[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Washing a motorcycle (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 5/15/2012 8:22:53 PM EDT
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How do I wash my motorcycle? I am not comfortable with the idea of spraying down the gauges with a hose  |
Unless they are really crappy, the gauges can handle it. Just don't spray water into the air intake on the engine and make sure the gas cap is tight. I don't see that a pressure washer is needed, but if you go that route don't get too up close and personal with it and use a low-pressure nozzle - and don't shove it too deep into the electrics.  I swear, some motorcyclists must be allergic to water or something the way they act sometimes. But then I live in Oregon - if you don't want to get wet, it's an awful short riding season  |
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Bikes are made to be outside in the weather. Hit it with a power washer. Power washers are bad for bikes wheel bearings Aimless has a good point there !!! I really wouldn't advise using a pressure washer AT ALL ! Just use a standard pressure garden hose ! |
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Quoted: Quoted: Just spray it down with water, motorcycles are waterproof. DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT put any type of tire stuff on your tires. I can imagine that would be bad for traction Speaking of traction, might want to go easy with the vinyl protectant on the seat. The butt shift on the way into a turn takes a lot less effort with a slick saddle, and is easy to forget about when you really get cooking. Not that I almost slid right off my awesomely shiny seat because of this or anything. Someone I know did. Or that's what I heard. Yeah.
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Quoted: Quoted: Bikes are made to be outside in the weather. Hit it with a power washer. Power washers are bad for bikes wheel bearings I agree with the flightless bird. Also, if you have aluminum rims, be very careful of what cleaner you use. I used Simple Green once and it left some odd stains on my rims that took a long time to get out. I've used S100 in the past and thought it worked pretty well. Biggest problem with S100 is that it's expensive. I've never really looked around to see if there is a cheaper alternative to it. |
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Bikes are made to be outside in the weather. Hit it with a power washer. Power washers are bad for bikes wheel bearings This. I use a hose, soap, and a sponge a couple of times of year. Otherwise.. you need to discover the glory of lemon Pledge. No.. Seriously. Try it. 
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Bikes are made to be outside in the weather. Hit it with a power washer. Power washers are bad for bikes wheel bearings This. I use a hose, soap, and a sponge a couple of times of year. Otherwise.. you need to discover the glory of lemon Pledge. No.. Seriously. Try it.
http://ellistrations.com/musiciansblog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/145177_front200.jpg THIS. i got the  look a couple of times by people that dont ride when i broke out the pledge.
OH, i also had one of the "Mr clean" things that attached to the hose. that worked pretty well for lite dirt/dust but still had to scrub the headlight and front finder and fairings. |
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I used a pressure washer 100's of times on my dirtbikes. Keep it away from any bearings, electronics, and your o-ring/x-ring chain and you're GTG. Watch the fuel lines too (aka use common sense)
I never saw any signs of water in my bearings when repacking them. |
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Quoted: Bucket of water with some soap and a sponge, use a garden hose to rinse.. Heck, it's even in the owners manual of my motorcycle.. OP, is this your very first motorcycle ? Here's your answer  http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1241034_New_bike.html |
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Get a large bathtub, fill it with warm water, some bubble bath and a rubber duck.
Put the bike in the tub and let it soak there for a while. Take ithe bike out of the water when the paint starts to go wrinkly. Wrap the bike up with a bunch of towels and blow dry the seat. If you really want to pamper your bike, use a spa tub and pour it a glass of wine.
The dials/gauges on bikes are made to be weatherproof, they can handle getting some water on them. |
You ride the bike to a rally find some half naked women and pay them to wash your bike.
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Bikes are made to be outside in the weather. Hit it with a power washer. Indiscriminate use of a power washer is a good way to ruin wheel and swingarm and linkage bearings..... Use your garden hose and a good automotive soap. Don't worry about the guages, they're made to be run in the rain... |
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I use Honda Polish http://www.ducati.org/forums/attachments/ducati-discussion/26457d1266938340-how-do-you-clean-your-ducati-honda-polish.jpg That's good shit, it's rebadged S100 cleaner. |
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I can wash my F150 in 10 minutes. I've never been able to wash a motorcycle in less than an hour.
lately, I've been using the spray polish stuff. Works fine on all the bodywork and exposed painted metal. I wash the windshield and other clear parts with hot water and dish soap. OP, make sure you Armor-All your seat! 
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Bikes are made to be outside in the weather. Hit it with a power washer. Power washers will fuck up fork seals. They can, but you'd have to hit the seals at such an angle to force water up into the seal, or between the seal and the fork. I've been using power washers for years to clean my motorcycles - dirt bikes and street bikes. You just need to be careful around electronics, seals, bearing, etc. Another +1 on the Lemon Pledge. |
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I can wash my F150 in 10 minutes. I've never been able to wash a motorcycle in less than an hour. lately, I've been using the spray polish stuff. Works fine on all the bodywork and exposed painted metal. I wash the windshield and other clear parts with hot water and dish soap. OP, make sure you Armor-All your seat! Now that's just mean....
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