Wake up, winterizing thread!
Sorry. My plan was to ride until just before they started to salt the roads. I rode to work this morning; it was about 42 deg F - not too cold. I flipped a coin, and took the "back way" to work, and I lost. Turns out two days ago there were cold patches along that stretch where the fog froze to the road surface, and the powers that be decided to salt the road. I can't say whether they used the usual rock salt, or that new-fangled liquid calcium chloride, which is supposedly eating everybody's cars.
The road was clear of any evidence of salt, but it was wet, and so by the time I got to work, I had a salt-mist haze all over everything - me, my helmet, and of course the bike. Damn - exactly what I was hoping to avoid. I started to give it a basic hose-off at work, but it was still so hot that exhaust and engine parts started hissing and flashing off steam, so I quit right away, worried about breaking something serious due to thermal shock.
My question is, now what? What's the best approach to desalinating the bike? I don't have a pressure washer, so it will be a garden hose application. I have read the manual's advice, but it seems like there's probably salty goodness in amongst the parts they recommend I protect against any water.
I'm hoping to find some ACF-50... does it go on everything? Is it easy to apply correctly, without over-applying?
As for letting it rest with fresh oil, I did change the oil 281 miles ago (at 1486 miles), 2-½ weeks ago. Is it "clean" enough for winter storage?
The rest I can probably figure out from the previous posts...