|
Author |
Message |
Jamieking86 |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Jamieking86 Two Stroke Sniffer
Joined: 15 Dec 2017 Karma :
|
Posted: 09:40 - 02 Feb 2018 Post subject: Cleaning your cycle |
|
|
Hi guys, how often do most of you clean your bike? I noticed recently there's some rust building up on the underneath of the bike with the salt and crap coming off the winter roads. I cleaned it the other day and sprayed the muc off protection thing on to stop as much salt and dirt etc? But how often should i do this? I'm new to riding so even in the winter months, if it's dry and above 5 degrees I usually go out for a little ride until i can't feel my toes or fingers. Also how could i get rid of the rust? Seen some youtube vids where people use coca cola......really? |
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
Rogerborg |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Rogerborg nimbA
Joined: 26 Oct 2010 Karma :
|
Posted: 09:51 - 02 Feb 2018 Post subject: |
|
|
Acid chemically reduce rust. Anything that will rot your teeth will de-rust your bike. I use vinegar.
As to how often you should gloop it, as often as it pleases you. I just slap on some ACF-50 and then ignore it until spring (i.e. July). ____________________ Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike |
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
stinkwheel |
This post is not being displayed .
|
stinkwheel Bovine Proctologist
Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :
|
Posted: 10:29 - 02 Feb 2018 Post subject: |
|
|
Rogerborg wrote: | Acid chemically reduce rust. Anything that will rot your teeth will de-rust your bike. I use vinegar. |
I'm convinced it doesn't.
It does remove rust but that's not how. Iron (II) oxide is very stable and formed by a complex third order reaction with at least two intermediaries. I seriously doubt a weak acid like ethanoic acid is capable of grabbing oxygen off a rust molecule. I have my doubts if even a strong one is capable of reducing iron oxide much. I believe a combination of conc nitric and HCl will do it. Even chlorine triflouride doesn't interact with iron oxide much and it'll set concrete on fire. Reducing iron oxide is a process that takes an enormous amount of energy ie a blast furnace.
So why does it work? I presonally reckon it's all about the corrosion interface. At the level of the clean iron there is a constant oxidisation process, almost like a conveyor belt of rust moving up from the metals surface. The corrosion is stuck to the metal surface but not well stuck.
Relevant fact: Ferric acetate is water soluable. So. Put rusty metal in vinegar and it will start to corrode the surface of the metal BUT it will form ferric acetate, not iron oxide at that corrosion interface. The ferric acetate forms a water soluable layer under the rust. The rust washes off, as does the ferric acetate leaving you with clean metal.
Different mechanism with coca cola. That's phosphoric acid. Iron phosphate is insoluable, very unreactive and adheres tightly to the surface of the metal. So phosphoric acid causes a layer of iron phosphate to form at the corrosion interface. This again causes the rust to loosen and fall off. The iron phosphate remains bonded to the surface of the metal as a black layer which inhibits further corrosion. It's the black anodising you sometimes see on nuts and bolts.
However, both processes need time or a dangerously strong version of the acid.
OP would be better cleaning his bike down with paraffin and a paintbrush then hosing it off then applying a corrosion inhibitor. What's rusting though? If it's nuts and bolts, as above. If it' s the frame, the paint layer is compromised and may need prepping and re-painting. If it's the exhaust, depends what it's made of and finished with (chrome, black paint?).
Try it. Put a rusty bolt in a jam jar of vinegar. It'll come out clean after a couple of days but the surface of the metal will be pitted and the rust itself will be sat in the bottom of the jar (I'm doing it mysef now with the crankcase bolts on my enfield. Then I'm going to do them in phosphoric to stop them rusting again. ____________________ “Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles. |
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
RhynoCZ |
This post is not being displayed .
|
RhynoCZ Super Spammer
Joined: 09 Mar 2012 Karma :
|
Posted: 10:37 - 02 Feb 2018 Post subject: Re: Cleaning your cycle |
|
|
Jamieking86 wrote: | Also how could i get rid of the rust? |
There's only one way how to get rid of the rust and that is actually getting rid of it. Sandpaper, filler, paint, clear coating. For black parts under the bike, I would be tempted to use the ''car undercarriage coating'', which leaves a rubbery surface, seals the metal inside = very durable and flexible (hard to chip/crack the coating), not nice to look at. It's mostly on cars.
To prevent rust, you want to make sure there is no standing water anywhere on the bike, which in winter contains road salt. The worst case scenario is a small crack in the paint job and water+salt getting between the paint and the painted surface.
You may also do as Roger says, keep your motorcycle greased up. To keep all the cavities rust-free use a specialized wax for that. These things are cheap, compared to rust damage.
