Front wheel "fail"

[Bogus]

Had the 14 since early March. Last week during the now usual shitty weather, decided to get a good coat of wax on the black wheels. Cleaning them up real good for a coat of wax, I found this:

and this:

Left and right side of front wheel has powder coating chipped/ground down to the aluminum. I am thinking that this happened during shipping since the marks are at the same place on the right and left side of the wheel. Thought I could just touch it up with paint, but this is a brand new bike and should have been delivered 100% good. Took it back to Sindt Motors in Dubuque, Iowa and showed it to Rich the service manager. He took pictures and said he would call mama yama to see what could be done. It was basically a "he said she said" situation. Did it happen at Yamaha, or during shipping, or at the dealership, or even at the owners place? The pictures don.t show it, but it looks like the wear was from the wheel being tied down and sliding from side to side.

Anyway, Yamaha ended up replacing the wheel. Took it in today and will pick up tomorrow! Moral of story....check out your new purchase from stem to stern and report any problems. Kudos to the dealer and to Yamaha for rectifying this problem in short order!

 

[Bokerfork]

Wow. I hope it's much worse in real life than the pictures let on. Assuming it is, good on MamaYama

 

[Bogus]

Yes, it is very noticeable and regardless, a new bike/car/lawn mower/whatever should be flawless upon delivery, especially if it was not on display at any time.

 

[lnewlf]

Just try that with BMW...

 

[Warpdrv]

Prob happened during assembly.....

Those guys that pull them outta the crates don't give a rats ass, at least some of them....

I doubt it went into the crate looking like that - and they probably just used a sharpie to cover up their mess.... which will eventually wear off...

Kinda like when you buy a used car off a dealers lot - they buff them out and clean them up nice to hide all the nicks and scratches and then a few weeks, months later after a few carwashes the polish wears down revealing the true nature of the beast....

 

[TomInPA]

All I can think is that wheel is going to be tough to change out tires without marking up. I'd hate to be your tire tech.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Prob happened during assembly.....
Those guys that pull them outta the crates don't give a rats ass, at least some of them....

I doubt it went into the crate looking like that - and they probably just used a sharpie to cover up their mess.... which will eventually wear off...

Kinda like when you buy a used car off a dealers lot - they buff them out and clean them up nice to hide all the nicks and scratches and then a few weeks, months later after a few carwashes the polish wears down revealing the true nature of the beast....

Wow...Cynical and paranoid much? I have NEVER had a vehicle delivered that was flawed. Maybe it's just you.

Glad they fixed your bike Bogus. You're right, it should be as close to perfect as possible. I gotta say, that was good of Yamaha to come through. How many miles on the bike?

 

[Bogus]

All I can think is that wheel is going to be tough to change out tires without marking up. I'd hate to be your tire tech.

Modern tire changers don't even touch the rim except at the bead seal, and they use nylon coated tire irons.

Only about 260 miles. Just noticed it when I decided to get a coat of wax on the rims while waiting for spring to arrive. There was no attempt to cover up the damage, and the pictures do it no justice. It is really noticeable if the damage is in the right spot with the bike at rest. Going to pick up the bike later today. Hopefully all looks well. I am sure that down the road I will experience rock chips, etc. Any of you guys with the black wheels on older models like the 09 have any input as to the durability of your blackies? Any good products to effectively touch up the powder coating in case of nicks?

Yup is was good on Yamaha to pull through since there is no way to determine where the damage actually occurred.

 

[TomInPA]

Glad it got fixed. I still think tire changes could be challenging as the powder coat has a lot of contrast with the base metal, and seems to be somewhat fragile. Never thought about that aspect of the black rims, but they should touch up pretty easily.

 

[BigOgre]

Nice to have a dealer like that in your corner. I have no idea how the system works but I'd be tempted to ask what the dealer has to do with the replaced rims. It would be nice to have a second set in the garage even if they are a little dinged up.

 

[Bounce]

The 03 had painted wheels (not powder coated) scratching and chipping the paint was pretty normal. A sharpie marker works wonders.

 

[RossKean]

I'll bet the damage was done at the dealership. Putting the brake calipers on after installing the front wheel. I think the front wheel is off the bike in the packing crate. It can be a bit tricky getting the caliper on without clunking the rims - especially if the brake pads aren't fully retracted.

 

[garyahouse]

Prob happened during assembly.....
Those guys that pull them outta the crates don't give a rats ass, at least some of them....

I doubt it went into the crate looking like that - and they probably just used a sharpie to cover up their mess.... which will eventually wear off...

Kinda like when you buy a used car off a dealers lot - they buff them out and clean them up nice to hide all the nicks and scratches and then a few weeks, months later after a few carwashes the polish wears down revealing the true nature of the beast....

I used to work for a large motorcycle dealer. I was the Honda/Suzuki man. The assembly shop was run with an iron fist and I remember well how management checked every bike from stem to stern after we finished. Stuff like this could cost a guy his job... if they deemed that the assembler did this and tried to sneak it past management. It definitely would not make it out the shop door like that. Of course that was 41 years ago and 1100 miles from here...

Gary

darksider #44

Gary

 

[Abercrombie FJR]

I never payed much attention to my rims on my 2013 untill I had the tires replaced before EOM last fall. When I went to check out my rims for damage after the tire change I noticed several similar type nicks or paint chips but I couldn't have said that they werent like that before the tire change.

I can't say that I am a fan of Black wheel as they show dirt and paint nicks.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Black wheels on a chain driven bike are the only way to roll. On these, I like the non-black options myself.

 

[lnewlf]

iffn my feej had black wheels I'd polish them...or send them out to be chromed..

 

[Bounce]

After years with different Wings and silver wheels, I'd trade a little visible dirt for a LOT of visible brake dust.

 

[DennisJ]

23K+ on my '09 in just a month short of three years since I bought it. No signs of any blemishes in the finish. I wipe the rims down at least once a week during one of my tire pressure checks and check them for any problems. So far nothing and checking the pressure has not shown any evidence of leaks - I had a couple of people tell me that right-angle valve stems would leak no matter who made them. Not true in my experience.

 

[Queensland Ken]

As mentioned above, 10:1 it was fitting the calipers.

Fitting the tyres would have the damage on the outer rim of the wheel.

The powder coating on the Trophy's wheels were crap !

Lucky a mobile detailer was able to fix the damage prior to trading the bike in.