My Harley is not a garage queen, I ride it and I ride it in all weather.
DC winters are brutal and equally as bad is the amount of salt on the roads, it gets everywhere.
I typically hose off the bike but given the temperatures lately it'll be several weeks before its warm enough to do that.
If you're an all season rider do you hose off your bike or just wipe it down, or both? And how long do you wait after riding in the salt to clean it off?

 

Not only is the road salt very corrosive, the brine that they spray on the road before a snow is even worse. Wiping down the bike can't hurt. But you need to get into the crevices and spaces underneath. You have to to hose that stuff off as soon as you can. Start from the top and work down.

 

A coat of something like ACF 50 before the bike goes out in the snow will be beneficial. It will get into all those nooks and crannies to stop the water getting in. It will also protect the chrome and painted surfaces.

 

Plain water does not remove salt from cracks and crevices. Salt bonds to the metal, then draws water to itself. You have to break the surface tension of the salt to flush it away. To do that, you must use a surface surfactant.

There are products, like salt away, or there is Dawn dish detergent, same stuff used to clean oil off birds in major spills.

An ounce of Dawn in a gallon is enough. You gain nothing by using more Dawn, except a soapy mess. I use a 1 gallon pump sprayer, like the Home Depot sells. Last all season and it is easy to spray underneath the motorcycle. You don't need to rinse it away either. No rust on my touring bike after ten years of winter riding in Washington state that uses all four salts with reckless abandon. Using a low dose also does not get slippery even if it gets on the tires. I keep it away from the brake pads, but it probably wouldn't hurt them.

 

A guy up here in ohio that rides all year says he rinses his bike with a 1 cup white vinegar/1 gal of water solution. Has been doing this for years, he uses a pump sprayer, with wand, to get all crevases.

 

wash or rinse according to time allowed.
i find HONDA wash/polish works well as actually repels dirt to a degree. also pretty cheap.

 

DC winters are brutal and equally as bad is the amount of salt on the roads ... You ain't seen S A L T 'til you've ridden in Michigan ... No more "salt riding" for me :<(

 

Western NY too, around Buffalo and the surrounding counties. Every winter is a disaster with salt, especially when we get the ultra cold blasts for weeks on end.

 

Indiana is right there with 'ya. Some spits on the pavement and it freezes, they spread a 3" layer of salt/brine solution.

 

[QUOTE=Uncle Larry;18089848]DC winters are brutal and equally as bad is the amount of salt on the roads[color=#222222] ... You ain't seen S A L T 'til you've ridden in Michigan ... No more "salt riding" for me :