Road salt corrosion

"The Silverwing radiator and oil filter can corrode badly when subjected to winter road salt and it is strongly recommended to thoroughly clean these components weekly when conditions are bad. I would also recommend changing the oil filter with every 4000 mile oil change particularly before the start of winter."

While road salt corrosion doesn't seem to be as much of an issue here as it is in the UK, this excerpt from Phils-a-Winger's post to the "Oil leak under bike" topic suggests that it would be advisable to, not only use ACF 50 on the engine & belt case, but also add a mudflap to the front fender to protect the radiator.

Does anyone have a link or mudflap pattern for a S'Wing which can be copied. There doesn't appear to be too much clearance between the tire and the fender. So how is the best way to attach a DIY mudflap?

Tim

Use a pan head screw with the nut on the outside of the fender for more clearance. Cut the screw to the right length and you can use a chrome acorn nut which looks nicer. On a friend's SW I used a piece of inner tube rubber, attached it to the outside of the fender and cut a thin piece of aluminum to cover the flab where it was overlaying the fender. Rounded edges on the aluminum and flap on top and a couple of arcs cut on the lower side gave it a nice finished look. Unfortunately he doesn't have the bike any more so I can't get a picture.

Being a tight git, for years now I've made my own mud flaps from pieces cut from a black plastic flower pot because it's already pre-curved. Also a tip I picked up from a Dutch push bike shop in York, you can use a piece cut from a roll of black plastic/PVC damp-proof course. It's cheap and available from builders merchants/supply or DIY centres.

Who wants or needs to drill holes in expensive mudguard/fenders when you can do the job with double sided adhesive pads and a schmear of black silicone sealant.

While not as bad, it is also important to maintain the Silverwing against salt if you park near salt water bodies.
I live on a saltwater lake just off of the intracoastal waterway on Miami Beach.
When I had a skiing accident I couldn't ride for a year and the Silverwing sat there 100 feet from the salt water in an underground garage.  
When it was time to start riding again my wing had corroded so badly it was totaled.
That was the end of the Silverwing era for me.

Cosmic_Jumper wrote:

Does anyone have a link or mudflap pattern for a S'Wing which can be copied. There doesn't appear to be too much clearance between the tire and the fender. So how is the best way to attach a DIY mudflap?

Tim

Probably not a viable option for your side of the pond, but I bought a Honda logo'd mudflap, large size, from www.Wemoto.co.uk. They still sell the large size, but not with the Honda logo, just a plain black job. Fixed it like exavid suggests, work fine, keeps the rad clear of road crud.
(Just about visible in my album)
Graham.

I'm with Meldrew - rubber car mat from the pound shop, judicious use of a Stanley knife and three m5 nylock nuts/screws. Job done - all for a quid!

Old plastic gallon milk jug cut up, with lots of duct tape.  Don't know how much a quid is so can't tell you if it's less or more than one. I'm guessing less.

'Quid' is slang for £1.00

MikeO wrote:

'Quid' is slang for £1.00

£1.00=.453 kilogram$....wait.....what?

I find it humorous that a country on the metric system has its monetary system in pounds (based on the value of a pound of silver) even though pounds do not exist in the metric system.

dspevack wrote:

MikeO wrote:

'Quid' is slang for £1.00

£1.00=.453 kilogram$....wait.....what?

I find it humorous that a country on the metric system has its monetary system in pounds (based on the value of a pound of silver) even though pounds do not exist in the metric system.

I find it humorous that you thing our £ sterling is based on the value of a pound of silver. It isn't and there's a page on Wikipedia that explains the origin of the £ pound sterling far better than I can.

Our currency went metric in 1971, before that we had pounds, shillings, and pence. 240 pennies to the pound, or 20 shillings to the pound, and there was 12 pennies in a shilling. We also had different coins like crowns, half crowns, two shillings, shillings, sixpences, three penny bits, pennies, and half pennies (ha"pennies).

We generally don't like metric weights, it was foisted on us by the EU. We buy fuel in litres but still think in gallons, that's proper Imperial gallons not US gallons.

At least with our metric money we pay the marked price and that's it, there's no State sales tax added at the cash register. So we don't clutter our pockets with a pile of useless pocket shrapnel 1 cent and 2 cent coins.

£ = money pounds
lb = weight pounds

Are the denominations of American paper money all the same colour still?

Meldrew,

The pound of silver comment actually came from a Wikipedia page (I researched the comment there before making it. It was referring to the original source of the backing), and we haven't had 2 cent coins in over 50 years.

Mike, They have added some color to various bills.

Gentlemen, I mentioned this with the intention of highlighting the humor in metric/pounds.
No offense was intended.

