Salt use on roads- prevention of serious issues with your bike

[Fernbrook]

Folks, here in Australia I have never struck the use of ice on our roads. I gather it is used on some roads around the globe, in winter presumably. It appears that it is used mainly to combat roads icing up or at least an attempt to lessen the ice build- up. What are the best measures to counter the deleterious effects on a motorcycle- in my case a 2016 Africa twin? Cleaning the bike more regularly, especially the underside seems logical, for instance. Any you- beaut sprays or oils etc that would be of use? I will be in places like Alaska and other cold places on a RTW trip in a year.

[Tim Cullis]

Have a look at ACF-50. It would also make sense to gently wash the bike as well.

ACF-50 Corrosion Control for Motorcycles

[backofbeyond]

As Tim says, ACF50 is the stuff to use. You spray it on, leave it over the winter and wash it off come spring; usually leaving pristine chrome / paint / alloy underneath. It's not perfect and you'll probably find afterwards you've missed a bit, but I've used it on bikes that have spent a week on salt solution covered motorways and been pretty much unmarked by the experience. Much better than anything else I've found.

[mark manley]

Another vote for ACF50 but an important part of my travels has always been to avoid anywhere there are freezing temperatures and icy roads, 40 years of riding to work through UK winters has taught me that much.

[Threewheelbonnie]

And another vote for ACF-50

You really need it on from new. I got my Moto Guzzi on Friday and the first thing I did was wash it, then take it in the garage and use a compressor and spray gun to liberally coat it. It won't be washed with soap now until April and then will have it applied again.

I also fitted an extension to the front mudguard because every manufacturer found race fashion used less metal in 1981 and has fitted useless ones since.

All electrical connectors are sprayed with silicon. Replace any bolt you dare (so not the ones on the discs or engine mounts) with stainless. I bin ****y Chinese bolts that come with screens and luggage racks, European black oxidised goes where you won't risk stainless.

If you are doing the Alpine/Scandinavian rallies in winter you need to go a step further and apply liberal quantities of grease, either vaseline or ACF-50 to any metal to metal joints such as wheel spokes or crimped bodywork. "Chrome" silencers you just have to view as sacrificial . Bolt heads on bash plates will rust through in the time it takes to ride to Passau and back from Leeds, ask how I know

Andy

[Threewheelbonnie]

Originally Posted by mark manley

Another vote for ACF50 but an important part of my travels has always been to avoid anywhere there are freezing temperatures and icy roads, 40 years of riding to work through UK winters has taught me that much.

Don't tell anyone, but some of the best rides are to be had while the leather babygrow and Village People Appreciation Societies are at home drinking cocoa and trying to think of a good reason not to wallpaper the back bedroom when the people they live with ask.



Andy

[Fernbrook]

Folks, thanks for the suggestions regarding salt corrosion prevention on my bike. As someone said in one of the comments- try and avoid riding at that time of the year. Excellent idea. I will try and avoid journeying when salt may be needed on the roads but just in case I unexpectedly find it beneath my wheels, I’m prepared. Thanks very much to all. Smoky.

[Turbofurball]

Originally Posted by Threewheelbonnie

Replace any bolt you dare (so not the ones on the discs or engine mounts) with stainless. I bin ****y Chinese bolts that come with screens and luggage racks, European black oxidised goes where you won't risk stainless.

Just a note that stainless bolts inserted into mild steel can suffer from galvanic corrosion, which is worse than it just going rusty!

Also, under strain stainless is a bit squishy, for plastic panels they're ok but on anything that takes a load a quality high tensile fastener is better (stainless has a higher tensile strength than mild steel but less than the 8.8 spec bolts that are usually the default on motorbikes, and way way less than the tougher high quality stuff) ... the squishiness means they're easier to round off if you're working with sub-optimal tools at the side of the road, too.

Nobody can beat factory Honda bolts, which are made with some sort of super nickel plate dipped in virgin sweat process. I wish I could just buy their stuff off the shelf in any size!

Extra tip: Always put bolts in with a teeny drop of threadlock (Loctite blue or equivalent), it prevents corrosion and greatly reduces things shaking off the bike

[PanEuropean]

Smokey:

The extent to which road salt will cause damage to your motorcycle depends on the nature of the ambient air in the region that the salt is used in.

For example, corrosion from exposure to road salt in the UK is a big problem because the UK has a warm, moist, maritime climate and (because it is surrounded by the sea) a saline atmosphere.

On the other hand, corrosion from exposure to road salt in Alberta, Canada, when the outside air temperature is -30°C and the sun is shining is much less of a problem.

No matter where you go, though, exposure to road salt is not going to be good for the motorcycle, simply because manufacturers do not embody any anti-corrosion processes into motorcycle manufacturing, such as they do for automobiles.

