Cleaning Your Bike
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you have to be a little more careful when cleaning a bike than a car.
i don't recommend the use of water, since it can get in all sorts of places you don't want it to (gas tank, electrical components, etc...) so here is how i do it.
go out and buy a tube of armor all car wash wipes, dupont teflon spray-on wax, windex, rain-x, rain-x antifog, paper towels, wax applicators, and lint-free terry cloths.
use the car wash wipes to clean the entire bike (gas tank, fairings, windscreen, fender, tail section, wheels, and frame) and to get all the excess crap off. then spray some of the wax onto an applicator and apply in circular motions to the gas tank, fairings, fender, and tail section. while that is drying, get the windex and clean your mirrors and windscreen. once the wax is dry, use the terry cloths to clean off the wax completely, rotating sides of the cloth often and not using a lot of pressure.
apply the rain-x to the outside of the windscreen, and the rain-x antifog to the inside of the screen as well as the mirrors. while you are at it, use the windex to clean the inside of your helmet visor, and apply the antifog to that as well. clean the outside of the visor after re-attatching it to the helmet with the windex.
it is a lot quicker to do than it seems, as this whole process only takes me about 30 minutes or so. the bike comes out looking like new, and you will be proud to ride it again.
i don't recommend the use of water, since it can get in all sorts of places you don't want it to (gas tank, electrical components, etc...) so here is how i do it.
go out and buy a tube of armor all car wash wipes, dupont teflon spray-on wax, windex, rain-x, rain-x antifog, paper towels, wax applicators, and lint-free terry cloths.
use the car wash wipes to clean the entire bike (gas tank, fairings, windscreen, fender, tail section, wheels, and frame) and to get all the excess crap off. then spray some of the wax onto an applicator and apply in circular motions to the gas tank, fairings, fender, and tail section. while that is drying, get the windex and clean your mirrors and windscreen. once the wax is dry, use the terry cloths to clean off the wax completely, rotating sides of the cloth often and not using a lot of pressure.
apply the rain-x to the outside of the windscreen, and the rain-x antifog to the inside of the screen as well as the mirrors. while you are at it, use the windex to clean the inside of your helmet visor, and apply the antifog to that as well. clean the outside of the visor after re-attatching it to the helmet with the windex.
it is a lot quicker to do than it seems, as this whole process only takes me about 30 minutes or so. the bike comes out looking like new, and you will be proud to ride it again.
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751 Posts
yeah be carefull of getting water on your dials, i tend to rinse it Verry carefulll with water to wash the grit off the bike as you shouldnt just go straight to washing it with a sponge as this can scratch the paint. also start at the top, ie less dirty bits so the water doesnt go filthy.
PS cleaning your bike is one of the most important points of maintanence, and i love cleaning my bike so do it regularly
PS cleaning your bike is one of the most important points of maintanence, and i love cleaning my bike so do it regularly
Hey guys, your bike was made to be able to ride in heavy rain and extreem bad weather and not have any problems. You can wash the bike with a hose and a quality wash. Then wipe it down or drive it around the block to get rid of the excess water then dry it off and detail it and so forth.advr4 said:
For a quick clean up, a detail spray works great, like the Maguires Quick Detail and all the others out there.
2nd: DO NOT put Rain-X on anything plastic. Rain-X is made for Glass ONLY and says so on the label. It can and will degrade plastics and can create a haze on them. I've seen a number of face shields with a white smoky film on them when riders use it on them, and I'm sure it could happen to the windshield as well, being it's plexiglass or lexan. My wife even put it on the wind deflector of her Blazer and it will not polish up anymore, has a semigloss finish now and you can't see through it very well.
Use Plexis or some other plastic polish on the face and windshields. You can even apply wax to them to help bead the water better.
Just MHO, but I've had 8 different bikes and have ridden and cleaned them for over 30 years.
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195 Posts
This is the EYE CANDY FORUM not the "I have a problem and don`t know how to search for it" forum Look in the FAQ: forum
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