To wash or not to wash?

[Speedquest]

Guy's..... This may sound like a stupid ?.... But do you wash your bike with soap and water? Or do you wipe it down with a cleaning solvent?

With my last bike which was a Yamaha R1 I would wash/dry it once a month during riding season... and I would also use windex to clean the plastics therafter for periodic maintance.

The reason I ask is I have never owned a triumph before and I do not know how well the bikes electical system holds up to the hose. I also had a harley once, and it would have major problems if you took the hose to it...

[crashmasterd]

That's actually a really good question.

I wash mine occasionally, and ride it in the rain. However the 1050 has one issue with water. Each cylinder has it's own coil that presses down into the spark plug access hole. These bikes have a tendency to collect water down in these holes, which causes all kinds of havoc. The seals on the coils are a really bad design.

Luckily there is a kind of fix. The problem is the bike allows water down in the holes, but then it can't evaporate out. What you do is pull the coils, and when you reinsert them you slip a little plastic tube down along the side where it seals. Something like the little plastic pipe that comes on a can of WD40. All it has to do is allow the water down in the hole to evaporate out when the engine is hot.

This is kind of a kludge of a solution, but it works. The other possibility is to grease the rubber seal heavily and cross your fingers that no water gets down there in the first place. You won't have nearly the problems you may have had with your Hardly. Other than this issue they're great. Treat it like you did your R1 and you should be fine.

Good luck. The worst that can happen is it will start to run crappy and you'll know exactly what it is.

[Geof3]

If you have an air compressor you can turbo blow the water from all the nooks and cranies too. (highly suggest this) If you are just washing it, keep as much water off the top of the motor as possible.

I use Motul wash. It's a spray on and works great. Gets the greasy grimy stuff off without having to work at it. It also leaves a bit of a "film" that helps repel the stuff in the first place. Really like it...

[tekmoe]

i've washed my bike twice using a mist sprayer and a soapy sponge...and my bike only has 300 miles on it! :-D

i've read about the problems with the water getting into the coils. i haven't worried too much about it. both times i have washed my bike, i have not sprayed much above the engine other than the gas tank and the handlebars area. other than that, most of the spraying is below the level of the coils.

[HarriS]

The other issue is that the oil pressure light comes on after washing the engine. :-D . No big deal and there is supposed to be a fix with different connector. The funny thing is that the original connector is a very fancy and very expensive AMP Superseal.

[rudebwoy85]

Hell, I only washed my bike 3 or 4 times in the year I've had it, I've never been overly attentive in that area and I figure it's been made to live in the outdoors but I use a soft non-scratching washing brush and that 'bucket free car wash' cleaner available from Pep boy, AutoZone, etc.

I dip the brush in plain water and spray the 'bucket free car wash' onto the brush and wash the bike with it, it's very mild, it 'suds up' immediately as you start washing the bike and and with a naked bike it''s surprisingly quick to wash the areas that are sensible to wash. I wash the obvious tank, headlights, seat/subframe area, engine case but I dont get to crazy with the nooks and crannies, I use a large wet sponge to rinse the bike, just squeeze slowly and sensibly to rinse off soapy parts.

I use wheel cleaner, degreaser, for wheel (rear gets degreaser treatment coz of chain fling from lubing), I use a separate-disposable sponge for that.

I never use a hose, I know it's okay to use one but I dont want the headache when I soak the wrong thing. The whole process takes no more than 15-minutes, I run a chamois over it to dry the bike and then I'm back on riding, again I'm not too meticulous or overly detail focussed but everything gets done.

I do follow the sensible advice to put baggies over the grips and controls, put a piece of tape over the ignition and put something or another in the silencer holes.

[Sparti]

I go to town on mine with a hose and lots of soap then I spray her with plexus. Never had any problems with water collecting anywhere. All i do is avoid directing the water up under the tank from the front so as not to get any in the air intakes.

She's done 6500k's


click here to see my cleaning regime and a few more pics

[ This message was edited by: Sparti on 2006-05-08 04:39 ]

[cheapbastard]

I washed mine for the 1st time in 6 months this weekend. Of course, it was also the 1st time I got caught in the rain. I usually use Honda cleaner the majority of the time, and just stay on top of it, and keep her looking good. When she gets real dirty, like she did Friday, I'll wash her, and go back over her with spray polish! :-D

[aaronb_dsn]

i use the Mr.Clean auto dry system. it works great, and when you go to dry it, all it takes is a small towel! i say git it a try its only $20

[dfib]

+1 For the honda polish as CB said - crazy easy to use it for touch up cleaning most of the time. If it gets really dirty I use / recommend suzuki bike wash. It's a spritz on, spray off cleaner that gets all but the worst grime and bugs off. For those just a little wipe with the hand is usually enought. Finish off with the honda polish and it just glows!