SALT!

[Greybeard]

I see the roads around here have been salted. No more biking for a while!

[Angus]

Yes hey appear to have done around here to  , but I still want to ride out occasionally. Was thinking of going after rain fall so it has washed the salt away (a least a bit). I have also purchased some ACF50 and will cover the bikes in it till spring, hopefully the reports on this are accurate and it will stop nasty rust from happening.

[lawnmowerman]

ACF50?

Did a forum search and can find no reference. I do remember reading a post sometime which said that WD40 applied as a protective spray can harm the finish on ally castings.

I tend to spray a quart of red diesel over the Fergie to keep the rust at bay!

Jim

[Duncan R]

ACF 50 works very well, sprayed my 25 year old BMW with it last year. I have some rust spots on the frame where the paint has worn off over the years. The ACF stopped any further rust and did not damage the alloy engine cases. Ideal for storage as well if your shed/garage is prone to damp. It can be washed off with any degreaser at the end of the winter.

[bsa-bill]

little in the way of salt problem up here in the frozen North East, they wont use any before Christmas in case they run out and then they'll only put it on the A1 and some other major roads, our rural roads will be left to freeze so the ice lifts the surface into potholes, one pot hole that had slowly enlarged to the point you had to drive off road to get around it has just a few weeks ago been filled in ( a smaller but deep one fifty yards further on was ignored), meanwhile they found money to renew all the white lines on roads barely wide enough for two cars.
Wonder which Councillor has relatives with a white lining business --- oops hush my mouth

[Rgs-Bill]

ACF50?

Did a forum search and can find no reference. I do remember reading a post sometime which said that WD40 applied as a protective spray can harm the finish on ally castings.

I tend to spray a quart of red diesel over the Fergie to keep the rust at bay!

Jim

Nobody should ever use  WD-40 as a moisture repeler/ protectant.  This was developed by the US Army as a water dispersant, WD  stands for Water Dispersant, and is designed to attract moisture and get rid of it.  It also is a terrible lubricant, it breaks down too easily, it is designed to break  down.  You certainly do not want to use something designed to attract moisture, to try and repel moisture ??  That is a no brainer for us.  Google it  "ORIGINS OF WD-40"

[alanp]

I see the roads around here have been salted. No more biking for a while!

Yea, the crazies in Plymouth have been out salting some roads as well! Over the top or what? We rarely get snow down here and have yet to see the temp drop below freezing. I have frost tender flowers in my garden still doing well and a cherry tree which still has its leaves. We need to get some bikers on the local council to stop this salting nonsense.

[a10gf]

Ref:   The WD40 post  
Did the search, and all results seems to say WD40 being "formula to prevent corrosion", but I guess it's use is meant for stored items. But agree that's it's not a (good) lubricant (no long term function).
http://wd40.com/about-us/history/:

Convair, an aerospace contractor, first used WD-40 to protect the outer skin of the Atlas Missile from rust and corrosion.

Regarding salt, here in Norway it's used profusely in the cities, cars sometimes wading in a mess of salt\water\sand\half-melted snow. And many cars here rust to pieces early due to this.

Before, I did some winter riding, the corrosion attack to aluminum, rims, chrome etc was horrible, even when trying to avoid the obvious salting periods (there was salt residues everywhere). Bike would need a complete wash & clean after each trip, which was not done that often.

[lawnmowerman]

Thanks RGS Bill, I will no longer be using WD40 on the bike and car when laid up over the winter. I found ACF-50 on eBay so a litre is now on its way to me.

Jim

[Angus]

Put my theory to the test yesterday, nice sunny day after some rain, so off I went. Problem at this time of year is that sheltered road don't dry out so still very wet and also (rural area) lots of mud on the road from farm vehicles. Anyway did 30 miles and bike filthy. Get back too late and a bit cold to clean it and today its raining so again problem cleaning it. So amended theory need two dry days in a row for a ride, one for the ride and one to clean and polish  OR Put it away for winter   

[a10gf]

"one (day) for the ride and one to clean and polish"
lol tried that, I'll clean it tomorrow... well at least during this week... Oh, I forgot... Ok, I'll definitely do it after the next ride etc etc. Needs strong will and resolve!
 

[bsa-bill]

OR Put it away for winter  

OR ride it up here to me and leave it for me to clean and polish (then try to find out where I moved to, I'm after a Black Flash GSH 360 in particular but any other reg would do at a pinch)

[WozzA]

Your SALTing your roads & our TAR roads are melting... 40+Cel here in Melbourne today...   

[chicago]

Hi fella's. Hope all is well for everybody. I believe in Sweden/France ? That they use antifreeze or spoiled wine on their roads in place of salt, I would imagine it would be far less corrosive than salt. I managed to take the old girl out the other day for a quick spin, was nice to mount her and have a bit of fun after a month or so of no riding (the bsa, not the wife ) must tell you though it was freezing cold, came back with numb feet, hands and nose. Took me 10 mins to defrost in front of the fire before the feeling returned. Think I might try and sneak a few more runs before the weather turns crazy then tuck her up for the winter. Roll on summer is all I can say.
Merry Christmas everybody and have fun. Chicago.

[cyclobutch]

I rode down to see the Le Touquet beach races at the beginning of February last year (2012) and on parting the curtains on the Sunday morning found there to have been a significant dump of snow over night. I headed straight for home, starting off with a push up the hill in the village - engine running, slipping the clutch gently in first.

By the time I got to the autoroute I was mighty glad to see ploughs and gritters at work. I can report that the grit/salt used was very aggressive - despite hosing the bike down when I got home and then giving it a good scrub the following weekend paint was hanging off all over, chrome pitting. The bike is looking very second hand now.

Oh yeah - this was on my Sportster; actually a good ride for the conditions. 12v electrics with hot grips. Hand guards and a small screen. Forward controls so no cold knees. I'm off to Somerset on it first thing Saturday morning - from deepest darkest Essex. The A10 will not go out on salt.