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Rust

5K views 34 replies 16 participants last post by  Robbo 
#1 ·
Car Vehicle Automotive exterior Automotive design Hood
after a week trip to Wisconsin Dells with lots of rain I was cleaning bike and found rust on back fender. Just turned in claim
 
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#8 ·
Not necessarily a paint issue, but one of fender design/assembly. The fenders are 3 piece (hence the plastic chrome strip) and there is a coating on the underside of the fender, but it's likely not enough. The side panels are spot welded and then sealed with some form of rubberized goo. If there is a gap, then water can get in there and rust under the paint.
 
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#9 ·
It is a Roadmaster 2015 with about 11000 miles on it. The dealer did not seam to think there would be a problem. I am thankful I bought the extended warranty, good through 2020. I also put in a claim on exhaust on rear head turning blue, power button ring starting to flake and windshield rattles like a West Texas rattler.
 
#13 ·
Most vehicles assembled now have a phosphate dip and electrocoating dip to prevent rust. I would think Indian/Polaris would use the same process.

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The fenders have those treatments. The problem is that the phosphate treatment must be COMPLETELY rinsed from the parts with de-ionized water prior to the e-coat. If there is any trapped in the seams it will continue to react resulting in more corrosion. Add to this the fact that e-coat is an electro-deposition process that will not get into tight spots due to the Faraday Cage effect (look it up if you're not familiar). Also, they don't put seam sealer on the inside or even paint the inside to seal them, just a little over-spray from the painting process. Short cutting industry accepted quality practices can never result in a better product for the consumer.

My bike is a 2014, the front fender was replaced recently due to rust creeping out of the seam and bubbling the paint. The rear is starting to develop the same issue. I've personally seen several bikes with the exact same issues. When I got my new fender (tag inside the fender showed 5/16 manufacturing date) it was exactly the same way, with no sealer installed on the inside seams and no paint over the e-coat inside the fender. I sealed it myself and undercoated it. I'm just hoping all the phosphate got rinsed out of the seams and it doesn't rust again from that.
 
#15 ·
The answer to that is pretty damned obvious. Their commitment to profit is greater than their commitment to quality. The cost of sealing the seams and painting the (non-visible) underside of the fenders is greater than the cost of replacing the ones that do rust prior to the warranty period expiring, when you consider that they charge almost $1,000 dollars for each painted fender if it is purchased outright, like when you need to replace it and your warranty has expired. The fact that my new front was exactly like the old one on the inside, when they have been dealing with this issue for a couple of years now, tells me that the bean counters win in almost every case.
 
#16 ·
It is a Roadmaster 2015 with about 11000 miles on it. The dealer did not seam to think there would be a problem. I am thankful I bought the extended warranty, good through 2020. I also put in a claim on exhaust on rear head turning blue, power button ring starting to flake and windshield rattles like a West Texas rattler.
I also have the extended warranty until 12/18. Polaris is still telling me they're not giving me a rear fender. I plan on having an extensive chat with then again Monday. My shield doesn't rattle as much now that a bought the long ride shield battleaxe. Works great, too.
 
#17 ·
It is a Roadmaster 2015 with about 11000 miles on it. The dealer did not seam to think there would be a problem. I am thankful I bought the extended warranty, good through 2020. I also put in a claim on exhaust on rear head turning blue, power button ring starting to flake and windshield rattles like a West Texas rattler.
I would double check the fine print on the extended warranty. It is more like an extended service plan. With that said I bet cosmetic stuff will not be covered under the extended plan. On the windshield, extend the windshield all the way up. Make sure the top rollers (that are now exposed) and not loosening up. That has been the case for me a couple of times. The other windshield issue was since I am taller I ride with the windshield close to all the way up. I started to see more bouncing of the windscreen on the left side. It turns out when you look from under the fairing and see the bottom pivot point I had a great amount of slop at the left bottom pivot point. I got a new windscreen assy under warranty. What really helped me was getting a Freedom 16" curved windscreen. Now my windscreen does not need to be up so far and I believe that helps wear and tear on the pivot assys. Dean
 
#18 ·
The rust creeping out from the seam and lifting the paint is NOT a "cosmetic" issue. It is most definitely a "defect in material or workmanship" that the warranty promises to cover. The fact that the seam is not properly sealed in accordance to standard industry practice makes it defective workmanship. The cause of the defect appears to be that it was specified to be built this way, but that does not make it any less defective. They really need to get on top of this before it blows up in their faces. I can't imagine very many folks are going to cough up $1,000 dollars to replace a fender without making a lot of noise (lawsuits) about it.
 
