Video: Protect your bike this winter

Once you’ve got all the thick, horrible winter road grime off your pride and joy you’ll need to make sure you protect it, to keep corrosion over the winter months down to a minimum.

1. Make sure your bike’s had a good wash and dry
   Obviously you want your bike to be as clean and dry as possible. Give it a good thorough clean and make sure there are no specks of dirty still on the bike that could scratch the paint when you’re polishing. you’ll want the bike to be as dry as possible for the surface protector and wax to work as much as possible.
2. Apply surface protector
   The surface protector will stop, or at the very least slow down, the onset of corrosion. You’ll want to apply it to plastics, casings and other surfaces, including joints, contacts and moving parts.
3. Use wax remover
   If you gave your bike a good wax the last time you cleaned it you’ll want to remove any remaining wax with a wax or polish remover. This will make it easier for the wax to take to the bike this time round.
4. Apply wax or polish
   Wax or polish will protect the paint from the elements, and it will also keep it looking nice and shiny. There’s a huge range of different wax and polish on the market, so experiment and find which works best for your bike.
5. Buff using a microfibre cloth
   It’s important you use a microfibre cloth for this part. Microfibres don’t scratch paintwork – unless there’s some grit on your cloth – and they’re great at absorbing oils and buffing wax.
6. Apply brake cleaner
   You might be a little apprehensive to apply a cleaner to your brakes, but if you use a proper disc cleaner you should be fine. A front and rear paddock stand combo would be extremely helpful here as it will allow you to spin both wheels. Spray the cleaner onto all the discs, and then wipe them clean with some fresh paper towel.