Honda CB350 RS: Rusting & paint chipping issues annoy me to no end

I had a Royal Enfield Classic 500 before this bike for 4 years and it never faced any rusting or paint chipping.

BHPian redrage_369 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello dear BHPians, regrettably my first post on Team-BHP turned out to be a rant but given the problems I am facing with my bike, I wanted to know your advice and opinions on the matter.

11 months ago I had a dilemma in buying a motorcycle under the 2.5 lakh segment. And so after much deliberation, I went ahead with the decision to get the Honda CB 350 RS. Given that this is a Honda, I expected a level of quality from this motorcycle. With regards to the engine, it surpassed my expectations. The engine is smooth, refined, and has enough pep for my commute as well as joy rides.

However, I noticed paint chipping and rusting issues on my bike after only 11 months. This is unacceptable and given that Honda markets this motorcycle as their “premium” offering through their Big Wing outlets, this kind of quality is appalling .

I am attaching some pictures for reference:

You can see the paint chipping off from my suspension forks on both sides. It is also visible that the remaining paint on the forks is about to fall off soon.

Please note that the dirty looking parts are not actually dirt, but rust. The bike was thoroughly washed before taking these pictures.

I had heard about issues regarding paint chipping off from the engine before getting this bike. But certainly did not expect this much of degradation of paint within only 11 whole months.

I had a Royal Enfield Classic 500 before this bike for 4 years and it never faced any rusting or paint chipping.

So much for Honda’s “premium” offering

Please help me out on this dear members. I am taking the bike to the service centre soon, which is around 50 kilometres from my place of residence but unsure about getting a satisfactory resolution.

Here’s what BHPian pravint had to say on the matter:

Looks like there is underlying corrosion which is causing to paint to chip off.

Did you drive in acidic environment ? or someone threw acidic substance like vinegar or any other acidic chemical on bike ?

Or possibly you were sold accidental bike (which was repainted)

Here’s what BHPian VijayAnand1 had to say on the matter:

From what I can see, the issue has calcified beyond recovery and plain cosmetic correction, especially on the fork legs. The underlying paint has bubbled off which will eventually peel away either by slight scratch with our fingernail or pressure wash. Either way it’s not a pretty sight to behold. The immediate solution would be to either replace them. If replacement is not an option, then you’d need to remove those legs, get them sanded, primered and re-apply a fresh coat of paint.

As I see with the other parts of the bike, again it’s a catharsis of sorts for all the parts involved. A touch up would never be a permanent solution and it’s disheartening to see Honda ostracizing its offerings by offering such inferior quality paint job. Truly aghast!

Good luck to you with warranty, if you’re covered by one. If not, it’s going to be heartache!

Here’s what BHPian Laidbackakki had to say on the matter:

I faced the same rusting issue on the handle bar end caps. Showed it in the service centre, they just spray painted it.. it peeled of by the time I reached home from service center. Then on I have not bothered about it, simply because I don’t want to haggle around for a minute amount of rust on the end caps, not have the time and patience for it. Rest of the bike is hasn’t shown any rust apart from rear shock spots inside the spring. But upon cleaning it with WD40, it hasn’t recurred again. I think the rear shock rust spots was because of the excessive water splashing during rainy season here in Goa and used the bike extensively in the rains. OP please try getting it repainted/replaced under warranty, try talking it out with them they should help. I have a good dealer and service people here. Not so sure about your place of residence. Good luck

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