Dyna beads AND wheel weights? uhh what..?!

[massacremasses]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

See if this link will work.

The only thing is that if you powder coat, then you should probably make sure you are buying the steel kind instead of the lead kind. The powder coating temps may cause the lead to melt.

BTW, powder coating aluminum?? I guess you know that you need a special powder coat that cures at a lower temp than regular powder coat. If you cure at the normal temp, you'll ruin the temper in the aluminum. Not sure if this applies to die cast aluminum rims, but I wouldn't want to take the chance if it was me.

idk Ive powder coated aluminum many times. Havent had an issue? I talked to the company and they knew my intentions as well with the powder and they didnt mention anything about it.

The salesman said they had a set of rims on display in their office the same color I purchased.. as well as a bicycle frame...

[n4mwd]

Here is some info on powder coating aluminum.

But there is a type of powder coat that cures around 300F and is safe for Aluminum. But rest assured, if the powder you bought was that kind, it would be stamped all over it. Also, you need a guarantee that the guy wont stick it in a 400F oven anyway.

Just so you know, there are plenty of sales jerks out there that will sell you junk knowing full well it will ruin your stuff just so they can make a sale. I've ruined a few engines listening to what sales jerks have to say. Do some research online before putting those rims in an oven.

[n4mwd]

But the key thing here with powder coating aluminum is TEMPER. The heat messes with that. If the aluminum is not tempered, then powder coating will not harm it. I don't know if Ninja rims are tempered or not.

[alex.s]

it is a MYTH that cooking aluminum at 350F (normal powder coat) will do anything to the temper of aluminum like 6061T. they are tempered around 1000F, and a puny powder coat oven is not going to do anything to it. even if it did, if you understand what tempering is actually doing to the aluminum on a molecular level you wouldn't be scared of partially retempering it. you aren't going to do any damage unless you bend the **** out of the metal then partially retemper it. also, weights are not load bearing in the slightest bit so even if it did completely destroy the temper, nothing would be effected. obviously you might be worried about your rims but i doubt pretty much every car manufacturer would powder coat their wheels if it wasnt safe to do so.

http://www.mlevel3.com/BCIT/heat%20treat.htm

[n4mwd]

Not really a myth. Some aluminum alloys change temper at well below 400F. Those guys that do the powder coating are generally not metalurgists and all they see is a pretty aluminum part when they're done. And they don't really care if your wheels warp after the first bump you hit.

They make a special aluminum alloy powder that cures in a 250F oven. Why not play it safe and use that?

It all depends on the temper. If the part was heat treated to give it the strength it has, then a 400F oven can potentially damage that temper. Its fairly complicated to know exactly how much, if any, damage will occur in a 400F oven for 20 minutes. It all varies depending on the alloy, exposure time and starting temper.

I wouldn't put my rims in a 400F oven without knowing exactly what that would do to them. It wouldn't hurt to shoot off an email to Kawasaki and ask.

[alex.s]

because its not like thousands of people do every year with no consequence

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by alex.s

because its not like thousands of people do every year with no consequence

People who smoke cigarettes use the same argument.

[alex.s]

it takes something like welding to screw with an anealed temper dude. heating up aged tempered aluminum to 400F isn't going to do jack to it. only something like welding and melting 6061-t turns it to 6061-o which is like 80% less strength. when you temper something you're relieving the internal stresses in the metal and the molecules 'settle' together in a more cohesive way. heating it up to 400 is not going to upset a temper.

[n4mwd]

http://my.execpc.com/~davewrit/Powder.html

Found your article most enlightening. A metallurgist friend told me a few years ago that things like aluminum wheel spindles should not be powder coated. He explained that aluminum billet material (6061-T6 ?) changed crystal structure at a critical temperature around 410 degrees F (as I recall). The thrust was that the heating step would adversely affect the strength of the material. Non-structural components would be OK, but not something that "holds the spokes on". The metallurgist is correct. Products like wheel billets, scuba tanks, etc. can be powder coated, but only with powders which cure below peak metal temperature of 300 degrees F. The crystalline realignment at 400 degrees F causes the previous ductile aluminum to become brittle. Imagine the catastrophe when an 80 cu. ft. scuba tank explodes under 3000 psi pressure after an unauthorized powder coat (this actually happened). To my knowledge, all Aluminum wheels and other strength-critical aluminum components are powder coated with these cooler curing powders.

