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

 

[The Spaceman_imp]

If Honda did step up to fix it, what would the remedy be? And would the remedy be worse than the symptoms?

 

[grover_imp]

Ideally- pull the motor, disassemble, replace the cylinder jugs, reassemble, etc. At a minimum, offer to repaint the engine themselves.

We'll see what they come back with...


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[Ridem32_imp]

Hey Grover I'm like you very very picky with my bikes! But even to me it don't look to bad. If honda offered to pull my motor and replace the jugs or to paint the jugs I would say no! I would just take a Q tip and dabb the paint on it and not worry about it. All of our bikes will have tiny chips on our motors in due time! But that's just me. If it was the gas tank I would demand a new one. I think with time you will forget about that tiny chip mark. But like I said it can be touched up very easy. Hope that helps some.
Michael

 

[grover_imp]

Hey Grover I'm like you very very picky with my bikes! But even to me it don't look to bad. If honda offered to pull my motor and replace the jugs or to paint the jugs I would say no! I would just take a Q tip and dabb the paint on it and not worry about it. All of our bikes will have tiny chips on our motors in due time! But that's just me. If it was the gas tank I would demand a new one. I think with time you will forget about that tiny chip mark. But like I said it can be touched up very easy. Hope that helps some.
Michael

Michael,

I agree, the one small spot isn't a huge deal on it's own. I'm more concerned that it may be indicative of an issue with how the finish was applied (given that it doesn't appear to be caused by rock impact or chip) and may spread over time.

We'll see what they offer, but I'm conflicted about whether I'd want them to pull the motor and do all that...seems like there might be more risk of screwing something else up. Thanks for the words of reassurance!


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[Ridem32_imp]

Yes I agree with you if it starts flaking all over I would want it repaired! But I would not want my motor pulled just for that little flake as it is now. . I just rebuilt a 79 cbx motor cases split and put back together I painted it and it looks new! Really looks better than new. Back then honda put clear on the motors and with age the clear would fade and look like crap! I think your motor will be fine.

 

[SUPERCRUZ_imp]

Even if Honda steps up to repair the paint you are likely looking at having to have the motor disassembled for paint. I appreciate your attention to detail but honestly with a chip that small, I would opt to simply clean it up with some paint prep on the end of a Q tip and then dab some flat black modeling paint or spray some black engine paint into a cup and use that. I bet you won't be able to see it and the repair will hold. Disassembling the motor could open up a whole new can or worms. Good luck with it.

 

[Ridem32_imp]

Supercruz: ditto same thing I told him but I would use engine heat paint! Even a good spray can ( rattle can) either spray the Q tip or spray some paint in the paint cap then dip the Q tip in paint. But for sure use a good engine heat paint. I would not have a brand new motor tore down for such a minor chip! I have seen bug stains worse than his little paint chip or flake

 

[The Spaceman_imp]

Hey Grover I'm like you very very picky with my bikes! But even to me it don't look to bad. If honda offered to pull my motor and replace the jugs or to paint the jugs I would say no! I would just take a Q tip and dabb the paint on it and not worry about it. All of our bikes will have tiny chips on our motors in due time! But that's just me. If it was the gas tank I would demand a new one. I think with time you will forget about that tiny chip mark. But like I said it can be touched up very easy. Hope that helps some.
Michael

That's pretty much were I was going with my comment about the "cure" being worse than the "disease." Having a dealer tear down an otherwise perfectly good bike/engine to fix a paint issue doesn't make sense to me.

Eventually the engine and other hard-parts are going to develop a patina of some type. Might be paint chips, might be clearcoat fails, could even be surface corrosion on polished parts. You can slow it down, but you'll never stop it. Rust never sleeps.

 

[grover_imp]

Guys, thanks for helping to put my OCD mind at ease.

I'm still interested in seeing what they come back with, but at this point I'm leaning towards just touching up the spot with some high temp engine paint and seeing how things go. The good news is I have the issue documented with the dealer and if it spreads I still have warranty time to take another course of action.

There are some good guys with sound reasoning on this forum!



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Yes I agree with you if it starts flaking all over I would want it repaired! But I would not want my motor pulled just for that little flake as it is now. . I just rebuilt a 79 cbx motor cases split and put back together I painted it and it looks new! Really looks better than new. Back then honda put clear on the motors and with age the clear would fade and look like crap! I think your motor will be fine.

I saw those pics you posted of the CBX motor - beautiful!! Perhaps in 40k miles I'll pull her out and get everything re-powder coated...and cram in those high compression pistons from my dreams


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[rboe]

Typical high temp paint may look worse than the chip. See if you can get the paint Honda uses and go from there.