How clean is your bike?

[dolson]

One note on a product I use a lot. Meguires Final Inspection is the best thing I've seen as an easy cleaner. Easy on you and the bike. I learned about it from another pilot buddy. A little spray and wipe takes 350 mph dried on bug splats right off an airplane and does equally well on a bike. Being water based it doesn't work too well with an oily substance but for dust and bugs nothing beats it.

As an aside when wet washing, (the above is called dry washing) I only use my bare hand or a soft horse hair brush and dry with a newer micro-fiber towel. The real chamois ones will actually pull wax off the paint. I learned this way back when the Ex and I were doing the Antique/Classic car planter mutual admiration society thing.

After spending weekends for years under a car picking grass and rocks then armoralling tire treads I guess this is why I'm not as fastidious as I once was. But OnD just because my pre-ride looks simple doesn't mean it's not thorough. Call it economy in motion. Old farts like me have learned this over the years.

Don

[oldndumb]

Originally Posted by dolson

Old farts like me have learned this over the years.
Don

Don, I don't think you've earned entry into the 'old fart club' yet.
But we will keep your membership application on file.

[TheNomad]

Originally Posted by Liquelo

about a cup of simple green in warm water

I wouldn't use Simple Green to wash my bike. Just because its biodegradable does not mean that its not pretty harsh stuff.

Any good brand of car wash soap would be a better choice.

MD

[dolson]

There are two items I absolutely will not allow in my aircraft hangar.
1. WD-40
2. Simple Green.
Simple Green is very corrosive to aluminum. NO repeat NO aircraft manufacturer, the FAA, or the military advocates it's use.

I can point you to a couple of unemployed corporate maintenance people that caused their former corporation to have to spend about 2 hunderd thousand dinero to have the engine bathtubs rebuilt from corrosion because they were using a Simple Green solution to clean them. You can't rinse it well enough because it gasses and gets into tiny places. It may be Ok to clean concrete driveways and cast iron diesel engine blocks though but I just say no to Simple Green. There are far better things to use.


[quote=Liquelo;1025201]T bathes, let me give you an example, show you what I mean. I'll take a five gallon bucket with about a cup of simple green in warm water and after immersing dish towels into the solution I'll wring them out to the point where they are not dripping then lay them ever so gently upon the plastics and let things soak a bit.

[Calliway]

Yeah I would say that simple green is a little harsh.

Really you should use a automotive car wash from a high quality vendor and wax with a pure carnuba wax if you want the ultimate. Those quick detail products are great for quickies but dont last very long.

If you use dish soap, no matter how mild it is, it will strip off all your hard waxes. I alternate with a car wash twice then a dish soap wash once and a rewax. I use Eagle Carnuba Wax.

[Curt955i]

Well, today I took her for a ride and had to clean my visor three times over 200km. When I got home I promptly mixed up some Rain-X car wash solution and loaded a clean sponge with the solution. First I just loaded the sponge and wrang it out onto the bike to remove dust and dirt without scrubbing, then I tackled the bugs that died on my front fairing with the softest cloth I could find. When I was reading my manual I learned that you should cover the exhaust and electronics with plastic bags before spraying the bike with water, so I did. after washing and rinsing I dried the bike with a shammy. then I used a spray and shine product that contains Carnuba wax, just spray it on and spread it around evenly with a clean cloth, wait for it to dry and polish with another clean dry cloth. The results were excellent! the bike looks better than the day I took her home! The whole job took me about an hour an a half, and it was the first time I've done a clean and wax on a bike, I'm sure that the next time will take less time.

[msneedtx]

Kind of a habit. I don't "wash" wet. Daily ride is just the obvious stuff but after a longer ride on the weekend.. about 250 miles or every 400 miles in general I clean the chain while oiling it with Silkolene spray and one of my dirtier rags ( I use a can every month or so). Then any overspray is wiped clean using Plexus on the wheels and cleaner cotton rags and then hit the body. Whenever I take the fairings off for something stupid like changing the front tire (don't get us started on that - yes I know there are other ways but none really safe) I clean the engine, all pipes, and anything I can reach and even clean the inside of the fairings..all with Plexus (I love it). The more you clean the less penetration the dirt gets and some of the bugs hitting at mid 100's really stick so it is good to get them off early. It is really a 5 to 10 minute job and I do it right after I get home so I still have the knee armor for getting low without hurting my knees on the cement. My older 03 Sprint has brushed aluminum wheels so I really have to make sure they are near spotless or it makes the bike look frumpy.

regards,
Mark

[stinger]

If it's pretty enough outside to wash it.. it's pretty enough to ride it. Mine is filthy

[HiRoller]

I must admit I can spend many hours lost in a trance like state cleaning and recleaning what I thought was clean when I first cleaned it. I often remove and clean the lower cowlings and wipe out the inside of the valve stem caps just for good measure.

[fergman]

I work as a bike detailer at a Harley dealership, so mine stays pretty clean The best thing we have is a 4 hp blower, it dries a large Harley in less than 10 minutes. Probably dries my RS in about 3 min.