Cleaning tips & undoing salt damage?

Copper · Post by **Copper** » Sat Jan 05, 2013 5:31 pm

Hi,

I want to start tidying up my 1200S the previous owner has obviously left salt on it leaving some parts corroded unsightly. I'm fussy and I'd like to clean up the bike as much as possible before I start spending cash and was wondering if anyone had any good cleaning tips. The worst areas other than the front of the engine which will need a repaint are the rear shock (not ohlins) the spring is fine but the shock itself looks black should it be? Fasteners are rusty, rear subframe is dull. The top of the fork legs have a few pits in the chrome the pits are tiny but bleed rust over the fork leg making them look worse than they are I keep them coated with ACF 90 but wondered if I can touch in the pits to seal them?

Any ideas welcome.

Thanks

Jon

JamesL · Post by **JamesL** » Sun Jan 06, 2013 5:34 pm

Hi Jon, if not already done so, need lots of cold water to remove the salt. Beware leaving slightly salty pools in eg the cooling fins that evaporate to brine... Then lashings of ACF50 or equivalent is a good enough place to start, recent monster thread refers... viewtopic.php?t=16617

Anything to be repainted will need a 100% degrease anyway, so maybe simply lard on ACF50 as above for now.

Both my 1150s have black (Parkerised?) shocks at the rear, with grey springs. Need someone with a 1200 to confirm I guess.

Probably worth getting the tank off and having a good dig around underneath; also any / all panels, fittings, trim you can disassemble. Clean well, lard on ACF50, reassemble.

Take care the pitting on the forks doesn't cream cracker the fork seals. Not sure how specialist it is to sand pits smooth, but need to take extreme care to maintain the original profile of the tubes.

Also likely worth splitting all possible electrical connections and spraying with WD40, ACF50, contact cleaner or whatever before reassembling. BMW don't seem to wax seal connectors, so dribbling ACF50 in from the top of the ones you can't split should be somewhat effective.

And come the end of March or so, you can clean it all off and apply polish!

Copper · Post by **Copper** » Sun Jan 06, 2013 11:32 pm

hi James

thanks for the advice.

luckily the forks are only pitted between the yokes.

I have been washing the bike at least once a week and treating with a cheap version of WD40 is ACF50 much different?

I think I'll get the tank and panels off soon and see how bad it looks underneath.

hoping the shock might clean up if its supposed to be black.

Jon

el-nicko · Post by **el-nicko** » Mon Jan 07, 2013 1:14 am

Did'nt I see a post not very long ago to the effect that WD40 is 'NOT A GOOD IDEA' where electrical conections are concerned on account of it breaking down/reverting(?) into H2O after a week or so?