How to....

[Guest Jaap]

( just sharing my experience)

 

Although I'm not anal about the looks of my V11LM, I still wash it from time to time.

 

Here's what I do:

 

1 Spray S100 bike cleaner all over the bike,

 

2 Let it soak for 15-20 minutes,

 

3 Rinse it off with a garden hose,

 

4 Rinse it off again with rainwater

 

5 Let it dry naturally (or use a leaf blower )

 

add1: This is not an advertisement, but this gel like stuff's great!

add3: Do not use high pressure cleaners, bad for your bike!

add4: Tapwater in my region is very hard (loads of calcium???) in the water, when it dries it leaves white stains.

 

This works great for me, but I'd like to hear your experiences

 

Happy Newyear

Jaap

[Guest dkgross]

in the states, we have some stuff called Simple Green. http://www.simplegreen.com/

 

VERY biodegradeable and environementaly safe. It'll clean anything. And, yeah..no high pressure hoses.

[callison]

I use S100 too. I put the bike on a rear and front stand so both wheels can be rotated, spray it down and then hit it with a 1200psi spray rig set on "fan" rather than "stream". I stay away from bearing areas where the sprayer can penetrate and generally only concentrate on wheel rims and the bottom of the engine and places like that. I'm not sure if S100 contributed to the failure of the rear brake caliper on my Sport 1100i though, but if it did, it took four years and 53,000 miles. I let the bike air dry for the most part, but cowlings, fairings and tanks get toweled off immediately. If it's winter, I just let the bikes get dirty.

[Dirtybill]

Our water is soft so it doesn't normally leave stains. I usually take a couple of plastic bags and stuff them into the ends of the mufflers and put one around the steering head area, to keep water out.

 

Simple Green is good stuff. I buy it by the gallon now. I just got a couple of sample bottles of some other stuff that works better though. It really does a good job of taking brake dust off.

It's Spectro XL-1. Made by the same people who make engine oil.

 

It does say that it can take some polishes and waxes off though, so I use it just for wheels, bottom of the engine etc. I usually towel or chamois it dry and don't go anywhere near the instruments with water, or I cover them up.

 

If I use soap, I use the specific car wash kind.

 

All this get's thrown out the window when it comes to cleaning my dirt bike though

[Guest k.tx]

I use simple green too but add 50% water, hose it of, handjob with regular car shampoo, hose it off again, dry it with a laether and than I put turtle wax on it. The same applies to the Quota.

Typically I spend a whole Saturday and a case of Shiner Bock cleaning bikes.

In case I have water left in the bucket I do the car too ;-)

[al_roethlisberger]

...hrmm, you give your bike a "handjob"?! That's love for sure

 

 

Sorry, couldn't resist

al

[dlaing]

I use Meguiar's Quick Detailer Mist and Wipe on the tank, front fender, tail cowling and side panels. Lots of rags help. I only use water to get mud off the fenders and alternator cover. I avoid detergents because I don't want them to wash into the garden and kill the plants.

I am too lazy to clean the wheels. I occasionally clean them just before a tire change so that my mechanic is happy. Or just clean the rim edge. Once I get the G&B muffler, I will have to keep the rear wheel cleaner.

When the bike was brand new, 26 months ago, I waxed it with PolyGlycoat 4year two step wax.

It beaded water pretty well for about six months. It still appears to have some sheating action, but definately needs a reapplication, but I have so many little scratches that it may be better not to wax it so that if and when I paint it in a few years, it will adhere better.

I could take a lot better care of the outside of the bike, but the weeping oil and wheel grime are sooo tenacious.

I better clean it this weekend!

[docc]

That lower leading edge of the sump is the Achilles' heel of my Sport's vanity. Between the garp kicked up by the tire and that olive-oil -based brake dust, how do you keep that part of the engine looking decent?

My owner's manual says to use 'petrol' but that has some auspicious drawbacks not the least of which are toxicity and flash point.

[callison]

I have a 1200 psi spray washer (made in Italy) and a handy supply of S100 surfactant (German). I douse the cases with the S100 and blast them clean. The same for any other portion of the drivetrain that doesn't have bearings, wiring or openings. Very infrequently, I will do the same to the area down in between the cylinders and up around the steering head, undersides of fenders etc. But mainly, it's to get the crud off of the front of the cases and cylinder heads. Bike must be cold of course, rinsed well and let dry before riding. Avoid the tumble dry cycle...