How To Preserve a Vintage Motorcycle

There’s nothing more heart-breaking to me than seeing an incredible vintage paint job that has been neglected, scarring its once beautiful lustre. The vintage paintwork, once an expression of its era, starts to show its real age as the paint starts to fade, peel or corrode. Leaving anything out in the sun for long extended periods is a bad idea, motorcycles included. The sunlight’s relentless assault on the pigment robs your bike of its former glory and this also applies to leather work. Your seats and handlebars are just as susceptible to drying and cracking. This is assuming you’ve just left your bike out in the yard somewhere without cover. I’d safely assume you have the bike stored in a shed somewhere, where no use and temperature variances over years and years of inactivity will also wear away at the aesthetics.

The final enemy that lurks in the shadows is rust. If moisture can find a way into the metal components of your motorcycle, it will kickstart a chain of events that will corrode your bike piece by piece. Before you know it, five years later rust has eaten away at the exhaust, engine components, critical joints and even iconic chrome accents. You’ve seen it before, shiny chrome with splotches of rust that looks like sores on a leper.  

SOLUTION: Beyond investing in a proper heavy duty covering, for aesthetic care, clean and wax the paintwork periodically to protect it from Sun damage. Treat leather components with a suitable conditioner to keep them supple and crack-free. Apply rust prevention treatments to metal surfaces and pay close attention to areas prone to moisture buildup, such as exhaust pipes and engine casings.