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Washing bike

11K views 52 replies 39 participants last post by  GC1218 
#1 ·
I find that using liquid soap with cold water in a pail, cover left and right side handlebar electrical controls with a bag and electrical tap on ignition switch, the hose down bike to wet and I use a hand glove to soap down bike then hose off, then use a leaf blower for 10 minutes to air dry bike to nice shiny finish
 
#21 ·
Exactly, I have ridden in hard down pours for an hour, so I have no problem washing my bike, never put any plastic bags over any of the switches. I do have a rain sock that goes over the air filter on the Tornado Air Kit.
 
#6 · (Edited)
First of all go get yourself one of those brushes that come with dustpan sets they are great for getting into areas like the wheels and engine. Next invest in a good quality liquid soap and one of those pressurised pump spray bottles of about 3 litres, mix up some soap and water and spray it on. Leave it for a while ( about 10 mins) then come back and mix up some more soap in a bucket of warm water and with a sponge and the brush for the difficult bits go to it. When all is done a gentle spray with the hose. I personally do not like the leaf blower option as this can drive water into areas you do not want it to go. Chamois off the water residue then go for a short ride, this will blow out any of the water from the areas you cannot get to with a chamois and the bike should be dry. Go have a cup of coffee while the bike cools. I use Purple Polish for the chrome bits and some stuff called Butter Wax made by Armourall, it is great stuff and keeps a deep polish on all painted surfaces for ages. I also spray a little Armourall on the seats to preserve them. Some people use Mr Sheen furniture spray and it works well but nothing beats good old fashined polish and elbow grease.

Cheers and Beers.

Bob
 
#7 ·
I've been curious about this getting "water into areas you do not want it to go" for a while now. Since I bought my new bike in the spring, I've been using a pressure washer to peel bugs off the windshield, lowers, forks, headlight and crash bars (which is 90%+ of where the bugs are) and then using a sponge and detergent to wash everything else and hosing that off with the pressure washer on low. I always figured that if the bike is ok driving in rain, I should be able to use a washer. Is this not the case? Where are the places you don't want water going that it wouldn't go by driving in rain?

Cheers,
Kerry
 
#9 ·
Agreed, but my question is what are the places that I don't want to get water? I don't thing blasting the windshield at 2000psi is going to hurt it. Ditto with the crash bars. How about the forks? Headlight? Actually, I can imagine it getting into the headlight, but I'm assuming that drainholes take care of that.
 
#12 ·
Hey ed.....like smokey said........I have a pressure washer that i use all the time.....just watch where u stickin it....(the pressure washer i mean)....Works great 4 the bugs....I wipe it down in between, but sometimes is just 2 much.....ride safe...:)
 
#13 ·
Nice tip with the leaf blower, I was doing mine with a shammy and taking quite a long time. I'll definitely have to try that next time I give her a wash.
 
#14 ·
Instead of leaf blower, because I don't have one, I use my shop vac in the blower mode with the narrow/cone attachment. Probabaly not quite as good as a leaf blower but certainly gets the job done easier than trying to towel/chamois dry all the nooks and crannies.
 
#40 ·
Same here had my last bike 8 years and never washed it once! Elbow grease and istant auto detailer works great!
 
#23 ·
I'll be really washing mine for the first time when the weather warms up. Before I had just been occasionally wiping it down and polishing the shiny stuff. But I got caught in a storm the other day and kicked up so much mud and flith and grime that poor thing looks like I've been treating it like a dual sport!

Thanks for all the tips in here!

-John
 
#24 ·
like about half of yall, i also dry wipe it with polish. when it's really bad, i will use a bucket and water with some wash. i use a hose, but without the sprayer, don't want the pressure to get into places like wheel hubs like mentioned, but also forks, air intake, the shaft drive breather. not worried about the electronics. things will get wet sure, but then it'll dry again. works even when wet, as evidenced by rainy rides.

usually though, if i have time to wash, i have time to ride... so i just go for rides!
 
#25 ·
I use to wash the whole bike with bucket of soap and water on my old 900 custom then started having some electrical problems with turn signals ,the starter ,since I sold it and got the nomad I have been staying away from the handlebar controls/electronics.

no electrical issues since .
 
#27 ·
I'll tell ya what I did. With this in mind, and being that it's 6 years old, I took a can of spray di-electric grease that I had in the garage and hit everything. Got the battery terminals, pulled the plug on the regulator and got that, got any wiring I could find with a connector or was visible from the outside. Then I popped the switches open and got the insides there. I bet if you did that every once in a while you wouldn't need to worry about it.

I did that because last time my bike got rained on (started raining while I was in a restaurant, poor thing got caught out in it all alone), it was a wee bit hard to start. It cranked for a lot longer than usual, and of course it's an EFI bike, so my thought was that something wasn't getting juice for a split second because it was wet. Better safe than sorry right!

Oh, and have you guys ever used turtle wax chrome polish? That stuff is fantastic! It's a liquid, and it just works amazing! My bike blinds me every time I walk out the door, it's great!
 
#26 ·




They get a bit grubby some times ;)

garden hose, Soft conical brush.. plenty of car/truck/bike wash liquid in a bucket and a methodical approach works for me

Although I had to use the scotchpad (green pot cleaner thing) on the whitewalls this time :D


 
#28 ·
Last year, I'd wash it every week with dish soap and low-pressure water, bonding with it, and drying with a chamois (I've tried the leaf blower, it still leaves water spots for some reason). Then I'd polish the paint with NuFinish (I like it better than traditional wax).

I'm trying a different approach this year. Meguiar's Instant Detailer works really well to clean off FRESH bug gutz and general dust/dirt. Yeah, it's expensive, but two spritzes gets my tank, one for my rear fender, half of one for each side cover, and a total of two for everything else. It may be $10 a bottle, but I can completely clean my bike for what amounts to less than $0.50.

+1 for Turtle Wax Chrome Polish! Thought I'd give it a try for $2.50 a bottle, and I wasn't disappointed!
 
#29 ·
I have only had to wash my bike once since I bought it last summer (caught in a rain storm), and only use very low hose pressure with a shower type nozzel to rinse. I found out the hard way using too much pressure from a hose can force water into areas you don't want it, or will flush grease out of wheel bearings, fork crowns, etc. Once dry I started using Meguiars Ultimate Quik Wax to place a shine back on the painted, as well as, the chrome. Easy spray on and polish off, leaves no white chaulky residue. I will use this in between washing as it makes keeping the bike dust free really easy.
 
#31 ·
I use dish soap and a hose on the "shower" setting. It doesn't put any pressure behind the spray. I use a brush recommended on gadgit's page called EZ Detailer (I think) it gets in ALL the nooks and crannies, keeps the bike looking showroom. As far as wax, Meguiar's Tech Wax.
 
#32 ·
Cheap power washer ( little Dawn soap), leaf blower, WD-40 (which means Water Displacement) shoot a little in those cranny's - electronics/levers.
Let it sit a few hours...Ride it! Get rid of it when it gives you trouble.
Oh thats the lady fix :rolleyes:
 
#34 ·
A little trick I picked up years ago, cut a milk crate or other chequred plastic to fit in the bottom of your bucket, when you put your dirty sponge in to the bucket the dirt falls to the bottom and you don't pick it up again because the sponge can't get passed the plastic mesh and put it back on your bike/car.
 
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