Front engine cover

[g.s.john]

Just had it off to check slight surface corrosion only no pitting flaked the paint in places scraped that off and wire brushed clean and ACF 50 all over below the the pulley.
Do i need to do any more?

 

[Greenman14]

Ask Bendy, he'll be along shortly.

 

[Bendy toy]

You're right.


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[Bendy toy]

Mine was crummy around the belt cover bottom screw and a few main screws. However it was horrendous at the top just below the alternator. Paint had crumbled away.
I had it dip stripped and powder coated.
It's not been a total success. The bottom area has "blown". The old corrosion had (probably) not been stopped.
However up under the alternator, the coating has not coped with the heat. It's all crusty and cracked. Maybe the OEM paint also struggled. Who knows.
What now ?
I don't know. It needs a tough but flexible coating that can cope with whatever heat the engine can throw at it.
Powder (at least what I bought) can't cope.

 

[SteveM]

Did you get that vee belt pulley shifted yet Bendy?

 

[Bendy toy]

I gave up.
But realised the 40 Amp alternator (which my new one is) takes a different belt. So one longer belt fitted and all is well.
Most bikes after 2008 have the 60 Amp but does a bike really need more the 1/2 kilowatt of electrical power?
Mine has HID headlights and LED spots so I'm sure the cheaper option (a lot cheaper) will be fine.


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[Bounce]

My front engine cover (metal & plastic parts) were manky as hell despite my having cleaned/treated them since I got it in 2009, but they were the original parts.....

Had it all replaced in spring this year @ Cotswold Motorrad so protection treatment started from day 1

 

[g.s.john]

Just got it back together belt cover screws coated with ACF 50 block grease all the front sprayed with ACF 50 should keep the muck an bullets off

 

[MattW]

Hammerite smooth works fine for painting the cover if you apply it correctly.

A stainless crud catcher type thing works well to stop further stone chipping.

 

[Bendy toy]

A stainless crud catcher type thing works well to stop further stone chipping.

I'm not convinced that stone chips are the issue. My bike corroded more behind the belt cover that outside. It started at the belt cover bottom bolt. The other corrosion was at the mounting bolts. All up the middle and bottom was ok. Corrosion up top was hidden by the belt cover.

Brother had a crud catcher. His engine cover was starting to go but when we got the crod catcher off, it was a horrendous mess. The issue was just too easy to ignore with the nice shiny stainless cover hiding the mess underneath.

I dont think the crud catcher does any harm (especially on bikes with no exhaust cross tube to catch the stones) but I don't think it avoids the bimetallic corrosion issues between screws and aluminium.

 

[TLSgazza]

Mikeyboy powder coated mine a couple of years ago and its still fine, just saying.

 

[Bendy toy]

Mikeyboy powder coated mine a couple of years ago and its still fine, just saying.

I've had a lot of success with powder coat by CJ Ward in Burton on Trent. They didn't do the last lot.

 

[Bones]

After 4 years of everyday use and only an occasional jet wash my front cover was corroded with flaking paint so I just removed what paint remained. Now at 10 years old it doesn't look any worse than it did 6 years ago. Result

 

[Bendy toy]

After 4 years of everyday use and only an occasional jet wash my front cover was corroded with flaking paint so I just removed what paint remained. Now at 10 years old it doesn't look any worse than it did 6 years ago. Result

What was your like, under the belt cover below the alternator? Mine was amiss of flaking paint and white powder. The new powder coat has also failed but it looks like heat damage.

 

[Bones]

What was your like, under the belt cover below the alternator? Mine was amiss of flaking paint and white powder. The new powder coat has also failed but it looks like heat damage.

It was horrible everywhere which is why I removed what little paint remained. You get used to the corroded alloy look. A year or so ago a slight oil weep appeared from behind the belt cover so I haven't removed the cover to investigate in case it is something serious. The oil stain on the corroded alloy looks better than the plain corroded alloy IMHO so hopefully it will spread evenly

 

[g.s.john]

Hammerite smooth works fine for painting the cover if you apply it correctly.

A stainless crud catcher type thing works well to stop further stone chipping.

I have a large fender extender from Nippy Normans does much the same thing.

 

[younger06]

It was horrible everywhere which is why I removed what little paint remained. You get used to the corroded alloy look. A year or so ago a slight oil weep appeared from behind the belt cover so I haven't removed the cover to investigate in case it is something serious. The oil stain on the corroded alloy looks better than the plain corroded alloy IMHO so hopefully it will spread evenly

I have the same oil weep from behind the cover. I'm afraid to get it checked out, I'm told it can either be a cheap fix or a complete cluster f##k!!

 

[Bendy toy]

I have the same oil weep from behind the cover. I'm afraid to get it checked out, I'm told it can either be a cheap fix or a complete cluster f##k!!

It's likely to be the oil seal. Easy fix with the Haynes manual self tapping screw method.

 

[Bendy toy]

Hammerite smooth works fine for painting the cover if you apply it correctly.

Hammerite state that a primer is needed on aluminium. I usually use a self etch primer but will it cope with the engine temperatures up top? It's clearly a lot hotter there than in the visible areas

 

[Bendy toy]

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