Just a thought.........

[imadoofus]

Where can I find that? (Solvol Autosol that is).

I've always got my Solvol from Woolworths.

I've used it for years on chromework on various classics, and it does a good job, as Sp!ke says. Yes, it's a polish, so it's abrasive, and if the plating on what you're polishing is thin, then you run the risk of rubbing through it.

Again as he says, wax it afterwards.

PJ

 

[Rob77]

Weee! I bought a bike today!

Yeah, you still haven't said what you got!!

As for the questions, I agree with Spike. I would only use soapy water on chrome though. If the chrome's really bad then Solvol Autosol will bring it up a bit but I wouldn't use it near good chrome as it's very abrasive and much better for polishing up alloy.

For badly pitted chrome, you can improve the look of it by rubbing a ball of silver foil over it but once its pitted it really needs rechroming since its porous and will just get worse.

 

[mark.t]

Bikes are great I have enjoyed many outings in the past I was young when I passed my road test but before that did plenty of off road work ...a year before my test i joined a group RAC ACU about 24 years ago which I think was ran by motorcycle police and naughty bikers I think memory fading for a 12 week course on riding skills and maintance....anyway the one thing that did stick in my head was the cops opening speech "THEIR ARE 15 OF YOU YOUNG BIKERS IN THIS ROOM IN 5 YEARS 7 OF YOU WILL BE DEAD THROUGH A MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT" i too would love to ride again but thir are to many d**khead car drivers personally i think road users should be made to start with a push bike ..then scooter etc i still do look for bikers and cycles at junctions and and nearside because a lot of bikers are d***kheads too

 

[glojo]

I have been away from bikes for far too long and I dearly miss the exhilaration of being 'free'.

I cringe though at the thought of anyone who is a complete novice, passing their test and getting onto anything like even a sports 600cc bike!! This size might sound contraversial, but the performance of these bikes are allegedly frightening. I am not setting a size limit but sports bikes are really road going racing machines.

Sp!ke is a very competant rider, but I guarantee the incidents he listed on his journey to work were all self inflicted. It was merely his experience that saved him (and something else that got him into the situation)

Learn to ride and then learn to survive. Get experience then courses, especially an advanced course. It is useless being in the right but being dead.......

If you do decide to get a bike, just remember to get some decent protective clothing. Tarmac and flesh mix very easily

Regards,
John

 

[Spinal]

OK, most of the crome is in pretty good condition, except a tiny part of the exhaust which has some signs of sports of rust. So I'll try the Solvol there and warm soapy water everyewhere else. Then furniture wax to close it off. Its raining now so I think I'll leave it in the garage and go look for some Solvol.

Oh and the bike is a Cagiva Roadster Custom 521. Nowhere near new, but cheap and in my opinion a good starting bike (£300 insurance fully comprehensive for a 20 yr old with a CBT since 2 days...)

 

[pammy]

Spinal - don't skimp on your helmet. If the one you have is damaged in anyway or you don't know it's history if you bought it used then ditch it and buy new. It's not worth putting your head at risk for.

 

[Spinal]

Thanks for the advice Pammy, but don't worry. The helmet is brand new, manufactured less than 6months ago (at least the tag says it was manufactured in march 2005) and nice and shiny black (I bought it new, has ACU gold, E-something, and the kite... I feel reasonably safe in it) . I just felt that as its probably going to get wet (especially as we never see rain in this country, right?) it would have been a good idea to polish/wax it a bit
Michele

 

[prprandall51]

Hi Spinal, Welcome to the wonderful world of biking!


The other posters are spot on: never clean a helmet with any chemical cleaner (unless it is explicitely approved for use on helmets). It may weaken the structure in a way that is invisible to the human eye.

If the helmet is new(ish) then washing up water (i.e. a little fairy liquid in a pint of water) will get it back to it's original gleam.

I always put furniture polish on my visor. It makes the rain drops shoot off like magic

Finally, (old codger's advice column, here) I have been polishing my bike with Solvol for 15 years and I haven't noticed any deterioration in the chrome yet. I even use fine wire wool to do it so I say go for it with the solvol (but don't use a Brillo ).