Permastar Rims
Rating: +0
I had my rims PermaStared a little over two years ago. I had them done in 'Black' Chrome but the Edelbrock manifolds I have seen look pretty close to true chrome. The color is changed by adjusting the heat/voltage when applying the finish so the process is the same no matter which shade you choose.
The finish is not quite as smooth as true chrome but I have a feeling that, it this case, it is more a fault of the person applying it than the finish itself. The place I had mine done specializes in car rims and I don't think they do very many motorcycle rims.
My recommendations:
1: Find a place that has experience doing bike rims, preferably including some with a large amount of surface areas like ours.
2: Verify the price! The prices that many places quote are for car rims where they only have to worry about the finish on one side - bike rims are usually more expensive because they have to look good on both sides.
3: Have your bearings removed/installed by a Honda shop - then it will be done correctly the first time.
No problems with fit - but make sure you have the bearings installed by somebody that knows metrics. I had a custom shop, that does mostly HD's, install mine and the front wasn't in correctly and I had to have it redone by a Honda dealer so my brake caliper/rotor lined up correctly.
The final cost was around $600, though $100 - $150 of that was new bearings and seals. And there was about a four week turn-around time.
The only other thing I would recommend is having the wheels polished before having them coated. Polishing will knock down the casting grooves in the rim so they shouldn't have to apply the coating as thick as they had to on my rims. This should give a smoother, more mirror like, surface than what I ended up with.
Even though the cost was a little higher than expected, it was well worth it as far as I'm concerned as the rims still look the same as they did the day I brought them home and all I've ever done to clean them is use soap and water. Plus it's one of those unique things that makes my bike a bit different than any other I've seen.