Melting snow and salty roads made for a real sloppy ride. I couldn't help myself. Now my buddy has me thinking the worst.I think I will wait until spring cleans the roads up before my next ride. I didrinsethe bike well with fresh water then washed it with maguires nxt car wash. I would have liked to give it a full detail (wax), but its 21 degrees here. Is this enough? Is there a better way to clean road salt? Is it so bad if Iwash real well before storing it and I ride again? Please give your advise

 

Road salt can do a lot of damage to a bike if it is not rinsed down well after exposure. The majority of the new chrome is not very resistant to salt exposure. Aluminum is not as well. If you rinsed it well and sprayed it down, you should be good. I pass on riding up here in Michigan until the rain washes the roads good. Keep an eye on it and watch for any dull spots or white rust corrosion.

 

Thanks mcb... I wish I could have waited. I gave it a really good rinse followed by a pretty thourgh wash. I hope this is enough. If the weather breaks is there any more I can do?

 

Was there any type of protection on it before? If so I would not worry to much if you have already done a wash and rinse.

 

Hey Chop, I have found that hot water does the number on the salt, the hotter the better. I have a hot water hose in my garage that is used exclusively in the winter to cut the salt off the cars.

 

Hot water it is thanks gray. I actually used buckets of hot water from the house just to prevent freezing (turns out it wasn't that cold)But that might have helped in removing salt anyways.

 

Hot water and simple green can't say enough about that stuff it cuts just about anything.

 

I never ride until acouple of real good rains have washed the salt off the streets (I won't even ride on dry salt). What really convienced me was I rode in the rain for 6 hours. Later that year and several complete washes later I took the seat off, rear fender and gas tank, ect. for a project I was working on and I couldn't believe how much dirt that rain had put in places that you can't see or get to when you wash the bike. Salt is 10 times worse, plus it gets into the bearings and bushingsand corrodes. I don't know about where you live, but in Ohio, they use calcium chloride mixed with the salt, which is corrosive also. Chlorides and metals don't like each other.