Cleaning & General Maintenance

[jamesterror]

.. As I'm a total newbie to bikes, I need a bit of advice for keeping the bike in top condition as thats priority as well as riding.

Asked a friend he said Soapy water for cleaning and I presumed a soft cloth of some sort which I'll take a trip down to Halfords I guess.

The main question is maintenance, currently the bike is fitted with a scottoiler so that is continually lubing the chain, will need to get some more lube for that (presuming the stuff on their site), then its regarding other aspects, chain, sprockets etc.

They haven't been changed yet and bike has 17k on it, however the chain is alright as its contiually lubed, will need to get it tightened a bit though as can feel a slight bit of slack.

I've read about ACF50, but wanted to know a bit more about that too if anyone can point me in the right direction.

Finally, for polishing the bike, mate said any car waxes really, but just wanted to check that one? Bike is black, we have some stuff called Turtle Wax but didn't know if they'd do the job.

Originally Posted by jamesterror

I've read about ACF50, but wanted to know a bit more about that too if anyone can point me in the right direction.

either yorkie chris or dangerous dave are the ones to speak to

[keith_d]

There should be a small amount of slack in the chain, too tight will cause excessive wear. The simple test is to measure the displacement in the middle of the bottom run, 20-30mm is normal.

While you're there, try pulling the chain off the back gear at the 3 o'clock position. If it will move more than a few of mm something is worn. Finally check the gear teeth for wear. They should be almost symmetrical, not curved over or worn unevenly.

Paintwork can be washed down with regular car shampoo, and waxed with car wax.

ACF50 is like heavy duty WD40, and provides some protection from corrosion in the wet. SV's are a budget bike and prone to rusting, so this is well worth doing. You should be able to pick up an aerosol in your local bike shop.

Keith.

[Luckypants]

Don't use 'soapy water' use a proper car / bike shampoo. Things like fairy liquid have salts in them and this will accelerate corrosion. I use Autoglym shampoo cos it has a corrosion inhibitor in it that helps. For waxing, any good car wax is fine - again I use Autoglym.

Any oil is OK for your Scottoiler, I do use pukka Scottoil cos I seem to have acquired loads over the years but used engine oil, engine oil mixed with chainsaw oil and so on have all been used by folks on here.

C&S should be OK at 17k if it has had the Scottoiler on it for all that time. Chain is meant to have some slack in it to allow for suspension movement, so be careful not to over tighten. Not sure what the chain slack is for your bike, but I'm sure someone will be along soon (or search )

[peterco]

Go Here
http://www.acf-50.co.uk/

Most bike shops now stock and plenty of on-line stores.
Aerosol or liquid.
My preference is liquid and comes with a small hand pump aerosol.

pete

Originally Posted by Geoffrey

either yorkie chris or dangerous dave are the ones to speak to

do not say the "c-word" to yc

Originally Posted by jamesterror

.. .

I've read about ACF50, but wanted to know a bit more about that too if anyone can point me in the right direction.

ive used acfo50 for little over two years. clean the bike however you want, dry it, again however you want and then just put acf50 everywhere apart from discs and brakes. in the past iv stripped the bike of bodywork then painted it completley with acf50, wheels, frame, engine, pipes... you name it you paint it just DONT do discs n brakes. if you get any on the discs a good brake cleaner will get it off.

after you have 50'd your bike forget about it and let it get dirrrrty for however long you want. wash off with warm water and plenty of rags and you may be surprised

hth

Dont forget your basic checks, like oil and water. Lubricate pivots and cables. A scottoiler is a great thing and you can top it up with used engine oil. The chain will still pick up crap though, especially if you have been riding out in the wet, so dont neglect to clean it every now and again with paraffin or something (although you wont need to do this anywhere near as often as people without scottoiliers who use good ol' spray lube). I often clean up the worm-drive when I clean my chain aswell.

[jamesterror]

Thanks for replies, will see if I can pick some bits up on Wednesday to get it cleaned up

ACF50 I saw some yesterday and had read about it on here, so thought it'd be work asking as I know "budget" bikes are prone to corrosion, but there are no signs as the bike hasn't been winter rode. I'll pop round to a few local bike shops see if they have it available.

Does the scottoiler just slide out? Haven't had good time to look up instructions or anything about it.

James

[yorkie_chris]

Stoppy is right about ACF. It's ace stuff.

Why do you want to slide the scottoiler out?