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Post by Cadfael on Oct 6, 2010 9:57:23 GMT
well, usually I dont clean it because the dirt on it kindof protects the salt from corrupting the bike itself At least i think this works and I also continue driving through the winter.
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Post by spartan on Oct 7, 2010 4:09:35 GMT
Yes. Although Colorado has moderate weather riding in November through February is uncomfortably cold. During these months I keep the battery pluged in to a tender. The tender is made by the Deltran Corporation. Cost about 40$. The battery harness is a Harley product, but still only cost about 20$. The tender is very low amp, down to 750 miliamps, and keeps the battery from going dead in extremly cold weather. As for road salt around here there are coin opperated car washes that operate year round. I might draw some strange looks on 40 degree days, but it dosent hurt to rinse the fenders (temprature permiting)
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Post by Cadfael on Oct 7, 2010 9:51:53 GMT
one tip, but most people know this already, never wash away salt with warm water. always use cold water.
This is because the salt will solve into the warm water and then it gets into cracks you dont want it to end up.
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charos
Dragon Pilot
Posts: 132
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Post by charos on Oct 7, 2010 17:27:11 GMT
thanks for the tip
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Post by spartan on Oct 8, 2010 1:05:32 GMT
Cadfael, Cadfael, Cadfael, You really should keep the bike clean. Dirt gives salt more surface area to adhere to, add a little moisture and the dirt will transfer that salt straight to the metal of your bike. Salt is the leading cause of cancer in machines, of course here I'm talking about RUST! Now I'm not sure how much time and effort you want to put in on this or what kind of garage/work area you have or even what tools you may have available. I'm a mechanic by trade. Every year, usually in January, I strip my bike down and all panted surfaces get a coating of Duraseal. Made by turtle wax and should be available in most auto parts stores (?? at least in the U.S.). Its a Teflon based coating and sealing wax. All painted surfaces get a coat with special attention to the underside of the fenders. Which is where is where rust loves to start. Protecting unpainted surfaces (on a bike there are allot) is an entirely different subject. But it always starts with the basic fact; Keep it Clean! Good tip about the cold water, and also remember; Dry thoroughly. Even if the water isn't saturated with sodium, water itself will begin the oxidization process. Once rust starts, without the proper tools, its nearly impossible to stop. Keep the rubber on the road Amigos; Mark, now aka Spartan ( Time to lay the Dead to rest)
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Post by Gibbon on Oct 8, 2010 6:19:08 GMT
I have to admit my can of WD40 is going to come out soon and get spread all over the bike, metal parts etc. The painted parts which on mine are the wheels, bodywork, tank etc will get the turtle wax treatment. Honda finish is prettty good by anyones standards but even so it still needs to be 'loved' to keep it that way. Where i am it gets pretty cold so bike will live in a nice heated garage with the battery off for a few months As a former R100R owner i can state for a fact that the BMW finish is not what it used to be. Regular cleaning is a must to keep it looking nice otherwise it will end up looking like a sack of s*** lol. @ Charos Where has your Vespa gone? Not my kind of bike but that's the beauty of biking, something for everyone
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Post by Cadfael on Oct 8, 2010 6:57:59 GMT
I haven't got a garage at home to be able to get my sidepanels off sadly. My bike is standing on the street al the time, but i do have a cover on it most of the time. At work its standing in the parkinggarage.
Most of it is plastic anyway so theres not too much to rust. I do have a brushset so i can clean most of the bad stuff off. But here in the netherlands the weather is so changing that you can keep cleaning your bike more times a week to keep it clean... And i just don't have the time.
I just my bike mostly to go to work (about 99% of the time I drive it) so I don't have the idea that i have to keep it in showroomstate, as you would with a new bike. And I just don't have the time for it.
Twice a year it gets a service at the garage (after every 10k km's) where the most important parts are checked and made sure that all the moving parts are ok.
The bike is now 7 years old with almost 150.000km on it, so people here don't expect it to be in new condition, and it wouldn't make much difference selling it. At least for me it's not really worth the effort.
But that doesnt mean that I wont keep a bike clean if I have one for fun driving.
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charos
Dragon Pilot
Posts: 132
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Post by charos on Oct 8, 2010 12:00:18 GMT
My Vespa umm... In a few words:iIt made a strange sound and kaboom anyway a sport like vespa is like ftw but there are more bikes out there that are amazing
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Post by spartan on Oct 8, 2010 17:17:38 GMT
To bad we don't live a little closer, Cadfael. I could help you with that quiet a bit. Personally my bike has never seen a shop other than my own. Charos, WD40? I never use the stuff. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad option if you don't have the time. WD actually stands for Water Displacement, 40 is a batch number/ brand name. It's a good protectant, but not a good lubricant. After a bit of time WD40 starts to dry out and then attracts more dirt, which leaves things kind of sticky. Then the whole assembly needs to be cleaned, and re lubricated. I'd suggest any number of Silicone based spray lubricants. But the draw back with these is that every 2 to 3 weeks they really need to be reapplied, and unfortunately WD40 is still cheaper than most of them. So I guess it falls back to the amount of time and money you'd like to spend on motorcycle maintenance. The trade being spend the time every six months or so cleaning parts sprayed with WD40 or spend the money on silicone lubricants that need to be applied frequently Keep the rubber on the road Amigos; Mark aka Spartan
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Post by Gibbon on Apr 3, 2011 10:20:16 GMT
Cadfael, what is is with rain and Holland? Just come back from the UK after buying a Triumph Tiger 800 and it pissed down all the time i was driving through your fine country lol
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Post by Cadfael on Apr 5, 2011 12:00:33 GMT
So, that's why it was raining? It was dry the rest of the week. ;D I suggest for next time you give notice, then I might be able to arrange something btw, i'm on the lookout for a new bike. Going to test drive the F800ST and R1200RT in may.
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Post by Gibbon on Apr 5, 2011 13:15:00 GMT
Have a look at the Triumph Tiger 800 as well while you're at it. Loads better than F800ST and not as heavy as an R1200RT although that one is built for touring. As a guide, i drove up from the Hoek up to Helsingborg where i am in 12 hours on a new engine and apart from the weather, was a very comfortable ride
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Post by Cadfael on Apr 6, 2011 11:41:28 GMT
Pity it has a chain drive. And I fear all the shiny parts are going to take it hard in winters The F800ST has a belt drive and the mileage is awesome. 3,4l/100km so thats almost 1:30. Would save me a lot of petrol because now I drive about 1:19. But I'm not sure about the wind protection yet, so i hope to find that out on the test drive. The R1200RT is like my current bike only a newer model, but it's still quite expensive, even the 2005 models. I can buy a new F800ST for that price.
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Post by Gibbon on Apr 7, 2011 6:58:19 GMT
I haven't trusted BMW build quality since the mid 90's. The newer bikes seem to suffer a lot of problems, especially in the electrical department plus i find them overpriced, but what bike isn't these days?
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Post by Cadfael on Apr 7, 2011 12:55:28 GMT
Well, new models always have some issues, i think that goes for every brand.
But I havent had big issues with mine. Have been driving almost 100.000km in 4 years on this bike without big repairs needed.
The R1200RT had some things but in the later models thats been improved. Sadly those are quite out of budget for me.
As the F800ST goes, that one has a better pricerange for me. There haven't been issues with this model. Only thing was that the engine itself was build by another company and since 2008 BMW is building it themselves which made it better. But still the engine was good even in the 2006 models.
I think the most important is good maintenance at regular intervals.
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