Prep now: save lots of trouble later.
Before you take it out again, double check all the fluids, check the battery, and just everything common sense tells you might not be in great condition after not being used for 4 or 5 months. Ride safe.
This is a tutorial on how to remove those brown spots, chrome rust stuff as well as small/light scratches from your motorcycle exhaust. Chrome is also found on car exhaust, tire rims, and other parts of cars and bikes. This same technique can pretty much be used on it all.
I own a 2007 Honda VTX 1300 Motorcycle which you can see by viewing this wallpaper. Aside from random kids deciding that my bike is nothing more than a play ground, I have also received damage from girls shoes (getting on and off the passenger seat), those pesky little brown spots that start growing on chrome, scratches from me trying to get the pesky brown chrome spots off, and even me accidentally being stupid enough to have something on the key chain aside from the bike key.
Anyone who buys something slightly pricey, should consider whether this is something that they want to take care of and keep nice, or just let normal wear happen as it happens. These scratches aren’t the ‘life or death’ kind of wear and tear, but it sure would have been nice to try and avoid them a little bit. Especially since I don’t plan on keeping this motorcycle forever (though if I took care of it, it would be an awesome graduation present if I ever have a kid). So for the time that I do have it, I think taking care of it is financially smart to keep the resell value up, and it also just plain sucks to have an impeccable machine with one nasty little area of scratches on it.
My friend Jake has quite a bit of knowledge on taking care of chrome. Things he learned from working cars and especially things he learned from owning a sweet v-four Honda Magna. Which happens to have 4 massive chrome exhausts on it. He taught me the basics of getting rid of these scratches, and caring for the chrome on my bike. Something which I figure many people who have chrome on their bike or car should know as well.
Things You Need To Buy
It’s pretty simple. The Super Fine steel wool is fine enough that if properly lubricated will remove light scratches and buff that chrome to a high shine. by itself though, it will dull the shine of your exhaust or chrome rims. So what do you suppose the lubricant for this is? The Mothers Chrome Polish. Keep that steel wool and your chrome exhaust covered in this stuff. You basically can’t have to much. Same with car waxing and polishing, don’t do this in the sun and make sure your exhaust is at room temperature. Every minute or two you might realize that the polish is dripping off the exhaust or is getting thin, so keep that bottle of polish nearby.
Swirl the steel wool in small circles over the affected area. If it’s those pesky brown spots/chrome rust stuff, just a few strong swipes usually does the trick. Small scratches on your motorcycle exhaust need to be buffed with the steel wool for a while and might need a few sessions to really make a difference. Use a damp terry/microfiber towel to clean off the chrome polish when you think you have removed everything to get a good look at it. If not, follow the rinse and repeat concept.
If you have removed the rust/brown spots or small/light scratches from your chrome, clean it all off and follow the directions on the back of the bottle of polish to get a real nice and clear shine out of your chrome.
For those really interested in taking care of their chrome, make your you take the proper precautions and Winterize your Motorcycle so that you don’t end up with rust eaten metal all over your motorcycle.
Click on the smaller image below to open up the larger image, or click on a preferred wallpaper size. I recently took photography on as a hobby, and decided to start taking pictures of my motorcycle. This was taken in the backyard of my old living residence in Springville, UT. The actual full size pictures have a better looking photo shopped license plate replacement. If you like this Honda VTX Wallpaper, please leave a comment and let me know.
The link from this image leads to a 1200 x 800 version.
2007 Honda VTX 1300c Wallpaper 1024 x 768
If you would like this in another size, please leave a comment and request it.
The motorcycle featured in this picture is my personal bike, where I have written a Honda 1300 VTX User Review on recently. I think the bike is really well rounded, super sexy looking, and is a ton of fun to drive; things you couldn’t get for this price anywhere else.
Since buying this bike I have started collecting minor scratches on the chrome parts, especially the exhaust. After learning how to repair these scratches, I wrote a tutorial on How To Remove Scratches From Chrome Exhaust.
Recently I have been disappointed in how hard it has been to really find an online review with any real content. Usually the reviews that people find when they spend just a few minutes of time online are written by a hired copy writer with the intent to gain profit. I would like to offer up a few reviews here and there on things I purchase or use. The following is for the motorcycle listed in the title of the article. To warn you, it really won’t have a ton of critical and negative information since I have love almost everything about the bike.
The Size
I was initially pretty worried about getting a bike with such a large motor, largely in part because of the sheer weight which drops in at 641 lbs. and the possibility of having too much power. When I started test driving them though, it was immediately apparent that Honda did an excellent job of balancing everything to make the bike extremely smooth and easy to handle. If you stand the bike up straight to move it with out starting it, or just take it out on a ride, you will notice it feels like a much lighter motorcycle than it really is but with the benefit of actually weighing more. Yes, there are a lot of benefits to having a bike that weighs more. Freeway driving is more solid even in windy conditions; pot holes and debris are less likely to affect steering, passenger weight effects handling less, etc. This is the largest motorcycle I have ever driven, but I have gone on plenty of rides on smaller bikes and have had absolutely no problem adjusting to the total 1312 cc’s my VTX has.
