Winter Care

This is gonna be my first winter riding so wanted to know what should regarding looking after the bike, i know i’ll have to lube the chain more often, but what else i’ve heard all sorts of things??

Would say wash bike regularly to get the crud and salt off, fair old squirt wiv WD40 on bits n pieces helps as well, also pay more attention to road surfaces for oils n fuels etc, and be a bit more gentle on the throttle and you should get through ok.

some people say that after every ride you should wash with cold water to meutralise the salt, then wash in warm water and rinse. personally i cake all my componants in wd40 or acf50 then wash once a week, it keeps the bike in good nick., just remember tyre pressures, chains, lights, and coolant checks.

Best option is to stick it in the garage & buy a cheap winter hack ! :slight_smile:

Failing that, liberally use something like ACF50 - http://www.corrosion-control.com/acf50.html or FS365 - http://www.scottoiler.com/FS365-Protector.asp to protect metal components.

Brake calipers can suffer badly over winter - if you’re gonna use the bike daily then you’d be wise to clean them up every few weeks. Unbolt them, remove the pads & clean up the pistons using brake cleaner & a toothbrush - no need to strip them, just pump out the pistons far enough to clean the accumulated crud off.

I find it very convenient to keep one of those pump up garden sprayers filled & just inside the door of the house, that way you can grab it & rinse off the crap & salt before you go inside, start feeling nice & warm & think sod it ! I’ll do it tomorrow…

After seeing how badly the long term test Daytona Ride had last winter suffered, you’ll need to keep on top of it if you want something nice & blingy come spring !

Totally agree there:)

The risk of damaging your P&J to corrosion and/or a spill makes a cheap hack a must in my book:cool:

Or do what Richm just did, buy a scooter and leave the bike in the garage over the winter.

OK, I looked for a winter hack on eBay and couldn’t find anything, anybody want to post up a list of suitable bikes ? Given that you can get a good bike for £2k the criteria for a winter hack should be:

Cost no more than £600
Have at least 400cc (no 125’s)
Must be able to cope with A1, M25 and town traffic
Cheap to service, insure and tax
Have at least a basic screen or half fairing

I’d opt for a traily all day long - an XT600/660 , DRZ400, Transalp or Dominator spring to mind.

A BMW F650 would make a good winter bike too.

A decent naked would be an early Bandito or a Diversion as they are simple to work on

If you are dead set on a bike with a fairing I’d look at maybe a ZZR600 or RF600 or a steel framed CBR600 which are cracking bikes and cheap enough to buy.

or you could Buy Flat’s motor and garage your Ninja;):smiley:

cant say winter has made much diff to my bikes to date, including the ducati.

coat the metal bits in acf50, wash your bike regularly. its not like they grit daily for months, its only when its due to go sub 0 (unless you’re out in the sticks maybe)

considering the wheelies, track riding and other general abuse of a sports bike, a couple of slightly furred bolts aint that much to get worried about

Well, for those of us who do live in the sticks(Yslart included) gritting is a regular occurance as its usually a fair few degrees lower than in town.You can always tell a bike thats been ridden throughout winter especially Yamahas, Suzooks and Kwackers.Seeing as Yslart is a relative newcomer, has a brand spanking new bike and this is his first winter, i’m sure he would like to keep his bike looking good for the spring:cool:

Loads on ebay - like this one:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Honda-cbr-600-no-reserve_W0QQitemZ180179631459QQihZ008QQcategoryZ9806QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

my reply was to more to curtis fella, i know how he rides ;)agreed its a diff situ out of town

If you can get hold of a low cost Halfords pressure washer then I’d use one of these carefully around your bike on a regular basis.

Avoid using around any parts which contain bearings like the front and rear wheels and also avoid the chain. Use a brush with cold soapy water and then rinse off with another brush.

Coat metal areas in either ACF50 or Scottoiler FS365 sprays…You can also use them on your plastics to maintain a nice shiny surface (avoid footpegs and grips obviously).

You can get away with doing this routine once a week and your bike should look none the worse come the new season.

The winter hack idea obviously is a good one if you can afford it.

I would not recommend putting the bike away though. There is much to learn about bike control over the winter months and all in it’ll make you a much better rider.

Just respect the throttle, take corners slower and don’t brake as hard and you should be right.

Afro’s tip of the day:

In these cold weather conditions…Gunning away from the lights to beat the traffic queue next you, is a recipe for a highside :pinch:

Put the bike away, thats blasphamy!!! :stuck_out_tongue: although i am buying another bike next year so will have a winter hack nxt time round, i clean my bike every week anyway so thats that prob solved, as for gritting they been doing it near me lately!

Just wash it in cold water over the winter months to stop the salt doing damage and coat the metal bits in acf50 after each wash :slight_smile:

Is this ACF50 much different to WD40? What if I just skimp it & use WD40?

http://www.jaws-motorcycles.co.uk/acf.htm

avoid putting wd40 on your discs though!!!

get a pump spray from a garden centre,then when you get home give the wheels,calipers,forks a good spray of cold water, NOT hot water as that reacts with the salt and grit and accelerates the corrosion .

yup, thats what i do, i leave my P&J covered up, and use my scoot to get around and for commuting to and fro work, i try to take the SV out at least once a week.

Yea i second the wd40 error, cleanin sum rust of my chain today n didn’t realise i had got some on my brakes, first give way line and whoops kept going, luckily no1 was coming :pinch: but yea i went out and got a hand pump bottle today and gonna give bike a quick spray every evening before i cover it up until i can get sum acf-50