so how do i fix this

[warren35]

well after doing my first ever burnout on my aprilia and then rideing home i found that the wire had come out of my tyre and scratched the crap out of my swing arm.ive sanded and buffed it out but now i have the new polished mark and was wanting to know what the swing arm was coated in to start with.does anyone know.me mumma always said stupid is as stupid does.help please

[jrandom]

Did you, er, get a new tyre very shortly thereafter? That'd probably be my first piece of advice...

[warren35]

yeah bud,it was night and i as told the next day that they could only see sparks comming off my tyre.it was pissin down so i couldnt hear the wire ripping my number plate to bits among other things.dam costly time.2 of 5 blew new tyres and 2 others shagged theirs in the rush of the moment.i was the last so thought what the hell my tyre is near stuffed anyway

[Stuey]

well after doing my first ever burnout on my aprilia and then rideing home i found that the wire had come out of my tyre and scratched the crap out of my swing arm.ive sanded and buffed it out but now i have the new polished mark and was wanting to know what the swing arm was coated in to start with.does anyone know.me mumma always said stupid is as stupid does.help please

Your swingarm is more than likely hard anodised, so effectively you've worn off the protective coating, from what i know this is just to stop the ally corroding from the elements, rain, dirt etc.. wont do any harm to the swingarm, just have to polish it every now and again, i did the same with the frame on my gixxer, polish it once a week to keep it healthy, mind you it is getting dryer, weather wise, so you probably wont need to polish it that often.

[Stuey]

well after doing my first ever burnout on my aprilia and then rideing home i found that the wire had come out of my tyre and scratched the crap out of my swing arm.ive sanded and buffed it out but now i have the new polished mark and was wanting to know what the swing arm was coated in to start with.does anyone know.me mumma always said stupid is as stupid does.help please

Infact, why dont you take the swingarm off alltogether and polish the whole bloody thing it would look very trick!! , and with the better weather ahead you wouldnt have to do much to keep it lookin good, just take care of it in the winter!

[onearmedbandit]

Anodizing also strengthens the metal, so bear that in mind. You may have affected that, whether it matters or not, dunno :confused2 .

I can"t bring myself to do burnouts on any of my bikes, never seen the point. Not judging on ya there, we're all individuals.

[Dr Bob]

When you do polish the swingarm you can get an Aluminium coating (saw some at Mitre 10 last week), to stop further corrosion. Aluminium is a *very* reactive metal, it is only saved by the thin layer of oxydized material on the surface. But corrosion can increase if there are multiple metals in the same conductive loop (hence why you put zinc blocks on aluminium hull boats - called a sacrificial anode). Suffice it to say, if you polish then don't expect the surface to stay shiny unless there is clear coating on it.

[Dr Bob]

What I have resorted to recently is cutting out scotch bright pads into circles attaching (with the proper attachement) to my dremel (I have a flexible shaft) and using this as the first stage of the polishing process. Harsher that cutting compound but gentler than sand paper. You probably can't get deep scratches out, but you shallow one can vanish.

[Dr Bob]

Anodizing also strengthens the metal, so bear that in mind. You may have affected that, whether it matters or not, dunno :confused2 .

I can"t bring myself to do burnouts on any of my bikes, never seen the point. Not judging on ya there, we're all individuals.

I would imagine that anodizing might increase the surface tensile strength, but it would have very little effect on large section castings. And if you have already scratched the surface then any small change in surface hardness (equating to increase in strength) is lost. We all know what happens when you scratch toughened glass - kerpow.

[Sniper]

I can"t bring myself to do burnouts on any of my bikes, never seen the point. Not judging on ya there, we're all individuals.

Ditto here, Im to scared I might do a bit more than a "littl" damage. Like OAB said, its all personal preference anyway

[warren35]

cheers dudes.as i said it was my first and now my last.if anyone ever in te kuiti and up for a ride gis a bell on 0211268867 for a thrash.no burn outs required.cheers

[marty]

the aprilia alloy is polished, then has a clear coat over it. i doubt if it is anodised. the only way you will get it sorted is to take it off, and take it in to a metal polisher (like here >
Stevensons Metal Polishers & Electroplaters Ltd
151 Ellis St Hamilton
0-7-847-1655

they will buff out the damage, then polish the whole swing arm to match, then put a protective coat on it. my rs250 had some scratches where the previous owner had tried to sand out some stone damage - luckily it was only a small bit and i sanded with fine (1500 grit) sandpaper, then finished with brasso then some clear coat to protect it. if you do nothing, the alloy will soon begin to corrode, and the swing arm will look ugly. it would take substantial corrosion/damage to upset the strength integrity of the swing arm.

[scumdog]

Anodizing also strengthens the metal, so bear that in mind. You may have affected that, whether it matters or not, dunno :confused2 .

I can"t bring myself to do burnouts on any of my bikes, never seen the point. Not judging on ya there, we're all individuals.

Likewise, I feel the urge to commit such mayhem on your scoot is like some form of compensation for a diminished manhood, more so if you have an air-cooled bike, just my 2 cents worth

I find tyres smoke better if they're stacked up and waste-oil tipped on them and a road-flare thrown in, that way you can have a yarn and a few beers while watching the pall of smoke!! - and you don't mangle the rear bits on your bike

Dear me! I thought EVERYBODY knew why you don't do burnouts with steel belted tyres?

[spudchucka]

yeah bud,it was night and i as told the next day that they could only see sparks comming off my tyre.it was pissin down so i couldnt hear the wire ripping my number plate to bits among other things.dam costly time.2 of 5 blew new tyres and 2 others shagged theirs in the rush of the moment.i was the last so thought what the hell my tyre is near stuffed anyway

A word of caution.

Don't publish your rego on the net, its too easy for some scrote bag to find out where your bike sleeps.

[warren35]

mate cheers for the note on the rego as its something ive never though of before.and oh yes to the comment of manhood,well come on down for a ride bud.every rider is always welcome here.thanks to everyone for the advise its been a real help and i think ill call into the place at hamilton to sus them out.well dudes im off to whangarei for a ride this weekend but if anyones up for a blat the weekend after that im keen as.ive always got mates to ride with but the more the merrier i say.thanks to all