[texasew]

Hello All. I am the new owner of a 1988 TW200. The primary use will be to get me to remote surf fishing spots along the Texas gulf coast. Can anyone suggest some preparations or preventative maintenance I can consider to address the sand and salt my bike will be encountering?

Thanks so much.

 

[PalmStateCrawler]

Wash and lube it when you get home and make sure you have a good/clean airfilter. Careful in that sand, it can be a bit unnerving if its deep.

 

[cmikimoto]

I would buy the gallon jug of WD40 and spray the whole bike down engine plastic and all and just wipe away the excess. Keeps thing from oxidizing and when you do wash your bike it will clean up so well.

 

[lizrdbrth]

I live in the desert. Similar issues, minus the salt.



One addition I'd recomend is a larger kickstand foot. Beach sand can sometimes be so soft that even a larger foot won't totally solve the problem but I find that in the really soft stuff the combination of a larger foot with a riding glove, rag, crushed aluminum can or even some litterer's soda cup tossed under it will get it done. There aren't many things worse than finding that your bike has fallen over and puked its gas and oil while you were away.



Keep your swingarm bearings pumped full of fresh grease to drive out sand and fully cleaned of excess so as not to attract sand to the pivots.



Check the air cleaner after every outing at first to get an idea what sort of cleaning interval might be in order. Consider making a "sock" out of old panty hose or similar material for the end of the snorkel Rubber band it on and look at it often. That rear tire can plop sand in places you never knew existed if miles of it are on the menu.



We used to use old-fashioned Simonize paste floor wax as "poor man's cosmolene" back in my surfing days. Get the whole bike scrupulously clean at first, then wipe it on and let it haze and it will discourage salt damage for months. Wipe it off or buff it and it will still work but you'll need to repeat the application more often. It's also pretty good for the undersides of fenders and keeping mud from sticking to things you don't want stuck, as well. I've found that WD40, Armorall and the like tend to eat paint over time nowadays. A liberal application of Pledge will probably serve the purpose they once served with regard to salt.

 

[cmikimoto]

I live in the desert. Similar issues, minus the salt.



One addition I'd recomend is a larger kickstand foot. Beach sand can sometimes be so soft that even a larger foot won't totally solve the problem but I find that in the really soft stuff the combination of a larger foot with a riding glove, rag, crushed aluminum can or even some litterer's soda cup tossed under it will get it done. There aren't many things worse than finding that your bike has fallen over and puked its gas and oil while you were away.



Keep your swingarm bearings pumped full of fresh grease to drive out sand and fully cleaned of excess so as not to attract sand to the pivots.



Check the air cleaner after every outing at first to get an idea what sort of cleaning interval might be in order. Consider making a "sock" out of old panty hose or similar material for the end of the snorkel Rubber band it on and look at it often. That rear tire can plop sand in places you never knew existed if miles of it are on the menu.



We used to use old-fashioned Simonize paste floor wax as "poor man's cosmolene" back in my surfing days. Get the whole bike scrupulously clean at first, then wipe it on and let it haze and it will discourage salt damage for months. Wipe it off or buff it and it will still work but you'll need to repeat the application more often. It's also pretty good for the undersides of fenders and keeping mud from sticking to things you don't want stuck, as well. I've found that WD40, Armorall and the like tend to eat paint over time nowadays. A liberal application of Pledge will probably serve the purpose they once served with regard to salt.

WD40 Eats paint??? Who told ya that? Maybe if your bike was painted with house paint. Spray wax {Plege, exc.] is a mess.

 

[flingwing1969]

I'd pull the engine bash plate if you don't intend to do much trail riding. That is a tricky area to clean and a great spot for salt coated stuff to hide.

 

[lizrdbrth]

WD40 Eats paint??? Who told ya that? Maybe if your bike was painted with house paint. Spray wax {Plege, exc.] is a mess.

Easy there, Pilgrim. No one TOLD me that. I watched it happen right before my eyes. Don't shoot the messenger.



Some parts on the TW (particularly the wheels, swingarms, triple trees, motor mounts and misc. brackets) all seem to be coated with a variety of different coatings. All seem to be affected differently by the tried-and-true WD40. WD40 is a solvent, so attacking solvent-based coatings is kinda what it does for a living. Some Armorall products leave the black coatings either looking chalky or milky over time.



YMMV. Every inch of mine had to be powdercoated as a result.



With regard to waxes, we're talking corrosion protection. A visual "mess" guarantees exposed surfaces are fully sealed. Even if it didn't attack the paints WD40's carrier will evaporate and go byebye leaving very little behind unless you wanna apply it every few days. I used it myself for a few hundred years. Cheap, quick and dirty shiner-upper, but not much good against salt.

 

[Loppy]

The "WD" in WD40 stands for "Water Displacement". Like Lizard said, its a solvent/penetrant that was designed to displace moisture out of bearings and gears. In other words, a cleaner. It was developed in the 50's to be a protector, or lubricant as well but it sucked at both so the military bailed on it. However, the inventor repackaged it, people liked it and it took off. The only things I use it for are to clean out areas where things cant stand up to harsh cleaners like brake cleaner etc. I've had the same can for 10 years, I don't care for it and hardly use it.

 

[rm_hm]

Pick up a jug of salt away or salt terminator with a hose mixer. Rinse bike down after being out on the beach.

 

[jbfla]

Excellent, Rich... You're still the master of the Search.

+1 on all the suggestions for regular cleaning to remove salt and sand.



I lived in Daytona Beach for several years. We had a saying: The best way to ruin a perfectly good motorcycle... Ride it on the beach.



We did anyway, and, yes, we ruined many a good bike.

Jb