Do You Ride During The Winter?

I have two Hondas, 1987 NS400 and 1977 GL1000 which I fully expect to outlast my riding days as they will get looked after, cleaned and cossetted but I honestly don't believe that they will stand the test of time in the same way as so many old Brit Iron has. Case in point my neighbours Triumph is only a few years off being 100 years old and he still rides it all year round including recently touring round France. Isometimes wonder why people make potentially inflamatory comments when someone expresses an opinion based on personal experience!

 

ACF is the best chance of not wrecking a Ducati over winter. Mine will be done this week. All bodywork off (plus get a few bits powder coated) and apply everywhere I can

 

How bl**dy ironic!
I drove the car to work yesterday for the first time in 3 or 4 months. It was absolutely pi55ing down yesterday morning and I had a large tub of swarf from the lathe and milling machine that I wanted to dispose of in the metal skip at work, so thought it was an ideal opportunity to do that and stay dry.
Left work yesterday evening and at a junction just outside work I got hit in the rear by of all things………………………
A guy on an early Fireblade!!!

It’s a set of traffic lights with two lanes followed by an immediate 90 degree right turn, then about 30 metres later another set of lights with LH lane for straight on and RH lane to turn right. As we rounded the turn I was in the LH lane (as I should have been) and him in the RH lane and just behind, I heard a bump thought WTF! then he passed me and pulled over. He’d clipped the rear bumper just behind the wheel arch putting some scratches and a couple of shallow gouges in it. Bike rider perfectly OK but a bit shaken up and the Fireblade looked to have suffered nothing worse than a snapped front indicator. He was super apologetic saying that he knew he had to get into my lane, completely misjudged the RH turn and ran wide into me.

Slightly amusing when he noticed the Ducati sticker in the rear window of the car and I told him yes I actually have several bikes and if it had been any other day I would have been on two wheels myself. He said “well if I was going to run into anyone I probably couldn’t have chosen better”.

Car bumper damage isn’t severe so hopefully one of the “Chips Away” type outfits will be able to repair it.

Back on two wheels today – it’s safer!

 

Me too - hyper in the car park....parents evening tonight so i have to be there absolutely by 5pm (so traffic wont be a problem) otherwise im in for it...!

 

Lovely ride yesterday, rain, cold , diesel and leaves, the art of counter steering was not dead yesterday.

 

i would have thot a bit of sideways as well !!

 

Buy this ACF-50 product, not the spray cans. As they contain less & are wasteful.
ACF-50 Anti-corrosion treatment 0.95 litre bottle

Then clean your bike thoroughly & allow to dry, spray ACF-50 using the fine-spray bottle or touch-up compressor bottle all over your metal parts. Avoiding brake pads & brake discs. Leave it till the winter is over or you next wash the bike & reapply.

What I do with my winter hack is ride through muddy farm track puddles which forms a layer of mud stopping the corrosive destruction of the high levels of road salt & molasses the gritting teams use.

 

My Blackbird is ready for winter liberal and regular coating of ACF50 is the secret
Give the bike a good clean in spring the
Blackbird has been used every winter since 1997 and still cleans up nice

 

Do You Ride During The Winter?
are you mad? ducatis and salt? :Bag:

 

I want to ride it not eat it.

 

i like to eat it, then ride it :Cigar:

 

And if that tastes salty I think someones been there before you..

 

:Yuck:

 

and smell of fish.........ok ,,nuf said !!

 

This thread got me thinking about my youth. The choke cable on my Yamaha YB100 had frozen solid so my parents came out to help. Managed to free it (boiling water I recall). Quite why they then thought it sensible to let me ride home (they could have given me a lift and collected the bike the next day) I do not understand. They took the picture while following me in their VW van. Had I fallen off they would've probably run me over......

 

Fantastic (not the running over part!)

 

Go to Spain

 

Amazing isn't it. I remember being 17 and riding my RD in the snow and ice with mates, one crashing his DT ever corner because he never slowed down at all. We actively went and found the snow so we could mess about on bike in it.

Now, it gets 2deg and I'm scared of ice...

 

KP