Summary for motorcycle header rust prevention Discussion
cheap way to keep motorcycle headers from rusting is the core problem Bob Kingsmill raises: winter sidecar use, road salt, and front-wheel spray defeat ordinary paints and coatings, while used motor oil seems messy and smoky. The thread excerpt provided contains only Bob’s question and does not include any replies, so no tested solution is given in the source text. Bob says he has already had success protecting the frame and other parts with repainting and RustCheck, but the headers still rust because anything applied there burns off or gets blasted away. He is specifically looking for an inexpensive, easy fix using products from grocery, hardware, or Canadian Tire. Since no answerers are shown in the excerpt, the page as provided documents the problem and constraints rather than a confirmed remedy.
Q. I have been driving sidecar outfits in winter for the last 3 decades (except for a couple of years when I had a trike). One of the big problems with winter biking is salt related rust. I’ve tried a lot of things to prevent (or at least slow) its progress and learned that re-painting as much as possible whenever things are apart and treating the frame &c with RustCheck makes a huge difference for everything except the headers.
Everything I’ve tried on headers either burns off or is sandblasted off by spray from the front wheel and they rust badly.
I read that if you wipe them down with used motor oil every time you use it and let it burn off a layer of burned on oil will eventually develop that will discourage future rusting. I have been contemplating trying that this year but I’m not happy with the idea of leaving a smoke trail every time I leave home.
So as the title says, I’m looking for a cheap & easy way to keep them from rusting. There are no chemical supply houses in the small town where I live so it would have to be done with products that are available at the grocery and hardware stores or Canadian Tire.
I will be eternally grateful to anyone who suggests something that will help me and will happily take you for a ride in my sidecar if you are ever in my area.
Bob Kingsmill
– Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada
October 1, 2018