Protecting the bike from the winter weather.

OK, so it looks like winter is creeping up on us again. A fine bloody time of year for me to pass my test and get a 650...

Anyhoo, I do sometimes quite like riding in the winter. I mean, I have to to get to work and everything, but lashing rain and a freezing wind can add another element of 'extreme' to my commute... It's also nice to get that double-take from the fair-weather lot at work, plus the odd comment of "respect to you you mad bugger!". I draw the line at snow and ice though...

The one thing that does bother me some however is the layer of cruddy salt that they douse the roads with over winter. I'm glad they do 'n all, but I want to try and protect my lovely shiny SV from the winter road scum.

Any suggestions? Some mates have advised regular washing (well, duh...!) and have suggested a good spraying of WD40 over exposed metal to leave a protective film.

What do you think? Should this even be a concern?

Cheers y'all,

P.

mine will be tucked up in my garage

Empty a can of ACF50 over it - it's like fancy WD40 that lasts forever (or so it says on the can). Got 2 aerosol cans for about £20 off Busters Accessories on tha intraweb.
Apparently it's rather good - I sprayed all the metal bits (except the wheels and brakes ofc), and they have a nice sheen to them now which may help stop the rot.

When you're done spraying, leave the crud to build up and wash it off 50 years later

[Kylie]

Empty a can of ACF50 over it

What he said! I gave my bike its winter wash this weekend, got it pretty clean (but not kwakzzr clean) and then doused the whole thing in ACF50. Won't wash it again until the spring, thats what I did last year and bike seems fine.

I was a little bit over enthusastic with the ACF50 gunk, put it on the exhaust and downpipes too, which is probably a total waste as I guess it burns off. Makes a horrible smell and a wee toxic cloud the first time you run it too. Nice.

Just let the dirt build up for a while and then when they start putting the salt etc on the road you've built up a nice barrier!

ACF50 is £15 a tin on ebay

Does this ACF50 just make the bike look like it is covered in gunk, or does it really work?

[northwind]

It really works... Doesn't look bad either, it's shiny but as long as you don't put on tons it doesn't gather too much muck, or look slimey or anything.

It's not the only game in town... I used Scottoiler FS365 before which worked just as well but needed much more frequent application, and I used to use cheap engine oil mixed with kerosene, which was just about as effective but harder to apply. Mucky, though. But ACF50 lasts so well, it's the lazy man's option- I do maybe 3 applications and 3 cleans all winter and the only corrosion on the bike was either there when I got that part, happened before I found the ACF50, or happened last year when I had to store the bike without prepping it.

[Bluepete]

It does hold onto a bit of dirt, especially in the engine and under airbox areas, but to be honest, it's more than worth it. If it's good enough for the USAF to keep jets rot free, then it's good enough for me. I have a 14 month old K5, 8500 miles, including all last winter. No rot or corrosion apart form arond the fuel filler which is being replaced by Suzuki under warrenty next week I do a strip down clean, then warm the bike up, and dose the bugger to death with the ACF50 stuff. Then all you have to do is a wipe down with a cloth saturated in it every couple of weeks.

[Kylie]

If anything my bike now looks better that I've wiped the stuff all over it, seems to have an extra gleam! Then again I don't wash it very often and woudn't know what to do with wax.