(WTF) What caused this???

[Moespeeds]

Get some of those Zinc plugs for boats and keep them around the bike. Not sure if it will help, but can't hurt. I'm still trying to figure out how the fuck to work the sliders on your avatar.

[outdoorsman26]

living in Wi we have all kinds of temp changes and all I use a is a old cotton bed sheet it soaks up the water in the air and its soft enuf to not scratch!! I have never had a problem with it!!!

[Nomad2day]

Mine did the same thing here in Tennessee a couple of winters ago. Cleaned off no problem. It was all over my rims as well. Drove it to Nashville in the winter and dropped it of at a dealer for some work. Picked it up a month or so later maybe 6 weeks and it was on the bike.
Neil

[TheDeadOne]

Originally Posted by CuDaMaN

Whelp, let's hope Dead is right. I'd rather be made out to be a fool, than to say nothing at all about something that could potentially be worse than what it is. One thing I can say is that these are more than just "spots". They are white crusty bumps that have the texture of a fine grit sandpaper. To run your finger over them, you would think the worst. Having owned the bike for less than a year, there are a lot of "firsts" that come your way, and I'm still learning.
Anyway.............. went out with some hot soapy water and a soft long bristled brush and cleaned the cooling fins. All the white residue came off fine, but there were still marks left over, but like Dead suggested, I worked on some areas with the aluminum polish, and it came back fairly well. Took 3 or 4 times polishing and buffing, but I think it should be good as new. Only did one side of one head for now, but it was enough to prove to me that it wasn't as bad as what I had thought.
Thanks to everyone for your insight and suggestions

(yes Merlin..... didn't see your question before I posted....)

Cuda,
Always remember, there are "NEVER" any stupid or dumb questions.

Just Stupid or Dumb People that won't ask questions! You've proven by the question alone, not to be one of these people!

Good Job!

I'm glad it came clean.

By what you're describing, there may have been something in the air that mixed in with the condensation. It usually doesn't get crusty unless it's a whole lot of water and for quite some time too. But who knows, with whats being put into the air these days that usually we don't even know about until it's too late.

But I'm glad it's all good now!

Originally Posted by BadBrad

I'll assume you checked this out with John Sachs before making such an intelligent observation. Surely, you didn't come up with this shit all by yourself.

and Brad.....,
No, I didn't check all of this out with John Sachs first, because I knew you'd be around here sometime to correct me if I was "possibly" wrong!



dead "wrong"!

[dingo]

Originally Posted by TheDeadOne

A cover would make it much worse, outside during the winter months!

dead

I could see a problem if the bike were outside in the elements and just covered without a Goldenrod.

I use the Goldenrod under my Big Dog bike cover and it keeps the air temperature under the cover a couple of degrees warmer than outside the cover which drives the moisture out and keeps my K-9 looking like the day I covered it.

I've been doing this for 3 years in my unheated garage (similar to Cuda's setup) and highly recommend it based on my experience !!!

dingo

[Throttle Jockey]

Happens here everytime the fog rolls in. You have to seal up your storage building where you are keeping it.

TJ

[bdmridgeback]

Originally Posted by TheDeadOne

Radams,
You are very correct, very "similar" look with acidic spots, "except"... if you look closely, you can tell the spots are on the surface alone, not into the material of the aluminum. There is also no ripple look around the spots in the reflections, either.
This "exact" same look occurs either with condensation spots or, lord forbid , when ammonia (Window Cleaners) come into contact with bright (polished) aluminum!
:spa nk:

I believe everything will be just fine after some polishing.

No cover!

But maybe a small space heater left on continuously, aimed at the bike, in the winter months could help.

dead

Most aluminum polishes out there have Ammonia in them to help speed the cleaning of the metal, but in turn the aluminum corrodes twice as fast. That is why I always say on here to use Wizards or at least make sure your polish that you are using has no ammonia in it. It polishes real fast but corrodes just as fast when moisture gets to it!!!

I would say it is caused from left over ammonia on the aluminum after you cleaned it last time, mixed with a day/night that had a rapid temp change and it caused it to condensate, and as it dried it corroded.