Eroding alloy on wheels

Purple Polish .. like Richard uses does the trick, it brought my pretty grubby wheels up like new .. once. Powder coated them gloss black shortly afterwards.

Ill be powder coating before long

Before putting my Touring up for winter I wiped down my alloy rims with WD40. I just checked on them after three months; not a blemish. I will have to clean the stuff off before my first ride but I prefer that over a day in the garage polishing them.

wsk3 said:

I just checked on them after three months; not a blemish.

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Mine don't really deteriorate in a warm dry garage either, but they do after the riding season. You're on a '14 so you're not in the danger zone after just the first season. Mine looked pristine for a year or so, then it started going downhill. It also probably does depend on whether or not the air is moist or salty to some degree, but after a couple of years you can expect that yours will require a polish.

cr0ft said:

Mine don't really deteriorate in a warm dry garage either, but they do after the riding season. You're on a '14 so you're not in the danger zone after just the first season. Mine looked pristine for a year or so, then it started going downhill. It also probably does depend on whether or not the air is moist or salty to some degree, but after a couple of years you can expect that yours will require a polish.

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I keep up with them. Last year i took polish to the rims twice, after week long road trips. Learned early these are high maintenance parts.

Yeah I tried polishing mine last year and kind of did it after hours of pain, but I had all the wrong things to do the job, it's bloody impossible to get at the rear wheel on the right side by hand thanks to the gargantuan brake disc. Left, no problem, right, fuhgettaboutit. So this year the bike will be on a lift, and I'll be using these: http://www.flitz.com/buff-ball-super-mini-2/

Jag said:

High humidity, near the coast, and huge swings in temp,During the winter cause condensation in my garage. That why my r3 is in the basement for the winter. Problem solved!

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That's my problem; wheels aren't looking too good anymore.

Well after spending an hour cleaning my rear wheel it still aint 100%.must be the worst wheels ive had on a bike in over 30 years and ive only had the bike 6 weeks .i was getting them powdercoated next winter anyway,cant see me waiting that long now.A british built bike that cant cope with british climate? And ive only been caught in rain once

I am on my 3rd Rocket, 08 plate had the wheels replaced under warranty and the last, an 11, the wheels started oxidizing while still under warranty. Triumph didn't want to know. Took them to be polished and sold 6 months later for a 13 Roadster. They started to go after a year. Both of them never go out in winter (I've retired) and are always wiped with ACF50 before putting away. Again, wrote to John Bloor. Again, not interested. Said they made a board decision not to treat the wheels after all the problems they had with the earlier models that were lacquered. I own a 2012 Cooper S and the wheels are also alloy and are never more than washed. Still perfect. Was going to buy a XCX but, instead, selling the Roadster and buying a Kawasaki Z1000SX. Have been riding Triumphs since passing my test in 63 and will never purchase another one. To say the bikes can only be used in dry weather is absolutely disgusting and Mr. Bloor should hang his head in shame. Had to get mine powder coated before I could sell it.
Hope yours will be as good as mine are after the powder coating but we should not need to do it.
Regards, Martin