Every time I clean my Tiger I end up getting "bitten" or "clawed" by it. Just the other day I noticed while letting it drip dry for a few minutes after I'd washed her down that my hand was bleeding from an inch long gash on my finger. The bike must have taken a little nibble out of me when I wasn't looking! This is not the first time this has happened by the way. Do other owners suffer from this as well and if so how do they deal with it - chain-mail gloves might work but would scratch the paint and rust in the water, just jet washing is bad for bearings etc and SWMBO refuses to let me stick it in the bath.. Any advice on how to control the carniverous tendancies of this Tiger would be gratefully accepted.

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sheepshagger
tea one sugar thanks

I tend to try and fend it off using a combination of brushes, got a dish washing brush or two for general scrubbing, a pipecleaner type brush and an alloy wheel cleeaner brush for £1.50 from Asda which is a huge labour saving device.

Throw in a sponge of biblical proportions for those cosmetically sensitive parts and there you go ?

Fife is correct. Brushes of every kind. I use a pressure washer to rinse off, but only from a distance.

Your local supermarket will have the ones you need. I use a toilet brush for under the engine

Mick

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A full array of washing up brushes is the answer as mentioned before. However the secret of drying is another matter.

I use my petrol powered garden vac in blower mode. It gives a 120 MPH stream of ait which just blows the water off the bike. You should see what comes from the radiator and oil cooler, which would otherwise lay there and cause corrosion,

So tell SWMBO that to tend the garden better, you need an electric or pertol leaf blower / Vac. This you will find later (by suprise) will also act as a king size hairdryer for the Tiger.

Silverstripes

Originally Posted by Silverstripes

A full array of washing up brushes is the answer as mentioned before. However the secret of drying is another matter. I use my petrol powered garden vac in blower mode. It gives a 120 MPH stream of ait which just blows the water off the bike. You should see what comes from the radiator and oil cooler, which would otherwise lay there and cause corrosion, So tell SWMBO that to tend the garden better, you need an electric or pertol leaf blower / Vac. This you will find later (by suprise) will also act as a king size hairdryer for the Tiger. Silverstripes

Agreed, I use the blower end of a shop vac and get a lot of water from a lot of places. After the initial dewatering, a short ride to heat up and dry the brakes and evap any remaining water from the motor.

I have had a few dirt bikes over the years, and one observation on the Tiger; it sure has a lot of tight small places for crud to accumulate. The cast wheel design, the hose routing on the motor, and the castings on the motor cases, sure hold a lot of trail crap and mud. This bike is extremely difficult to clean (ok, detail) after light trail duty or weeks of neglect.

Like most things... it will never look any better than when it is brand new so ride I will.

Look you guys the simple solution is to get a piece of nice juicy steak and just drop it in front of her front tyre then quickly go about your washing and you Tiger will leave you unscathed.

So simple, so obvious I don't know how such an intelligent bunch missed it......but there you are!

Exit stage right!

DaveM

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On 11 May Dave M wrote:
"Look you guys the simple solution is to get a piece of nice juicy steak and just drop it in front of her front tyre then quickly go about your washing and you Tiger will leave you unscathed."
At last - a sensible suggestion!! (No offence to the other repliees..) I'll try this out later today as its pretty bug splattered after a 400 mile blast to Durham and back over the weekend.. It should keep its fangs busy for a few mins..

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sheepshagger
tea one sugar thanks

I know that Tigers are supposed to be carnivores but they also like a little treat so I promise mine that if she stays quiet while I groom her, I will give her what she likes best as soon as it's done!

The treat I give her is her favourite and is "VERY VERY EXPENSIVE"!

I give her "PETROL", by the hand full!

The more I give her the more she purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrs. I think she loves me. Cheers John.

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