By Mike Grage, Customer and Technical Support at The Bonneville Shop
Table of Contents
The Chrome of Before – Real Chrome
Where’s the real chrome? I remember a line in the movie Mad Max: Fury Road “…You shall ride eternal. Shiny, and chrome!”, and then the silver paint is sprayed into the guy’s mouth. That silver paint might be the near future for motorcyclists and gearheads (petrolheads) like me thanks to government bans.
When I started riding motorcycles on the street in 1983 just about every exhaust pipe for American and British motorcycles on the market was triple chrome plated (aka-show chrome), meaning it was plated in copper and then nickel before the chrome was applied. These pipes would experience “bluing” by the exhaust port that turned into a rainbow discoloration in the first few inches after the exhaust port. Some complained about the bluing, some of us accepted it.
At that time, manufacturers of budget parts used duplex nickel chrome plating (aka-street chrome). It cost less and the difference can be seen in the finish and the bluing. The bluing on duplex nickel chromed exhaust pipes tends to have a more burnt appearance, these were the pipes I used for high performance applications because triple chrome plated pipes were too pretty to butcher to the correct tuned length. Duplex nickel chrome plating was also commonly used in aluminum cylinder bores (with low drag piston rings) in place of iron sleeves by some of Japanese and European engine manufacturers.
Legislative Changes
“Then in 2021, California put a ban on new hexavalent chroming facilities and existing hexavalent chromium plating will be banned by 2023.”
Both of those chrome plating methods are hexavalent chromium methods. The European Union placed a ban on the chemicals used in hexavalent processes September 21, 2017 and forced the plating companies to stop hexavalent chroming by January 2019. Then in 2021, California put a ban on new hexavalent chroming facilities and existing hexavalent chromium plating will be banned by 2023. Those and other bans and regulations on protective coating materials in both places lead me to believe both locations will look like barn find motorcycles that have been under a tarp since the 1960s within the next couple of decades.
Many of us have noticed the decline in chrome quality when many vehicle manufacturers opted for duplex nickel on chrome plated parts in the 1970s and 1980s to keep costs down. It turns out that wasn’t so bad compared to trivalent chroming. The supposedly environmentally friendly process of trivalent chroming produces a much duller appearance and does not have a bluing effect like real chrome.
Trivalent Chrome
Another problem is that trivalent chromium is softer, so it doesn’t last as long. People who have bought motorcycle head pipes manufactured after 2017 (or a new motorcycle) will notice the pipes turn a brown/gold color up by the exhaust ports instead of blue like hexavalent chromium. The only advantage is the variety of colors, like black chrome.
“Many of us have noticed the decline in chrome quality when many vehicle manufacturers opted for duplex nickel on chrome plated parts in the 1970s and 1980s to keep costs down. It turns out that wasn’t so bad compared to trivalent chroming.”
The fact is trivalent chromium will never have the look and durability of hexavalent chromium and the deep luster we love is lost to history. It is sad that we must bid farewell to real chrome thanks to various environmental groups and government agencies. Looks like using exhaust tape and sealant (Modern British Iron PN# MBI-530674 & MBI-12002) and polishing side covers will be the new normal. We all know chrome won’t get you home, but it makes the world look so much better.
