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Old March 31st, 2012, 05:17 AM   #1
Ninja1
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"Never seen rain"

I always come across these used motorcycle ads where the owner is claiming that their bike "never seen rain". Is it a bad thing for a bike to get rained on?
Should I avoid it (for other reason than avoiding slippery roads)?

It's one of those things that I always wondered about and never really found an answer for so I'm turning to you my dear Ninjette trusted advisors
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Old March 31st, 2012, 05:20 AM   #2
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You should ask him if he's ever washed it.

Nothing to avoid other than a higher risk of an accident in the rain.
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Old March 31st, 2012, 06:08 AM   #3
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Never seen rain, means rider was afraid to ride in lower traction conditions. If he sold himself, he'd prolly put down "Never seen a shower, Afraid of water"
There is nothing wrong w/ rain, hell the motogp guys can still run tracks at speed in rain!!
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Old March 31st, 2012, 06:52 AM   #4
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Well, guess I have a different opinion. I used to live in Portland Oregon and had to commute almost two years on a bike in the rain about 300 days a year.
in general riding in the rain sucks. For the rider but also for the bike. You are much more likely to get surface rust on many places you would not think of when riding a lot in the rain.
I now live in Texas. I sometimes ride in the rain and find myself having to clean out the pockets of allen head bolts because they are starting to form rust in them.

So to me "never seen rain" means the rider is not hardcore committed to riding, bike probably only seen some Sunday cruises. This really has no impact on the mechanical condition because you still don't know if they maintained the bike well, washed it, etc...still need to do due diligence in checking the bike out.
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Old March 31st, 2012, 08:27 AM   #5
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My bike has been exposed to heavy rain while commuting and at the parking lot of my work place (stormy Florida).

Cables (clutch and choke), main switch and chain are what suffer the most, unless you are a lubrication maniac, as I am.

Water rain can find a way into the gas tank, as happened several times to me and made me drain the bottom before it went down the carbs (it did once).

Electrical connections exposed to splashes on the road may get good contact reduced (has not happened to my bike so far).

Good thing is that the bike stays clean and requires less hand washing.
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Old March 31st, 2012, 11:28 AM   #6
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A good bike is a good bike whether it's seen snow or rain, as long as it's been taken care of properly.

Just like people use cars during cold weather, bikes can take it
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Old March 31st, 2012, 12:24 PM   #7
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Where I'm from "never seen rain" = liar selling bike...

If you can't trust them to say that the bike has been out in the rain can you trust them to have maintained it
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Old March 31st, 2012, 12:41 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blink View Post
A good bike is a good bike whether it's seen snow or rain, as long as it's been taken care of properly.

Just like people use cars during cold weather, bikes can take it
right, but cars rust TONS faster in the snow because of the salt on the roads, meaning that if a car has never seen snow, it's likely going to be less rusty. Notice how a car with 150,000 miles in Texas looks nothing like a car with 150,000 miles in Ohio because in Ohio they use salt on the roads for 4 months out of the year.

anyhow, OP asked about rain, not snow. Different situations.
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Old March 31st, 2012, 02:51 PM   #9
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Ive been in some insane downpours on the ZX ( I'm serious, insane) 90 miles of it last week with the GF on the back, bike got us there, no problems
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Old March 31st, 2012, 11:25 PM   #10
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I commuted daily rain or shine for over three years and has rust forming on just about everything that could rust.

I'd like to know if there is something I can put on the fork pistons, exhaust, heat shield, etc to keep them from pitting and rusting. Some kind of oil (repels water; prevents oxidation)?
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Old March 31st, 2012, 11:30 PM   #11
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Never seen rain means never ridden properly
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Old April 1st, 2012, 07:03 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by czroe View Post
i commuted daily rain or shine for over three years and has rust forming on just about everything that could rust.

i'd like to know if there is something i can put on the fork pistons, exhaust, heat shield, etc to keep them from pitting and rusting. Some kind of oil (repels water; prevents oxidation)
?
acf50
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Old April 1st, 2012, 09:19 AM   #13
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Worse than rust for me was the increadible amount of GRIT that you pick up from the road when you ride in the rain. That stuff gets everywhere into the drivetrain and is a bitch to get off. As often as you wash the bike it's not going to remove all of the grit. Some of it will migrate into the chain and other moving parts. Once it meets oil or grease it becomes like gooey sandpaper.
I don't think a bike never having seen rain is that big a deal, but it's certainly better for a drivetrain to never be exposed to dirt, grime and grit like you get when commuting every day.
I no longer have to ride in the rain and I avoid it whenever possible.
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Old April 1st, 2012, 09:31 AM   #14
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If I don't have to ride in the rain if I don't have to. If I do, I make a point to clean my chain and then re-lube it because of that "gooey-sandpaper" effect
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Old April 1st, 2012, 10:35 AM   #15
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Originally Posted by choneofakind View Post
right, but cars rust TONS faster in the snow because of the salt on the roads, meaning that if a car has never seen snow, it's likely going to be less rusty. Notice how a car with 150,000 miles in Texas looks nothing like a car with 150,000 miles in Ohio because in Ohio they use salt on the roads for 4 months out of the year.

anyhow, OP asked about rain, not snow. Different situations.

