My local dealer has sent me a letter offering to "winterise" the bike (for a "small" charge). Anyone had that done to their bike - what did it consist of? Any good? Better than covering the bike in WD-40?
Andy
Two winters ago Rainbow were offering a thorough wash followed by BMW winterwax (transparent waxoil) for about £40, thats the only winter my bike didn't rot. Unfortunately they've stopped doing it as they were losing loads of money on washing the bikes (takes about 3 hours to do it properly).
that sounds cheap to me. i assume by winterize they mean they replace all badly manufactured parts (braces, spokes, etc) which will corrode at the first whiff of rain and replace them with items of suitable build quality! sounds like a bargain!
Guess your local dealer is Sawbridgeworth then.
Why dont you ask them exactly what it consists of, and just how 'small' the charge is going to be.
And have you considered getting both the above in writing before you get it done / pay for it.
Does the waxoil clean off OK after the winter? I assume you would use some form of degreaser to do the job? .........just that I am considering applying waxoil or similar to keep the salt off me rims an spokes.
BMW dealers stock a hard protective wax aerosol for less than a fiver.Ideal for spokes/wheel rims.
Works well but is a bugger to get off in the spring,needs a strong degreaser.
Meant to add that North Oxford charged me £16.75 to supply the wax and treat bike which I thought was a bargain. They did this at the same time as some other work so it might be more expensive as a stand alone exercise.
Scottoiler have some new compound wax that actually works better when it comes into contact with roadsalt. It's called FRS-365 and I bought a spray bottle [1 liter] for 12 euro. I have a deal with a local parking garage where they also wash cars, that I can use their washing space to wash my bike for free. I treat the bike with the FRS afterward. I don't have a link, just use google.
just make sure they don't winterise your brakes; the stuff they liberally apply makes brakes about as much use as a chocolate fire guard for about 20 miles....
I had my K1 winterised at Sawbridgeworth- it's involves covering the bike in grease which initially smokes as the engine heats up~ LOL in the rush hour in Hertford- certainly cut myself a swathe through the traffic
I think it has protected the bike really well but you have to be able to cope with the bike getting dirtier and dirtier as winter progresses; it is getting more and more difficult.