well I will be out for the first time this January on Saturday, would of been on it sooner but injury has caused me to take it easy, will also be its first real clean since the last ride, just as well I have a full car valet bay to use at work
You're bonkers. It's about -5° here and blowing an icy gale. I thought the UK was due similar weather? I'm trying to minimise miles in the car in this - roads are like a rink - never mind pottering about on a superbike freezing my extremities off.
its like 1 or 2 at the moment and normally for me in the morning around -2 to -3 its the windchill that's the killer
yeah, its just a motorbike, it only cost 20 grand. Just treat it like shit mate, dont worry about cleaning it. In fact just find something to kill your passion for bikes while your at it. Its just metal. Your dealer will be quite happy to when you take it back for a part ex. In fact part ex it now, for a bmw, cause they are only bikes, in fact they are the same bike, just different colours. But the fixings and shit will be better for winter probably, oh and the engine is a boring straight 4, but its only a bike, so you may as well have something boring, to suit our boring lives, and same opinions, OH wait a minute...........
I understand where you are coming from, but ive had italian stuff for 30 years, its all the same to my knowledge. sexy, shiny, evocative crap
One quick one this acf30 or what ever it is, is it proven to work and be a great product, never heard of it or used it. Is it as good as they say
Can I also pipe in here as some know I work for ferrari and Maserati and its not much different for the cars
Acf50 is great. Clean and dry the bike then apply the acf50. Best to stand can or bottle in hot water before spraying it. Little goes a long way. It creeps too so best applying it with a small paintbrush or rag soaked in it when working around tyres and braking surfaces. Let it dry for 24 hours if you can. I also recommend the autoglym hd wax. I put some on at weekend and it gives a great shine but, most importantly wager and crap now isn't sticking to the fairing, nose and screen! Love it.
Just picked up on this thread.....(stands on soapbox...) yep - ducati's - theyre shit for fixings and coatings....period - I don't think ive come across a bike that corrodes this fast - ive seen slices of bread that don't break down this quick... Saying that I love my hyper but only now its completely covered in stainless fixings wherever possible and also anything that could be recoated has been....the only thing that will need doing is the motor (and ironically the worst offender of them all) and that will be getting the Xylan treatment...when the motor has to come out (whenever that maybe).. Went to Riders early last year to get it MOT'd and there was a brand new monster outside (a demo) and the front end fixing had gone chalky with less than 1k on the clock - the sales blokey tried to have a stab at a sale and I said "i wouldn't pay 11k for a bike that corroded that fast" - his only retort was "Yeah, well, that's how they are..." My advice is if you want to keep it get friendly with a local stainless fixings supplier and go over the whole thing. Swap the brake lines out with Hel line's (not for the bling, for the stainless) - get any pressed metal parts coated or recoated. My subframe had to be done along with the rear footpeg hangers and the brake line guide under the front light. And before anyone says "well, its Italian - they all do that..." - wrong....my 59 plate rsv4 factory with more miles on the clock and 2 years older is absolutely fine....the only corrosion ive seen is at the top of the rad and then it was only a few fittings...
Thanks for the likes....in defence of my hyper, I love it, its the only bike ive bought a second one of....and I do understand that everything corrodes - it just seems to affect more parts and fittings of a ducati and faster... I have gotten into arguments on other forums about people saying that you cant put stainless into alloy without it corroding but id argue that as well....I switched the stock headers over on my hyper last week and the studs came out with no issues (and yes they were stainless.)...hey....im pretty sure race teams don't use pig iron to hold their's together...! At no point has any stainless fitting not come out of my bike after being put in, even when using threadlock.
I think you're all being tarts, flakey paint and rusty chains are one thing, but a bit of fuzz on a few bolts is the norm with most bikes. Sure it would be nice if Ducati went the extra mile but it's nothing out of the ordinary. Most modern cars and bikes have the same issue, just look at how much salt is on the roads and it's no wonder, driving home today the roads were white with the stuff!
I had the same problem with my 899, I picked it up on a Friday in November 2013 did 300 miles that weekend in wet weather and exactly the same following weekend in wet conditions washed bike down both times, and it had been ACF50 treated by dealer before first ride out. The ally tubes going to break caliper front and back pitted, rear sprocket & chain showing bad signs of corrosion also round the bottom of forks and where the seals are were all showing corrosion. That was two weekends wet condition riding and bike was only two weeks old when it went back to the dealer for first service. Ducati replaced all under warranty except rear sprocket and chain saying they were consumables however my dealer changed sprocket and chain as a good will jester and replaced them with Talon items.
Will Jester would make a great name for a character in a novel. Must remember that one. Good Will Jester sounds a bit like Good King Wencelas.