[KawiKid860]

Hey since I really kind of dont feel like going to a billion hardware stores to find all the tools I need to get my bike back on the road, and repainting is expensive... should I just buy a new bike?

[massacremasses]

Originally Posted by n4mwd

http://my.execpc.com/~davewrit/Powder.html

I saw that when I was searching but then I also saw another forum where they had specs and all kinds of stuff. What I learned that an hour in an over (which they will bake half of that time) will not really have any serious affects. However if you start keeping them in 400 degree ovens for long periods of time, then yeah its going to affect them. I saved the link on my work computer but im at home... anyways Im pretty sure its fine this is a pretty common practice.

[alex.s]

MSDS sheet on 6061 Aluminum:

" Annealing Annealing should be done at 775 F for 2 to 3 hours followed by controlled cooling at 50 f per hour down to 500 F, then air cool.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aging The aging precipitation heat treatment is done at 350 F for 8 hours followed by air cooling. This produces the T6 temper. "

[massacremasses]

I seriously do rims all the time, so im not really trippin. Our powdercoating guy told me not to trip on it either.

[n4mwd]

Originally Posted by KawiKid860

Hey since I really kind of dont feel like going to a billion hardware stores to find all the tools I need to get my bike back on the road, and repainting is expensive... should I just buy a new bike?

A picture would be nice to see what kind of damage you have. If its really bad, check out your insurance. But honestly, slipping out of neutral is the stuff that lawsuits are made of. If nobody else is willing to pay for it, then file a claim with Kawasaki under product liability.

If your bike has a toolkit like the 250 pregen, then you already have most of the tools you need.

[KawiKid860]

mmm took it into the shop today since my dad offered to pay for a professional to look at it, turns out my forks arent just out of alignment they're bent. This sucks. Now I'm looking at a new, used pair of forks for $100.. not too pricey seeing as kawi wants $220 a pop for new parts, thats just the uppers which is all I need. All this from a 5-10mph accident at the most... in my driveway. Ridiculous. At the holidays too.. Now I basically have no transportation, and need my bike back by Jan 3rd for school. Ughhhh. Went to the dealer to look at new bikes... Got a couple new 250s in, damn does the ninjette look good in the new metallic green. Also not a huge fan of gixxers but the '12 750 was pretty comfortable, sat on an 09 750 and couldn't flat foot it. Love the looks of the 09+ zx-6r though... Oh if only I could get a new bike.

[n4mwd]

I'm thinking that's your way of saying that you don't have collision insurance.

[KawiKid860]

Oh woops forgot to answer that, yeah no insurance lol. Not legally required here in WA, stupid not to have it I know.

[n4mwd]

Same deal in FL. I normally wouldn't get it, but after witnessing two bikers go down and hearing of many others, I decided to get it anyway. There is a big problem down here with hit and run cagers with bikers left unconscious on the side of the road. So I got uninsured motor vehicle which is supposed to cover that. I still don't have collision, but the odds are the cager will be at fault and will have to pay for the repairs anyway. In any case, its pretty cheap when compared to car insurance.

[alex.s]

Originally Posted by KawiKid860

Oh if only I could get a new bike.

i'm pretty sure if you wanted you could walk out of just about any dealership with a bike. they'll make it happen even if you don't have the money.

[KawiKid860]

Ehh I don't want to finance and make tiny payments on a $12k bike lol. 09 ZX-6R with under 1200 miles for $8k isn't bad though... Honestly I'm happy with my bike lol. Riding it to the shop felt sooooo good, even if it was all out of alignment and it was ridiculously cold (even colder than normal since all the fairings were off).. Having withdrawals now.