Cleaning your bike - how do you do it?

[Yankee Dog]

Be careful with Simple Green. It can react with aluminum.  From the "Simple Green" website:..................

I have used on my wheels for quite some time.  Spray it on, wipe it and the grime off.  Have never had a problem, not even corrosion.  And nothing else seems to work as well.  

YD

[county]

When you pull that rear tire/wheel off for tire replacement is the time to clean up the wheel and shock and all that stuff you can't get to very well with the tire on.  Lotta stuff gets exposed with that tire off and cleaning that wheel is so much easier.  Or you can just pull the wheel off for cleaning.

[Bjorn Toulouse]

You clean your bike?  

Once a year, whether it needs it, or not!


Rex

[jwhite518]

Get yourself two sets of rags/sponges. One set is for cleaning the dirty stuff - wheels, engine, etc. The other rags are for cleaning the clean stuff - bodywork, cockpit, etc.

1. Fill a bucket with soapy water. Using your dirty rags, wash the dirty stuff. Feel free to use Simple Green degreaser, rubbing compound, or the chemicals of your choice to remove the cruddy crud. Rinse.

2. Dump out the bucket, refill it with new, clean soapy water. Wash your bodywork and other "clean" stuff. Rinse.

4. Dry the bodywork with a chamois before it spots up.

5. Apply any wax or polish as you wish.

6. Put on your helmet, gloves, boots, and protective clothing. Ride around the block a few times to get the water out of the nooks and crannies. Warm up the brakes to get the water out of the calipers and rotors.

7. Pop a cold one.

That's the official BMW anal retentive method.

[chornbe]

heh heh heh he said anal heh heh heh

[Galo]

we need Big Block Dave the Canuck here to privde the most complete and thorough response..
Dave!! Dave....where the hell are you!?

[Busy Little Whiner]

So I looked at my bike and DAMN it's dirty.
But how does one go about detailing a bike, safely? It's everything from dirt to road tar.

Mercy!!! if you clean your bike after every ride and it would look dirty but not DAMN dirty...

I remove tar with gasoline because it works fast and it's always handy...


Busy Little Shop's simple 3 step method of bike cleaning:

1) At the end of day soak a wash cloth in HOT water and remove bugs and road grime... repeat as necessary...

2) Add plastic polish fairings and gas tank and buff to a shine...

3) Add a little Gasoline to the corner of the rag and degrease wheels... plastic polish to add a nice luster...

After 10 years and 50K miles of perverted highway I've never once hit Mr.RC45 with a garden hose... it's bike
abuse because it promotes corrosion in all the little nooks and crannies... why just look at Pat's RC30 axle  
after repeated sprays with the garden hose... pitfull as the metal is etched for life...  

[chornbe]

After 10 years and 50K miles of perverted highway I've never once hit Mr.RC45 with a garden hose... it's bike
abuse because it promotes corrosion in all the little nooks and crannies... why just look at Pat's RC30 axle  
after repeated sprays with the garden hose... pitfull as the metal is etched for life...  

As much as I've loved - absolutely and wholly loved - some of the bikes I've had, I haven't met the bike I want to keep for 10 years.

Yet.

50k miles in 10 years is almost criminal. That's two years for me. Now if ONLY I could KEEP a bike for 2 whole years.  

[knuckledonkey]

I do a cursory cleaning maybe twice a year, but I've never really done a really good cleaning.

Mercy!!! if you clean your bike after every ride and it would look dirty but not DAMN dirty...

[1KPerDay]

Smoke cig, fall asleep

Wake up to flames, run for life, call 911.

[traveler]

Wake up to flames, run for life, call 911.

I should have put a period instead of a comma after cig.

[Busy Little Whiner]

As much as I've loved - absolutely and wholly loved - some of the bikes I've had, I haven't met the bike I want to keep for 10 years.

Yet.

50k miles in 10 years is almost criminal. That's two years for me. Now if ONLY I could KEEP a bike for 2 whole years.  

Mercy chornbe... do your bikes stay out all night and won't call home???

I rode a VF500 for 14 years and racked up 98K miles... I'd still have it today if it weren't for a certain trip
to Tijuana Mexico...  

[pmax]

For general maintenance I use a product from a company called Wurth USA Inc.  It's called Showroom Detailer.  It is far better than anything I have tried of the retail shelf.  A bit expensive at around $18 for 22 oz.  It works on many different surfaces and it's easy to use.  I could only find it on line.

A Harley friend of mine swears by Zep window cleaner.  He sprays the bike with the cleaner then gently hoses it off.  I haven't tried that one

[Global Rider]

But how does one go about detailing a bike, safely? It's everything from dirt to road tar.

I would really like to hear how you do a good, thorough, cleaning.

Time and care...thats all it takes along with the right products.

I heard somewhere oven cleaner works. Sounds harsh

Harsh it is...on metal. Thats the trouble with the internet. Its hard to seperate the good from the bad advice. Oven cleaners are for ovens!

[MarcS]

I let a family of mice live in my bike.

They keep the wiring nice and clean.

[TuffguyF4i]

If you guys use high pressure, make sure to keep it away from all electrical connections.  Those connectors are not rated for pressurized spray.

[JoelCool]

I typically pick up whatever car wash is on sale, and wash the bike just like I'd wash the car.  The nooks and cranies are a bit harder to reach, but I don't sweat the small stuff.  If you're down on your hands and knees looking for dirt on my bike I'm sure you'll be successful.  Any crud that doesn't come off in the first 30 minutes gets to stay there.

When the rainy season comes I wash it less frequently - it's just not worth it trying to keep ahead of the winter crud.

During the warmer seasons I'm pretty good about covering the bike when I'm at work.  That tends to keep the dust off in the first place.

[Walker]

After 10 years and 50K miles of perverted highway I've never once hit Mr.RC45 with a garden hose... it's bike
abuse because it promotes corrosion in all the little nooks and crannies... why just look at Pat's RC30 axle  
after repeated sprays with the garden hose... pitfull as the metal is etched for life...  

Larry, that wasn't caused by using a garden hose.  That looks like galvanic corrosion to me, where dissimilar metals with a galvanic potential are in electrical (physical) contact.  It would have happened over time simply due to humidity.

No garden hose huh?  I forget that you guys in CA never ride in the rain either...  

[maddjack]

I use one of the cleaners like S-100,Bike bright or the Stuff aerostich sells,soak it with the stuff,wait, rinse with a garden hose and a hard stream of water (NOT a powerwasher),if its still a tad grungy I resort to auto wash in a bucket a soft rag and elbow grease.I always dry throughly and then wax it to help repell the buggers and grime

[Busy Little Whiner]

Larry, that wasn't caused by using a garden hose.  That looks like galvanic corrosion to me, where dissimilar metals with a galvanic potential are in electrical (physical) contact.  It would have happened over time simply due to humidity.

No garden hose huh?  I forget that you guys in CA never ride in the rain either...  

It was a garden hose... Pat's home is Fairfield California and it enjoys low humidity year around...

Out in CA is perfect for motorcyclist... you can get your fill of riding without having to resort to the few wet days...