Yodie, the site vendor will be reading this no doubt. I wonder why there has been no words in defence yet ?
As to what you should do, I have never been a fan of chroming too many parts, especially larger parts like wheels. Chroming seems to have a short life as we all know from Jaguar car spoked wheels
If you want the chrome to look like new in 10 years time, then keep the bike in your bedroom and trailer it to shows. My chrome rocker covers are a disgrace, they will need attention soon. 9 years old and 22,000 miles ????
I'm glad I ceramic coated my bigshots
Ceramic and powdercoatings are getting a lot better these days, with more pigments closer to chrome and a lot tougher than paint. I have seen the black chrome powdercoatings and they look great (done right).

@ Matthew, I have heard the chrome FX, Spectra, and such like, can also have a short life. I wouldn't be too sure about the adhesion through the paint process either ?

Good luck with your choice of finish Yodie. You may have to forget about the chroming vendor and start afresh.

Gav.

ps,...forgot to add,......I'm glad Kyle chipped in right away, cleared any doubts, and was good advice from him too.

 

Yodie, the site vendor will be reading this no doubt. I wonder why there has been no words in defence yet ?

Gav.

Exactly....
I always look here first when I need a part, need to chrome, or customize a part.

I was hoping this would have been resolved for him by now. But because it hasn't, it just guarantees that I will not have anyone on the vendor list do any chrome for me.

I hope if it drags on much longer you make the vendor known.

 

Well past time to name the chromer. He doesn't need more business if he can't handle fixing yours.

 

As a member, I agree its time to name that re-chromer. It seems they are the party at fault.
As a moderator, I hate when things like this get covered-up and so cast doubt on every site vendor.

Speaking only for myself, it seems like this isn't anything the site vendor can help with because the re-chroming that was done prior was an agreement between the OP and the chromer. The site vendor wasn't involved in the rechroming and for that reason is probably biting his lips hard while staying out of this. That seems a fair 'reading' of the circumstances based on what has been said, my apology if its too far off the mark.

 

As a member, I agree its time to name that re-chromer. It seems they are the party at fault.
As a moderator, I hate when things like this get covered-up and so cast doubt on every site vendor.

Speaking only for myself, it seems like this isn't anything the site vendor can help with because the re-chroming that was done prior was an agreement between the OP and the chromer. The site vendor wasn't involved in the rechroming and for that reason is probably biting his lips hard while staying out of this. That seems a fair 'reading' of the circumstances based on what has been said, my apology if its too far off the mark.

As a small business owner myself, I disagree...If you have a problem with your house that you PAID a general contractor to oversee/coordinate, you go to the gc with the problem...then it is up to the gc to resolve the problem....that is what they get paid to do. Same situation here.

Still no reply from the vendor. I am going to email the chromer and see what they want to do.

 

Response from chromer. 10/30/12

not sure what all going on with wheels. will try and resolve this for you. what would you like.we are caught in the middle here. we plate and return wheels sent to us and do not exchange any wheels. are both wheels bad or just one? hard to tell from pics. will help in anyway we can.

 

there ya go yodie~! looks like they are willing to work with you!
good luck man!

 

well that sounds promising

 

Wait, so now the wheel-builder is at fault? Somebody should parse this thread and lay out the known details so far.

 

In a nut shell:

Vendor led me to believe that I was getting MY wheels widened/chromed, but I waited 3 months and got back someone elses wheels...this isnt really the issue...I was just pisssed cause I was miss lead.

10 or so months later both front and rear wheels and pulley are blistering.

I contact the vendor, the vendor contacts the chromer, the chromer says to send them in to examine.

I break the bike down, pull the bearings and ship to the chromer (pain in the buttt and expensive to ship)

6 weeks later I get the wheels back...they are a little rough/pitted, but I can live with them, assuming the finish holds up.

5-6 months later wheels look like azz again...peeling and rough.

Email vendor twice and no reply.

Today I email chromer and get a reply almost immediately.


