Powder Coated Brake Pedal And Gear Lever Suzuki M800 / M50

I had an issue with rust on the brake pedal on my Intruder which was brand new last autumn. Within weeks it started to rust even though I had plastered it with ACF50 and Scotoiler 365. There hadn't been any road salt down by that time either. My dealer got it replaced under warranty but the new one went the same way almost straight away. I wasn't happy and asked my dealer what would be the best option. They thought powder coating would be best and got agreement from Suzuki for the brake pedal and the gear lever to be done under warranty. I could get it done in any colour I wanted so chose black to go with the rest of the bike. Here are the results:

Great looking job, really handsome and well done for getting it powder coated under warrantee. I am shocked that they did that

PS, Bloody hell blues, you could have got your wheels powder coated

be nice maybe to have the pegs done so they match up with levers just an idear looks good what you had done

I get on well with the owner of my local dealer and have bought 3 bikes from him so he always seems helpful. It was his idea to try for the powder coating on warranty. He had also mentioned trying shiny hammerite paint so I might give that a go on the pegs and their mountings as the mountings are looking grubby as you can see in the pics.

Nice job mate, Looks good I wonder if the rust was down to you living near the North Sea ? salt in the air off the sea or am I being thick

El Bandito wrote:

He had also mentioned trying shiny hammerite paint so I might give that a go on the pegs and their mountings as the mountings are looking grubby as you can see in the pics.

yeh its hamerite smooths the one thats shiney and should match up with powder coat quite well if not reely well i painted the underside of my rear mudgaurd with it as that was starting to go rusty iv done quite a few miles since i did it and it seems to be holding up pritty well considering it gets grit small stones and anyother crap you ride over flicked at it good luck with it should look nice when its done

Did it look like this? This is what mine looks like now, and as you can see I haven't washed the bike recently, but that rust on the pedal appeared after about 2 months of ownership. I'm going to go over it with Silvo and see how much I can get off.

Well done Andy the powder coating looks good m8.Joe that rust should not be there at all,I've seen Chinese bikes with less rust on.I would get some hammerite not Silvo.

That powder coating looks sweet Andy, great that you got it done buckshee on the warrantee

Joe is your bike still under warrantee mate, got to be worth a punt at getting that sorted.

Simbo - I suppose it doesn't help getting the moisture off the North Sea but it hasn't affected any of my previous bikes. They all get ridden through the winter but get a weekly clean and loads of ACF50 and Scotoiler 365. This is the second brake pedal that has rusted within weeks of being on the bike. I've also had both silencers changed under warranty since the matt black bits at the end rusted straight away. I'm also waiting on a warranty claim for the lacquer starting to peel off the shaft drive cover on the back wheel (the bevel box I believe it's called). In discussion with the owner of my dealership today, he says the head man in Suzuki for Scotland has tentatively agreed to warranty work for that. My dealer says it will be up to me if I want it replaced or powder coated. I'll wait and see what comes of that.

Bunso - Mine wasn't as bad as that but it would have turned out that way over time though.

Mr Intruder wrote:

Great looking job, really handsome and well done for getting it powder coated under warrantee. I am shocked that they did that

PS, Bloody hell blues, you could have got your wheels powder coated

Just read this topic and was not surprised to see the rapid corrosion. My pedal went the same way. Never did follow up my offer of new rims from Suzuki but very interested to see the powder coating. I have realised that Intruders do not wear that well in the elements and in the last year have hardly ridden in the wet at all. There is little or no new rusting so I shall keep it strictly as my dry day bike - that way it should stay looking pretty new for a long time. The sea salt does not help, often carried on the wind so coastal bikes probably fare less well than inland ones (it's worth it though ) It's probably worth following up warranty offers but I'm a bit lazy like that I'm afraid! Still it's all about learning to live with a particular bike. Admirers of the Intruder (and as we all know they are many) rarely look too closely - most are simply bowled over by the bling. Kept in a dry garage, ridden in the sun and sprayed in winter, the 800 should remain in its newish state for a lifetime. Ride it unprotected in all weathers and I would imagine it would be in a sorry state after a few years but that probably goes for many bikes. Regular cleaning and drying is probably at the heart of a well looked after bike. I would not say that Suzuki's beauty is only skin deep but I don't have a lot of faith it goes too far below the surface. They are built to a price but to my mind the company has the balance between value and quality spot on. I am one very satisfied owner. I've got 3 of them and would happily own the whole range, funds permitting. Sadly the new Bandit 650 and DRZ 400 are no longer with us but owners will be buying, riding and cherishing them for many years to come.

PS I am not sponsored by Suzuki - just a fan !

Bluesman,

You are right about Suzuki building to price but I don't think they are really any worse than anybody else. I came back to biking 9 years ago and bought a 2 year old bandit and kept it for 3 years. The collector box rusted as they all did but apart from that it was pristine. Next was a brand new SV650S which I had for 3 years and it was perfect when I traded it in apart from the lacquer beginning to peel off the fork legs. Can't say how the DRZ400SM would have faired as it got nicked within 3 weeks of getting it.

