Winter draws on (or am I alone in this)

I don't have any particular issue with getting wet and cold on a bike as I know that at sometime in the not too distant future beckons the prospect of a long hot soak in the bath (but NO hot chicken stock drinks! Never again....) In fact get a nice cold crisp day and I'm off. What really puts me off going out in the winter is the state the bike gets in and how I'm going to have to spend a couple of hours getting the salt and other cr@p off my machine before I can tuck it up for the night (I don't have a tap in my garage so all water has to be carried down six flights of stairs in a couple of jerry cans).

Maybe I need a winter hack or some sort of water pump that can slurp out of a jerry can and a very large hair dryer. Or should I just bite the bullet and ladle on the vaseline and not wash the bike till next spring....
Trouble is my bike is turning into the sort of bike I promised myself that I would never own i.e one that I spend more time polishing than riding

Ladle on the vaseline onto the bike that is!

Could you not try to stick a hose pipe out of a window?

[fizzwheel]

Sure I read somewhere that spraying everything with WD40 was a good way to keep the salt off and then wash it after every ride.

I havent got a hosepipe near my garage so I've got one of those pestiside sprayer things that I fill with water and then use that to wash my bike off

Originally Posted by fizzwheel

Sure I read somewhere that spraying everything with WD40 was a good way to keep the salt off and then wash it after every ride.

I havent got a hosepipe near my garage so I've got one of those pestiside sprayer things that I fill with water and then use that to wash my bike off

I've used on of those little handheld bottle sized ones. If you mix some Gunk in with it they are surprisingly effective!

I've thought about hanging a hose out of my window but all my taps are at the back of the flat. I don't really want a leaky hose going across my carpet

Originally Posted by fizzwheel

wash it after every ride.

Good excuse for an upgrade when your forks corode away!!

I ride 80 miles a day and haven't cleaned the bike since August. The question you have to ask is what do you want out of bike ownership? Personally, I want a reliable machine to get me to work and back and to go for a hack at the weekends.
The obvious argument is that if you clean it regularly it will last for longer, but how long are you planning on keeping it anyway? Very few bikers seem to last more than a couple of years with the same bike!! Obviously it's worth a bit less than a dry-miles-only bike when you come to sell it but how much less? £100? £200? I'd be happy to sacrifice that not to have to lug jerry cans of water down 6 flights of steps every day!!!
I know I'm going to get totally flamed for even thinking this, but it's only an sv! I could understand washing every day if it was a Bennelli or something, but it's a budget bike! (Don't get me wrong guys, I love my sv and think it's a brilliant bike (not that I've got much to compare it to!))

Now, do you all promise to point and laugh when my front wheel falls off due to corrosion??

Scottoiler do some stuff, You can get it in Hein Gericke called FS365 of something similar....

Excellent for putting a protective layer... When i bother using it it makes alot of difference... gonna make sure i use it more this winter

Originally Posted by Nekkid

Good excuse for an upgrade when your forks corode away!!

I ride 80 miles a day and haven't cleaned the bike since August. The question you have to ask is what do you want out of bike ownership? Personally, I want a reliable machine to get me to work and back and to go for a hack at the weekends.
The obvious argument is that if you clean it regularly it will last for longer, but how long are you planning on keeping it anyway? Very few bikers seem to last more than a couple of years with the same bike!! Obviously it's worth a bit less than a dry-miles-only bike when you come to sell it but how much less? £100? £200? I'd be happy to sacrifice that not to have to lug jerry cans of water down 6 flights of steps every day!!!
I know I'm going to get totally flamed for even thinking this, but it's only an sv! I could understand washing every day if it was a Bennelli or something, but it's a budget bike! (Don't get me wrong guys, I love my sv and think it's a brilliant bike (not that I've got much to compare it to!))

Now, do you all promise to point and laugh when my front wheel falls off due to corrosion??

Sir, I agree with you whole heartedly. I do wash my bike after a ride, on most occasions, but not everytime.

Like you've quite rightly pointed out, it depends what you want out of your bike.

Sir, I agree with you whole heartedly. I do wash my bike after a ride, on most occasions, but not everytime.

Like you've quite rightly pointed out, it depends what you want out of your bike.

Does this mean we have the makings of a "dirty bike brigade" here in the South West?

OUT WITH SOAP
IN WITH ENJOYING THE BIKE

Not just in the South West, I'm afraid...

I cleaned my bike for the first time in ages on Sunday and then didn't want to use it until the roads were completely dry...

Today I went to work on it... extremely cold this morning in the mist... about 3 degrees C. I'd forgotten what's like when your hands get cold as I hadn't bothered to take my inner gloves... d'uh... This evening wrmmer but very windy...

Still beats the car... which gets washed considerably less than the bike...

What salt they use that corrodes theSV?

I ride all winter herein NewEngland , I didn'tknow anywhere there is more salt used than here, the roads turn white.... I don't do nothing for protection, nor do I wash it, thye only time it gets washed isevery 3500-4000 mileswhen it goes into shop for service, is so gungy, they wash it for me.

The ONLY corrosion I have is from SUMMER bug splats that are left caked on