Rust report: 17k km, almost 8 months in on a 2022 AT DCT

4593 Views 92 Replies 32 Participants Last post by DoubleThumper, 1 d ago

akitatwin

Discussion Starter · 2 mo ago

8

TL;DR: few spots of rust on frame and a couple rusty bolts. One spot where the paint chipped. Most bolts on the bike have no rust.

Winter is now over, even though here in Holland it's not so much winter as it is just a 'cold & wet season' from november to now.
When temps drop to around freezing point, they start salting the road. So most of the time to and from work (200km round trip) I'm riding in salty highway slush.
I've never cleaned the bike after riding it all winter, and it also doesn't stand under a roof at my house here close to the beach.

I thought I'd start documenting the appearance of rust on the bike.

Starting with the front of the bike: we have some rusty spots on the upper half of the frame, near where the Heeds crash bars mount. The rust seems to focus in this area. Rest of the frame is not affected. Marked in red is where the paint flaked off.

Electrical wiring Gas Cable Audio equipment Auto part

Automotive tire Grey Font Motor vehicle Automotive design

Wheel is unaffected except for the tube valve nut:

Tire Wheel Bicycle wheel Bicycle Bicycle wheel rim

Skidplate: 2 rusty screws. Screws on bottom seem ok.

Vehicle Automotive tire Aircraft Motor vehicle Automotive lighting

Moving to the left side of the bike:
only footpeg area is affected, and one washer on the crash bar mount.

Wheel Tire Vehicle Motor vehicle Automotive tire

Moving to the right side of the bike:
Bolt on the exhaust butterfly valve servo, and the crashbar bolt at the footpeg.
Minor spots on bolts and washers.

Automotive tire Motor vehicle Automotive fuel system Vehicle brake Automotive exterior

Automotive tire Bicycle tire Bicycle frame Automotive lighting Bicycle part

The crashbars where they fell and the paint scraped off:

Automotive tire Motor vehicle Automotive lighting Automotive exhaust Tread

And that's pretty much it for now.

I will clean the bike sometime soon, and will also need to address the chipping on the front frame.

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DoubleThumper

· #2 · 2 mo ago

That is crazy. Bike looks over five years old.

2022 DCT units go for over $21000 Cdn before taxes in Ontario, Canada. It is concerning to see.

ViperTech18

· #3 · 2 mo ago

Phewwwwww
And I wash the bike each week, ride it or not.

Reactions: 1

Impalaen

· #4 · 2 mo ago

To be quite frankly I believe that is what you can expect if your are not paying more attention to the wealth of your beautiful bike, leaving it out in salty environment without washing or putting it under an outside garage is pure lack of interest in your bike, sorry

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akitatwin

Discussion Starter · #5 · 2 mo ago

Impalaen said:
To be quite frankly I believe that is what you can expect if your are not paying more attention to the wealth of your beautiful bike, leaving it out in salty environment without washing or putting it under an outside garage is pure lack of interest in your bike, sorry

Do you think a proper paint job should start chipping this soon because of some salt and rain?
My car stands outside for years and doesn't have that.
I'm fine with a couple bolts turning rusty. But the paint job on the frame seems to be sloppy around a couple welds in particular, as the surfaces away from those welds are unaffected.

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Hood

· #6 · 2 mo ago

The tricolour ones seem to be bad. When I went to the dealers to buy my AT he had quite a few second hand tricolour ones in and all had rust on the frames the black ones didn't..

Impalaen

· #7 · 2 mo ago

akitatwin said:
Do you think a proper paint job should start chipping this soon because of some salt and rain?
My car stands outside for years and doesn't have that.
I'm fine with a couple bolts turning rusty. But the paint job on the frame seems to be sloppy around a couple welds in particular, as the surfaces away from those welds are unaffected.

I do not think we can compare a car and a mc as regard to rust protection, a car is much more covered and for us living in salty environment we precautions not to expose bicycles, grass cutters, mc and cars for this winter weather

Impalaen

· #8 · 2 mo ago

Impalaen said:
I do not think we can compare a car and a mc as regard to rust protection, a car is much more covered and for us living in salty environment we precautions not to expose bicycles, grass cutters, mc and cars for this winter weather

Impalaen said:
I do not think we can compare a car and a mc as regard to rust protection, a car is much more covered and for us living in salty environment we precautions not to expose bicycles, grass cutters, mc and cars for this winter weather

should read " we make precautions"

Snags451

· #9 · 2 mo ago

I'm not concerned by the brake rotors or bolts that are taking sockets and allen's regularly. But salt or not, storage or not, that frame rust is disappointing for the spots that arent taking wear and only after a year. That bike looks 5 years old for the amount of rust and even in spots that wouldn't take impacts if dropped etc...... would be an interesting argument trying to say that isnt a shotty paint job on factory's part. My 17 has 0 rust and i'm in Ohio where salt is prevalent. Granted, mine gets washed often and is stored in heated garage, but still those new ones seem to have some weakness in the paint department

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Lupolee

· #10 · 2 mo ago

I tend to agree with the OP, there are way too many accounts of rust issues on an AT for it to be a user not caring for the bike in a certain way. I have looked after mine very well, certainly better than other bikes I have had, and the AT is by far the bike that wears its life the worst. I don’t associate this issue with any modern (decent manufactured) bike let alone one at the top of the tree such as Honda. This is my only real gripe with the AT, I want to keep it for a long time but fear a frame swap will be needed in the next couple years (currently 5yrs old).

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bdalameda

· #11 · 2 mo ago

Definitely salt related corrosion. I used to go to the Bonneville Salt Flats every year for land speed record attempts and this type of corrosion was common from riding on the salt surface.