#20 ·
I completely agree with you. I work for a large manufacturer and I know how corrosion is looked at while under warranty. The simple response from them is this is cosmetic. It usually falls back on us to prove it is the result of some defect in workmanship. I was lucky enough to see this happen within 7 months of owning the bike. It made it very easy for me to show that this was a defect. Also showing them that only one side corroded on the front fender. I may be mistaken but it does appear to be mostly a 2014 to 2015 issue. From what I can see it looks like the poor prep and soft paint issues were resolved in the 2016 models.
 
#19 ·
Not necessarily a paint issue, but one of fender design/assembly. The fenders are 3 piece (hence the plastic chrome strip) and there is a coating on the underside of the fender, but it's likely not enough. The side panels are spot welded and then sealed with some form of rubberized goo. If there is a gap, then water can get in there and rust under the paint.
I have had both fenders replaced under warranty. I have had a very good look at the construction of these fenders. I completely agree with the three piece design but I see nothing any coating between the panels on the spot welding. With the tire throwing water up to the crown of the fender the water is easily forced into the seams . I agree with the phosphate treatment. I think this is why one side of my front fender looked great and the other was showing corrosion under the paint. Simply poor prep work. I would seriously recommend for anyone who gets replacement fenders to first have the inner seams coated with a good quality undercoating before having them installed. It only takes a few minutes and anything you can do to help keep the water out of the seams will help ensure this does not happen again. Dean
 
#22 ·
Here is some info I found so far. On the Indian site I found this info that tells me I am covered by a 24 month Manufacturer's Warranty. (I have a 2015). I was concerned that I only had a 12 month warranty. I think I still have a chance the rust will be repaired. As far as the extended contract, the best I can determine is it only applies to mechanical issues not paint.

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Indian Motorcycle® stands behind our products in many ways. One way is to provide a manufacturer's warranty for a period of time, which starts on the original date of purchase.

  • The first-to-own Indian® Scout™ holds a (24) 24-month warranty and a 3-year ESC promotion.
    (Any Scout outside of the First to own promotion will have the 24 month Manufacturer’s warranty.)
  • 2015 Indian® motorcycles have a (24) twenty-four month manufacturer's warranty.
  • 2014 INDIAN motorcycles were offered a (12) 12-month manufacture warranty and 4-year ESC as a first-year promotion.
INDIAN MOTORCYCLE will stand behind and offer warranty reimbursement on work done by any authorized INDIAN MOTORCYCLE dealership. INDIAN MOTORCYCLE will not reimburse for work done by the consumer themselves, nor any third-party service center.
 
#23 ·
One of the other things that surprises me is the number of people that have after-market paint jobs applied to the bikes and don't get the seams taken care, thus eliminating the chrome strip - and the problem...

I get this is an issue for how they are assembled, primed and painted. It should be better. But having the cost of a custom paint job, and then applying the same strip seems a little strange to me. I get there is an aesthetic at play here, as well as extra cost (not to mention having a talented fabricator that can weld it or lead the seams) but still...
 
#26 ·
Color me happy. Dealer just called and said Polaris will cover the cost of a new fender. I asked if they offer any type of undercoating to help prevent this is in the future. Sounds like they do so I will be getting that applied to fender before installations, at my costs. I would almost be tempted to get there Rhino lining stuff put on to help but don't want to do anything to cancel warranty.
 
#28 ·
Color me happy. Dealer just called and said Polaris will cover the cost of a new fender. I asked if they offer any type of undercoating to help prevent this is in the future. Sounds like they do so I will be getting that applied to fender before installations, at my costs. I would almost be tempted to get there Rhino lining stuff put on to help but don't want to do anything to cancel warranty.
I brought this up to the Indian rep I know and he stated that any undercoating applied to the fender would not effect the warranty. I would not go overboard on the under coating. The Rhino stuff adds quite a bit or weight. It may cause cracks to show at the fender attach points. Just a coat of good undercoating would work.

One thing to note. The fender rusting is only for the remainder of your two year warranty. So if there is three months left on your two year warranty and your new fender rusts in four months, no coverage. Dean
 
#31 ·
Rust issues on my 2014 Chieftain. I had surface rust around the fuel filler and Polaris replaced it under warranty. Now I notices rust in the lighted warbonnet on the front fender- which gives the Indian Head some "color," but obviously not desirable. My dealer has put in a warranty claim. Good to have that 5 year warranty.
 
#33 ·
While we shouldn't have to do it, you should be able to remove the rear fender Eyebrows and fish oil the seams from the exposed area.bit will run down and should pemetrate. You could even use a syyringe and inject it ito the seam.
The front seam is completely covered by the stick on trim but it might be possible to injet tbe oil in a few places with a hypodermic needle. Fish oil gets in so it should work.
Probably need to do it annually to stay protected.
 
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