Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Accessories Chrome Addiction

You know, you put the chrome peg hangers, battery and gear box on and those plain cam covers sure look out of place..

Oh dear, oh dear ..
People think "I'll just try it once .. I can stop whenever I want .. I don't need it, I just want it .."
... It's a slippery slope mate ...

Take it easy, there's no help out there for you ... there are no therapy groups for the likes of us ..

And stay away from that chrome foot control bar .. it's mine .. I saw it first y'hear ..?

There is a 12 step program that claims to cure you of this problem, but step 1 is getting rid of the bike. Based on that alone, I don't plan on actually trying it, nor would I recommend it to anybody.

Steps to recovery:
1. Admit you're a chrome-aholic.
2. Baby steps-nothing more than little stuff at first like choke nobs, clutch lever cover, etc....
3. End your daily Searches on Ebay.
4. Never go to the photoposts page
5. Hypnosis - Repeat after me " There are no more chrome pieces available for the America".
6. Remove www.newbonneville.com from your favorites list. (That's a tough one)
7. Buy a buffing wheel and polish. That will keep you busy polishing all the aluminum parts of the bike.
8. Spend all your money on the big bore kit, Freak, tires, wheels, braided cables, brake upgrade, saddlebags, and anything else that isn't chromed.
9. Convince yourself that you want to keep the bike completely original in case it's a collectable someday.
(Yeah Right!!)
10. Spend the money on beer. (That's a different problem)
11. Tell yourself that cleaning the chrome is a pain in the neck.
12. Buy an all Black Speedmaster and leave it that way.

Now your on your way to recovery.

If I buy the chrome cam covers, do they include a new seal ? If not, who's selling them ??? Thanks ...

Mine did not come with a seal but I didn't need one. The original seal is thick rubber and quite durable. If you change your camcover don't forget to "dig" the bolt hole seals out of the old cover and re-use them. They will be stuck down in the holes and are kind of difficult to get out.

I reused the stock seal also. Squirted a bit of red atv on to hold in in the groove. And ditto on the screw seals. Without 'em you'll be spraying 15-50 synthetic all over you legs. Warning: getting the sucker off can be a bit gnarly. I ended up removing the ignition coils to get a bit more room. And wrapped the back end of the chrome one in masking tape so as not too scratch it when working it into place. Well worth it though. Had 3 compliments on it on my first ride out last Saturday. One more thing - be sure not to over tighten the cam cover screws. Stripping the threads out is not unheard of...I think they can be torqued to 10nm.

Ok, I'm not clear on this. Dosen't the cover come off and then you can dig the seals out of the old cover ? It sounds like you left the covers on the heads after the bolts were removed ...

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I reused the stock seal also. Squirted a bit of red atv on to hold in in the groove. And ditto on the screw seals. Without 'em you'll be spraying 15-50 synthetic all over you legs. Warning: getting the sucker off can be a bit gnarly. I ended up removing the ignition coils to get a bit more room. And wrapped the back end of the chrome one in masking tape so as not too scratch it when working it into place. Well worth it though. Had 3 compliments on it on my first ride out last Saturday. One more thing - be sure not to over tighten the cam cover screws. Stripping the threads out is not unheard of...I think they can be torqued to 10nm.

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Out of curiosity, did you heat the cover before you dug the bolt seals out ???

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Mine did not come with a seal but I didn't need one. The original seal is thick rubber and quite durable. If you change your camcover don't forget to "dig" the bolt hole seals out of the old cover and re-use them. They will be stuck down in the holes and are kind of difficult to get out.

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Since you have the tank off, you might as well take the black trim off of it and put the chrome stuff on. And while you're at it, this would be an ideal time to put the chrome rear engine hanger on as well....
And if you look under the fake chrome air filter covers, you will see a hollow tube - part of the frame. Lowes or Home Depot sell chrome button plugs that fit in the ends of that tube. If you clean it out first with a rag and some Mazola oil, you can store a piece of kielbasa or a couple Slim Jims in there, you know, an emergency snack....Maybe a few pretzels, a toothbrush and toothpaste....Small roll of toilet paper... the possibilities are endless!

Addiction??? What addiction???

I really don't like chrome all that much....

Until I get the incentive to take the tank and stuff off, I want to ride it, I put the factory peg hangers back on. At least the ? asthetics of the bike are back ...

There is a sure cure, but it might be a bit expensive. Sell out and move next door to the owner of a rat bike. Do all of your polishing out front where you can see him ride off to have fun after spending only a couple of minutes checking his bike. Arrange to forgo the weekly polishing and ride along with him. Watch how much he enjoys riding without worrying about scratching or smudging his bike.

And so, as our heros await, she'l look like this ...
[image] http://www.bonnevilleamerica.com/photopo...=500&page=1 [/image]

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Until I get the incentive to take the tank and stuff off, I want to ride it, I put the factory peg hangers back on. At least the ? asthetics of the bike are back ...

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It's a flyin ...

[image] http://www.bonnevilleamerica.com/photopo...=500&page=1 [/image]

I've got to say I'm with Greybeard. Since ceramic coating my headers and long-cannons I've never been so happy. Just fill her up and ride her. She still looks better than most bikes on the road. By the time I'm done, I reckon I'll have the entire bike blacked out. Perhaps I should have just bought a speedmaster?