Being that it is so widespread on every type of material, bolts, spokes, fittings and parts, it is not simply an issue with paint as it is everywhere. Yes, maybe the paint could be better but the problems is much more severe. I would look for an anti-corrosion product to use on this bike after a good cleaning. In the US we have a couple of products like ACF50, CorrosionX etc. Not sure what you have available where you live. I would go to a marine supply store and ask them.

Moisture plus salt equals electrolysis.

Dan

Reactions: 5

DoubleThumper

· #12 · 2 mo ago

FYI rust management ...

www.africatwinforum.com

No cranking on a 2019 CRF1000 DCT after winter storage

I uncovered my 2019 DCT this morning and tried to fire it up, without success - no cranking at all. The bike has been on a battery tender since I last rode it in the autumn, and previously has started immediately, whatever the conditions. I have plenty of power (headlight and dash is fine), the...

www.africatwinforum.com

www.africatwinforum.com

Tuono07

· #13 · 2 mo ago

No data to back it up but there seems to be more rust issues in Europe than the States. Weather, Type of salt used? more coastal areas?

Reactions: 1

AT-Dragon

· #14 · 2 mo ago

Bottom line, shame on Honda….

The fact is; It’s an ADVENTURE BIKE.
Period.

It SHOULD hold up to its class…

Bolts rusting in place is a plain failure, most other things aesthetics. But still not worthy for a adventure bike..
And yes Honda could argue that this is an extreme case with him leaving salty slush on it for months, I would of course expect oxidation. After all zinc coating is not “ oxidation proof “ but that kind of RUST but not sporty oxidation , or AKA “white rust”, that is my call of shame. That is just plain poor grade bolts and coating…

Reactions: 5

Little Bill Daggett

· #15 · 2 mo ago

Hood said:
The tricolour ones seem to be bad. When I went to the dealers to buy my AT he had quite a few second hand tricolour ones in and all had rust on the frames the black ones didn't..

Same here. Without exception the white framed used ones were in a right state.

Dado

· #16 · 2 mo ago

Some key points from Google on "salt/motorcycles":

The damages road salt can have on a motorcycle is quite different than the damages of other vehicles. Motorcycles are much less protected and everything on it is exposed to road salt. Salty water can find it’s way in little cracks and crevices on motorcycles that we didn’t even know existed.
The process of rusting involves electrons moving around which forms the changes in metal. Salt water makes the movement of these electrons much easier, so the process of rusting becomes much faster.
A lot of gas tanks aren’t painted underneath because no one sees it. Motorcycle frames usually aren’t 100% covered with paint either. Road salt will find these bare metal parts and creep it’s way up underneath the paint and make the paint bubble.
If you suspect your motorcycle has road salt on it, you’ll want to get it washed off as soon as possible. Washing salt off a motorcycle is a little different than simply washing dirt and grime off of it; salt has a tendency to stick and won’t go away until it’s dissolved completely.
You can either go to a self servicing car wash or use a hose at home. But chances are, if it’s winter time for you, your outside hose may be frozen or turned off to prevent freezing.
With a high pressure washer (from the 4ft distance and avoid handlebar switches,TFT etc), use warm water and rinse the motorcycle for several minutes. Try to cover up pod filters if you have them as well as any exhaust pipe holes.
Next, use the soap option and get your motorcycle covered with soap. Let it sit for a few minutes. Now use the high pressure washer again to rinse, and rinse, and rinse.
(as already mentioned) you can also try applying ACF-50 which is an anti-corrosion treatment. This treatment sprays a type of film on your motorcycle that prevents corrosion from happening and spreading, whether there is rust already forming or not. You can spray that thing everywhere.

But it is true that Honda (and other bike companies) in recent years are skimping on; preparation, priming and painting their motorcycle frames and other metal surfaces.

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rustynut2

· #17 · 2 mo ago

Patina : )

: a surface appearance of something grown beautiful especially with age or use

My ATAS (white) has none of this patina. But after riding my tiger in the winter and hauling a klr 1500 miles on a trailer in the salt/snow belt I know to park them if you want them pretty next season.

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3 Twins

· #18 · 2 mo ago

I live in Northern Ireland and ride my bikes during the winter. There is salt on the roads from November to March and here they mix it with molasses to make it sticky and less soluble (Its wet here too!) My 21 year old r1150gs is in better order than that. I personally wouldn't buy a used bike in that state and expect you will be bent over by the dealer when trade in time comes. I use ACF50 or XCP rust blocker on all of the bike parts that are regularly washed and at least rince the salt off the bike after every ride. For inaccessible areas like the frame and subframe rails under the tank and plastics I use Dinitrol clear wax and inspect it once every year or every couple of years. I've kept the GS for 21 years and the only parts of the bike loosing paint are the cylinder barrels on a bike not renowned for cosmetic durability. On the GS I did the underside of the tank originally with waxoyl and eventually cleaned it off and reapplied dinitrol (I'd left over from treating my wifes MX5) the tank was like new underneath and the fuel pump boss nuts are easily removed when time comes (every 24 thousand miles 40,000KMs) to change the fuel filter. Clean tidy bikes or cars are just easier to move on when the time comes.

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3 Twins

· #19 · 2 mo ago

The bikes don't get babied either!

Tire Wheel Sky Vehicle Fuel tank

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3 Twins

· #20 · 2 mo ago

This is what the sticky salt looks like after a ride. If you left this on the bike for a week it would soon look like salvage from the titanic.

Vehicle Motor vehicle Automotive tire Automotive lighting Motorcycle

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