Advice please - how do you protect your bike from salt in winter? Especially brake discs.?

Question

Please don't bother telling me to leave it in the garage.

Regular soap and water I can do - but there must be some good advice out there we can share.

Products that work? Tips to make the soap and water quicker and more effective?

Did you know modern road salt includes a chemical to glue it to the road better - it also glues it to your bike better. Hoo-bloody-ray!

Answer 1

you would be far safer and your bike wouldn't rust so quickly if you did leave it inside but if you go to your local autoparts or whatever you have an get some aerosol brake cleaner just wouldnt advise using on paint etc. but if you clean your bike then put a really good coat of polish on it the mess wont stick as well to it. DONT POLISH YOUR DISCS

Answer 2

yeah, i use my bike over winter and do thousands of miles a year including bad winter mornings when its been salted. I have found a great product called scottoil FS365. Most bike shop sell it (BUT DO NOT PUT ANYTHING ON BRAKE DISCS) yes you may get rust or salt spots on your discs but when you bring your baby out ready for next year get some brake cleaner in an aerosol can and spray the discs and use a light wet and dry paper with said cleaner to remove and shine, brake cleaner will evaporate and after a few minutes you can ride off knowing your brakes will stop, if you are storing your bike, make sure you empty the fuel tank as petrol only has a shelf life of 3 weeks, you can refresh this of course with a good fresh top up but i wouldnt recommmend this, i would empty and then refill next year

Answer 3

First of all, just about all brake discs contain stainless steel and aren't going to rust even if you throw them in a bucket of salt water for a month. The old Moto Guzzis used cast iron, but they'd rust just setting overnight in the middle of the summer. Whatever you do, don't go applying anything to the discs, no WD 40, no wax, no nothing.

The nasty stuff you're talking about is calcium chloride. It's been used for decades for creating a freezeproof liquid ballast in tractor tires. It's advantage over ordinary salt is that it's freezing point is lower than salt and it'll keep roadways wet rather than frozen at below zero temperatures, something salt can't begin to do. The big problem is that it attracts atmospheric moisture many times worse than salt does and yes, it is sticky. In addition, it takes several really good rains to wash it completely off the roads. I know from experience that it doesn't hurt painted surfaces, but if there's bare metal it'll start the rusting process pronto because it keeps the area wet. It's really rough on chrome and if left on there for a while, you'll soon have tiny rust specks starting. The best thing to do is to apply a really good coating of wax or polish to the chrome and if you've been on treated roads, wipe the chromed surfaces down with a sopping wet rag afterwards. Be prepared to reapply the wax fairly often.

Answer 4

There is a number of sprays on the market that will help to protect the underside of the bike and mainly the aluminium. Harley market a good one

You could use Finnigans wax oil available at Halfords among others

Liberal coating to any vulnerable surface but definately NOT the brakes. The oil sets off a little but not hard. Normally you can get it off in the spring with a little parafin and hard work.

Only way of keeping the brake discs clean is to regularly wash them down with soap and water to remove traces of road salt and let general use keep them in good working order

If you are an all weather rider then just keep safe

Answer 5

For the bike get yourself some of the absolutely brilliant Scottoiler FS365/ Check out http://www.scottoiler.com for that.

I would ignore Waxoyl like the plague, it works but is a bitc* h to get off come the spring.

As for the discs I am afraid that there is little better than just a bucket of plain old good plain clean water over them after each ride when the salt is about. Don't use warm water either it just speeds up the reaction. Cold water to rinse the crud away around the discs and calipers is the best that you can do. If it is an older Yamaha that you have then use two buckets as they seize up as soon as you even mention the word winter.

Answer 6

Hi,
I use WD-40 on any moving parts & down the brake cables & down the ignition barrel although I wouldn't suggest using it on the discs, If you are riding your bike through the winter then the brake pads will keep the discs clean.

You could use brake cleaner on the discs but be carful not to get it on any paint.

Apart from that, I just wash my bike once a week with soap and water.

Hope that helps

Danny

Answer 7

well for the bike i would use a cleaner from Napa Auto Parts called "quick Wash" this is remove all road debris and tar. Then i would use a good quality wax. This will help protect it. On the Rotors use a brake clean and then a light spray of wd-40, this protects the rotor from water. Be sure to clean off any extra wd-40 so your brakes work. I work at an auto Parts store and we put wd-40 on ALL rotors to help protect them them from rust, it will not affect your stopping power. Best of luck

Answer 8

If you use washing up liquid don't, it contains salt, if you use a jet wash keep it from spraying directly into any bearings it can drive the grease out. I tend to give it a really good wash and then use Waxoyl to protect the engine, frame and bodywork. And I avoid putting anything oil-based (including WD40) near discs it is almost impossible to clean off completely and affects the pads, generally use cleans them up sufficiently and a quick brush with a suede brush cleans off any spots of rust.

Answer 9

A good coat of wax oil on everything except the discs and the exhaust and a weekly wash with a hose set to 'gentle spray' will see it right. When spring finally arrives give it a really good clean and re wax oil it. Keep it indoors when you are not riding it.

Answer 10

tip.when washing your bike use only cold water and soap,warm water helps dissolves the grit smaller causing the salt particals to enter into all the nooks and crannies and threads etc,use "muck off,,"wet your bike with COLD water,spray on "muck off" leave for two mins and rinse off(agitate stubborn area before washin off),dry with a shammy and then polish with mer(which can be used when bike is still wet),use a good brake disc cleaner,spray on and leave on for 30 secs and wipe off,you be suprised how much crud your discs hold,use a drive chain cleaner and dry, then apply chain wax(castrol)at least 30 mins before riding,use copper slick(grease)on all your nut and bolt threads and wd40 other moving parts such as side stand gear selector etc,and just general tlc after every ride,take care of it and it will take care of you.happy ridin mate