It is important to thoroughly wash the moto after it has been exposed to road salt, but it is even more important to ensure that it is then kept in a dry environment after it has been washed. If you wash it and then leave it in a cold, damp environment, you will just accelerate the corrosion process... better to not even wash it at all in that case.

I can attest to the benefit of using ACF-50 - it is used for corrosion protection on aluminum aircraft that are operated in the ocean on floats in the Maldives, which is the ultimate corrosive environment.

Michael

[Tim Cullis]

The other product I have in my garage is FS365 which is made by Scottoiler. You can read about this here: FS 365 Complete Bike Protector - Scottoiler UK/International

As with ACF-50 you shouldn't let it anywhere near the brakes...

ACF-50 can be very spluttery to apply and one tip is to heat the aerosol can in a bowl of fairly hot water to increase the pressure in the can before using.

Disclaimer: don't blame me if it explodes.

[PrinceHarley]

Originally Posted by smoky126

Folks, here in Australia I have never struck the use of ice on our roads. I gather it is used on some roads around the globe, in winter presumably. It appears that it is used mainly to combat roads icing up or at least an attempt to lessen the ice build- up. What are the best measures to counter the deleterious effects on a motorcycle- in my case a 2016 Africa twin? Cleaning the bike more regularly, especially the underside seems logical, for instance. Any you- beaut sprays or oils etc that would be of use? I will be in places like Alaska and other cold places on a RTW trip in a year.

hi Smoky. Check out the frame mounting brackets for your radiators!
Like you, my 2017 AT has never been outside of Oz and there is significant corrosion there.
And, also like you, I am hoping to get me and the bike out of Fortress Australia as soon as the borders come down.
Might see you along the way.

FYI, the gravel roads in Alaska are treated with a salt additive (not just during winter) to improve their longevity.
Needless to say, this plays absolute havoc with ferrous steel.

Out of interest, which Maitland are you, NSW or SA?

[backofbeyond]

Originally Posted by Turbofurball

Just a note that stainless bolts inserted into mild steel can suffer from galvanic corrosion, which is worse than it just going rusty!

Also, under strain stainless is a bit squishy, for plastic panels they're ok but on anything that takes a load a quality high tensile fastener is better (stainless has a higher tensile strength than mild steel but less than the 8.8 spec bolts that are usually the default on motorbikes, and way way less than the tougher high quality stuff) ... the squishiness means they're easier to round off if you're working with sub-optimal tools at the side of the road, too.

Nobody can beat factory Honda bolts, which are made with some sort of super nickel plate dipped in virgin sweat process. I wish I could just buy their stuff off the shelf in any size!

Extra tip: Always put bolts in with a teeny drop of threadlock (Loctite blue or equivalent), it prevents corrosion and greatly reduces things shaking off the bike

That's pretty much been my approach - A2 grade stainless (the commonest stuff that's around) is fine for 'decorative' fasteners (stuff with no real load on them) but not anything 'mission critical' - brakes, engine, suspension etc. There I tend to stick with OE even if it usually cost cost an arm and a leg.

Originally Posted by Tim Cullis

The other product I have in my garage is FS365 which is made by Scottoiler. You can read about this here: FS 365 Complete Bike Protector - Scottoiler UK/International

As with ACF-50 you shouldn't let it anywhere near the brakes...

ACF-50 can be very spluttery to apply and one tip is to heat the aerosol can in a bowl of fairly hot water to increase the pressure in the can before using.

Disclaimer: don't blame me if it explodes.

My voyage of anti rust discovery has gone via covering everything in oil/ grease, through Waxoil (great for a Land Rover chassis but a decorative disaster for bikes), WD40 (ha ha!) and FS365 before (currently anyway) alighting on ACF-50. My experience with FS365 is that it works well if you're looking to store a bike unused over the winter but it washes off very easily on wet roads (which most salt covered one are) so you have to keep applying it. Before ACF came along it was probably as good as anything but I haven't used it since.

You have to have faith with ACF though. The idea is that once applied you don't touch it and just let the dirt build up until, well, spring really. A cold water wash is ok but if you use a detergent it'll take the ACF layer off as well. ACF dries (sets?) into a thin slightly waxy layer that dulls everything down so it's not a good year round look. I've used it to protect a few infrequently used classic bikes and the longer it's left the harder it seems to be to get off, so generally, apply in Nov, remove in March(ish) has been my (UK based) approach

[Fernbrook]

Prince Harley. Thanks for the reply to my query and again, thanks to all who contributed. I live in Maitland NSW. Renovating a house at present so getting in some riding is akin to trying to hit a bullseye while drinking heavily, a bit hit-and-miss! I hope to start in Sth America (fly my bike across to Chile) and wend my way north. Who knows what the eventual outcome will be though. I’m hoping I’m away in 12 months. Keep in touch if you like. Send me a message on this forum in this section if coming through. Smoky.