Winter kills RE...

Fast Eddie

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My mate loves his Interceptor, bought new last year.

He has ridden it through this winter so far, and it has not faired well.

He ACF50 coated it liberally before the ‘salt season’.

But it now looks horrid, the alloy has corroded very badly. All bright zinc plated bits are now very dull grey. Both front and rear brakes seized on.

Anyone else ridden their‘s through winter, if so how did it fair?
 
My mate loves his Interceptor, bought new last year.

He has ridden it through this winter so far, and it has not faired well.

He ACF50 coated it liberally before the ‘salt season’.

But it now looks horrid, the alloy has corroded very badly. All bright zinc plated bits are now very dull grey. Both front and rear brakes seized on.

Anyone else ridden their‘s through winter, if so how did it fair?
A few blasts out on my CCM, dry days only, and so far so good. Wiped down with an oily rag and liberal amounts of WD40 substitute used!
 
None of the anti-corrosion wonder products are “fit and forget.”

Did he have better results riding other bikes on salty roads?
 
My mate loves his Interceptor, bought new last year.

He has ridden it through this winter so far, and it has not faired well.

He ACF50 coated it liberally before the ‘salt season’.

But it now looks horrid, the alloy has corroded very badly. All bright zinc plated bits are now very dull grey. Both front and rear brakes seized on.

Anyone else ridden their‘s through winter, if so how did it fair?

Tell him I'll give him a grand for it, I could do with a scruffy winter bike to look at when I get in my T5 VW :)
 
My mates been told the recall, to replace the caliper, is only on the rear brake? But there are no new ones available currently! So he had new pistons and seals in the front and rear under warranty.
 
and to think i nearly sold my commando for dirt and bought one...i must have been on some sort o IPA trip..oh wait...i was

The RE is a nice bike Alan (if that’s what you want), but it’s not THAT nice !!
 
Sorry not a royal Enfield but a work mate rode his hinkley Bonneville through last winter and the front and back brake calipers seized up
This resulted in buying new callipers because the callipers crumbled when he tried to fit new seals
Another mate also with a hinkley Bonneville although an old one had the engine number fall off
That is the powder coat fell off and completely took the engine number with it
He keeps the shard of powder coat in an evolope
 
It's dream world to think you can ride day in day out on salt and not end up with a corroded Bike/car/truck/bicycle.
Spray on coatings just slow the process down.

Glen
 
Damn that's a gutter Eddie I keep looking at the Himalayans, I've got a 2010 Triumph sixty Bonnie an know it wouldn't stand winter riding well. Took it out on xmas day though when we were allowed out great bike to ride in those conditions but I fear the finish wouldn't stand it, the 650ss on the other hand after every day winter 2020 all it needed was a bit of paint on the hagons n a new chain. Having said that now matter how freezing I am I always wash em' n dry them every time I get back.
 
That’s why I’m thinking of something like a Yamaha XT660 for the winter Tom...

I‘ve realised that life is just too short to not ride for 4 months of the year... but my mates experience has also reminded me what a killer salt can be.

Need a nice ‘disposable motorcycle’ ...
 
You need an old Brit with the special built in mechanical anti corrosion fluid dispenser... But they won't be quick enough for you :-(
 
A few years back, when I was still active duty, I was stationed on Oahu and a neighbor of ours had a nice looking Harley V-rod. (we lived in base housing on Kaneohe, the windward side of the Island, and had only carports, no garages). After coming home from a 6 month deployment, that bike looked terrible. Peeling chrome, pitted aluminum, rusted steel, dulled paint work and unraveling stitches on the seat with exposed eroding foam.
 
You need an old Brit with the special built in mechanical anti corrosion fluid dispenser... But they won't be quick enough for you :-(
There’s a lot to be said for that for sure. But I’m kinda seeing this as an excuse for some maintenance free, electric start, easy life, motorcycling. I’ve enough things to keep me busy in the shed as it is!
 
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