Drying after rain?

Craig321 · 6 Oct 2015 at 17:28

I've always given my bike a quick-ish dry after rain with a clean microfibre cloth. But thinking about it, especially with winter coming (and a new bike), is that going to do more harm than good? Am I effectively just spreading around the dirt and salt?

My bike gets put in to the garage, so I've always thought leaving it wet is going to eventually cause rust (little airflow going to a wet bike overnight), whereas drying it off quickly is going to help... am I wasting my time?

Craig321 · 6 Oct 2015 at 17:55

wazza300 said:
all I do is wash it with soapy water,rinse off with clear,thats after a heavy bout of rain/salted roads

you could dry it off after that I suppose but I don't bother,good spray of wd40 on any fasteners should stop them rusting

But do you still bother with that after it's rained every day for the week and it's pitch dark when you get home?!

Craig321 · 6 Oct 2015 at 20:24

Yeah I'd love to be able to wash it properly in the evenings after rain, but realistically I can't, especially when it starts getting dark at 5pm.

Sometimes when I wipe it down just with a cloth it feels like I'm just moving the dirt around, rubbing off the wax and not actually drying/cleaning the places that matter.

Craig321 · 6 Oct 2015 at 20:59

Just had a quick look at Ventureshield. Nice idea, but I can't help but think it'll eventually peel, discolour and dirt will appear at the edges, regardless of how good anybody says it is!

It feels wrong just leaving my bike wet in the garage, but at the same time, thinking about it, it can't be that good for it wiping it down when it hasn't actually been cleaned. I guess I'll just start leaving it wet at night and keep up my SDOC, Meguiars, wax, lube chain, ACF50 etc routine up every weekend - those three should at least leave a protective layer so it shouldn't matter if it stays wet.

Craig321 · 7 Oct 2015 at 17:26

Soootylad said:
Weekly hot soapy jetwash down at Tescos for £1 and a brisk ride home.

Hot is bad. Something to do with spreading salt rather than just getting rid of it. Can't remember the technicalities, but I've read in a few places to only ever use cold.

Craig321 · 9 Oct 2015 at 17:13

JamesRJ said:
Both hot and cold water will dissolve salt.
My CBR6 was ridden all year round and lived outside with an R&G cover on it, all i used to do was wash it down with hot soapy water, micro fibre cloth to dry it and GT85 on all unpainted metal surfaces ( excluding the brakes )
It was still in great corrosion free condition when I sold it two years down the line.

But what about between washes, or would you wash it down after every wet ride?