I am 6′4″ and really wanted a bike I fit on well because I feel so ridiculous on 750’s and 1100’s, like riding a 12 year old kids BMX bike. Personally I think I am still just a tad too tall for the bike, but nothing an adjustment on the handle-bars and foot pegs won’t fix. The turning radius isn’t quite as good as an 1100cc (Sabre) or 750cc (shadow) but still turns and corners quite well. The seat is only 27.46 inches off the ground so the ride is comfortably low to the ground but not too low. I test drove a Yamaha V Star 1100, V Star 1300, Kawasaki Vulcan, Honda Sabre 1100, and Honda Spirit 1100.
The Power
Riding this bike has been more enjoyable than any other bike I have ever driven. The 1312cc liquid cooled 52-degree V-twin comes with a SOHC valve train with three valves per cylinder. It has a 5-speed transmission, and power gets from the motor to the road over a drive shaft, rather than a chain. When I request power from the motor it gives me plenty, even at 110 MPH there is plenty of response still left. What is even more impressive, is when I was cruising in 3rd gear at about 40 mph and just floored it to get comfortably ahead of a car, the motor sent enough power to the rear tire, the bike actually peeled out. Peeling out from, just from speeding up while I was already going a decent speed . . yeah. . . plenty of power (which can still be used in moderation of course). Honda makes excellent vehicles and motorcycles, and the 2007 Honda VTX 1300c is definitely one of their best. Very low maintenance needed. The rear suspension has dual shocks that have 5 position spring pre-load adjust-ability, and using a tool kit built into the bike adjusting between these 5 positions is a breeze which is nice for the different comfort ride I want for free way use or taking a passenger on a ride.
Regardless of motor size, braking power is a huge requirement on any street motorcycle. My VTX 1300 has a 336mm disc brake with twin-piston calipers in the front, and 296mm disc brake with a single-piston caliper in the rear. Stopping and braking control isn’t a problem for me at all with these massive brakes. I really have been quite impressed with the response and maintained control when I need to make a quick stop.
The Style
The 2006 and 2007 line of Honda VTX 1300 models have three variations. The 1300R, 1300S, and 1300C. Each model from each year has its own line of color options on top of styling variations which is found in fender designs, rim size and designs, and handle bars. All three bikes have the same size of rear tire (15″ rim), but the front tire on the R and S are 17″, while the C has a sporty 19″. Like I was when I first test drove the VTX 1300, anyone who is used to riding smaller bikes will immediately notice how wide the gas tank is. Definitely not as big as the Honda or Kawasaki 1800 series bikes, but still wide none-the-less. Since styling is the only real difference between the three different 1300 models, my personal styling preference was to get the 1300c. I entertained the other models initially, but there isn’t a question any more that the C has better rims ( pretty frigging hot cast wheels as opposed to spokes that come on the S which I am not a fan of at all ), better handle bar styling, better color options- I got the Pearl Dark Blue on my 1300c, and much, much more attractive fenders.
The Bad
Two small hex-screws fell off the bike with in the first 20 miles of riding it. One is on the Odometer/Gas Tank plate and caused a horrible rattling noise. The noise was actually pretty annoying since I put 300 miles on it in the first 24 hours. The other screw was one of the two that held my license plate cover on, so not a big deal. They were both fixed on the first business day after I bought it. The headlight is pointed more up rather than down currently, and the speedometer is off a little bit. Monarch Honda in Orem, UT where I bought it offered to adjust the headlight, also not really a big deal. The speedometer though is a little annoying, and Monarch bike-techs said there was nothing that can be done. I intend to prove that statement false.
If you are considering getting a used 2006 or 2007 Honda VTX make sure the initial owners did the 600 mile tune-up. This is extremely critical. It’s not just doing the valve adjustment new bikes need, it’s removing and changing the oil that gets pretty full of metal filings caused by a new motor wearing in. Even if that was ignored and the oil was changed around 2000 or 3000 miles, plenty of damage was probably caused with the metal-filing-full oil that should have been swapped out. Not really my problem since the Odometer actually read “0 miles” when I drove it off the lot.
The 2007 Honda VTX 1300 Review Rundown
I really enjoy how smooth it drives. The Pearl Dark Blue looks amazing out on the road. The cornering and turns are great compared other 1300cc bikes, or ones close to it in size. The Passenger seat is a little narrow but I plan on getting a new one soon enough. There is lots of Chrome from front to back. Driver seat is comfortable and well positioned. Everyone driving around their 750’s and 800’s regardless of if it’s a Harley, Honda or whatever always turn their head and gawk. Stock pipes aren’t loud, but are big, beautiful and add a lot more chrome. They (the exhaust) seem to really be a trouble spot on collecting light scratches and that nasty chrome rust stuff that looks like brown spots. I decided to buckle down and really learn how to repair them, and wrote a tutorial on How To Repair and Remove Scratches from Chrome Exhaust. Owning your motorcycle for longer than just the summer time is pretty common. This Honda VTX is my first motorcycle, so I also spent some time learning how to prepare my motorcycle for winter weather and storage.
Check Out Honda Motorcycles Official Website for more info.
Check out my wallpapers of this picture. You can click on the image to be taken to the wallpaper versions of this picture.
-jon
These are just some quick photo’s of the motorcycle I just bought. It is 2007 Honda VTX 1300c. It literally had ‘0′ miles on the odometer when I bought it on March 17th. It has a 1312cc motor size, liquid-cooled v-twin motor. It’s a beast. I did a 2007 Honda VTX 1300 User Review which is basically, what it says it is. I reviewed this bike and will continue to update my feelings on it as I drive it around more.
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