Always prefer to buy a bike that's been used with a good service history owned by someone who knows the bike You can tell if the bikes been neglected or abused Not interested in garage queen's
The reason I asked is that it was raining this morning when I set off to work. I don’t mind a little rain. My textiles keep me dry. My boots let water in but I just take extra socks with me. I couldn’t face the thought of sitting in my car on the M25 when I could be filtering. Also, being on the bike helps me forget my worries. It’s enjoyable even if it’s just plodding along on the motorway. I just didn’t want to ruin my bike doing it though as I plan to keep it a long time...
Riding in the rain Riding in the rain is part and parcel of it, especially if commuting... Wouldn't want to do it often on my pride and joy though... I did take the SS to work the other day knowing full well it was forecast for thunderstorms ( which did happen) as it was a nice morning and I was gagging to ride it..but that's not the norm . If it's a long term keeper, id strongly suggest getting a cheap winter hack . Failing that, swap every fixing for stainless, coat fuck out of it with ac50 and be careful out there! Crashed my 748 ( my nicest bike) 50 feet from my house on a cold, dark, wet morning .. Taking my hack might not have prevented the broken bones but it would have prevented my broken heart!!
Ideally the bike should get a hose down from all directions to get rid of the that road grime , and worse still the salt . But who wants to do that after a wet ride ? It looks like councils are being really stingy with salt these days . I can't remember the last time I saw the gritting lorry . It might be different on motorways , but I try to stay off them in winter . As for pressure washers , using them on bikes is an absolute No No for me
Umm, it's August Less grit = less damage to bike from corrosion, also more chance of slipping off it on ice I'm strictly fair weather as I can't afford a winter hack but rain is ok as long as it's not every day....
If it rains my bike(s) get wet. Mheh. It’s their job, they’re not made of sugar and won’t (shouldn’t!) dissolve in water!
Rain is not so bad, other than it’s a PIA cleaning the bike afterwards, salt is really bad for your bike, if you ride on salted roads you need to thoroughly wash your bike immediately afterwards and dry it with a pet blower, if you don’t it will rust.
Exactly. Whenever I see a bike advertised as “never seen rain”, I mentally replace the word “rain” with “fresh air” To my mind those type of claims also mean such things as: “brittle fork seals”, “seized brake calipers”, “water in the fuel”, “flat spotted tyres”, “kinked chain” and numerous other signs of mechanical idleness. Bikes, particularly performance bikes, are like people - they get sick if they’re inactive for too long.
My mate spent £12k on a CB750 K2 it's fully restored but he won't take it out in case it gets dirty. If he does venture out he won't leave the bike WTF is the point it's in his garage under covers
I’ve just been out on a quick lunchtime ride of about 40 miles. It absolutely chucked it down for half of it. I didn’t dissolve, the bike hasn’t (so far at least) rotted in front of me. No kittens were hurt, where’s the problem? Bikes can get wet if need be!
take it out on a sunny day in Oct. Stick it away until Jan because of the weather. Then see how much it has dissolved
Yeah, just look at my sprocket issues https://www.ducatiforum.co.uk/threads/seized-front-sprocket.71982/
Well it was the following January...... just there’d been 6 intervening ones I don’t understand as it was perfectly fine when I put it away under the waterproof bike cover
As a rough figure my bike has deprecated about £8000 in three years - £225 per month. Had I not put 10,000 miles on it and done, say, 2,500 it’d make perhaps £1000 to £1500 more? It’d still be losing in the region of £175 to £200 per month but not being used. What would the point be in having it? It’d cost me money to have it sat in the garage. It’s not going to appreciate in value as ultimately it’s just a standard, mass produced uk sportsbike. I bought it to ride, I’d obviously not choose to get it wet if I can avoid it but that’s more out me not liking the wet stuff than wanting to keep it dry...
