Hi it's been a while since I posted due to life and kids etc. Anyway my Tenere is showing some serious corrosion and I am after some advice as the best way to deal with it.

The bike is a 13 plate with only 6k miles but I have ridden her all through the winter, I believe the previous / original owner lived on the coast and when I bought the bike it was starting to show some slight signs of corrosion on the engine casings.

As I am considering selling the bike my dilemma is whether to clean up the casings and repaint or just clean and sell as is (any other suggestions welcome). I don't want to mislead any potential buyers or spend forever sorting it out but obviously want to get a reasonable price for the bike.

I am replacing other corroded parts such as the chain with new items and apart from the corroded engine casings and spokes the bike is in great condition and has been looked after, although perhaps not washed enough. I would have thought a bike like the Tenere would have been a bit more durable (paint / finish wise) and had I known this would have been an issue I would have used ACF50 prior to winter.

Hi the road salt has a real go at your bike, As far as paint finish goes all jap bikes suffer the same problem my ten has just finished its 2nd winter (I ride all year) but looks in very good condition. The secret is spray with ACF 50 prior to winter and MOST IMPORTANT hose off the salt as soon as possible when you get home just use water or you will remove the ACF 50. The spokes and hydraulic pipe unions are only zinc plated so are virtually a lost cause but don't wire wool the spokes as you will remove the very thin zinc plate exposing bare steel. The casings cant really be repainted successfully without removing them a big job! the wheel hubs are chromic acid anodised just clean them the best you can if you polish them you will have to do all of it and lacquer coat to look ok. Rusty bolts can be replaced with stainless ones. Will the effort involved make that much difference? A good clean and a wipe over with a rag soaked in ACF 50 will make a difference particularly on the plastic side panels and black wheel rims, swinging arm, and front forks.

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XTz 660 tenere, adventure spec bash plate, main stand, skid marks tall screen, Oxford tail pack 36 litre. Kobra hand guards, Bigger cast footpegs, Zen overland luggage plate, USB power point, iridium spark plug, TKC80 f k60 R tyres, o2 and fuel Kev mods, DNA stage 2 filter. bark buster bar wieghts, Touratec side stand base and GPS mount. Led spot lights

Thanks for the reply keithy. I was considering getting out the masking tape and spraying in situ but the thought of it going wrong and ending up looking worse is putting me off. I think a thoroughly good clean up is possibly the best solution. It was the effort vs result that caused this post so I could get a few other opinions.

I've had quite few bikes, mostly jap and never seen this much corrosion in such a short space of time, I even had a harley that faired better but only just.

I think that is the worst corrosion I have ever seen on an XT (especially in such a short time). The end result of riding through winter with a "dry" bike - a liberal coating ACF, Duck Oil, grease, in fact anything would have helped prevent this. It's not really about cleaning (which sometimes makes things worse) its about isolating metallic surfaces from moisture and oxygen. Cut out one or the other and corrosion will not occur. Not that that's any consolation!

If it was my bike and I was thinking of selling I'd probably go the honest route; clean it up the best you can but leave the patina, don't hide it. As Keithy suggests, rubbing ACF or just plain oil into corroded parts can make the world of difference and make it look considerably better for minimal cost/effort.

I think you'll find the expense of putting everything right properly will in the end cost more than the financial hit you'll have to take selling its current condition?

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Thanks Pleiades, sage advice as usual. I agree with you and keithy. I'll do a clean up as best I can and I guess lower the selling price to suit.

Pre kid's I would have been on top of all this but having twins doesn't leave much time for anything.
Cheers guys