My first bike

Originally Posted by Jarvis21

Cheers Chris, when you say'wash' after a blast on salted roads, you mean just hose her down? or a full on scrub?

Hose down or wash with I think warm water as if I remember cold water activates the salt.

Sorry I'm wrong-

Removing Road Salt

The salt contained in the gritting process in the winter can cause corrosion on your motorcycle. Wash your motorcycle as follows:

Clean your motorcycle using cool water. Do not use warm water. This worsens the effect of the salt.
Dry the motorcycle and apply protective sprays or wax to the metal surfaces.

http://www.wolverhampton-honda.co.uk...leaning/#item3

[ChrisCurvyS]

Originally Posted by SUPERSTARDJ01

Sorry I'm wrong-

Removing Road Salt

The salt contained in the gritting process in the winter can cause corrosion on your motorcycle. Wash your motorcycle as follows:

Clean your motorcycle using cool water. Do not use warm water. This worsens the effect of the salt.
Dry the motorcycle and apply protective sprays or wax to the metal surfaces.

http://www.wolverhampton-honda.co.uk...leaning/#item3

I didn't know that - good job you looked it up.

Salt is also the grim reaper of chains if you don't keep on top of it. I had to replace a chain/sprocket set which had a good four thousand-ish miles left in it after the salt clogged up the rings, causing a tight spot which wore the teeth off the front sprocket. And that's despite having a Scottoiler.

I'm not complaining though - if you've ever ridden on an untreated road in sub-zero temperatures, you'll agree that road salt is a necessary evil.

They have already put on the new tyres: Pirelli diablos. Thanks for the advise on the washing off salt, I would have done it with warm water personally... Good job I asked!

Nice bike Jarvis... makes me miss my bike even more :'(

What's the mileage and how much did you pay?

[LewSpeight]

Originally Posted by musne

Nice bike Jarvis... makes me miss my bike even more :'(

What's the mileage and how much did you pay?

Please tell me you edited that comment not long after posting it..?

These late nights are getting to me

Yes I did haha! Go to bed, what are you still doing up!!

It's 09:43am here in Beijing - I'm at work on the SV forum... How productive of me.

[LewSpeight]

Hah! Quality.
2am here..
Sleepies, night!

[yorkie_chris]

The front plug wetting issue is real and fairly common. Not as common on later bikes mind.

A fender extender cures it. And a splodge of grease around the front plug seal helps.

Originally Posted by ChrisCurvyS

Also fella beware of riding when there's any salt on the road - it can cause corrosion literally within hours of hitting your bike.

Used to think people were being a bit OCD when they told me to wash the bike straight after riding on salted roads but I've seen rust form between putting the bike away at night and getting it out again the next morning.


Doesn't matter so much with my old steed but you don't want it on a mint bike like yours.

Just slather it in ACF50, protect it first. Washing is optional.

Washing it is a waste of time if you don't put something else on it, you just expose fresh metal and wash the crap into the nooks and crannies. Some of the worst bikes to work on are the clean ones!


If your chain got a tight spot with a scottoiler on it then obviously something wasn't working properly. Get a bit more oil flowing and it nicely washes all the salt off the chain.

[LewSpeight]

Chris, as soon as I'm on the road I'm gunna bring it up to you and see what you think needs doing to it, that's with a 'if you don't mind', and a 'please', and a beer