It’s all just cosmetic, by the time it becomes an issue the bike will be an antique….
The spots are around welds and usually only seen by owners since you kinda gotta look for them…

 

My black framed 2017 AT had a little corrosion around the rear subframe, spotted it last Spring. I rubbed it down as best I could and put a bit of black paint on. Job sorted. It really doesn't worry me

 

White frames are the worst, black ones much better. When I was looking for an AT almost 3 years ago I looked at a lot of second hand ones in the dealers and all the white framed ones were rusting and the black framed ones were ok. Where I live the air is thick with salt and the roads get covered in it during the winter so the white framed bikes start to look bad quickly.

 

I think it depends on your attitude to cleaning. I have a 17,000 mile 2020 ATAS with a white frame and live in a place were the roads are salted and gritted from November to March. Regular cleaning and ACF50 coating in the winter and no Corrosion yet. That said I have a 22 year old in March BMW R1150GS which i now predominantly used in the winter and it is still cosmetically good. When the roads are salted i let the bike cool and rinse off the salt after every ride and dry the bike off (with a leaf blower) no exceptions. Seems to have paid off over time.

 

Has your paint stayed intact on the front frame and around the frame welds on the swingarm kind of area?
Most white framed ones I saw the paint had cracked and fallen off in fairly large flakes which if quickly repaired would likely not have been a problem but really it shouldn't be needed.

 

If you ride where it's wet for days and weeks, then rust will never sleep. In drier riding country, it never appears.

 

The frame of my 18 year old, all year round, 24/7 steed gets a light rub here and there and a brush coat or two every two or three years with Hammerite's 'direct to rust' smooth black metal paint. Its minimal fuss, quick drying and doesn't require an undercoat or priming.

 

Acf50 is the trick

 

ACF50 works well, but beware it breaks down when exposed to sunlight (UV) for too long.

 

Good to know

 

I have to disagree with anyone saying care/cleaning/acf50 is the answer. My 2021 adventure sport is looked after meticulously and yet has frame paint issues.There is NO (ZERO) primer under the brackets that are welded on to hang the radiator off etc.Modern Honda paint quality is rubbish. Anyone who says these days that Honda quality is superior to any other japanese manufacturer is living on a cloud (maybe years ago it was better but now they are no better than anyone else....in fact compared to Triumph they are rubbish quality)

 

2019 with 19 k miles, looks as good as new if washed. Don’t drive it in the winter/salt, washed when dirty by hand. Acf50 in the end of the Season. White frame.

 

acf 50 is OK but if you ride alot in the winter it doesn't last. The issue is it getting washed off by rain and jets of salt water - or indeed if you wash the bike with a decent shampoo. I'm just prepping my 2019 CRf1000L (43k miles) for the winter, and my task tomorrow is to coat everything that's exposed, with XCP. Last year one application with a small paintbrush lasted the entire winter, and was quite easily removed in the Spring. The XCP worked very well on all the banjos and brake pipe connectors whereas in previous years the acf50 disappeared quite quickly and I had resorted to painting them with moly 60 grease. I also bought black nylon nut caps and fitted them to all the engine bolts and these look much better than white bolt heads.
Neither XCP nor ACF50 will do much if Honda have neglected to prime the frame. My current bike is good. I found only two places where the frame paint was flaking off (one of them as stated above the flange that the radiators attach to. I spent an hour or two with a brass wire brush a couple of years ago and got most of the rust off, then painted it with graphite coloured hammerite, and it's been good since. Don't think you could do the same with a white frame, but Hammerite do make a white I think.
I do use acf50 as a spray in areas that are not going to be subject to it getting abraded or washed off (ie under the seat, tank etc
Mike

 

I ride my 2017 AT all year round (40k+ miles) and it looks in decent condition. Its only had 5 new frames, 4 engines, 6 sets of wheels, and 3 sets of forks - looks brand new!

 

Ok Trigger.

 

Agreed regarding ACF-50. After all, it was engineered to be used in the aircraft industry in covered areas - which is pretty well everything below the aero-surface (e.g. inside the airfoil, etc.)

I used to use old-fashioned tube-o-grease and dab areas subject to corrosion on my ol' 70s Japanese bikes. The grease would last about a year.

 

I use XCP clear, not quite as robust as the standard XCP but still very good.

 

I think I use both 🤔. The brownish stuff where it's not too important or it's not going to show, and the clear stuff on things like alloy and chromed nuts etc. I think I became convinced to switch to XCP from acf50 by that youtube video where the guy compares about 30 products and studies what happens to pieces of mild steel over the course of a year.
Mike

 

ACF-50 is likely more ideal for the inside of your cage door. You basically "set it and forget it".

For motorcycle off-season storage, that is a pretty good use case too. Easy to wash off during the spring cleaning breakout.

 

I'd be very surprised if these frames are not powder-coated. I assumed that was industry standard by now, but then as easily as the white frame flake paint perhaps I'm indeed surprised.

 

It does appear to be a puppy's dawg's breakfast those white frames.

 

Which XCP are you using?

 

I used the original (brownish) today. Apparently it's slightly better than the clear one and my bike has done 42k miles so I'm not really bothered about how pretty it looks through the winter months. But if it works the same as last year, there won't be many rusty spots when I clean it up next spring. I have also used some graphite hammerite on some crap mild steel brackets and also a couple of blistering spots on the frame downtube
Mike

 

I ride a 2017 AT that Ive had since new.
I live in Switerland so far from salty air of the coast, but we get a lot of salt on the roads in winter.

I am not the kind of guy who will wash and cosmetically care for the bike much at. I wash her when she needs it. I ride her often.
I do not store my bike in winter, it sits out under a roof all year and I ride her even in deeply minus temps, as long as there is no ice or snow on the road.

She's a black model and I only have one spot that surface rust has appeared...

This is the left lower subframe mount

I am not so worried about this. Its not structural, although I do intend on sanding it back and painting it next time its in my workshop.
I think this comes from the way I secure my bike when in my workshop. I have no lift so I made a makeshift ramp and support.

See the highlight

I know this is the right side of the bike but the strap runs over the same part of the frame on the left. Strange there's no rust on the right side, only the left.

The right side just for reference... (rust free)

 

It will run warmer that side due to the exhaust so less wet sat around

 

You cannot have as much salt as we do then Mastercore. In that last picture you posted, unless I had protected the brake banjo and pipe plus the two mild steel brackets and the exposed bolt heads and the little spring circlip in the middle of the picture, they would have all been red rusty within a couple of months of a UK winter.
I too have had minor rust appearing on the welds that you show in the first picture. I just brushed the rust off with a brass wire brush and applied a bit of hammerite - it's never come through again and you cannot even really notice the painted bit.

 

Using a rust varnish converter I think it will solve your corrosion problem. It acts as a protective barrier against corrosion. Apply it to vulnerable areas according to product instructions. Some owners claim that black frames are less prone to corrosion than white frames, so looking for an Africa with a black frame might be a solution. However, be sure to regularly check the condition of the frame and perform preventive treatments to maintain the durability of your motorcycle

 

The white framed bikes looked like they are painted, whereas the black frame bikeS look anodised or of some type.