Guarding against road salt?

[Image]

Done a lot of preps this time for winter, bigger better battery, handguards to stop windchill, rear fog lamp for foggy or snowy mornings, heated jacket, warmer gel handgrips. My next thoughts are on guarding against the corrosive road salt/grit. Exhausts and chain especially. Anyone got any good tips?

[lloydie]

how about a set of these
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DUNLOP-TRACK- ... _500wt_947

[leevtr]

Get a spare bike

[lloydie]

or get a car

[Phimosis]

Cold hose down,dry off, garage, liberal lashings of wd40,wipe off, weekly soaking of chain in gear oil,wipe off,wd40 all electrical connections, tesco dash shine all black plastics, 30 mins per day should see you back to ride another summer.

[VTRDark]

ACF-50 is the stuff to use. Coat everything in that, leave it on over winter and wash off in spring. As for snow ski's add good protection.

(:-})

[benny hedges]

i use an industrial belt dressing - for conveyor belts.
its a very hard wearing sticky adhesive semi hardening grease that does not come off lol, not even with the jetwash.
all the road crap sticks to it and the jetwash just gets the crap off the grease.
when the roads are clean a good scrub down with diesel gets it off, nice n shiny underneath like winter never happened

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rocol-34295-B ... 35c04d2b3a

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@ leevtr A spare winter bike would still rust the same and cost the same to replace cans and chain at the end of winter.
@lloydiecbr Interesting tyres but it's not traction that concerns me, but salt erosion. As for getting a car, I've already got mine and the wifes but cars are fiddler aren't they, that's why I'm a biker.
@phimosis Sometimes I don't get home from work until late at night and I'm off again at 6am so I'm not doing that everyday. Plus my bike lives on the road outside (no drive or garage).
@ cybercarl and benny hedges Now we're talking. Will look into ACF-50 and Rocol. Are they heat resistant to go on the cans?

Someones giving me a scott oiler tomorrow. That and loads of spray on chain lube should look after the chain.

[BigVeeGrin]

Image - ACF50 is what they spray over US carrier borne aircraft. I did this one year, lot of info about it as well
http://www.allyearbiker.co.uk

[Steve.Storm]

ACF50 is amazing I use it all year round as it just makes cleaning road dirt easier. You can use it on exhausts and engine block, it will just smoke a bit as the engine heats up with a fresh coat. Every biker should have a can.

[seb421]

@ leevtr A spare winter bike would still rust the same and cost the same to replace cans and chain at the end of winter.
@lloydiecbr Interesting tyres but it's not traction that concerns me, but salt erosion. As for getting a car, I've already got mine and the wifes but cars are fiddler aren't they, that's why I'm a biker.
@phimosis Sometimes I don't get home from work until late at night and I'm off again at 6am so I'm not doing that everyday. Plus my bike lives on the road outside (no drive or garage).
@ cybercarl and benny hedges Now we're talking. Will look into ACF-50 and Rocol. Are they heat resistant to go on the cans?

Someones giving me a scott oiler tomorrow. That and loads of spray on chain lube should look after the chain.

Don't worry too much about a firestorm and winter mate, mines on its 4th winter all i use is WD40 round the engine bay, clean and lube the chain as normal and give it a hose down every few days, will come up in spring looking as good as it did in summer

Good idea to take the pads out and re-copper grease behind the pads now as a lot of that will get washed away when the sh1t weather starts again, as for connections i use vaseline in and around them to keep the moisture out

Just take a large can of WD40 with you in a backpack, i spray the engine down before i ride smells nice too as it heats up, stops the sh1t clinging to the engine, washes off easy too. i spray it before i ride to work and again at work stops all the bolt fur

On the exposed radiator hose i use a vinyl and rubber care which keeps them supple, i've seen some on other bikes that are brittle and hard so i would defo suggest wiping them with a product

If you don't have a fender extender now is a good time to fit one, keeps a lot of the grit off your down pipe

Exhaust cans should not take a beating at all mate unless they are sh1t quality Steel, if you have anything thats won't come off use autoglym tar remover works wonders on Stainless brings them up like brand new

Heated Grips are good but the problem with them is that you get hot palms and cold fingers, this year i'm going to use some sort of handlebar muff over them but thin summer gloves so i still have some movement and so the grip heat can penetrate, tried thick gloves with the hot grips and the heat couldn't penetrate

wipe the wheel rims with a rag with wd40 on as well mate

Re - ACF50 i can't comment as i've not tried it

[alternative_vtr]

Another thumbs up for ACF 50 I use it a lot awesome stuff. Try it!

[Boubepo]

@lloydiecbr
As for getting a car, I've already got mine and the wifes but cars are fiddler aren't they, that's why I'm a biker.

Never a truer word said or better put!

I have a car and so does my wife but they are a bit like life's tools, a washing machine or tumble dryer, a metal box you have to load up because of practical reasons. No enjoyment, excitement or freedom, just a metal box! and don't be fooled by Jeremy Clarkson telling you the latest BMW or Skoda is "fun to drive' it's fiddler and Clarkson is a complete wonker!

Glad I got that off my chest lol

[cheekykev]

GT85, http://www.gt85.co.uk/ just spray it on, don't wipe it off, can be used on the plastics, metal, rubber hoses, paintwork, engine, everywhere apart from the tyres and brakes of course. oh and not the chain, brilliant stuff and no messing, keeps your bike looking great, here's a pic of my 11 year old Firestorm

[ging500]

I have never personally used ACF 50 but i have read good things about it.I think that some companies (ie BMW from memory, will take your bike clean it and then protect it with ACF 50 for around 60-70 quids- im sure i saw this on MCN however cant find a link for the article)

I have personally soaked my bike in WD 40 however it burns/ comes off quite quickly whereas ACF 50 stays about a bit longer. Off topic slightly I use SDOC Power Gel cleaner which I think is great and it hard to believe what it can do (cleans and protects)