How/Where do you wash your bike?

[Savage]

I have no garage or hose to wash my bike...I park in a large apt. parking structure.

So where can I wash my bike? do I just take a big bucket and a sponge down there? are there places you can go to just pickup a hose and start spraying?

[Kurt'sSV]

The only time I've "washed" my bike was after crashing the shit out of it in the dirt. Other than that, I just detail spray it and use Simple Green on the greasy gunk.

[rwalterk]

Those coin-op places are pretty cool. Spray the crap off your bike with soapy water (those nozzles have decent force). Works out well; all you need to do is buy one of those blue towel thingies while you're there to wipe it down. You can always bring a sponge if you need it.

[EIREANN]

Honda Polish :D

[sugart!ts]

Originally posted by EIREANN
Honda Polish :D

same here.. i love that stuff....

that and a can of wd40 to clean off the chain (when it needs it)

[smokescreen]

suave- you'll have to come over and learn to wash bike over beer and cigar. there are parts of your bike that don't like high pressure water. better to detail.


and.... as a canadian... isn't it "warsh"? yer bike.... "eh"?

[T140]

If you use the hose-type car washes, S-100 and a synthetic chamois is a very easy way to go. Basically, spray it on and hose it off. S-100 has several products (Total Bike, Wheel Cleaner, Corrosion Protectant).

Don't spray your chain, close of the exhaust with a rag or rubber ball, go easy on the guage area and anyplace there are wires, don't blast the axles/swingarm pivot and force water in or grease out.

An alternative to the car wash, get two five gallon buckets fill about 2/3 - one with a soap solution - Simple Green is good - or an automotive car wash, and one with clear water.

Get two synthetic sheepskin wash mits, wash the bike with one and rinse it with the other.

Use a rag on the greasy bits so you don't ruin the mitt.

Work from top to bottom, do the paint and plastic chrome (scratches easily) first so that you don't scratch it with grit from the mitt. Rinse the mitts often and be sure to loosen any dirt they may contain into the bucket.

Then, clay and wax the paint. Hit the rest of the bike (seat, hoses, frame, etc.) with Protect-All

[zunkus]

Garden hose with spray gun end does a quick job of it. A quick wipe with a clean dry rag. I then spray WD40 on the engine and chain and wipe with another rag. Sometimes I take the time to polish the exhaust pipe with Autosol and touch up the plastic with a turtlewax plastic/rubber finishing product.

I love the smell of the bike drying up from the polish and WD40 when its warming up for a ride after that. A great feeling. I'm a romantic git.

[Savage]

Originally posted by smokescreen
suave- you'll have to come over and learn to wash bike over beer and cigar. there are parts of your bike that don't like high pressure water. better to detail.


and.... as a canadian... isn't it "warsh"? yer bike.... "eh"?

a SocalSV BBQ sounds like a great idea!

[kc1717]

ive never washed any of mine


edit:

i have however taken off plastics and taken them into the shower with me

[SVNerd]

I do it so rarely ... I'd rather ride than wash.

S100, standard spigot and hose, and those yellow/green microfibertowels from Costco.

If its not too dirty, and I want to use just regular soap and water, I use Pinnacle Bodywork Shampoo (instead of S100).

I towel-dry with cotton terry towels.

I blow-dry the rest with shop vac, and where/when needed: compressed air (desicated and filtered from an oiless compressor).

Wax: Pinnacle Paste Glaz

[J.Moto]

Just don't wash it...

[Savage]

just ended up taking a bucket with soapy water, a sponge and some towels to give it a light wash down.

[99x]

U can always try a hand-pumper type garden sprayer with a warm water/car wash soap mixture. They don't spray hard enough to displace bearing grease, but they'll get any grime spots. Also handy for getting at the inside of the vee.

[NiteQwill]

Wash?! Damn, what's that?

I use Honda Pro Cleaner... I buy several cans of them because they fly off the shelves!

[racinteach]

a wet wash cloth ....wipe it off then wax it and off I go ...

[stingray]

Those coin-op places are pretty cool. Spray the crap off your bike with soapy water (those nozzles have decent force).

pressure washing is a bad idea. too many exposed wiring to get water into.

[NukleoN]

Spray detailer does the job most of the time...Meguiar's for paint and Plexus for plastic. When washing, it doesn't take much water...and they do have pump-action sprayers if you can't get access to a spigot.