Very true, but ive never seen a bike with rust, since the post is about bikes.

I related my opinion to mechanical condition.

Therefore it shouldn't affect it
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Old April 1st, 2012, 10:47 AM   #16
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Id sell mine as never seen rain. If things work out for me, I rarely if ever get caught in the rain.

Why ??

Well, I dont like washing and waxing my bikes. I do it because it has to be done. Rain riding makes me have to do it more frequently. I won't ride to work if there is more than a 30% chance of rain. Just because I don't like riding in the rain doesnt mean:
a- My bike isnt ridden properly
b- That I am a liar
or
c- im afraid tyo ride in the rain.
d- my bikes never get washed.


Maybe never seen rain means, well he dont ride in the rain.
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Old April 1st, 2012, 10:51 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blink View Post
Very true, but ive never seen a bike with rust, since the post is about bikes.

I related my opinion to mechanical condition.

Therefore it shouldn't affect it
My chain started to rust on my 250, but I didn't drive it for 2 weeks and left it in the rain. I'm gna do a sprocket mod anyway so I'll just get a new chain then and take better care of it
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Old April 1st, 2012, 11:54 AM   #18
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My chain started to rust on my 250, but I didn't drive it for 2 weeks and left it in the rain. I'm gna do a sprocket mod anyway so I'll just get a new chain then and take better care of it
Aluminium foil balled up & rubbed on rust will remove the rust, aluminium is harder than rust but softer than steel, and it robs electrons from the rust turning it back into steel and oxidising the aluminium.

It will work on surface rust.

Automatic chain oilers are well worth their price if you ride in rain.
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Old April 1st, 2012, 12:47 PM   #19
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Originally Posted by blink View Post
I related my opinion to mechanical condition.

Therefore it shouldn't affect it
Mechanical condition is very definitely related to rust. Go take a look at the chassis of my Honda Civic that my family just got rid of for me.
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Old April 1st, 2012, 01:48 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thurt88 View Post
Id sell mine as never seen rain. If things work out for me, I rarely if ever get caught in the rain.

Why ??

Well, I dont like washing and waxing my bikes. I do it because it has to be done. Rain riding makes me have to do it more frequently. I won't ride to work if there is more than a 30% chance of rain. Just because I don't like riding in the rain doesnt mean:
a- My bike isnt ridden properly
b- That I am a liar
or
c- im afraid tyo ride in the rain.
d- my bikes never get washed.


Maybe never seen rain means, well he dont ride in the rain.
I don't know the weather in Missouri, in Ireland it rains on average every third day, and can happen out of the blue, so a fair assumption is "never seen rain" in an ad = liar selling bike
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Old April 1st, 2012, 07:44 PM   #21
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My bike has never seen the rain as long as I have owned it. I don't know about the previous owners. I did get caught in a few sprinkles but was close to home so the bike hardly got wet.

The reason I don't ride in the rain.... I have a car to keep me dry. People drive so much worse in the rain. I don't want to be killed by some idiot who doesn't realize you have much less traction in the rain. Rain is depressing and I don't even want to be outside in the first place. I like to keep my bike clean and the rain would just make it dirty quicker. I don't like rust. I don't like rain!
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Old April 2nd, 2012, 08:49 AM   #22
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Originally Posted by choneofakind View Post
Mechanical condition is very definitely related to rust. Go take a look at the chassis of my Honda Civic that my family just got rid of for me.
**Reason being I said, i've never seen a bike rusted, maybe because due to the fact people actually care about them =p

But yes, I know people don't look after them, because they're cars are for some reason not good.

Only cars you see taken care of are the nice ones people cherish
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Old April 2nd, 2012, 12:10 PM   #23
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We took just fine care of my civic. We were the original owners. But there's only so much you can do when you live in NE Ohio with salt on the roads for 4 months of the year and no extra bay in the garage for it for the last 7 years of its life.

The engine was solid. Maintenance was all done, but the chassis rusted out. That wasn't for lack of trying. Weather conditions make a difference on how rusty a vehicle is.

When looking for a bike, I was looking for the two words, "garage kept"
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