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road salt

fournations

Guest
Guest
Id like to hear opinions and practices of you guys that do 3+ seasonal riding in regards to treated roads and your C14`s. Jim
 
As with just about any vehicle used on salted roads, prompt and thorough cleaning is a must. Just as with automobiles, salt accelerates corrosion on the parts of the bike that come into contact with it. Around here (central Indiana) they spread rock salt as well as a salt-containing solution. Both can get onto/into your bike even when the roads are dry. Then moisture from condensation can turn up the corrosion even when the bike is sitting in the garage.
 
Last year WA state started using salt with a corrosive inhibitor. Before that a liquid using calcium as an ice inhibitor was used. The calcium stuff was very hard on vehicles, but rain washed it off the road. I decided not to ride when the calcium was sed because washing it off wasn't going to happen before spring. This stuff made a mess of my aluminum wheels on the Bronco. I did not want to make a mess of the Connie.

This new salt mixture...I don't have any real experience with this stuff yet. I have not heard any complaints. The salt with the corrosion inhibitor is also being sold to cities and towns at a good price. For $400.00 we can cover every street in town. An applicator was approved and purchased by the city I live in. I could probably have a better feel of what this salt mixture does in a couple of years.

In the meantime, I won't ride when the roads are not dry and bare in the winter months. I need a good heater.
 
When i lived up north outside the city of Chicago, my routine was to completely detail out the bike and apply a couple coats of wax to any and all painted bits around thanks. Id only ride when temps were 35+ at 430am (on my way to work) and the roads were dry with no expectations of rain or snow. They use road salt, but on days when an accumulation of snow was expected, they would pretreat with a spray mixture to help keep the snow from bounding to the roadway.

My truck would get a professional detailing to keep the salty crap off it and washed at car wash with undercarriage capabilities weekly...
 
My truck would get a professional detailing to keep the salty crap off it and washed at car wash with undercarriage capabilities weekly...

Nice if you have that sort of business and facilities in the area.
 
I won't ride when the roads are not dry and bare in the winter months.
Additionally:

Before the winter riding season starts here I give the Connies a thorough cleaning. Except for the brake rotors, all exposed raw metal (fasteners, etc.) has a film of protectant oil sprayed on. The header is waxed with Collinite Metal Wax; I clean off the mid-pipe and wipe down with protectant if a bunch of salt dust has accumulated on a ride.
 
Additionally:

Before the winter riding season starts here I give the Connies a thorough cleaning. Except for the brake rotors, all exposed raw metal (fasteners, etc.) has a film of protectant oil sprayed on. The header is waxed with Collinite Metal Wax; I clean off the mid-pipe and wipe down with protectant if a bunch of salt dust has accumulated on a ride.
I live in northern Wisconsin and I don`t ride in the spring until several good rain storms to wash all the salt of the roads. Iv`e been doing that for 50 years of riding and never had any rust or corrosion problems. up here every time there`s a couple snow flakes in the air out comes the salt trucks dumping tons of salt on the roads.
 
I live about 40 miles north of Boston in a town that has a lot of streets and roads with hills, so the city has to use a lot of salt and sand to keep those roads drivable. I rode my ST1100 through the winter one year, I just needed to ride. The salt took quite a toll on all the aluminum and steel. Took a lot of work to get all the salt damage out...won't do that again.
 
I don't live in an area that gets salt on the roads normally unless I ride up to the mountains. But I used to live in Upstate New York where the salt was used liberally. My wife would leave in our car on Monday mornings and be traveling till Friday evening. The car left dark blue and came back gray with streaks of white. Cars in that area commonly had rust holes several inches across in the body panels from the salt. Mine didn't.

What I did was to take it to the auto hobby shop on base where I could wash it thoroughly and dry it. That gave me a chance to see any places where a rock chip had occurred. When I got it home in the garage, I'd put a dab of paint on the paint chip. It was cold in the garage, but the paint would still be dry before I drove it again.

My point is that if you can watch for rust starting, you can stop it before it destroys your bike. If you can do like TimR and ride only on dry roads, the salt shouldn't affect you either.

Chris
 
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