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Hi all.just a quick question,winter is coming and I was wondering as I will be riding in the cold weather, ifsome1 can give me a good idea of how to protect my bike from wind and rain?? Is there something I need to look out for or is there a good wax or spray that will help against corrosion from salt and dirt?? Many thanks for any help..........I have a pulse 125...cheers...
Winter still using the AC still about 28c down in SH its still 34c but is getting a bit colder of a night down to 24c good old London but i do hear you had a good summer back in the UK here in China i just lock my bike away in a garage with the battery disconected,good wash, WD all over bits low on fuel, bike cover and kiss it good night but not untill Nov
I ride all year, one of the most valuable things you can do when the salt is down is to hose your bike and wipe down when you put it away, only takes 10 minutes. Other than that you can coat everything in something like AC50, take all the bodywork off so you can get into all the nooks and crannies
^this +1. Actually, +100Quote:
Originally Posted by choldy
But NEVER use a power washer. NEVER use a power washer ANYWHERE on your bike. I repeat - NEVER power wash a bike. Especially if there is a chance of freezing temperatures.
Low pressure wash, using lots & lots of water - garden sprayers work well (low, low pressure - ideally misting).
We detail bikes, and also set them up for storage. High quality spray-on protectants (different ones for different types of materials) are ok for storage (very light application), if one uses ventilated covers in a non-freezing environment, but the protectants wear away quickly on daily-riders. What is most important is cleanliness and a thin coat of wax. Salt is a killer on almost all materials. It is important to minimize it.
We use very high quality wax (ridiculously expensive) for detailed/stored bikes, but it would be a complete waste of money to use the same for a daily-rider. Cheap liquid wax works fine on daily riders, as long as you do at least a bi-weekly application - wipe on, wipe off.
Clean water, gentle soap and elbow-grease. If you are riding in rough conditions, and want your bike to remain pretty, you've got to accept that it will be a LOT of work keeping it clean. Alternately, you can do what the mechanics in Northern Canada do on heavy equipment - spray super-heavy oil on everything under the hood while it is new ... looks awful, but protects metal, rubber, nylon, etc in very harsh conditions.
Bikes are MUCH different than cars - on a bike, everything is exposed to the elements - on a car, the engine, interior, etc, are all tucked away behind body work. If you can visualize driving a convertible with the top down, and no hood (bonnet) or grills, that is what a motorcycle is like.
EDIT: In Beijing, we don't have salt on the roads, but we have something that is just as bad - some of the world's worst air pollution ... aka "acid rain" that chews away at aluminum. Lots of washing with lots of water.
Thank u all for the answers..been hunting around caus will be using me bike over winter..acf50 spray has been mentioned so many times from other bikers that I think will give it a try..again much appreciate all the answers...8). Cheers..
No prob buddy, just bear in mind the acf50 or equivalent scotoiler stuff doesn't live up to its hype, it's not fire and forget the key thing is to remove the road salt with clean water after every ride
:thumbsup: