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Honda Quality

  • Thread starter Deleted member 1183
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Deleted member 1183

I mentioned recently that I had removed my forks for installation of cartridges. During the course of that I also mentioned that the fork brace was badly corroded. All of the anodised surface was gone. I have only now noticed that the lips of the fork dust seals are also cracked around their circumference. As such they will need replacement. This is the latest discovery of a number of surprising items on this Honda that have not survived the test of time. This bike is out in all weathers but I have taken the trouble to keep it well rinsed after use to ensure that salt does not do its mischief. However I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that Honda quality is not what it used to be. My bike has only a little in excess of 30,000kms on the clock and is a 2012 model.

So far, the list includes:-

Corrosion blistering a section of the surface of the instrument panel mounting bracket.
Rear wheel bearings replaced at 10,000 miles
Rust spots on the swingarm brace from road debris off the rear wheel
Corrosion on various nuts and bolts but particularly on the axle bolts and nuts.
Fork brace completely rusted
Bottom fork triple clamp showing signs of rust
Various small brackets showing signs of corrosion.

I am dealing with all of these items as I find them and in the most part I am nipping it in the bud. However I also have a 1989 Honda Dominator in my shed that is showing no such symptoms albeit it has led a somewhat pampered life. It is still almost 27 years old.

I have no doubt that many on here who live in warm dry climates will not have encountered such issues. However I am disappointed with this poor performance from a Honda product. It seems to be the norm nowadays with many manufacturers but I am surprised at Honda.
 
I've posted pictures of my BMW here before, my NCX is like gold plated titanium compared to that thing, lol.

As far as corrosion goes, I must say I've never seen such eye opening examples, as bikes in the UK! :eek: It's like you guys have acid rain on steroids over there!
 
Honda is the world's number one producer of robotic arms used to assemble many brands of items. On most Honda motorcycles today the entire assembly process is done by robotic arms, not touched by human hands. Ask all the folks who at one time worked in Maryville, Ohio for Honda motorcycles. These folks put something called human "Pride" into the product. I know the robotic arm is not even able to understand or conceive the word "Pride". The word profit margin ("greed") seems to be the only word understood by most corporations run by all the corporate attorneys.
 
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I've posted pictures of my BMW here before, my NCX is like gold plated titanium compared to that thing, lol.

As far as corrosion goes, I must say I've never seen such eye opening examples, as bikes in the UK! :eek: It's like you guys have acid rain on steroids over there!

Here in Ireland it is every bit as bad, if not worse ! Interestingly enough my Triumph and KTM seem to be coping a little better than my NC.
 
Honda is the world's number one producer of robotic arms used to assemble many brands of items. On most Honda motorcycles today the entire assembly process is done by robotic arms, not touched by human hands. Ask all the folks who at one time worked in Maryville, Ohio for Honda motorcycles. These folks put something called human "Pride" into the product. I know the robotic arm is not even able to understand or conceive the word "Pride". The word profit margin ("greed") seems to be the only word understood by most corporations run by all the corporate attorneys.

Sorry but have to throw the BS flag on this one......."On most Honda motorcycles today the entire assembly process is done by robotic arms, not touched by human hands." This just NOT true and just short baloney. ( I have been in Honda assembly plants ( both auto and cycles, ATV, engine and transmission ) in the US , Mexico, Canada and Japan.) Honda uses robotics just like everyone for repetitive tasks, lift assist, welding. They have an in house Engineering company that custom makes fixtures and robotics.

As for the original post UK has corrosion issues unlike any other market. As past owner ....The Transalp guys would have spokes pull through the rim due to corrosion that was rarely seen in the US.

Example of total robotic section on the car line:

http://st.motortrend.com/uploads/sites/5/2012/11/Honda-of-America-Manufacturing-assembly-line.jpg

Very typical motorcycle line:

https://komarjohari.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/05-motorcycle-production.jpg

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/s8doksLPbD4/maxresdefault.jpg
 
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My NT700v is made in Spain, unlike the NC700x I have. I think both have quality built into them compared to BMW or Harley.
 
the biggest problem we have here is that during the winter months local councils put road salt as soon as there is ice mention in the forcast.
this salt is the most corrosive substance and it will cause rust on any bare metal even chipped paint.
I did a little test a couple of years ago.
bought some salt to clear the paths etc and this isn't as bad to what they use on the road's.
I put a good handful into a small bucket and added water.
put a mild steel plate in and within a week it had bubbles of rust on the surface and it has small pit marks.
so you just imagine that being on the metal for 3 or 4 months continuing getting wet which I think will reactivate the corrosions etc.
back in the 70's I can remember that Fiat cars were so bad after 3 or 4 years they had to be scrapped.
the floor pan were completely rotted.
and it wasn't just Italians cars others had the same problem ,only british made cars lasted longer but even they needed new inner wings ,sills by the 7th or 10 years.
I use to take a small magnet when looking for a new car(used) because in the days fillers were used regularly to botch up repairs and black underseal were used to.
I'm sure griff can remember them to.
 
