just wanted to get a few thoughts on chroming a frame. first of all i live in ohio and i called many chrome shops here in ohio. They all told me the same thing "we wont do it". When i asked them why not they had the reply of "the welds contain magnesium and the chroming process chemically tempers the frame and weakens it". i found two places so far one price is $1100 and the other is $800. i asked them about what i was told and asked their opinion he said "the other places were too scarred"

I guess the bottom line i am looking for, does chroming your frame weaken it?

 

i never had any problems with it except for the up keep and cleaning time. its hard to keep spotless unless its a show bike. my zx9r was a show bike and it had what a company in texas called a stage 3 chrome package. that was the frame, swing arm, rotors, calipers, wheels, and a lot of little things here and there. never once had a problem with any of it. but that was a 99, no telling what has changed in the welds of the newer bikes.

 

i have a 98 900rr with a polished alum. frame talking about up keep lol. chrome just wipes off

 

compared to polished yea its easy. but i had more than just a frame to keep that way. but on the other note, the company i went through does this a lot, and granted i got what they called a stage 3, but i paid roughly 4500 with me doing all the work, and i do mean all. would have been a couple grand extra for them to do it all. being you have an older bike im thinking you need to do a little more research in your area and find a custom bike company that can point you in the right direction for good work. down here theres quite a few because we really can ride almost all year around if we so desire. up there may be more challenging.

 

Ever consider just having your polished frame clear coated? Would probably be a lot cheaper and shouldn't affect any integrity of the frame or welds. Its durable and protects for a long time.

I have heard of the chroming process affecting welds before. Im not sure if the welds contain magnesium, but anytime you chemically alter something, it can have a negative effect. Having said that. I think most of the scare came from chromed out gsxr's. A ton of people were getting the frames chromed, and they were having the steering stems snapping off. the frames were cracking at the welds. I think they attributed to the chrome process, even though some non-chromed ones were also having issues. It just so happened that a big majority of the chromed ones were breaking.

 

Pretty much what I was thinking. Easy upkeep, no corrosion, cheap.

If the majority of the shops told you one thing, I'd be inclined to believe them and the shops that said the other shops were just scared are probably ignorant fools.

If a bunch of people who know their stuff tells me it's going to weaken the frame I don't think I'm going to be running to prove them wrong.

 

That or a clear anodized finish. Clear coat would be much cheaper though.

 

Personally I never liked chrome that much.
To each their own I suppose. To clean chrome on a frame wouldn't be any different than if it was painted. IMO You'd still have to polish it and wipe it down.

 

i hear what everyone is saying and appreciate the input very much. with the clear coating (pc) in time it will chip/flake wont it. my brother in laws harley is doing that and looks like royal crap i dont wnat that to happen to my RR.

 

Well sure, cuz your brother-in-law's harley shakes like crazy! heheh

But really... anything that would cause the clear coat to chip would gouge or at least scrape up a chrome finish. I'm not much of a chrome guy I guess... but I don't really see the point.