I now return you to your original topic of salt corrosion.

Dan

Just a little note on money system, I was brought up on the Pound system, and did not like ,and do not like, the metric system. I still measure in feet and inches and calculate in Gallons. I doubt we will revert to the old system once we are out of the EU. I do as Meldrew suggested some time ago for mudguard extension although, after riding in winter I usually hose down my bike before garaging it.

No matter how inconvenient, I always make the effort to hose down the scooter after riding on salted roads in winter. Anti-corrosion sprays are fine, but neutralising road salt on alloy and paintwork with cold water before putting the scooter away is very effective.

Back go the metric / imperial stuff. Im in the construction trade and cry is often heard of "1.8 metres of 2x2". We've never fully adapted :-)

And Meldrew right, hose it down after a salty ride.

For what it is worth the September 2016 issue of Rider Magazine has a article on a anti-Corrosion product on page 82.Also here is a link on there product. http://www.learchem.com/industry/motorcycle.html

ACF-50 has been around for years, it's been a popular and highly rated  though expensive anti-corrosion treatment over here in the UK for years. I've never used it because I have a good supply of anti-corrosion products made by Motorex, and S Doc 100 that I'm happy with.

I still wouldn't trust these products alone over a winter, and neutralise the effects of salt by hosing it off with cold water after riding on any roads that have been gritted.

I remember all too well how the silver alloy on my Helix went to grey suede within a day after putting a cleaning session off

Having lived and ridden in heavy salted Germany for over 20 years.....and tried almost everything spray on/brush on ... plain water at end of ride works as good as anything. Another point learned, modern bikes are not really designed to be ridden in foul weather......just look at their fenders, etc., or ability to resist corroding.

ACF50 works if you stick it on clean dry surface and leave it there,and it just hoses off when you want it off.But agree a good hose down with just water best remedy for salt in winter

I spent 2 decades working in aviation maintenance in South Florida, where corrosion is king.  
ACF50 was developed for aircraft use because of the problem of galvanic corrosion, mostly between steel and aluminum and it worked quite well, interrupting the electrochemical reaction. I also used it for avionics and electrical connectors.

It was "fogged" into all the spaces between the skin, ribs, stringers and spars, and would seep out through every joint and rivet! The planes look like crap for a couple of weeks, then you're good for another year. I used it quite extensively and it worked better that anything else available.

However, I'm not convinced that it's the way to go on a M/C or scoot. It only really functions when it seeps in between the dissimilar metals where contact leads to galvanic corrosion, it never was much good for surface oxidation as the layer it left was easily disrupted and smeared when anything came in contact with it.
A clean, primed and painted surface, without any unprotected metal, will work far better then spraying any kind of corrosion inhibitor on it.

The biggest offender is paint being chaffed off by wire harnesses, hoses and clamps or plastic covers in contact with the frame and allowing it to rust/corrode.
Keep this from happening, repair what has happened and keep the bike clean.

Flush the underside, radiator and brake assemblies with plain water to remove salt....even if you don't ride in winter the salt is still on the road for weeks/months after the last salting.

dspevack wrote:

Meldrew,

...It was referring to the original source of the backing), and we haven't had 2 cent coins in over 50 years..
Dan

Two cent coins were only minted in the US 1864-1873. Technically you are correct. It's been more than fifty years ago.

I have used Scottoil FS365 spray for the past 12 years. Bikes look like new even though I ride 12 months of the year.
Brilliant stuff, spray it on everything, frame, engine wheels then use the bike for a week or so then wash it off and re-apply.
Give it a try, you might be surprised just how well it works. seems to build up a skin that protects through the worst of the British winter.

I used to protect the float fittings and all external steel parts on my float planes in SE Alaska with Par-al-ketone. If they still make it the same way it's kind of like cosmoline that the military used to pack rifles in for storage. Long term storage. It wouldn't look to good on exposed parts of a scooter because it's kind of a brown waxy grease like stuff. But it did keep rust off my truck's undercarriage and off the exposed steel parts of my airplanes that were operated off saltwater.

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/paralketone.php

I remember cosmoline, used it in the 50's for chrome bumpers and other parts during the winter, it went on good if cut with kerosene a bit, a coat or two and it looked like you had golden plated chrome

I never tried thinning paralketone, just heated it up a bit. In 1963 I bought a 1903 Springfield rifle from Montgomery Wards. It arrived in the mail in a wooden box that it was crated in back in 1915. When I pried off the top of the box all I could see was a solidly filled box of cosmoline. It took a week of evening work getting that rifle out of the cosmoline and cleaning it up. The stuff did it's work though, that rifle was in perfect condition after being stored for nearly fifty years.