ACF50 - Dirt Magnet or sparkly bike?

[FatBob]

You should cold water it after every ride. I think this is where it went wrong.

Yeah, but a lot of people have said they never wash theirs at all and come the spring clean everything is fine.

Taking it literally, "after every ride" means i would have to rinse the bike when I get to work, and again when i get home, when its already dark and i can't see what I'm doing. In either case the bike would be hot so apparently i should leave it to cool down before rinsing to avoid corrosion from hot salt solution instead of just cold salt solution. So having got home, gone inside, got changed out of my bike gear, waited an hour, got changed again into old clothes, gone back outside, rinsed the bike (in the dark) I now have a wet bike so I have to go back inside again and wait for it to stop dripping, go back outside and i can finally put my still wet bike into the garage, where it will stay damp thus accelerating the corrosion that I was trying to prevent. Not a very practical solution!

 

[springonion]

I don't call that dirty. I can still see plenty of silver. It looks like a bike with a bit of dirt. Aftes less than a week of commuting mine looks like dirt with a bit of bike. I will post a picture if I get chance.

Typical winter weather is horrible. Wet enough to make all the crud stick to the bike but not wet enough to wash any of it off again.

I suppose there is a limit to how dirty it can get - once all the metal is covered in crap, any more crap just sticks to the existing crap not to the metal so a bit of dirt or a lot of dirt doesn't make much difference?

+1

 

[dakarDude]

Have to admit I do mine once or twice a week with cold water even though I ride every day.

Are these people you talk about daily riders - i.e. commuters?

I'm commuting daily on a KTM 525EXC at the moment, ACF'd.

I ACF'd it in November. I didn't do the cold water thing, well, maybe once I think I did it. Now, from November until about 2 weeks ago, I didn't do anything to it, just rode it to work and back. 2 weeks ago I cleaned the bike thoroughly, stripped the fairings off, did other maintenance tasks.

There was corrosion.

Last year, same routine commuting but on a GSA ACF'd. BUT, I did the cold water procedure much more frequently. NO CORROSION.

So, personally, I think the cold water step is pretty important one in order to dissolve the salt.

As for doing it daily, or after EVERY single journey, no. Way over the top. Just a couple of times a week at night after your riding is done for the day.

Yeah, but a lot of people have said they never wash theirs at all and come the spring clean everything is fine.

Taking it literally, "after every ride" means i would have to rinse the bike when I get to work, and again when i get home, when its already dark and i can't see what I'm doing. In either case the bike would be hot so apparently i should leave it to cool down before rinsing to avoid corrosion from hot salt solution instead of just cold salt solution. So having got home, gone inside, got changed out of my bike gear, waited an hour, got changed again into old clothes, gone back outside, rinsed the bike (in the dark) I now have a wet bike so I have to go back inside again and wait for it to stop dripping, go back outside and i can finally put my still wet bike into the garage, where it will stay damp thus accelerating the corrosion that I was trying to prevent. Not a very practical solution!

 

[Deleted account 190920001]

I am certainly a daily rider unless it is dangerouse to ride as in snow on the roads or heavy frost/ice and dont touch the bike

 

[chad]

ACF 50 is the dogs bollox as far as im concerned my bike gets a right hammering on my commute so i thought i would post some befor and after pics for ya

and as you know you can obtain it from here
http://ruggedroads.co.uk/shop/category_46/Maintenance.html?shop_param=cid=&

blatant plug but hell look at well protected my bike is

 

[MorayGSer]

Love ACF I think it's phenomenal. I get mines done by a guy who does 5 or 6 bikes that day. I agree you need to cold water rinse it. I don't know why you would need to change out your bike gear and put old clothes on to cold rinse a bike? Just jump off spray with cold water and put in garage!!

 

[Skipssong]

Guys, at the risk of ridicule, how do you define rinse with water.

Do you mean splash water on and don't worry about getting the dirt/salt off? What does thar achieve?

Or jet clean which, I assume, means re-applying ACF?

I assume not the latter so how much splash of the former?

Cheers,

Mike

 

[illustratedman]

Just give it a hose off, dont jet wash it

 

[chad]

wot eeee said

 

[Bigyin]

That's a dirty bike?? Mine always looks like that

That was 3 months worth of winter riding on shitty country roads, without a single wash apart from the wheels got a rinse 3 weeks before the pics were taken

Its all clean again now anyway and unlike you Rugged Road lot, mine doesnt see dirt tracks never mind off road work

 

[chad]

That was 3 months worth of winter riding on shitty country roads, without a single wash apart from the wheels got a rinse 3 weeks before the pics were taken

Its all clean again now anyway

the only way annettes bike will look clean is Sandblasting

 

[Bigyin]

the only way annettes bike will look clean is Sandblasting

tbh mine is looking on a par with yours both before and after................. need to go a bit more to match annettes from what you have described

 

[chad]

tbh mine is looking on a par with yours both before and after................. need to go a bit more to match annettes from what you have described

ive got my work cut out with that one soon i can assure you

 

[Billyhill1974]

Hi all, I just bought my first 1200GS last week after changing from a bonneville so I'm all new to this stuff but I have to say, so far, I love the thing to bits. I'm using it for winter commuting so the ACF-50 story really appealed too. The chap at the dealership told me to spray everything, so I did. I sprayed the swithes, dials, saddle, top box, all the plastic fairings, the tank the front of the screen and lights, the brake callipers, although I did try to avoid the brake discs, think you're getting the idea.... Should I really have sprayed it on all these things though?
Cheers all....

 

[springonion]

Hi all, I just bought my first 1200GS last week after changing from a bonneville so I'm all new to this stuff but I have to say, so far, I love the thing to bits. I'm using it for winter commuting so the ACF-50 story really appealed too. The chap at the dealership told me to spray everything, so I did. I sprayed the swithes, dials, saddle, top box, all the plastic fairings, the tank the front of the screen and lights, the brake callipers, although I did try to avoid the brake discs, think you're getting the idea.... Should I really have sprayed it on all these things though?
Cheers all....

spray it everywhere except for tyres and brake disks (oh and pads). Then just leave it until spring.

If you get it on your tyres then put neat fairy liquid on the area, rub with a cloth to foam it a bit then wash that area off.

Being doing it 3 years now and never failed.

 

[degsey]

Hi all, I just bought my first 1200GS last week after changing from a bonneville so I'm all new to this stuff but I have to say, so far, I love the thing to bits. I'm using it for winter commuting so the ACF-50 story really appealed too. The chap at the dealership told me to spray everything, so I did. I sprayed the swithes, dials, saddle, top box, all the plastic fairings, the tank the front of the screen and lights, the brake callipers, although I did try to avoid the brake discs, think you're getting the idea.... Should I really have sprayed it on all these things though?
Cheers all....

yep coated it up in November I wont clean it until March. I cleaned the over spray off the tyres and disc's with brake cleaner

its good stuff