Author Topic: C14 Front Gear Case Cover Corrosion Problem?  (Read 6175 times)

Offline Conrad

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Re: C14 Front Gear Case Cover Corrosion Problem?
« Reply #20 on: September 07, 2013, 08:21:59 AM »
Northern Illinois   Silverdammit '08 C-14 ABS

"Don't bother me with facts, Son. I've already made up my mind." -Foghorn Leghorn

Offline Conrad

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Re: C14 Front Gear Case Cover Corrosion Problem?
« Reply #21 on: September 07, 2013, 08:23:39 AM »
Can't say for sure, but the battery is right above that location. When on the sidestand, any leakage from the battery will flow down to the left side and might drip onto that cover. I don't see any corrosion on my bike but there is some green stuff on the heads of the bolts :yikes: Battery is coming out today!

You maybe on to something there. That green looks like the same color as the crap that appears on the negative terminal of the battery.
Northern Illinois   Silverdammit '08 C-14 ABS

"Don't bother me with facts, Son. I've already made up my mind." -Foghorn Leghorn

Offline CobraJock477

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Re: C14 Front Gear Case Cover Corrosion Problem?
« Reply #22 on: September 07, 2013, 11:37:40 AM »
I'll pull the battery and see what it looks like in the case and let you know. 
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Offline texrider

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Re: C14 Front Gear Case Cover Corrosion Problem?
« Reply #23 on: September 07, 2013, 02:07:27 PM »
Could be just the reason I need for buying a gel battery!  8)
2014 Valkyrie

Offline MAN OF BLUES

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Re: C14 Front Gear Case Cover Corrosion Problem?
« Reply #24 on: September 07, 2013, 02:46:12 PM »
I have an 08. purchased 7/07, rode it a lot during 3 winters in Va., and it did see some salt.

it is my opinion that your bikes paint was compromised by contaminants on the metal, prior to painting.
I would ask the dealer to document it, get Kaw involved, and have that cover replaced. It is a warrantee item when a corrosion below the paint, which opens to atmospher and WILL continue to worsen, requires intervention.

here's my bike;








I do have some "roughness" of the material sub paint, but now openings, or corrosion, and my paint is adhered well, so I don't have issue.
The Green you see on those bolts, and you can see it on mine, is from a marker they use during assembly to mark fasteners as they torque them, it is basically a sponge with ink, inside the socket of the wrench, which deposits the ink onto the bolt head for visual verification during QC.
I noticed this when I went over the bike top to bottom and checked all the bolts, as per the owners manual, @ 500 miles. I did clean a lot of them to remove the ink, but you can see I missed a spot on one... oooops.
The clutch cylinder is below the assembly, so brake fluid ain't the issue, and also, the sealed batteries have no vent to drip there, although we have documented many, ok maybe not many, but a lot, of instances of the OEM 08-10 batt's venting around the negative terminal, and causing fluffy corrosion there, this was localized, and does not migrate down to this area.

this is the battery Mung

 Hope this sheds light.

46 YEARS OF KAW.....  47 years of DEVO..

Offline MAN OF BLUES

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Re: C14 Front Gear Case Cover Corrosion Problem?
« Reply #25 on: September 07, 2013, 03:02:21 PM »
Could be just the reason I need for buying a gel battery!  8)


your bike came with an excellent battery, if you really want to replace it, do a search for "battery" and include post by "man of blues", that wil yeild the posting I made for a battery that is a sealed unit, that won't break the bank, and will be at your house about 40 hours after it's ordered....
Gell batts fail also, and when they do, stuff goobers out also...
 ;)

I didn't buy a battery because my was venting and corroding the terminal, that was caused by a micro-pore believe me, it there was any leak whatsoever, the issue would have been a lot worse looking, that battery got cleaned up, and grease applied around the post, which actually sealed it in lieu of applying glue... it finally died last year, after 5 years, with some extended times of no riding.... and I never used a battery tender till right before it died....

46 YEARS OF KAW.....  47 years of DEVO..

Offline MAN OF BLUES

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Re: C14 Front Gear Case Cover Corrosion Problem?
« Reply #26 on: September 07, 2013, 03:18:46 PM »
Look closely at the pics in post #1 (click 'em twice to zoom). The bolt above the area of corrosion is also a bit corroded and has some green stuff on it, unless that's a artifact from the camera?

your comment made me go back and look, not at the green stuff, i already explained that, but i did look at the substrate metal, and also the thickness of the powdercoating that was peling off....
 the substrate is totally black, it should be some semblance of gray/grayish white, because it is aluminum... very odd...., now as for coating thickness, generically these coatings are very thick, about 4-5 mils, (at least .005" thick), and when applied in an area like that, they end up thicker due to powder clumping, those loose edges look to be about 1.5 to 2 mils, and applied over metal that was never "pristine".

46 YEARS OF KAW.....  47 years of DEVO..