Forum

[daveh]

Basic question from a new-ish Bullet owner:

How do you stop your pride and joy rusting away?

I have a 2001 Iron barrelled 350 Bullet. It was in near perfect condition when I got it last year (obviously stored in a garage and only used in the summer). Having used it a few times in wet weather with salt on the road, rust is attacking the silencer, downpipe, footpegs, handlebars, and wheel rims.

The silencer and downpipe are the worst affected, so they no longer polish up very well. The cost of re-chroming is way more than getting new items (I travel to India regularly, and I can bring back a new silencer for £12).

But before I splash out on new stuff I want to know how to prevent the rust next time?

At the moment I tend to wash the bike every month or so using car shampoo, polish with auto sol, and spray some ACF 50. Clearly that's not quite enough.

[2cvandy]

the only way to keep it pristine is to clean and dry it properly every time it gets wet or dirty. Or learn to live with a little patina,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[ric]

My pride and joy is kept warm throughout the winter months in a heated garage to prevent it from deteriorating. It showroom appearance only marred by a light coating of dust.
The Enfield which is used throughout the year however, sits in a shed at the bottom of the garden and its condition certainly reflects this no matter how well it's cleaned and dried after each ride.

[stinkwheel]

More oil leakage would appear to be the solution to the problem. If it's blowing nicely round the base gasket, you get no corrosion problems at all.



The crome on a £12 Idnian silencer will be utter rubbish. It would rust if you kept it in the living room, never mind on a bike.



Stainless wont rust as such, it will stil appear rusty unless you keep polishing it. Eurpoean made chrome will fare better but still requires constant maintainance.



I treat the exhaust as a service item. Takes about 5 years of almost total neglect for a silencer to physically rust through. I consider the time spent riding the bike instead of cleaning it to be worth the cost of a new one every 5 years.

[Chris [Stockport]]

I agree about regarding the exhaust system as a service item.

My Bullets are from 2000 and 2007: I have always used a thin layer/wipe-over with Waxoyl for the winter, and remove when the weather improves and the road-salting stops. Then everything's pretty much perfect underneath. Handlebars, wheel rims and anywhere that it wouldn't cause problems.... like on the tyres and brakes. : )

It has also worked well warmed up, so as to flow easier, anywhere you'd imagine water getting in, such as a bit round any nuts and bolts. And don't forget that "patina" is probably ok!

[PeteF]

All the bits that get hot are going to suffer badly. There's no real way of protecting them as whatever you use will burn off.
As 2cvandy says, the best you can do is clean it every time it gets mucky but even then it's subject to hot salt solution while in use which will attack chrome and alloy.
The bits that don't get hot can be protected with waxoyl or similar.
One dodge is to buy a cheap chinese 125 every year to use when it's mucky.

[Felix]

Although I live in an arid region, I've battled rust on old VW and Spitfire exhausts.
The ugly but effective aluminum flame spray coating works great, but recently I had some pipes coated with ceramic powder-coating in a silver finish. They also have a near-chrome ceramic as well.
I'm sure you guys are the tinworm experts but that's my dos centavos.

[Leon Novello]

If you want excellent chrome, find a quality electroplater who will treat the items with a coat of copper, a coat of nickel, and a top coat of chrome. This is how high- quality bathroom fittings are treated.

[Alan R]

Alternatively you can embrace the "Dark Side" and spray your exhaust system in heat-resistant Mat Black....Wheel rims and Aluminium ( Aloo-min-um ) engine cases can be sprayed in a silver lacquer designed for car wheels..............In both instances I use Worth paints with very good results.......

[Count Johnny]

Invest in a stainless steel system and keep the 'golding' at bay with Yoshimura Stain Magic (which is the only product that actually works).