Rust and pitting on fork tubes

hardrockminer wrote:

Wookie58 wrote:

hardrockminer wrote:

Maybe a new seat cover?

He asked...any other ideas I should consider?  I thought I'd inject a little humour!

As for the fork uppers...they are hard chromed.  Some shops will re-chrome them.  Most won't.  A new set probably costs around $100 US.

Re-chroming and grinding to size in the UK is £150-£200 for a pair

I should have looked up the price.  I was using the price I paid for Z1 fork uppers a couple of years ago. Z1E now sells them for $136, but they don't have them for KZ400's. 

There are new KZ400 ones on EBAY for around $150 but there are a wide selection of used forks for $50 to $100.  Of course shipping is extra in all of the above.

I’ve had great success using #000 and #0000 steel wool. 

If you can't clean them, cover them. The upper sections of the tubs are covered with a $3 sample of chrome wrap.

This may sound a little weird but bear with me & it does work.

Rub down the pitted parts with fine 1000 or 1200 etc paper wire wool or any other fine abrasive, buy silver coloured nail varnish & fill in pits & wait until dry rub down again & stand back & admire your work. Try on the non swept area first so you are happy with cosmetic side of things then do the lower part. Take your time you will be surprised at the results & as the varnish is quite hard lasts a long time. I have done this as a temporary repair many times & puts less stress on the seals due to no sharp edges.
Also to help you could apply some light silicone grease or rubber grease to lube the seals. Adding gaitors will also help stop corrosion in the future.

Hope this helps. It is cheap & the varnish lasts for ages. Ask a lady friend which is the toughest varnish as in which lasts or difficult to remove as some of the cheaper ones are better for this purpose.

Nice tip
 Thanks for doing the intro in the New Members section 
Dave