The best answer to your question thought would be, have two motorcycles. One to bathe in salt and the other, the nice one, to ride for the pleasure of riding, when the roads are clean.
EDIT: Fun fact! - You can't actually stop nor prevent rusting. The rust crystals are present in the metal long before the manufacturers even use it to make motorcycles/cars. You may only slow down the rust, by removing/reducing the catalysts = water (salt?). Greasy things don't get wet, long before my time people with 4 stroke engine motorcycles even had venting of the crank/head right into the frame, to keep the insides of the frame lubricated = to ''prevent'' rust.
Also, every welded place is very prone to rusting. ____________________ '87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor |
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
Rogerborg |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Rogerborg nimbA
Joined: 26 Oct 2010 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
RhynoCZ |
This post is not being displayed .
|
RhynoCZ Super Spammer
Joined: 09 Mar 2012 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
stephen_o |
This post is not being displayed .
|
stephen_o Spanner Monkey
Joined: 02 Aug 2011 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
Nobby the Bastard |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Nobby the Bastard Harley Gaydar
Joined: 16 Aug 2013 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
stinkwheel |
This post is not being displayed .
|
stinkwheel Bovine Proctologist
Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
Nobby the Bastard |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Nobby the Bastard Harley Gaydar
Joined: 16 Aug 2013 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
stinkwheel |
This post is not being displayed .
|
stinkwheel Bovine Proctologist
Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
SDFarsight |
This post is not being displayed .
|
SDFarsight Nova Slayer
Joined: 02 May 2017 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
Dave.... |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Dave.... Trackday Trickster
Joined: 13 May 2016 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
RhynoCZ |
This post is not being displayed .
|
RhynoCZ Super Spammer
Joined: 09 Mar 2012 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
Beehive Bedlam |
This post is not being displayed because the poster has bad karma. Unhide this post / all posts.
|
Beehive Bedlam World Chat Champion
Joined: 28 Oct 2013 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
P. |
This post is not being displayed .
|
P. Red Rocket
Joined: 14 Feb 2008 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
Beehive Bedlam |
This post is not being displayed because the poster has bad karma. Unhide this post / all posts.
|
Beehive Bedlam World Chat Champion
Joined: 28 Oct 2013 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
P. |
This post is not being displayed .
|
P. Red Rocket
Joined: 14 Feb 2008 Karma :
|
Posted: 18:00 - 02 Feb 2018 Post subject: |
|
|
Fun fact, you slap... only girls slap
But no, seriously... I thought you were a 100+ miles a day rider minimum. |
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
Beehive Bedlam |
This post is not being displayed because the poster has bad karma. Unhide this post / all posts.
|
Beehive Bedlam World Chat Champion
Joined: 28 Oct 2013 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
ThatDippyTwat |
This post is not being displayed .
|
ThatDippyTwat World Chat Champion
Joined: 07 Aug 2016 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
stephen_o |
This post is not being displayed .
|
stephen_o Spanner Monkey
Joined: 02 Aug 2011 Karma :
|
Posted: 21:02 - 02 Feb 2018 Post subject: |
|
|
Obviously you don't do 300 odd miles over five days plus about 50 odd at weekend.[/quote]
No I don't now and I wouldn't want to ever again. During the winter the Leaf is able to handle everything and then the YBR will be used for day trips and events which are out of range of the car so having had a rat bike and all the unreliability I had with that I bought something nice and want to do the best I can to keep it that way. It's not just about keeping it clean and rust free - its about paying attention to it so that I hopefully don't come a cropper with rusting radiators etc and if I maintain good habits with this, and regain confidence in reliabilty of bikes and my own manual handling around the yard is ok then maybe I might step back up to a 2 or 4 but I would rather have what I have now and in the condition it is in than what I had before. ____________________ current scoot 2009 Yamaha YBR250 + Current Pootle 2013 Nissan Leaf |
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
duhawkz |
This post is not being displayed .
|
duhawkz World Chat Champion
Joined: 03 Dec 2006 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
redeem ouzzer |
This post is not being displayed .
|
redeem ouzzer World Chat Champion
Joined: 06 Oct 2015 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
Beehive Bedlam |
This post is not being displayed because the poster has bad karma. Unhide this post / all posts.
|
Beehive Bedlam World Chat Champion
Joined: 28 Oct 2013 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
Hawkeye1250FA |
This post is not being displayed .
|
Hawkeye1250FA World Chat Champion
Joined: 14 Oct 2016 Karma :
|
|
Back to top |
|
You must be logged in to rate posts |
|
|
Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 6 years, 273 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
|
|
|