Rear shock rust issue?

[Cortez]

Anyone got his rear shock rusting away like this?



This is the result of riding through winter (a lot of snow and salt..).
How do I fix this other then removing the whole shock and repainting it,
which is a pain?

I guess I should have washed the salt off after every ride, but I never
suspected the shiny bits to rust..

[axy]

These pictures were made a year ago when People was a year old and Agility was 2 years old.
Imagine how these parts look now.

http://www.kymcoforum.com/index.php?topic=554.msg10922#msg10922
http://www.kymcoforum.com/index.php?topic=554.msg10923#msg10923
http://www.kymcoforum.com/index.php?topic=554.msg10923#msg10924
http://www.kymcoforum.com/index.php?topic=554.msg10925#msg10925

Kymcos are made of sh**ty materials all over - it is not a premium brand, regardless of fairy tales.

Stop caring about it and it will go away.

[Cortez]

I've seen worse, but I'm also aware that is doesn't have to look like that so I do what
I can to prevent it. Had good practice on the exhaust of my speedfight 50 during it's
30.000km it spent with me..

Agility's exhaust doesn't rust as much, but it's still not that good.

[axy]

I've seen worse, but I'm also aware that is doesn't have to look like that so I do what
I can to prevent it. Had good practice on the exhaust of my speedfight 50 during it's
30.000km it spent with me..

Agility's exhaust doesn't rust as much, but it's still not that good.

I remind you that we have snow 1-2 days per year, so no salt here, and I pressure-wash both scoots approx. every two weeks.
To be honest, I have not seen worse.

Prevention? Buy another scoot/brand. Alternative solution would be praying to higher deities for rust reversal. I see no third option.
To be honest, Kymcos rust much more than allegedly low-quality Italian scoots. I have had all sorts of bikes and only on Kymcos metallic parts rust this badly.

p.s. Exhaust rusts too, but 2 stroke exhaust cans rust much more, your scoot was 2 stroke... in fact, they burn off the paint faster because they are hotter, so the exposed metal rusts more quickly than in 4 strokes. I paint both exhaust cans every summer, after a few months they are again in bad shape.

[Cortez]

Yeah, the 2 stroke exhaust was pure horror, this is much better, but I've already re-sprayed the
whole thing at least 5 times (in just over a year), but again, I do ride daily (snow too..).

[old mod]

I was amazed at how fast corrosion set in on my scoot, after only 4 weeks! So i researched and a lot of bikers use ACF50 a Canadian spray on, available here in the UK. Spray it on all metalwork (but avoid the brakes!!!) good for electrics as well, leave it on until good weather. 

[Cortez]

Thanks everyone..
I've got bigger problems now..
I just replaced the battery.. and now the starter motor died on me.. it's $300 at a local
shop, I gotta find a cheaper alternative.

[axy]

Thanks everyone..
I've got bigger problems now..
I just replaced the battery.. and now the starter motor died on me.. it's $300 at a local
shop, I gotta find a cheaper alternative.

Try to repair it, if it is the starter itself.
In the past (when people actually used to do something here and there was industry...) you could bring all kinds of electric/starter engines to an electrician who could replace the coil and all wiring.

The problem is that it is not cheap and could easily cost like a new one.

There will be no problem to find used ones online, but my experience is that UK online scrap yards DO NOT WANT to ship here, even if you pay up in front. I have no idea why.

Then, there is the issue of custom fees and VAT ...

[Cortez]

Try to repair it, if it is the starter itself.
In the past (when people actually used to do something here and there was industry...) you could bring all kinds of electric/starter engines to an electrician who could replace the coil and all wiring.

The problem is that it is not cheap and could easily cost like a new one.

There will be no problem to find used ones online, but my experience is that UK online scrap yards DO NOT WANT to ship here, even if you pay up in front. I have no idea why.

Then, there is the issue of custom fees and VAT ...

Condisdering the price here is about $300.. and I've found them online from $20 to $60.. I've got
a lot of spare $ for fees etc.. But I gotta figure out first if it's just the relay.. or the whole unit.

[jeeves]

There is a lot of salt in the air here where I live (Dubrovnik, Croatia), especially when a wind from the south is blowing called Jugo (Yugo, as the infamous car  ).
Don't have a garage, so my scoot is outside in the weather all the time.
Most of the exposed metal part stared rusting pretty soon after I bought my scoot, and it's only gonna get worse. I spray everything I can from time to time with WD40.
If you like your scoot to look like new all the time, this won't be the best solution, because the film of WD40 that you spray on a attracts dust and grime, but I don't have a problem with that.


A picture of my left rear shock from last year (don't have any newer, or close up pictures)

   



Front disk (picture also from last year, looks worse now)

[Cortez]

 

[axy]

To console you, it's not from the salt. I live at 350 m above sea level, regularly wash the scoot and it was in much worse condition than yours after just one year. Simply, it is crap finishing/material quality.

[jeeves]

To console you, it's not from the salt. I live at 350 m above sea level, regularly wash the scoot and it was in much worse condition than yours after just one year. Simply, it is crap finishing/material quality.

As I said, these pictures were taken a year ago. I'll take a few new ones these days so you can compare.
The scoot is a 2008 model, I bought it second hand in December 2009 with only 2800km. It looked almost brand new.The former owner kept it in his garage. Only a few days after I bought it we had really bad weather for a couple of days, lots of salt in the air. Cars parked close to the sea were covered with almost a greasy like film of sea salt.
All the bare metal, and even some painted surfaces on my scoot, began to rust.

Yes, quality levels could be better, but salt will corrode all metal surfaces after a long enough exposure.     

[docjones]

I just use Turtle wax chrome polish on mine and the rust comes right off unless it is badly pitted. Which mine wasn't. As a matter of fact I just got thur doing this to both our scoots. Got to stay on top of it. We live just a half block off the ocean in Jacksonville Fl. lots of rust there also.