As for my Transalp, it had horrendous furring on the spokes of both wheels and other sundry furry bolts/fasteners etc. I had it for 3 years and to be honest, it was a great bike but I wouldn't say the build quality was any better than my Suzuki's.

All bikes were treated the same - used all year round, parked outside without a cover, washed weekly and sprayed weekly with Scotoiler 365. I don't think I could make a case for not buying a Suzuki on build quality. I think it's mainly down to how you look after them.

I managed to find a weather window on Sunday and got the Hammerite Smooth Black out and did the footpegs as well as going over the crap looking brackets. I undercoated the pegs with a metal primer to make sure the Hammerite stuck - it took me 8 coats to get the red primer covered on the edges! Only 3 coats applied to the brackets though. I think it looks pretty good even though I was maybe a bit heavy handed with the coats and got a couple of runs. Here's what it looks like now:

Looks tons better now mate

Looks good Andy,well worth looking into great post.

Wow what a difference, good job done

Imagine a totally black Intruder - that would be some bike. The current Kawasaki custom looks great in black:

The satin black does look good

shame on you blues for darkening the site with a quaka nort percent fineance at the moment aswell . looks good now andy and it gave you a bit of practice with hamerite brake callipers next ?

The Kwaker looks nice until you get to the wheels, they look like they came off my grand daughters pushchair.

El Bandito wrote:

What a difference, excellent work there

I have to say I'm chuffed the way it's turned out. I've started to look to see what else could get the Hammerite treatment but since I don't have a garage and the bike is my mode of transport, I don't have the space or time to do anything more major. I think when the warranty claim is agreed with the shaft drive bevel box, I'll get that powder coated black too.

Mr Intruder wrote:

The Kwaker looks nice until you get to the wheels, they look like they came off my grand daughters pushchair.

Yes I never was very keen on those 'waggon wheels' - a bit like a 1930's invalid carriage! Shame as the bike is a stunner IMO - I know someone who's got one; he says it's very comfortable over long distances - not a patch on the Intruder of course!

Mr Intruder wrote:

The Kwaker looks nice until you get to the wheels, they look like they came off my grand daughters pushchair.

they are a nice bike the thing i dont like about them is they have a wide saddle and the bike is quite wide then you get to the front end and it's realy skiny front wheel just looks a bit to skinny imo i think the bike should be not so wide and the front wheel just a little bit wider the front wheels so thin that the bike behind it does'ent quite fit it

As long as you ignore the unusual looking mag wheels, I actually think the front is ok. It would look nice with a set of apes on it, then the front would look really good I think.

looks very nice..I used a park brake pad from a old chevy pickup for my pedal..and zip tied it on..looks ok ans seems to work..

for my shifter lever-- the rubber split so i took an old chrome spark plug socket and slid it over the rubber.. put some contact cement on it first and has worked for a long time..

Its always the simple but totally random ideas I like the best

fat intruder wrote:

El Bandito wrote:

He had also mentioned trying shiny hammerite paint so I might give that a go on the pegs and their mountings as the mountings are looking grubby as you can see in the pics.

yeh its hamerite smooths the one thats shiney and should match up with powder coat quite well if not reely well i painted the underside of my rear mudgaurd with it as that was starting to go rusty iv done quite a few miles since i did it and it seems to be holding up pritty well considering it gets grit small stones and anyother crap you ride over flicked at it good luck with it should look nice when its done

I thought I was doing something wrong until I read El Banditos initial post as I have exactly the same problem, although its WD40 I have been using to no avail.

To try and remedy this situation I want to try using the hammerite smooth first as a "fix" but what do you class as "shiney", is it the silver one?
Also, does anybody know that if I use the hammerite first will that cause any problems if I decide to powder coat them at a later date?

I think he means 'shiny' as in Smoothrite as opposed to Hammered finish, as for Powder coating at a later date, The powder coater's will strip them first usually.

as for salt air near the sea i agree the vl800 i bought was from near the atlantic on the coast less than 4500 mls pitting and rust on rims pedals was garaged before he moved near coast 18mths with lovely sea veiws and being kept outside under cover sadly takes its  toll. andy doing the pegs made all the difference looking  really good

Good old powder coating, tidies up corroded parts a treat, a good treatment for these parts when powder coated is Pledge, give it a spray and a quick rub with a soft cloth, this will shine up gloss finish powder coat and help seal satin or matt finish as this is porous and you will eventually get rust freckling, the added bonus is that any over spray you can,t get at will act as a protective wax coat plus it will penetrate small gaps and protect these areas, don,t use it too near your discs or cover them with a heavy towel or plastic bag.

Hammeright is about as sufisticated as I ever get