ACF50 is ok. However when applied to surfaces that get blasted by road spray or water say from the wheels, it will wash off after a short period. For those applications I use VP90

Napier VP90 Super Shield Barrier 750 ml Spray: Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools

It is the next best thing to a coat of paint and forms a waxy coating over surfaces. The paint has blistered on the front of my Givi bars and I had to scrape it off to reveal the rust underneath. I cleaned the section down to bare metal and applied VP90 to get me by until I can take the bars off and get them coated . That was a few months ago and the Vp90 is still there doing its job.
 
Where I live, we don't really test the corrosive properties of the NC. We have tons of salt dumped on the roads locally during winter months, but over 99.9% of the bikes stay home when the salt is out. Usually when the salt is present, you would be dealing with ice, snow, freezing rain, blizzards, etc, so nobody rides. A good rain washes the roads clean, you might get a short riding period in, then the cycle repeats until spring.

In short, the common solution here is to put the bike up when the roads are salted.
 
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A world (or local, depending upon where you are) geography/history question:

Griff, is Ireland once again in the UK? I thought it had separated in the 1920s some time.

Sorry for the possibly embarrassing off-track.
:)
 
Agree with ShowKey in regards to Robot use in Honda factories.

Any place that is fairly small and surrounded by salt water is going to suffer a lot more corrosion than we see in the US. I saw a photo posted on the Deauville (NT650/700) UK website a while back and it was of an NT650 on which the entire lower shock mount on the swingarm had disappeared due to rust!
 
I'm wondering if they are mixing a bit of ash with the salt. That use to occur in the U.S. years ago. Between the ash(when wet turns to acid) and the salt(which is corrosive) cars coming south from the North were half eaten up and would be only a couple of years old. In East TN they use a salt/beet juice brine and salt. Salt is usually for the steeper sections or intersections. After each ride I usually hose my bike off to remove any salt dust. Of course I've only had it 6 weeks but it is a 2012 model and shows no signs of rusting yet.
 
A world (or local, depending upon where you are) geography/history question:

Griff, is Ireland once again in the UK? I thought it had separated in the 1920s some time.

Sorry for the possibly embarrassing off-track.
:)

Ireland is made up of 32 counties. 26 of them constitute the Republic of Ireland which is an independent sovereign state. The remaining 6 constitute Northern Ireland which remains part of the UK.
 
Ireland is made up of 32 counties. 26 of them constitute the Republic of Ireland which is an independent sovereign state. The remaining 6 constitute Northern Ireland which remains part of the UK.

Thanks, that's what I thought. I think I got confused when people replied to your post but were talking about the UK.

:)
 
Ireland is made up of 32 counties. 26 of them constitute the Republic of Ireland which is an independent sovereign state. The remaining 6 constitute Northern Ireland which remains part of the UK.

There's no country in the EU that's an independent sovereign state in it's own right. To varying degrees all the EU states have signed away a certain rights and so have a number of laws and regulations imposed on them by the bureaucrats in Brussels.
 
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Sounds like most of the OP's quality problems are related to either the paint process or metal coatings. My guess is that due to newer environmental and work-safety concerns those uber durable coatings are cost-prohibitive, especially on budget vehicles. My 2003 Goldwing lived its entire life on the coast of Maine, was not garaged and was ridden year-round. After 144,000 miles and eight years the bike still looked brand new. I'm thinking the days of ultra-durable metal coatings and paint are behind us for awhile, at least until the chemical engineers can come up with processes that aren't as toxic as the old ones and are inexpensive to apply.
About 130,000 miles and going on 8 years old when this picture was taken. They don't make them like they used to ;-)

IMG_3493-L.jpg
 
I had a GL1800 from new for ten years from 2002. I put 55,000 miles on it but it was used only for touring. However I agree that the quality of finish was better than our current NC's. Same colour too as yours. I only parted with it when age related wear and tear made it difficult for me to manhandle it at a stop and at very low parking lot speeds etc , especially two up and fully loaded.
 
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