'll need a heat resistant clear coat suitable for bare metal
did all the covers on the Sportster this way
or strip off the clear coat and polish the alloy every couple of weeks

Brian
 
glider said:
Looking at the picture you posted the chips seem to be in a rather straight line following down the cover allowing for the wiggle factor of a plug socket on the plug. The cover like Hobbit said appears to be the polished aluminum that may have a clear coat on it, some do and some don't.
My idea judging on the shape and position of them in comparison to the spark plug is that someone changing a spark plug with a short handle ratchet was not paying attention to what they were doing and the end of the handle was banging the cover as the plug was being put in with each turn of the ratchet.
If you judge the length of a deep plug socket and ratchet on top of that, it would be contacting in that area.
Look on the other side of the plug or the other cover/plug and see if there are marks similar to when the plug may have been taken out too. JMHO.
Click to expand...
Looking at the reflection of the cap you can see the spots above in the middle. I don't think the spark wrench could hit the middle. But there are lots of things here to consider. Could be road salt that splashed up and never was washed off. Did you ever ride in the rain or a wet road in the winter that was salted?? Also you can almost see that one of the spots looks like is was dripping like some kind of chemical was spayed on, dripped and dried.
 
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