I have 1500 km on my new 08 wing and my wheels seem to be starting to discolor already. By that, I mean there are white streaks through them that I cannot get off. I bought "Bluemagic" metal polish cream and spent an hour cleaning them and although they did clean a lot of the road dirt off them, they still have these annoying streaks through them. Is this natural or is there something else I can do?

... Howdy ... Mine Are Doing The Same ... A Friend Owns A Auto Detail Shop And He Told Me He Has Some Stuff To Clean Them ... Will Let You Know When I Find Out What It Is ... Alot Of These Cleaners Are Caustic And That Is What Starts This On Alum. Rims And Wheels ... I Will Probably Mask Off And Clear Coat Exposed Metal Once Cleaned ... Happy Trails ...

I also have an '08 and mine does the same thing. I bought some Turtle Wax wheel cleaner that has some sort of acid in it that does a good job. But there are other's that do a much better job that you won't find at WallyWorld. I have been cleaning mine once a month applying wax and forgetting about it. The rear wheel is the worst because of the brake dust. It is very damaging. After every 2 to 3 rides I try to rub it off best I can. Some have their wheels powder coated or chromed which eliminates the problem.

Thanks ronzilla and red ron. My wheels on the back are the worst also but they are not as noticable as the front. I think I will take my to a detail shop and see what they say.

... Howdy ... Mine Are Doing The Same ... A Friend Owns A Auto Detail Shop And He Told Me He Has Some Stuff To Clean Them ... Will Let You Know When I Find Out What It Is ... Alot Of These Cleaners Are Caustic And That Is What Starts This On Alum. Rims And Wheels ... I Will Probably Mask Off And Clear Coat Exposed Metal Once Cleaned ... Happy Trails ...

I just purchased a uses "08 with 11,400 miles. I asked about the dirty wheels and the saleman said they will clean up. I tried and they did not!
I was told the previous owner sprayed something on the wheels to clean the brake dust, and it took off the clear coat.
When I buff with a buffing ball and "mothers polish" the ball gets really black, quick! Does this indicate I need to apply a new clear-coat?

... HOWDY ... G.I. I HAVE GOT THE STAINS AND DULL LUSTER REMOVED ... I DID A LIGHT SANDING W/400 GRIT WET/DRY PAPER USING WATER ... LET DRY AND THEN SOME METAL POLISH AND ELBOW GREASE (more fingers than elbow) ... I NOW HAVE A FINISH THAT I'M HAPPY WITH ... MASKED OFF THE RIMS AND COUPLE COATS OF CLEAR AND I'M GOOD TO GO ... THESE WHEEL AND BRAKE DUST CLEANERS DO A GOOD JOB JUST KEEP THEM OFF ALUM. AND OTHER EYE CANDY SURFACES ... HAPPY TRAILS ...

I use Mothers mag wheel polish on mine and then a coat of wax and no problem at all, I wash the bike top to bottom after every ride, so that helps.
Here are the wheels from my 02
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b7cf04b3127ccec2e6f1e93df000000010O01CcNWzly0Yg9 vPhw/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b7cf04b3127ccec2e7199c9c8d00000010O01CcNWzly0Yg9 vPhw/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/
Here are the ones from my 08, I don't have any close ups yet
http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b9d911b3127ccec7e8a435d63700000040O01CcNWzly0Yg9 vPhw/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

I have an '08 and have the same problem with staining, etc. Asked my dealer about it - his answer: "Honda uses very cheap finishes on their wheels - not much can be done about it." Gives me a nice warm fuzzy feeling that Honda passes this off on a $20K machine.

Has anyone else seen or tried the polish from Phaze One? I saw the product used on an 1800 that had been neglected so bad the aluminum was black. They polished them to a shine in less than 30 minutes! I was sold, my 2000SE front wheel shine like a mirror! Here is the web address www.phazeonepolish.com

... Howdy ... Thanks For The Link ... Happy Trails ...

My used 08 had 10,000 miles on it when purchased. I thought the back wheel inner rim was black powder coated at first sight. The owner spent time on the top side but he never got down on his knees. The Devil's in the details. This topic is priority on my list now that the riding has dropped off.

i used meguirs metal polish & it works great:)

Because the wheels are aluminum you need to be careful as to what type of cleaner/wax you use on them. Make sure the cleaner or wax you use states use on aluminum wheels. A number of guys have had their wheels powder coated and some have had them chromed, but that gets to be very expensive.

Resurrecting an old thread here. I just bought an 05 wing with 15k miles. The owner did disclose to me and the oxidation was obvious, that he'd sprayed a wheel cleaner on it which wrecked the wheels. When I take them off to mount new tires in the spring I'll give them a thorough going over.

As to clear coating, someone mentioned this. Did you just use spray lacquer, any suggestions as to what clear coat to use as DIY job?

Chris

Good topic, bullseye. I'm not sure it was ever resolved difinitively for me either. If it's a matter of elbow grease and aluminum polish, I'll keep working on it.

I did tackle it only briefly with scotchbrite which seemed to help but think as another suggested, 400 grit paper might work better. Definately easier to do, especially the back one, dismounted from the bike. The original owner of my bike never even looked at his rear wheel I don't think as it's hugely built up with grit and grime! But also pretty hard to get to it.
Chris

Fastest way to clean rims... I don't care how many miles you've put on them since you cleaned them last.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lUx8M6Tl-o

So you don't have clear coat on your wheels I take it?

Chris

Fastest way to clean rims... I don't care how many miles you've put on them since you cleaned them last.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lUx8M6Tl-o

NONE of us have clear coat on the stock rims on a gl1800.... that's a large part of the problem...


Problem is if I have time to clean, I have time to ride so rims usually do not get cleaned till about 20K or so