Rusty rotors

[Raistlin]

Okay, so I don't have a garage. My bike parks out front of my apartment. (Tried to get it inside, but there's a nasty corner that the bike won't make...) I usually cover it up at night for the minimal protection. However, the past few days here in Texas have been pretty wet and I didn't cover the bike. It rained for two solid days. I got home last night after work and cleaned off the beginnings of rust on my chain and gave it some fresh wax. Looks okay. Inspected the sprocket teeth for the first time as well. I was going over the bike and saw that the front brake rotors were starting to rust. Well, I took it for a quick ride after I waxed the chain, and used the front brakes lightly, but mostly relied on the back brake. When I woke up this morning I looked at them again. They appear to be fine, no trace of rust. (I guess the calipers just grind the rust off of the rotor when brakes are applied... ? ) Obviously this isn't a good thing, but is there any damage done with this? I'm starting to wonder how much of the rest of the bike might look like this, i.e., engine parts collecting rust? How much should I worry about this?

Thanks for any feedback.

[md86]

The pads will clean off the rust (as you found out) . It's Not really that harmful . But if it worries you alot , hit it with some steel wool , it'll come right off . I keep my bike in the driveway with a tarp ove it , and some stuff does get rusty , but alot of it can be knock right off with some steel wool . You can coat some things in wax or oil to keep from rusting , but be mindful of what you coat (i.e. not the brakes !) .

[Raistlin]

Yeah, my first idiot instinct last night was to hit the rotors with some WD-40, but then my common sense found out how stupid I was thinking and kicked me in the butt. "Grease + Brake Rotors = No Stopping, Stupid!"



Good to know that it doesn't cause any real harm, though. This is my first bike, so I haven't encountered anything like this before. Just wanted to make sure it was "normal."

[jhugh]

....hit the rotors with some WD-40...

Now that would make for an interesting ride

Some minor rust on the rotors is no big deal. Look at any car dealership
where the cars are frequently washed but not moved and you'll see rust
on the rotors. It will be removed when you apply the brakes (as you
discovered).

[The CyberPoet]

You shouldn't be getting any significant rust on your rotors if they are stainless steel (might get minor rust spots where rain gathered), though cast iron rotors rust like the dickens. If you look at the edge of the rotor, is it generally free of rust, or totally caked in it?

Curious
=-= The CyberPoet

[Raistlin]

Cyber - Rust free on the edges... It collected on the flat of the plate, though.

[The CyberPoet]

Cyber - Rust free on the edges... It collected on the flat of the plate, though.

That's fine. The rotors will sand it away with a few turns (about 300 feet of normal driving should take care of it). You might want to invest in a bigger cover though

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[Range]

thats normal...called SURFACE RUST...every vehicle gets it when it sits for a few days...its actually minute particles of the metallic brake pads on the surface

[HS2020]

Yeah Range should know about Rusty things. He hasn't had any in so long it is rusted in the down position. :bigfinger