Anyone that knows me well, knows that I have VERY uncharacteristically held my temper on this. My nick name to my friends is "Nickhead"...I usually don't hold my tongue for anything!!!! Am I pisssed? Absolutely! But, I feel everyone should have an opportunity to fix their mistakes. I'm not an expert on chrome. All I can assume is that something caused the chrome to not adhere to my wheels and whatever it is that caused the issue the first time around was not removed the second time around. I feel that the chromer is going to make this right and we will be done with this! Everyone makes mistakes occasionally and if the chromer rights this then I can't justify plastering their name on the web. I would assume that if anyone else was having the same probelm that they would have chimed in by now. Hopefully my issue was an isolated case and no one else will have to go through what I am going through. Yeah, I want to cuss and mother fuk the people involved cause yeah its a pain in the asss and really sucks, but in the end its not going to do any good.

Matthew...to answer your question...no the wheel builder had nothing to do with any of this.

Going fat involves this: you send your wheel/wheels in, the vendor pops out the bearings and sends the rear to Kosman to have it widened. (all vendors use kosman...no one widens the wheel in house, which I did not realize until I went through all this) The vendor then gets the widened wheel back and sends it and the front wheel to a plater or coater to have the finish applied, wheels then go back to the vendor to have the bearings installed, then they are sent back to the customer.

A lot of times the vendor will have a wheel/wheels in the size and finish that you are looking for, in stock, and will exchange your original wheel/wheels for a set that is ready to go...allowing for a quick turn around.

Roger?

 

Yep like I say 'my bad' bro!

 

Chrome peel / flaking on original & replacement wheel / wheels
Poor customer service
No / delayed response to customers emails


Pretty much sums it up as a 3 strike & you're out rule to me. If I were you after I get the replacement wheel / wheels I would put the original vendor on blast noting how they ignored your emails and you having to contact the chromer directly to get the ball rolling. Trust me, that alone would put a nice dent in their internet business

I personally only give a vendor 1 shot to get / make things right but I'm 1 who have a very low tolerance level for B.S. and the run around.

 

There are only a couple vendors so I sure hope that people have realized I am not the ONE! I am glad the chromer seems helpful, and sure hope they get it right this time. My number is 775.351-8221 If you need any help on this please call, I do not do chrome but have used one in Cali. 2 times and both people said it was outstanding work so I can give you there information if you need this.

 

I think what you said and how you feel are both good ways to go about this issue. I myself just keep seeing members ask what vendor over and over and there are only 3 of us so I personally wanted to make it clear I was not involved and also offer my help even if it is not needed.

 

back on subject...who should pay for all the shipping charges I incurred...not to mention the packing materials, dismounting and mounting two tires, pulling and installing bearings...all X2...anyone that has gone fat knows how expensive this can get!!!

 

You will probably have to eat the shipping and tear down..if the chromer does, he needs an A for effort. Kinda like buying a defective part for your car, if you install it..it's on you. If you would have taken your bike to the vendor and paid them to do all the work originally then you may have a tree to bark up..at least the chromer is willing to communicate..good luck

 

Yodie001 it looks like the chrome shop is willing to make it right.At this point is about all you can do and hope for the best.B/C plating is a multi step processe All chrome shops have parts that do not turn out right.Most are fixed before they get back to the customer but nothing is perfect. first the part is striped of paint,oil,dirt then polished then cleaned then plated with 3 different metals in 3 different tanks all of which must be temp controled and there chemical solutions adjusted and the electrical current adjusted and on and on it goes. Your wheels will be striped down to bare aluminum and repolished for the third time.Some loss of detail will happed each time a part is polished and the care just R/R of the bearings to not f-up that part of the wheel for the third time but it is said Three is a Charm .

 

Hope it works out this time, buddy.

 

any updates on the wheels yodie?

 

Well basically the chromer said that the wheels are the source of the problem(not so sure they are right)...too many imperfections and pits. Says I need to send these wheels to the vendor and swap for another set. (Vendor could powder coat mine and give me a good set of chrome wheels and everything would be cool) Problem is the vendor seems to be awol...no response to two emails or to pm...

I've been working 7 days a week and havent really had time to hammer down on this issue...but I got a feeling I'm gonna get the sausage...

 

Sooo... do you want someone else to send an email or message to the vendor as a new prospective customer shopping their offerings? That could be a good way to gauge if they are carrying on with business, but simply ignoring your problem.

