Winterizing recommendations ?

[gremlin]

ACF50

Looks like the Royal Purple people are making WD-40 now !
Definitely new & improved.

[motomataya]

Gremlin, One for winter, one with a sidecar, and one more just cuz.

[gremlin]

I already bought the Just-cuz from you .....

[Marrtyn]

I go along with using ACF50 instead of WD40. I have used it for 3 winters now.Protects everthing, even the  electrics, -in fact the lot. And if you decide to ride the bike in wintry conditions ACF50 will protect against salt corrosion.( I do use WD40 in the summer time for a quick wipe over and clean up.)

[barenekd]

I do use WD40 in the summer time for a quick wipe over and clean up.

Cleaning up is basically all WD-40 is good for.
Bare

[squire]

Cleaning up is basically all WD-40 is good for.
Bare

When I was younger and lazier, maybe more stupid, I lubricated all my bikes chains with nothing but WD40 for about ten years and had excellent chain and sprocket life, in fact longer than any of my friends. It's not all bad!!

Now I'm on a Lemon Pledge kick, I haven't used anything on my paint, chrome, windscreens when I have one, helmet shields, you name it for about ten years. I've had bikes win "best in show" etc and everyone asks what wax I use......I would never admit to using furniture polish.

[Ducati Scotty]

Most of the "cleaner/polishes" that moto shops sell are more like Lemon pledge that anything else, though I'm sure they cost a lot more.  The one from Repsol has this awesome smell to it.

Scott

[trimleyman]

Winterizing , hmm . Never thought of that  , but then Eastern England winters were not as harsh as yours so we braved it in all conditions , snow , sleet,black ice, north sea gales and pea soup fog. Any day was a biking day.  Clean-up was a quick hose down to get salt off when you got home from the pub or cafe. At the week-end extra attention and lots of WD40 and chain lube to keep the salt at bay till next week-end. But having looked at your posts I know now what to do if I ever get tempted to 'winterize' and take to 4 wheels (or 3).

[mattsz]

Wake up, winterizing thread!

Sorry.  My plan was to ride until just before they started to salt the roads.  I rode to work this morning; it was about 42 deg F - not too cold.  I flipped a coin, and took the "back way" to work, and I lost.  Turns out two days ago there were cold patches along that stretch where the fog froze to the road surface, and the powers that be decided to salt the road.  I can't say whether they used the usual rock salt, or that new-fangled liquid calcium chloride, which is supposedly eating everybody's cars.

The road was clear of any evidence of salt, but it was wet, and so by the time I got to work, I had a salt-mist haze all over everything - me, my helmet, and of course the bike.  Damn - exactly what I was hoping to avoid.  I started to give it a basic hose-off at work, but it was still so hot that exhaust and engine parts started hissing and flashing off steam, so I quit right away, worried about breaking something serious due to thermal shock.

My question is, now what?  What's the best approach to desalinating the bike?  I don't have a pressure washer, so it will be a garden hose application.  I have read the manual's advice, but it seems like there's probably salty goodness in amongst the parts they recommend I protect against any water.

I'm hoping to find some ACF-50... does it go on everything?  Is it easy to apply correctly, without over-applying?

As for letting it rest with fresh oil, I did change the oil 281 miles ago (at 1486 miles), 2-½ weeks ago.  Is it "clean" enough for winter storage?

The rest I can probably figure out from the previous posts...

[gremlin]

............ What's the best approach to desalinating the bike? ..........

Um, I give up ......  keep it out of the Ocean ?

[singhg5]

Wake up, winterizing thread!

My question is, now what?  What's the best approach to desalinating the bike?  I don't have a pressure washer, so it will be a garden hose application.  I have read the manual's advice, but it seems like there's probably salty goodness in amongst the parts they recommend I protect against any water.

I'm hoping to find some ACF-50... does it go on everything?  Is it easy to apply correctly, without over-applying?

As for letting it rest with fresh oil, I did change the oil 281 miles ago (at 1486 miles), 2-½ weeks ago.  Is it "clean" enough for winter storage?
.

I had done something like that and ended up with rust spots on the exhaust pipe on the underside and on the side facing the wheel - because I did not wash the salt off the bike . Salt is pretty damaging. Once rust sets in, it does not come off completely without taking away the chrome with it. You can read all about it in one of the threads in the Forum.

My recommendation is to use your garden hose to WASH the bike with soap thoroughly, rinse, dry and apply ACF50 all over, everywhere. It is easy to apply from aerosol can and spreads easily. ACF50 goes on everything - plastic, chrome, paint and electrical connections EXCEPT brake pads, disc brake and tyres.

Oil is fine. 
 

[Arizoni]

I agree.
The oil is fine because it was well heated the last time the engine was running.

I also agree that you need to wash the bike with soap and water.  Then hose it off and dry everything in sight. (Paper towels work well and if they get greasy your significant other can't bitch.)
The soap & water washing will remove any light coatings of oil that might protect the salt form just a hose off.

I haven't used ACF50 so I can't comment on it.

[mattsz]

Well, I can't get anywhere near it until Wednesday, so hopefully things won't get too far until then.  Can't do anything else about it.

As for the oil, I was thinking more about the idea of changing the engine oil before storage to prevent nasty stuff in used oil from damaging internal components while sitting over a few months.  Is it likely that 3 week, 300 mile old oil is new and clean enough to be ok, or should I change it yet again?

[Blairio]

I use Scottoiler 365 protection spray if I am planning to take a bike out over the winter. 

http://www.scottoiler.com/uk/products/scottoiler-fs-365.html

It is a water based corrosion inhibitor which you spray liberally on your bike after washing it, and then let the bike dry naturally. It will protect anything, but keep it off disk brakes. Winter crud doesn't seem to want to stick to '365, and washing the bike that has had this treatment is much, much easier.  For those parts of the bike that are taking a real hammering from salt and grit, some ACF50 brushed on does the trick. I used WD40 for years before ACF50, but WD just doesn't stay on as long.

As for laying the bike up over winter, running an electric heater at a low setting for a while under the engine seems to help. I run it for an hour before trying to start the engine once a week. Also, a pit stand under the front forks keeps the  front wheel off the deck, while the centre stand is doing the same for the rear one.

[WillW]

Clean it & dry it and put it in one of these. It'll come out after winter as dry and shiny as it went in. You can put tools and anything else you don't want to corrode in as well. I've used them the last two winters and they really do what they say.
This'll be the first winter in the big new shed - bikes now have better accomodation than I do...
http://www.vac-bag.co.uk/index.php?_a=category&cat_id=1