US '13 Black Engine Finish Flaking Off!!

[grover_imp]

Hey guys, I found something really disturbing - it appears the black (powder coated? PVD?) finish on the engine of my CB has started flaking off in a small area between a couple of cooling fins.

The bike was purchased on May 11, 2013, and the original owner opted for the extended warranty. I took the bike to the local dealer, the service manager took a couple of pics and sent it off to his Dealer Service Manager to see what Honda will do about it. He said he was trying to set my expectations low, that the DSM was likely to say it was damage caused by a rock chip, but I pointed out to him that there was no pitting or otherwise evidence of impact to suggest that was the case.

I've got to say, I'm pretty bummed by this. I absolutely love the bike and I've been a longtime fan of Honda products (my cager is an S2000 ), but if this doesn't get resolved it's really going to put a damper on my perception of Honda, or at least their US dealer network.

I'll keep you guys posted on what I hear, but I'd suggest you give your own bikes a good look over.

grover




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[Tortuga_imp]

Have you ever pressure washed the bike?

[grover_imp]

No, I don't own a pressure washer. I have taken it to one of those DIY car washes here and they have a nozzle that dispenses water and soap, but at nowhere near the pressure of most pressure washers.

The bike has been stored in a garage here in Texas so it's not like it had seen a ton of variation in temperature...


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[Tortuga_imp]

There looks to be some damage on the front corner of the affected fin, could it be some gravel hit that and deflected into the cavity, twisting and lodging, then with vibration stripping the coating?


Or am I starting to sound like the dealer?

[grover_imp]

I can see how it might look like that from that one angle, so I took another pic to show it from ~45 degrees. There's a little nib of extra material (that is powder coated) protruding from the edge of that fin, which appears to be part of a sort of seam in the cylinder casting.

Hopefully this depicts it better.



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[Tortuga_imp]

I can see how it might look like that from that one angle, so I took another pic to show it from ~45 degrees. There's a little nib of extra material (that is powder coated) protruding from the edge of that fin, which appears to be part of a sort of seam in the cylinder casting.

Hopefully this depicts it better.



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Yep, it wasn't what I thought. Hopefully the warranty will come good.

[furious_blue_imp]

FWIW, my '13 came new with a small spot where the dark finish was missing. I wasn't too pleased with that but it wasn't enough for me to reject the bike. I hadn't noticed any change in the finish after that, but then the bike didn't get too many miles put on it: 735.

[grover_imp]

I'm at 2500 now, found it at ~2400


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[Deanohh_imp]

Those are not seams in the metal that are parting lines where the mold pieces fit together.

Others have had adhesion/corrosion problems with the engine paint. Ain't nothing perfect in this world.

[Cormanus]

People on the UK forum have reported on 'fin rot'. See http://www.cb1100.co.uk/index.php?topic=328