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From: Ron Gibson on 26 Nov 2009 12:02
I just got a new gixxer 600. Unfortunately I have to keep it outside,
covered of course.

But even then whenever it rains some moisture manages to get on the
front rotor and rust starts forming almost immediately.

A common problem I'm sure and the concern is mostly cosmetic, but I
want to keep it in as good a shape as possible, of course.

I used a small amount of WD40, then cleaned it off and that did an OK
job but common sense would suggest using WD40 on a brake rotor surface
is not a good idea as a regular procedure.

Anyone got a suggestion on this one? I've never had this problem
before as up until about a year ago I always kept it in a garage in a
home but now I an apartment dweller.

BTW, I know it is common as I've seen plenty of bikes with some rust
on the rotors, particularly the cooling holes.

--
Email - rsgibson(a)tampabay.rr.borg
Replace borg with com
"Ubuntu" - an African word, meaning "Slackware is too hard for me".


From: Mark Olson on 26 Nov 2009 12:13
Ron Gibson wrote:
> I just got a new gixxer 600. Unfortunately I have to keep it outside,
> covered of course.
>
> But even then whenever it rains some moisture manages to get on the
> front rotor and rust starts forming almost immediately.
>
> A common problem I'm sure and the concern is mostly cosmetic, but I
> want to keep it in as good a shape as possible, of course.
>
> I used a small amount of WD40, then cleaned it off and that did an OK
> job but common sense would suggest using WD40 on a brake rotor surface
> is not a good idea as a regular procedure.

YOU THINK?

If you didn't use brake cleaner to clean off the WD-40 there's probably
still some residue there. Buy a can of brake cleaner (about $2-$3 at
Wal-Mart) and finish the job.

http://www.ryderfleetproducts.com/images/product/q135084.jpg

Next, let it rust. The first time you use the brake the rust will
disappear. If there's any rust on it after riding, you're not riding
enough or you're only using the rear brake.

From: Ron Gibson on 26 Nov 2009 15:15
On Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:13:46 -0600, Mark Olson <olsonm(a)tiny.invalid>
wrote:

>> I used a small amount of WD40, then cleaned it off and that did an OK
>> job but common sense would suggest using WD40 on a brake rotor surface
>> is not a good idea as a regular procedure.

>YOU THINK?

Not right away. The engineer in me required I do 8 pages of
calculations first.

IOW, of course I "think" that ;=/

>If you didn't use brake cleaner to clean off the WD-40 there's probably
>still some residue there. Buy a can of brake cleaner (about $2-$3 at
>Wal-Mart) and finish the job.

>http://www.ryderfleetproducts.com/images/product/q135084.jpg

>Next, let it rust. The first time you use the brake the rust will
>disappear. If there's any rust on it after riding, you're not riding
>enough or you're only using the rear brake.

Well this developed in just 2 days of light to moderate rain and I
live in Florida where we often get rain for weeks at a time.

If left too long this will start to "pit" the rotor surface. The
cooling holes are another issue. A small straight line grinder with a
wire brush attachment should do the trick for them if they get too
ugly.

I'm surprised no one suggested using steel wool, which just occurred
to me a little while ago.

Now in industry corrosion almost always causes problems if left to
proceed unchecked. So you guys can drive around on rust buckets if you
like - Me, I'll be removing it as fast and as often as I can. In fact
just got back in from cleaning up the splatter on the lower parts of
the bike (rain droplets hit the ground hard enough to cause splashing
from ground to under the bottom of it's cover), running it enough to
remove any residual moisture possible and applying brakes slightly to
polish the rotors.

I live in an upstairs apartment that was converted from an old home so
outside is not paved and sand comes along with the water too. I have
to park it where I do and secure it with special anti-theft braided
steel cable and a lock with a octangular boron carbide hasp (1).

So the threat of theft restricts where I can park the bike. I think I
will try using some patio stones to see if that will hold down the
splash as I don't want to be fighting this all summer during the rainy
season.

PS: Regarding residue - The heat developed by applying brakes will
cook that pretty quickly into compounds that aren't a problem as long
as small amounts are used. The bigger issue is absorption and
accelerated deterioration of the brake pads.

(1) Boron carbide (chemical formula B4C) is an extremely hard ceramic
material used in tank armor, bulletproof vests, and numerous
industrial applications. With a hardness of 9.3 on the mohs scale, it
is one of the hardest materials known, behind cubic boron nitride and
diamond.

--
Email - rsgibson(a)tampabay.rr.borg
Replace borg with com
"Ubuntu" - an African word, meaning "Slackware is too hard for me".