[centerline]

I use a "dry wash" that is the same stuff used for collector cars, exotic cars, etc. It can be put on everything and provides a barrier too. It is called "Dri wash -n guard" by envirotech. Probably an internet purchase thing.

It is expensive, but lasts forever.

[Knightshade]

I've had a can of honda polish sitting in my garage for over a year now, thought I'd try it out as the bike was FILTHY. I'm impressed, used it on all the metal parts, probably could have used it on the plastics and tank but old habits die hard, used mequiars quick detailer for that stuff.

[luckyphil]

Water restrictions in Sydney means no hosing the suds off or the mobile water usage inspectors driving around could bust you, dunno what the fine is so I bought one of those hand pump sprayers...bit like hard work but it gets the job done..cheapest mod out..a clean bike with no mods still looks better than a modded to the shithouse bike that's filthy...

[Tom]

Originally posted by luckyphil
..a clean bike with no mods still looks better than a modded to the shithouse bike that's filthy...

Plus the bike will be easier to maintain. It's a lot easier to see when something is out of place on a bike when everything is clean. You don't catch leaks here and there as quickly on a dingy bike.

[gitarjunky]

Now, I know this is going to sound like a ridiculous question, but bear with me here.

So I've been riding since March (the SV is my first bike) and I've got about 2600 miles under my belt. I have yet to wash my baby, partly because I'd rather be out riding, and partly because it hasn't gotten too bad, until now. So I was just wondering what parts should I avoid getting wet, and anything else I might not know. Thanks in advance for the seemingly stupid question....

[cured1]

Wash?

I wish.

I would like to do a good detail but I'm also in an apt building with garage parking, no hose no nothing. I just figure if I ever get the bike apart to have the frame powder coated I will wash the pieces individually. Until then I do use some sort of polishing spray or something from Meguiars. The tank and plastics I keep fairly clean, the rest however needs some love.

[Kyoseki]

So where the hell can you get this Honda spray stuff? I picked some up at LA Aprilia/Yamaha a while back and it's great, but I haven't seen it for sale anywhere since.

Who has it in stock?

[harbiho]

I wash the bike with regular Zip Car Wash just like I would a car.

I figure that if you leave the bike out or ride in the rain, it gets wet just the same.

I wet the bike with a garden hose, wash it down with the Zip Car Wash, towel dry it and lube the chain afterwards.

I also lube the locks as well with those graphite lock lubricants.

[chinkee]

the honda spray is illegal in CA now.. just like everything else.. you gotta wait til you go outta state

[slowpoke]

Wash?

I don't understand...:confused:

[Punkbrad]

On the corner intersection of by my house, there is the fountain valley high school girls cheerleaders fundraiser carwash, them or the gymnastics teams.

i ride over there on the SV, and throw em' 10 or 15 bux to handwash it with rags and simple green (no hose spraying). Its like dinner and movie, except its with a motorcycle, HS cheerleaders and a huge pervert.

[Buellba Fett]

Originally posted by Punkbrad
On the corner intersection of by my house, there is the fountain valley high school girls cheerleaders fundraiser carwash, them or the gymnastics teams.

i ride over there on the SV, and throw em' 10 or 15 bux to handwash it with rags and simple green (no hose spraying). Its like dinner and movie, except its with a motorcycle, HS cheerleaders and a huge pervert.

:lol: :lol:

DAMN! Now that's a good idea!

[Punkbrad]

Originally posted by Buellba Fett
:lol: :lol:

DAMN! Now that's a good idea!

those are the only kinds i have!

[pAint]

Punkbrad.... you are the man.

[steveb]

Spray generic 99 cent store Pledge on the number plate and front edge of the fairing and windscreen every year or so, let sit a few minutes and wipe off vigerously.

Sometimes it's easier to just sell it and buy another bike that's clean.:cool:

I dont put water on my bikes unless I am pulling the engine apart, then I still will try to clean it with wd40 and a rag.

Bad bug problem? Leave a wet towel on the fairing and windscreen to soften them up, then clean with the 99 cent Pledge.

Gas tank and other plastic need cleaning? 99 cent pledge.

Just use lots so it wets the dirt down well so it doesn't scratch, and wipe carefully, then polish.

[dbltakeSV10s]

so where again is this charity carwash???

[harbiho]

I've never thought of Pledge.

[bristolbird]

Originally posted by kc1717
i have however taken off plastics and taken them into the shower with me

LOL, I like your style!