I've been thinking about a 260 kit myself...

 

About time to call him out. Fair is fair. Sucks, makes me not want chrome.

Agreed...Especially since it wasn't your wheel you got back. Someone else's wheel is too pitted to accept a good chrome plating. I'd be absolutely fuming by now. Sorry you're going through this.

 

Well I have read all the post. . . and it looks like you have exhausted all your options. Do you have a friend that is an attorney? If you do . . have him write a detailed letter, itemizing your expenses and asking to be made whole. Then contact the Attorney General in the state that the Vendor resides in and file a written complaint.

I know it sounds like a PITA but it "may" get you your money back.

IMHO if you want the wheels chrome properly, send them to Chrome Masters and be done with it once and for all.

One more point. . . I think you must name the vendor.

Good luck,
Bob

 

I have to say... and have had a few people contacting me about kits asking about this thread.
There are very few people doing warrior mods as there is not a huge market and profit is not very high due to this. When someone on the forum sees this thread they will not always read all the post to "rule out" which vendor not to use and instead instantly have fears about this mod... I myself agree with the others with posting who you are dealing with as I am sure I am not the only vendor getting asked if this was my kit, which clearly it is not.

 

I agree Kyle.
BUT - Taking into consideration your (very good) point about not trawling through at least 68 posts to find out,
he will have to add a name to one of the early posts to help clarify this.

 

All chromers are not created equal so don't let Yodie's bad deal mislead you. I've been following this thread since Yodie's 1st post back in October. IMHO he's been more than patient with the vendor giving him plenty of time to make things right. Bottom line is he received bad prep work which resulted in peeling/blistering chroming straight out the gate not once but 2 times. The wheel/s are pretty much toasted as far as chroming goes and the right thing to do is to at least refund him his payment/'s. If the vendor/chromer can't at least come to an agreement that Yodie is in agreement with he needs to take them to small claims court. Given we're now approaching the Winter months when the mod bugs seem to bite deep I'd also put the vendor/chromer name on blast so that other's know exactly who not to deal with. By not identifying the vendor/chromer kinda puts a dent in the other chromers business which IMHO is unfair to them.

 

If you really want this nightmare to end, I think it's time to name the vendor.
In this economy, bad publicity is quite the motivator....

And personally, I'll not use any chrome vendors from this site until this guy is named...
Not naming him indirectly hurts the honest vendors here..

 

If you really want this nightmare to end, I think it's time to name the vendor.
In this economy, bad publicity is quite the motivator....

And personally, I'll not use any chrome vendors from this site until this guy is named...
Not naming him indirectly hurts the honest vendors here..

Agreed.....100%

Myself as well as others have some chroming on our Winter mod list and the last thing we need is to deal with the same dirt bag.

 

To me you should not have to deal with the ones who chromed the wheels. That should be the venders problem. The vender gave you wheels he had in stock most likely, which is done to get the wheels to you sooner so you do not have to wait for yours to be done. In 3 months i think you said you should have gotten your own wheels back instead of someone elses. The vender should be taking care of this and as you said he is AOL, which says a lot for his business practices. I think i know who the vender is because another forum member had trouble with him before and he tried to BS his way out of that problem also, but that is just me assuming and we know how that goes. Anyway, i really hope you get what you paid for because that is what you deserve. Customer service has gone to he!! in this country and is probably going to get worse. Chrome Masters is a good place for chrome, also Meclec.

 

From vendor 11/12

Hi Nick, Sorry for the delayed response. Been on vac. Will be back in shop on weds. Call you then

 

From vendor

Hi Nick, Sorry for the delayed response. Been on vac. Will be back in shop on weds. Call you then

I don't buy it at all.......

The only reason you heard from him is that he is keeping an eye on this thread....

It seems, after all this time, you're never going to make the vendor known.
So I just have to say...... MY chrome work will never be done by anyone on this site.... And I'm sure I'm not the only one that feels this way.....

Sorry, but the **** with this guys vacation. He has Dic#ed you around long enough... For the time it took for him to write that email to you, he could have just as easily written, "I'm very sorry, but don't worry, you'll be made whole at my expense, I'll call you wednesday to go over the details."