I went to my dealer, Cycle Shack North, had them take pictures of my bike (F6BD), my odometer (900 miles), and my wax rag (besmudged red). I filed a warranty claim stating I had purchased 9 new Hondas and 5 used Hondas and every one of them had clearcoat paint topping. This one had no clearcoat topping and I had a reasonable expectation, unless otherwise told, that there should be clearcoating on this bike or it would surely fade in the Houston sun.
Gary, I know you trade bikes every year,,, maybe you'll have 2 trades this year.
Yeah, I know,,, not much consolation,,, At least you have the ways and means to do it. Many wouldn't be able to 'address' it in that manner...
Heck, I don't even have mine yet and we already have 'trade it in / take it back' conversations started,,,
I don't have any realistic way to cheer folks up about this issue, but with a company as huge as Honda, on an issue like this, it will take a long, long time to see 'fruits of your labor' on anything greater than a case by case basis. (I work in Warranty Services for a commercial building manufacturer, believe me,,, its very s l o w ,,,,)
Not sure if it helps, but don't lose faith if results are slower than mud,,, Just keep on reminding / updating folks who'll listen that might be able to help and keep your sanity.
Has anyone taken their bike to an independent 3rd party for evaluation? (Could be as simple as a paint supplier or MC body repair shop with someone who KNOWS the specifics of the paint in question)
It may prove to be informative.
On a slightly different note, some of the 'suede' paint jobs that seem to be so popular are turning out to be a PITA to those who expected it to keep looking 'like new' for a reasonable amount of time. (The paint is designed to 'weather').
Obviously Honda isn't using 'suede' paint, but I wonder if a paint guru could shed some light on what may be occurring with some of the newer paints, and/or what may be helpful/harmful to 'em.
Don't fret Scotrod, I'm not losing any more sleep over the issue. Done with the denial and anger stages, now moving on to the bargaining phase of relative grief before the snow hits us in a month to six weeks. I own the bike so the choice is mine to make.
One thing Honda told me when asked was that clear coating the existing paint now wasn't possible. That may be true, but I'm not a painter by choice so can't confirm.
The sad thing is that the rest of the platform is very very good. Why did they choose to cheap out the covering? Two or three layer low VOC water based paints are available. The BS Honda said about only metallics needing a clear coat is just that.
How many of you have contacted Honda personally? Your dealer will do nothing for you on this issue trust me, I wont step foot in my dealer again because of the lack of customer service I received. You Have to badger Honda, write them letters I did and I got new panels. The paint is BS on these panels as well but they did something for me.
I know a bit about the paints we use for buildings, but I'll be the first to admit I know nothing about 'auto/MC' paints.
If there is no seperate clearcoat on top, it would seem ~normal~ to me that polishing and waxing rags would end up a little 'color stained'. Wax. polish, etc,,, they all remove a little of the top layer, be it clear or color. Waxing or polishing frequently/excessively may not help the matter. Of course, we all want 'em to look nice, but where does one draw the line?
Can't say if clear-coat is more abrasion-resitant than the 'new' paint. Maybe? or is it just another layer of 'similar' stuff with no color (Again, I admit I know nothing about Auto/MC paint, just asking)
Hoping/assuming the older OEM Honda blue HOR will be spraying on my bike will not be made of this 'new formula',,,
It'll all work out eventually folks. Soon American Honda will realize their error in not tough coating the paint and will correct the process. I suspect they will also make good to current owners about any excessive wear under warranty. Just be sure to notify your dealer and customer support of your concerns to get on their fix list.
This pm I'm going back to a new 2012 HD FLHTK Ultra. I owned one a couple of years ago and it served us well.
Filed the claim for missing clearcoat on my red paint. The Service Manager called a few minutes ago and said Honda had my claim and it would remain open as long as I owned the bike. They changed paint procedures in 2012 and no longer put clearcoat on any of their bikes. I said I believe every word they say. I also asked if there were any paint claims on any other colors. He did not know. I am doubtful that I will rub thru the paint. Houston is at 29lat-95lon, about the same latitude as Cairo, Egypt. The sun fades things in a hurry and without the topping I fear I will have a pink bike in five years. Until I have "measurable damages" I guess I will cool my jets. This statement makes me pose the question: Do I have resale damages NOW for their undisclosed paint procedure? And that causes me to ask: What constitutes a class?
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