| Author | Message | ||
     Koz5150  |
I was looking at either chroming the front lowers on my bike or picking up some covers. Does anyone know of the best way to go about this? It is for a 2002 M2. I was also wondering if one of these might work. They are from kuryakyn http://www.kuryakyn.com/products.asp?bn=Harley&ci=2482  (Message edited by koz5150 on December 21, 2004) | ||
| M1combat  |
I don't recommend adding un-sprung weight, but the fork brace is always a good idea. | ||
| Cyclonemick |
If you had them chromed I don't believe you would add that much extra weight at least to the point of noticing it. | ||
| Koz5150 |
I am not worried about the wieght. I don't forsee it hindering my performance. My guess is some people probably wear more weight in over-protective gear then I have added to my bike in shiny stuff. Thing is I am looking at polishing my swingarm but the front end just wont look right if the back end is all polished and the front is just painted grey. | ||
| Buells Rule! (Dyna in disguise)  |
Those slider covers are hideous, I have looked at them & in the end I managed to pick up some chrome sliders off e-bay...took awhile to find a pair in the right price range. | ||
| Koz5150 |
What sliders will fit on my Buell though? | ||
| Buells Rule! (Dyna in disguise) |
Sorry bud, dont know. You could always have yours chromed. Might be the easiest choice. | ||
| Koz5150 |
I saw a set of covers on Ebay cheap and that's why I was curious. | ||
| Dsergison  |
if your polishing your swingarm why not polish your forks? I mean your already polishing. it'll match then. covers are hideus in general. it's the obvious cheapo way out. just like spray can chrome. | ||
| Steve_mackay  |
I'm with these guys Koz. Don't cover 'em. Polish or chrome yours. When I tear mine down, I'm gonna polish my lowers and my brake caliper. I've got a chrome primary & derby cover. Now just need a chrome cam cover. | ||
| Mr_grumpy  |
You all got too much time on your hands. I don't even clean until the dirt is affecting the handling, or I'm going out somewhere special. The thought of polishing & the subsequent regular cleaning fills me with a sense of tired.  | ||
| Rick_a  |
Just polish 'em. Leave the chrome to cruisers. I agree with the above. Lately a co-worker told me, "you know, your bike looks much better in the dark." I got a chuckle out of that. | ||
| Newfie_buell  |
"Black Cars Look Better In the Shade" | ||
| Buells Rule! (Dyna in disguise) |
Thats why im really digging my all blacked out bike, nothing to really clean. The damn HD can take 6-7 hrs to clean it right. As far as polishing the forks, I wouldnt do that because you really need to stay on top of it afterwards or they will turn all nasty & be a pain to clean. Chrome generally looks better & is much easier to clean, plus you can leave it go for awhile & its no problem to bring the shine right back in a few seconds. | ||
| Spiderman  |
No cheap ••••• tin available for the M2 if ya wanna bling do it right take apart your forks and send em off to be polished or chromed. And If you do get them chromed make sure the company uses nickle befoe the final chroming. Most places polish the chrome instead of nickle then chrome, which leads to a finish prone to peeling. | ||
| Bomber  |
polish the loweres -- 2 hour job with the right materials, and will look great ! chrome don't get ya home! | ||
| Mutt2jeff  |
Anyone have a really good guide on polishing aluminium laying around? | ||
| Littlebuggles  |
I filed the casting lumps off and polished the facing edges of the triple clamps, makes for subtle bling.   these were as shiny and bright as the bars, spring of '03. Probably better actually, they were pretty much mirror finish. I have not done more than (infrequently) clean them since. Obviously in need of another cleaning but I'd rather ride. Some polishing with a buffer on my drill should clean them right up. My method for polishing is to make the dull parts smooth until they are shiny - files, sandpaper, and polishing compounds with buffing wheels are the medium. -Mike | ||
| Rick_a |
I'll polish something if it's either been damaged or if I've cut it down. Too much work! I have done the wheels, though...and now I think they'd be better off black. | ||
| Littlebuggles |
Lots easier to not polish stuff, but shiny metal is something special.  I guess I'm part squirrel. Had the clamps off when I bought new forks from NCBueller, my brother machined the upper clamp from my m2 to fit the x1 forks, long as they wer off and I was waiting for parts... | ||
| Koz5150 |
I wasn't sure if I could polish them, or what they were made of. I prefer chrome to polishing (easier to clean) but I am not crazy about chroming things that may peel, and I certainly wouldn't want to ave to rechrome it. Perhaps I will have to get out my service manual and look into fork teardown and rebuilding. I have seen the uell featured in American Iron mag around Milwaukee and it looks ok, but not my thing. I have a different vision of what a pimped out Buell (yet very functional and well ridden) should look like. Mike - I also was looking at doing the triple trees. I have polished a few pieces on my bike and was looking at doing the swingarm this winter. I will just add the trees onto my list along with the forks. Your's look nice. | ||
| Littlebuggles |
Thanks, You can use a fine sand paper to take the pain off your fork lowers to start the process, that way you aren't fooling with the possibility of staining the metal with a chem stripper. If you remove the front wheel and then the forks you can probably just do all the parts together, no worries about rebuilding the forks. Mask things off though so you don't bung up the sliders. | ||
| Koz5150 |
I think I may start this week. It is supposed to be in the 40's, which is alot better then last week. Nothing like waking up and the high for the day is 2. What the heck is that all about??? | ||
| Steve_mackay |
Koz, ya mean ya didn't try to go out and ride over the weekend?  I tried to Christmas Eve. Yeah, it was a sweltering 5 degrees out. Unfortunately, the S3 didn't turn over<click, click, click> Oh well... I would have had to replace the clutch lever before I rode anyhow, from the last time I rode it and dumped it. | ||
| Littlebuggles |
There's them blingy things, clean too!!    |
