Damnable Road Salt

[Bill Lumberg]

Crews here did an excellent job of clearing ice and snow from the roads Friday night and Saturday. Not much ice left. Almost all remaining will melt and evaporate today. But every inch of pavement is covered with particulate salt or salt remaining from brine spraying. Bone dry. No rain to wash the remnants away. It's either not ride for a week or two until it rains, or just say screw it and ride, and hose the bike down when the temps rise. I'm not very good at not riding.

 

[eflyguy]

Nice problem to have, I think?

 

[Bill Lumberg]

Compared to los yanquis, definitely.

 

[Canadian FJR]

Or buy a (KLR) winter beater.

Canadian FJR

 

[mcatrophy]

Mine is there to be ridden (when it's not icy). So I accept the salt. I will hose it down if I have the opportunity, but that's not every salty ride.

The FJR is better than many for coping with salt, mostly it's just a few fasteners that look a little tired, but make sure the rear suspension stuff is serviced. But I do get a little rust on the welds on the silencers (mufflers). Tough. As I said, it's there to be ridden.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

I may hit the rear suspension with a little extra lube and man up. Better dry and salt than wet and salt, I suppose. Cold, rain, mud, etc. don't bother me. Salt just presses my OCD button, particularly when there are drifts of the stuff.

 

[Dodahdude]

Where are you?

 

[Bill Lumberg]

North Georgia.

 

[BigOgre]

If it's going to bother you, maybe spray the things you'd like to protect with a shot of ACF50 or something similar?

 

[gray ray]

Bill,

Don't move to Cleveland.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

I would discorporate that far north, ray. Smart advice.

 

[Klubis]

The mistake on the lake. So sad.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

I don't know how I managed to put this in the wrong forum. Intended for off-topic. School canceled because roads are bad. My road still has solid sections of ice, even if the rest of the commute is clear. There's your sign. A little extra lube to the happy places, and the bike is back on the road tomorrow (given some sun induced melting today). But it's the truck today. Bike is so dirty it has a veritable salt shield.

 

[Uncle Hud]

I rode for about 30 minutes Saturday and another 30 minutes Sunday. If I remember my chemistry professors correctly, dry salt/brine won't corrode anything without moisture to facilitate the process.

So .......... I'm thinking salt dust isn't a big deal. Like you, however, my sweet-looking motorbike will be getting a bath tomorrow when normal winter weather returns. (Or maybe on Wednesday, with a high in the mid-60s, I can wear shorts and a t-shirt while I wash it down.)

And surely GDOT isn't using actual salt. Aren't there newfangled gels and oozy de-icing shit that won't damage metal parts?

 

[Bill Lumberg]

I think my county is using salt. I had sort of a split day, and rode back to the office on the bike. My street is so icy, with sections completely covered from side to side for 20 feet at a time, there were sections where I had to put the tires in the 1.5 foot wide concrete "gutters" on one side or the other, because they were mainly ice free and would keep the tires from slipping out from under the bike. But that was the only ice I encountered the whole run. Should be melted by tonight or tomorrow. Ride safe.

 

[rushes]

They spray what they call "liquid sunshine" here. I think it's magnesium chloride. ?

They sand and salt too. I hate sand...

If the roads might be wet in spots, I coat everything except the brakes with WD40 before heading out, and go by the car wash before going home.

*edit* 70 degrees is the forecast for tomorrow. Hope it heads your way...

 

[eflyguy]

Somebody want to come lick the side of my car?

 

[Spud]

Speaking of licking, yeah there's a canyon near here and the goats won't stay off the road for their salty treat. Talked to a WY state trooper who was trying to keep them off, there was one big billy that would just sit up on the ledge and stare him down waiting for him to leave.... (not my pic but same location where i've seen them....)

 

[Canadian FJR]

If you want to run your FJR all winter then I would mount up a set of Conti

TKC-80s and stud then up with Aerostich studs.

I've run those tires on the FJR on my Labrador trip and currently use

These studs on my KLR (winter beater)

Just swap them out when the weather improves.

https://www.fjriders.com/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=1703&hilit=Cartwright

Canadian FJR