[pauljo]

The temperature has gotten up into the 50's the last couple of days. But the roads were recently heavily salted due to freezing temps last week and problems with freezing fog, etc. There is still a lot of residual salt and sand on the roads - and the street I live on is particularly bad. I have white tire tracks on my driveway from the cars tracking salt in from the street.

As tempting as it has been to ride, I haven't, because I don't want to get the salt on my fairly new bikes. But I have seen a few other riders out.

Am I being overly cautious? I know that I am not going to want to thoroughly wash the bike after riding - it is not that warm out. Any opinions from others in the cold climate states?

 

[allwalk]

I don't think you're being overly cautious. Salt can really attack our machines. They havent been undercoated like your vehicle. As tempting as it may be I think you are wise to keep them parked. Especially the burgman. They are extremely hard to get clean in all those tight areas with the body panels.

It's not worth the 30 minute ride.

 

[billmeek]

I'm just the opposite. I look at the Burgman as transportation and will ride it anytime, except when ice/snow is actually on the road. It may not be great for the bike, but it sure is fun for me.

 

[NormanB]

I have to say that one of the big disappointments for me is the preservation work on the Burgman. Leaving aside the most obvious areas for corrosion attack wheels and exhaust - the steel frame is just awful, $2 dollar welding and a $3 dollar paint job.

The 400 is also specifically vunerable at the front face of the tank which is directly exposed to road rash and salt, UK riders have had tanks fail.

 

[DonRich90]

I'm with you Paul. I love to ride but I don't think it's worth the potential problems. And in our area they mix finely crushed stone with the salt and that can make some of the backroads somewhat dangerous until we get a decent rain and some traffic to clear most of the stones.
Don

 

[pauljo]

And in our area they mix finely crushed stone with the salt and that can make some of the backroads somewhat dangerous until we get a decent rain and some traffic to clear most of the stones.
Don

Yep. We get that here too - and it isn't so finely crushed at that! My wife calls it "pea gravel". I have other names for it (which I can't share on the forum). :roll:

 

[ted clement]

Here in my area of N.C. they've started using some sort of liquid, often put on the roads the day before a predicted snow. Seems to work, but then we seldom get heavy snow. Don't know what this stuff is, or what it does to vehicles.

 

[rich b]

yes for the last few days on long island the weather has been nice,but salt from tues.snow is still on the roads.i won`t take the burger out for both safety,& corrosion issues.aluminum is a very active metal,& our radiators are made of very thin aluminum.the front tire will throw a lot of salt into the radiator when in motion,& a hose off will not get it all out.then even high humidity will make the residue corrosive,especially in areas where heat is present like a radiator. take my advice with a grain of salt. Rich b

 

[dero]

Removed

 

[dero]

Removed

 

[Helix]

riding in winter

Dero,
Sounds like a warm ride today. Temperature got up to 60 today in Iowa. Thought very hard about getting scooter out, but the roads were damp from light rain and they had a lot of salt and sand which isn't very good for traction and corrosion. Anyway it was nice never the less. Soon we will be into the new year and Spring will be around the corner.

Helix

 

[NormanB]

I have to say that one of the big disappointments for me is the preservation work on the Burgman. Leaving aside the most obvious areas for corrosion attack wheels and exhaust - the steel frame is just awful, $2 dollar welding and a $3 dollar paint job.

Hi Norman,

I hear that the rear final drive alloy case corrodes really badly on the 650 Burger, also the clutch housing and transmission belt drive case might be worth a look as they seem to be made from the same rubbish alloy.

The way that Suzuki have put noise absorbent foam on the inside of body panels doesn't help matters either as it tends to absorb water and hold it longer to help the corrosion process. The rear final drive cover is a real bad example.

Thanks - thats a useful tip for me.

 

[pauljo]

Re: riding in winter

Temperature got up to 60 today in Iowa. Thought very hard about getting scooter out, but the roads were damp from light rain and they had a lot of salt and sand which isn't very good for traction and corrosion. Anyway it was nice never the less. Soon we will be into the new year and Spring will be around the corner.

Helix

Same situation in Omaha, NE. It had rained - but not hard enough or long enough to clean the roads off much. It's killing me not to ride, but I choose not to. My neighbor had his full dress Harley out for a ride, and there were a few other bikes out. Next week there is mention of snow in the forecast, so I think we are just looking at a day or two - not worth potentially damaging the bikes.

 

[Wes]

Here in my area of N.C. they've started using some sort of liquid, often put on the roads the day before a predicted snow. Seems to work, but then we seldom get heavy snow. Don't know what this stuff is, or what it does to vehicles.

They've used that here for the last 3 or 4 years and it's much more corrosive than solid salt. I rode my old BMW R75 for 35 years, summer and winter, never washed it and had no rust or corrosion (well, not much). As soon as they started using that stuff, all the iron parts showed rust and kept getting worse. I think they've stopped using it now as I haven't seen any the last 2 years. Sure hope so as I don't want the Burger to rust out from under me.