Things you really should get round to doing....

[Bixxer Bob]

There's a thread with this title in the Girly section but a lot of it carries over.  My latest comment over there was jogged by a Steamer ign lock thread.  Feel free to add anything you think is easy to overlook but will help keep your Steamer steamin' 

[nickjtc]

Yes, as you said in the Key Barrel thread:

Mostly, we do all the usual stuff like engine oil, filters, plugs valve gaps etc but then forget the little things like a few drops of lubricant in the locks, oiling the cables, clean and grease caliper slide pins etc  All equally essential if we're to avoid a sudden problem miles from anywhere.

Don't forget to give the suspension grease points a squirt now and again, too. And maybe check the tyre pressure more than twice a riding season. :icon_wink:

[Sin_Tiger]

Particularly for those that ride through the winter on roads treated with salt.

It's a good idea to whip the calipers off to check the condition of the exposed portion of the piston, if you catch it in good time you can usually save them by cleaning off the surface corrosion.

Just as important, it lets you check the pad condition, what might look OK with sufficient meat while in position reveals quite a different story when it's taken out of the caliper.

[nickjtc]

Particularly for those that ride through the winter on roads treated with salt.

In many ways we are lucky hereabouts. Because it is impractical to even think about riding through the winter our bikes do not have to suffer the torment of road salt and gravel.

The biggest issues we see are those to do with bikes not being put away properly for the down time: non-drained fuel systems, particularly, resulting in gummed up carbs.

[Mustang]

In many ways we are lucky hereabouts. Because it is impractical to even think about riding through the winter our bikes do not have to suffer the torment of road salt and gravel.

The biggest issues we see are those to do with bikes not being put away properly for the down time: non-drained fuel systems, particularly, resulting in gummed up carbs.

not all of us park it in the winter...............

[Sin_Tiger]

 

[nickjtc]

not all of us park it in the winter...............

Ah yes, but you are a lucky b#@@&r who has three wheels to play on!

Being the anal retent I am I'm not sure I would take even an outfit like that out in the winter..... too much time involved in making sure it would not suffer the ravages of road salt and magnesium fluoride after each ride.

Lucky you, anyway.

[BruKen]

Check rims for water ingress and rot when doing tyre changes. Seal as neccessary. When laying up over winter watch for condensation pooling on the rims.






What is it about steamers and their rims that they rot so easily?

[Mustang]

aluminum and road salt doesn't play good together ,
they are treating our roads here in NH now with saline solution sprayed on the road surface .
That shit gets into far more places on your vehicle  than the old method of salt and sand .

[Geoff W]

It was salt getting in via the valve hole that corroded my rear wheel rim. It split either side of the valve hole, corroded through from the inside. According to the wheelbuilder who rebuilt mine the DID rims are well known for this. He uses Spanish rims which he reckons will give no problem.

[ssevy]

aluminum and road salt doesn't play good together ,
they are treating our roads here in NH now with saline solution sprayed on the road surface .
That shit gets into far more places on your vehicle  than the old method of salt and sand .

I wonder what the fate of the new mostly aluminum F-150 is going to be here in the Northeast? Could get real ugly I think!

[ned37]

boy, it sure is nice living in arizona

[Sin_Tiger]

boy, it sure is nice living in arizona

You can go off some people very quickly 

[Nick Calne]

So how do aluminium yachts work then? By this logic they'd be at the bottom of the sea. Different alloy?

[Nick Calne]

And land rovers. The only bit that seems to persist is the aluminium body.