Do the stock wheels on the gen. 4 come powder coated from the factory?

Discussion in 'General VFR Discussions' started by JIMLARCH, Jan 2, 2017.

  1. JIMLARCH

    JIMLARCH New Member

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    The overall paint and general finish on my gen. 4 are so good I wonder if the stock wheels, which appear powder coated on my bike, came that way from the factory? Anyone know?
     
  2. RVFR

    RVFR Member

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    In my thinking I say yes,, only because the way they take abuse, paint wouldn't hold up
    like powder coating finishes do. But then Honda may have some fancy tough paint too
     
  3. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Different wheels may come on different bikes going to different places so ya may never find out for sure unless ya want to scrape off some of the coating and send it to a paint and coating analysis lab for couple of hundred pesos.

    There's a chance that Honda does not make or coat the wheels and that they are contract shopped.

    The only folks that have really much to say aboot the "toughness" of paint vs powdercoating are the advertisors. Powdercoating is great for coating surfaces that are a bitch to paint conventionally. Powdercoating is an outgrowth of Electrostatic painting which is still used in many applications both decorative and industrial. Powdercoating has some limits as to the size of the objects being coated. The real powdercoating facilities reclaim the materials that do not adhere to the substrate before fusing.

    If powdercoating were actually "better" than paint, most bikes would not be painted..

    Both are great and nit picking one over the other for reasons other than nit-picking is money down the drain in pesos or loonies.."
     
  4. 3dcycle

    3dcycle New Member

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    I do not know what they use at the factory on the wheels but I know it is tougher than anything else on the entire bike, 1 wheel can take about 6 - 8 hours to strip, granted most this time is waiting for the paint stripper to do its job, but still it is hard shit. most parts I can toss in my sand blast cabinet and make quick work out of them, but not the wheels.

    on my current vfr I am powdering the wheels white, but I have painted wheels on my 919 back a few years ago to a very nice sinful cinnamon from hot hues. needed to paint them so they would match my decals on the tank and tail section. I never had a issue with chips and scratches on those wheels. I hope I can say the same with the white wheels I have now.
     
  5. JZH

    JZH New Member

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    Powder nicks, too. The consensus is generally that the OEM VFR wheels are painted--with some tough mofo-ing paint no one has ever seen since. I'm pretty sure the aluminum VFR wheels were made by ENKEI for Honda...thus the raised letters "ENKEI" cast inside the spokes. Honda outurces a lot of parts and components, actually. The magnesium wheels on certain exotic Hondas, however, were made by Magtek.

    Ciao,
     
  6. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Whatever is on the OEM wheels is tough stuff. If paint is the chosen method then stripping unless the wheel is a beater is not necessary IMO. Paint strippers vary from hot solvents to lye base (safe strippers) Media blasting is another highly variable operation. I have had good results using straight methylene chloride rather than one of the proprietary off the shelf strippers. DuPont makes a stripper that gives excellent results. Hard to find and at last look only came in 5 gallon quantities.

    Be real careful with the "Meth" its not flammable but toxic as hell.

    Nothing wrong with paint on wheels. I shoot four coats and when I have new rubber put on the tire dudes get a little gentle advice about chipping my paint from being in a hurry.

    A side benefit from painting is that in case of a chip especially on wheels, ya got some touchup paint. Some don't even need a hardener added to cure out.

    A trick that can be used on bodywork is doing the fancy stuff in lacquer and topcoating with one of the two component clears.

    One more just for shits and Googles, Paint can be modified with all manner of additives to enhance gloss or to diminish gloss ect. Powdercoat unless I am out of the current loop does not have that characteristic.

    No good or bad here just different.
     
  7. Sniper

    Sniper New Member

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    The Marcheseni wheels on my '08 990 Super Duke are as tough as what is on my '01 VFR. Every other Honda wheel that ive had, posessed a finish so thin, that current technology to measure it, Does not exist.

    Honda did good work on the VFR wheels.

    The frsme on my litle KTM 390 is powder coated.
     
  8. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Repaint and thin no more.
     
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