Motorcycles manufacturers seem to have an amazing ability to pick materials with the chemical compatibilities of Saturday nights Kebab on a Thursday and the mechanical qualities of both cheese and toffee
I ride my bikes and accept that by doing so in the winter I will suffer from the built in lack of quality. I actually view the pain of a few hundred quid on trade in day as the lesser evil over giving up a ride on a decent winters day or because the BBC say it might snow in the Hebrides and Leeds council have a zillion tons of salt going spare. I view by filthy scruffy bike as evidence I am a rider not an owner, life is too short for fake chome. I would buy a better quality bike but no one makes one, they just charge more for the same rubbish.
Things I will spend time doing though:
1. ACF and WD40 before winter.
2. Undo and apply copperslip to any fasteners you might need to undo before they corrode. Replace non-stressed ones with stainless.
3. When I change the oil or tyres and big bits come off I go to town with the cleaning and preservative stuff.
4. When rust is spotted arrest it faster than a man with a shot gun heading for a post office. Grease, paint, chewing gum, anything that keeps the air out. I wouldn't remove it though, rust itself slows the corrosion of the good metal underneath.
5. Neat paint needs preparation and access, so engine case paint is pointless unless you are taking the motor out. You can't paint the banjo bolts on the radiator without draining the fluid. I therefore take the approach of not giving a hoot what it looks like if its a working repair. Hammerite* on the rust, nail varnish, heat proof paint et. will stop the rot and above all stick.
*If you spray Hammerite smooth over the hammered stuff you get the best of both, one sticks the other looks better.
6. Take things off you don't need. Pillion pegs can't rot if they spend your ownership of the bike stored in greased paper.
7. Big jobs need big solutions. If you are doing a rebuild don't scrimp like the manufacturers. If it's down a bare frame send it to the powder coaters. At 21 years old one of my MZ's looks better than my Wee at 11 months. The frame was coated, the forks and engine painted and the rest is plastic. I can forgive a Communist whose paint was 90% cabbage based, BMW, Honda, Suzuki etc. should hang their heads in shame.
Andy
