some of my friends and i are going down to vegas on a bike trip. i heard somewhere that the dust in the air can sand blast your paint, is there like a clear coat or something the can prevent this?
if you don't have clear coat over your paint right now, I would go back to the dealer and ask for some! If you do have clear coat already, just freshly wax your bike with a good wax right before your trip.
For pics of my bike goto http://rswarrior.com/Gallery/vector18.aspx
Try to take a ride out through Red Rock Canyon(about 10 miles out side of Vegas, Red Rock and if you got time try to take some of the old Route 66 highway.
It's an exageration. I lived there for three years ('99 to '01) and while it does get windy, the occasional insignificant "sandstorms" were never bad enough to damage anything other than a contact lens.
its not sandblasting thats the biggest problem. living in arizona and having a car thats been in az for most of its life i see the real effects of the sun. my paint is rubbing off to the touch now. wax will help prevent that i am told(noone told the previous owner i guess).
but dont get me wrong ive been in some seriously nasty sandstorms, when you have that much wind and dirt and rocks and tumble weeds hitting paint there will be some scratchs for sure and other things. even with a helmet a sandstorm is nasty stuff to deal with.
I drove through red rock canyon a few years ago, and all I could think of was how much I wish I was on two wheels. Very nice pavement w/ lots of twisties.