front fork corrosion problems

My 2004 1300 is developing corrosion/ possible pitting on the inner tubes. I have tried cleaning with wd-40 and clean rags. don't want to abrade the polished surface on the tube. Has anyone experienced this problem? We live in the St Petersburg,Fl and have high humidity and alot of rain.

Also wonder if this item is covered by the yes warranty.It may be I might get to upgrade my front suspensiond if the problem gets worse. Am presently using silcon spray to help combat the problem. any help appreciated. Roadhammer.

I would expect that squashed bugs left on the tubes would do more damage than rain.

Geezer said:

I would expect that squashed bugs left on the tubes would do more damage than rain.

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+1. With the oil film left on the tubes hard to believe they could rust, at least in the area contacted by the seal. In an area not contacted by the seal, a wipe with an oiled rag weekly should be sufficient. I sincerely doubt Yammi will warranty, as it is likely to see it as a care and/or local phenomena, rather than a design or materials issue. Once the chromed surface has pitted, though, replacement is about the only option.

I'm going to wager it's not just the high humidity but it's the kind of humidity. St. Pete's is right on the Gulf and that means salt water.

+1 on wiping often.

Covering Stainless steel with any type of coating is bad news. Stainless steel needs to be kept clean and that's it. Any type of protective coating in the form of wax or oil can lead to excatly the problem you're experiancing.

Seriously. Check out some saltwater boating forums for more info.

Stainless? Thank goodness the forks aren't stainless. They're chrome plated and certain bugs you have in Florida are famous for causing corrosion. Those nasty little things are made of acid. Really.

Windblown said:

Covering Stainless steel with any type of coating is bad news. Stainless steel needs to be kept clean and that's it. Any type of protective coating in the form of wax or oil can lead to excatly the problem you're experiancing.
Seriously. Check out some saltwater boating forums for more info.

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You mean like the fork oil coating the exposed tube the length of the forks travel? Guess I'll have to wrap some rags around my chromed tubes. Where do I get these stainless ones, were they like an option or something?