[Kyoseki]

Originally posted by chinkee
the honda spray is illegal in CA now.. just like everything else.. you gotta wait til you go outta state
What? Why?

[05SV650sYLW]

Here is what I use: ( I had an auto detail business in the past, trust me I spent a lot of money doing research and this is the best I found) $10,000.00 later worth of different porducts.

CLEANER: 303 aerospace cleaner 10:1 works good. Let the product do the work. Let it dwell and dont let it dry on any surface.

WAX: Klasse AIO (red container) "acrylic base" sheets water
or s100 "caranuba base" Beads water

PROTECTANT: 303 Protectant (works on rubber, plastic and finished leather)

These products are expensive but well worth it.
Things to remeber:

Always wet surfaces first that you will be degreasing. Try not to work in the sun. To avoid water spots use a bug sprayer filled with "distiled water" to rinse everything off (next best thing to R.O. water or D.I. water). If you have a leaf blower use it to blow all excess water off. Whaterver water is left use microfiber towels to dry.

Hope this helps,
Alejandro

[Iceburg98]

Here is what I use: ( I had an auto detail business in the past, trust me I spent a lot of money doing research and this is the best I found) $10,000.00 later worth of different porducts.

So Alejandro, next time we go for a group ride you're gonna bring some of that stuff to share and give us a demonstration on how to clean each of our bikes, right? ;)

[05SV650sYLW]

Absolutely, i'll start working on the training video :D

[920m]

Here is the way some motorcops do it...remember our bikes get inspected.

First on a dry cool bike...spray all metal and plastic parts with WD40...

Let it set for 2 minutes or so then spray off with hose....it will turn white in color but the dust is now bonded to the WD40...

Once you have sprayed the whole bike with water go over all the parts with simple green to disolve the WD40...

Spray the bike down to get rid of the Simple Green...

Towel dry...

Use a compressor to get water out of hard to reach spots...Make sure you scrub those rims...

Have fun...takes me about 3 hours

[05SV650sYLW]

Yeah,
WD40 is a great product. It's actually a great TAR remover and not as harsh as some of the products they sell for this purpose.

[05SV650sYLW]

Here is my bike with a "Klasse" finish.:D

Alejandro

[steveb]

You must be careful of Simple Green. The U.S. government has sent warnings that it structurally damages aluminum.

S.G. will (especially in the sun) spot paint, some aluminum surfaces, some plastics, totally fuKup some carbon fiber, but it's still one of the best cleaners and I use it to clean too.

[920m]

Originally posted by steveb
You must be careful of Simple Green. The U.S. government has sent warnings that it structurally damages aluminum.

S.G. will (especially in the sun) spot paint, some aluminum surfaces, some plastics, totally fuKup some carbon fiber, but it's still one of the best cleaners and I use it to clean too.

Is that why my rim came apart?:D

[Punkbrad]

Originally posted by 920m
Here is the way some motorcops do it...remember our bikes get inspected.

First on a dry cool bike...spray all metal and plastic parts with WD40...

Let it set for 2 minutes or so then spray off with hose....it will turn white in color but the dust is now bonded to the WD40...

Once you have sprayed the whole bike with water go over all the parts with simple green to disolve the WD40...

Spray the bike down to get rid of the Simple Green...

Towel dry...

Use a compressor to get water out of hard to reach spots...Make sure you scrub those rims...

Have fun...takes me about 3 hours


I heard the cop cars get cleaned like this:

Pull up to station, find an inmate, give him the cleaning paraphernalia and tell him to get busy.

[steveb]

Originally posted by 920m
Is that why my rim came apart?:D

I would imagine there were other factors involved;)

"Here is what Steve Swenson, Manager of Tech Support and Consumer Services for Trek, LeMond, Klein & Gary Fisher says about it: "We do not recommend the use of degreasers to clean frames; most are too harsh and will damage the finish. Bike Lust or Lemon Pledge are recommended to clean frames."


http://www.flyte1.com/soar/janette/compare.asp
"An interesting point is that most cleaners that you find at the grocery store (simple green, formula 401, etc…) are too acidic for aluminum, and will eat at the frame and components. The US Air Force learned this the hard way, and nearly lost a few F-15s in the process."

I cannot find the government warning given to the USN and USAF a few years ago regarding SG and aluminum. But having detailed many bikes at a Harley dealership using SG, I know it works. But in the sun, it can cause surface discoloration.

[Jagernought]

I'm spoiled, I work for a new car dealerships so I have access to a detail shop :D