From: M.Badger on 26 Nov 2009 16:04
Ron Gibson wrote:

> On Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:13:46 -0600, Mark Olson <olsonm(a)tiny.invalid>
> wrote:
>
>>> I used a small amount of WD40, then cleaned it off and that did an OK
>>> job but common sense would suggest using WD40 on a brake rotor surface
>>> is not a good idea as a regular procedure.
>
>>YOU THINK?
>
> Not right away. The engineer in me required I do 8 pages of
> calculations first.
>
> IOW, of course I "think" that ;=/

:-)

>
>>If you didn't use brake cleaner to clean off the WD-40 there's probably
>>still some residue there. Buy a can of brake cleaner (about $2-$3 at
>>Wal-Mart) and finish the job.
>
>>http://www.ryderfleetproducts.com/images/product/q135084.jpg
>
>>Next, let it rust. The first time you use the brake the rust will
>>disappear. If there's any rust on it after riding, you're not riding
>>enough or you're only using the rear brake.
>
> Well this developed in just 2 days of light to moderate rain and I
> live in Florida where we often get rain for weeks at a time.

So Florida is a warm version of Yorkshire.

>
> If left too long this will start to "pit" the rotor surface. The
> cooling holes are another issue. A small straight line grinder with a
> wire brush attachment should do the trick for them if they get too
> ugly.

Micro pitting on the rotor surface isn't actually a bad thing. Without going
in to how the brake actually works ( I'll leave that as an optional
exercise ), micro pitting increases Mu.

>
> I'm surprised no one suggested using steel wool, which just occurred
> to me a little while ago.

Stainless steel wool for preference. Personally, I'd leave well alone. Each
time you scrub the disc back to a clean surface, you are actually reducing
Mu until the rotor is recoated with the pad material. Again, look it up.

>
> Now in industry corrosion almost always causes problems if left to
> proceed unchecked. So you guys can drive around on rust buckets if you
> like - Me, I'll be removing it as fast and as often as I can. In fact
> just got back in from cleaning up the splatter on the lower parts of
> the bike (rain droplets hit the ground hard enough to cause splashing
> from ground to under the bottom of it's cover), running it enough to
> remove any residual moisture possible and applying brakes slightly to
> polish the rotors.

I don't live in Florida. I live in Yorkshire. A wet part of Yorkshire. We
don't get the humidity and heat you get, but by 'eck we get rain. If I
leave the bike uncovered, it rots less than when covered. Looks like shyte
though. I guess the air flow helps. Could be wrong and am more than willing
to be pointed in the right direction.

>
> I live in an upstairs apartment that was converted from an old home so
> outside is not paved and sand comes along with the water too. I have
> to park it where I do and secure it with special anti-theft braided
> steel cable and a lock with a octangular boron carbide hasp (1).
>
> So the threat of theft restricts where I can park the bike. I think I
> will try using some patio stones to see if that will hold down the
> splash as I don't want to be fighting this all summer during the rainy
> season.

Daft though this will sound, could you park it on some Nylon carpet?. It'll
break up the splash and hold some of the sand.

Also, Scottoil FS365, or similar, liberally applied to everywhere -except-
tyres and brakes helps keep corrosion down.


>
> PS: Regarding residue - The heat developed by applying brakes will
> cook that pretty quickly into compounds that aren't a problem as long
> as small amounts are used. The bigger issue is absorption and
> accelerated deterioration of the brake pads.

Given you can't increase clamping pressure, and given the reduction in Mu
until the contaminants are driven off, I'd go for micro pitting any day.
Once the pads have been heat cycled a few times, any contamination will be
limited to the outer edges. The operating face is not that absorbant, but
still, why risk it.

This is based on you still having the original rotors. If you have replaced
them with some whizzy aftermarket stuff, bets may well be off. Personally,
I'll never use cast iron rotors on a road bike again.

>




> (1) Boron carbide (chemical formula B4C) is an extremely hard ceramic
> material used in tank armor, bulletproof vests, and numerous
> industrial applications. With a hardness of 9.3 on the mohs scale, it
> is one of the hardest materials known, behind cubic boron nitride and
> diamond.

How well does it cope when whacked with a hammer and chisel?. Is it an outer
coating or B4C all the way?. Genuinely curious, not baiting here.

>

From: The Older Gentleman on 26 Nov 2009 16:07
M.Badger <boing(a)invalid.org> wrote:

> Personally, I'd leave well alone.

Listen to this man. He speaks truth.


--
BMW K1100LT Ducati 750SS Honda CB400F Triumph Street Triple
Suzuki TS250ER GN250 Damn, back to six bikes!
Try Googling before asking a damn silly question.
chateau dot murray at idnet dot com
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