How do you wash your Bike?

[hei ew]

With water restrictions i tend to take the bike and park it in the rain , so i can get some dust off ..
how do you wash your bike , any tips and tricks you want to share . pictures are always welcome.

[zaFroggy]

I tend to have to service my bike a bit more often than usual, so just take it to the dealer for a wash when it gets serviced.

Other than that, some car washes can clean a bike reasonably well.

[hei ew]

I tend to have to service my bike a bit more often than usual, so just take it to the dealer for a wash when it gets serviced.

Other than that, some car washes can clean a bike reasonably well.

so you don't wash your bike regularly? like on a weekly basis , maybe 2 weeks per wash?
and you actually trust someone else to wash your bike.
high pressure washers all over your engine and into the spark plug areas.

[Skully-SXV]

I have always washed my bikes like this:

Park in shade, let bodywork cool down (if it was in the sun prior)
Hose down using a fine spray nozzle on a hosepipe
Meguiars (or any decent car wash soap) in a bucket and wash it
Fine spray nozzle again and hose it off
Let it "drip dry" for a bit then wipe it dry with a micro fibre cloth.
Then a light spray of WD40 or Q20 in the ignition lock and switches
Lube chain
And off we go.

Never had any issues with any electrical components or spark plugs or switches going funny or failing.
Been doing it that way for years with no issues.
Sometimes when I used to still ride on the road, the bike would be washed two or three times a week.

Never ever taken any of them to car washes or let any one else clean them. I did that job myself.

[hei ew]

thanks Skully , Q20 is definitely needed.

i sent my bike in for service recently and it came back sparkling clean and even had the sides of the tyres "waxed" or some type of oil
that was just to make it look pretty for 15 minutes , cause the next day it was already dusty under the lapa and the oil is all over the mudguard after a long ride

i also have a bike cover but with the topbox it doesn't cover the bike completely

thanks for the ideas guys
keep posting us how you wash your bike .
no wrong answers and you all receive 10 points at the next meeting. lol

[freerider]

I don't have the luxury of a hosepipe, so use one bucket of warm water with car shampoo to wash the entire bike, then a 10lt watering can of water to rinse off the soapy water. Wipe dry with a microfiber towel.

Sent from my BLA-L29 using Tapatalk

[hei ew]

so microfiber is the way to go for drying ..
how bout any brushes for the mags/spokes ?
any specific wax you put on the seat [hee hee]
anyone try c-thru on their windshields?

[freerider]

I do use a product I got from the US called aerospace 303 on the seat and nearly all black plastics. Its a UV protectant.

For most of the bike I use a soft sponge and have a long wheel/spoke brush to get into all the hard to reach places. (brush is similar to the one attached)

Sent from my BLA-L29 using Tapatalk

[Echo03]

Well I always rinse with a pressure washer first to get loose dirt off.
Clean wheels and every second to third was clean the chain.
Rinse the whole bike again.
Spray with foam cannon.
Wash using two bucket method(different sponges for body panel and under the bike etc).
Rinse with power washer.
Leave to drip for a few minutes.
Blow dry with leave blower.
Wipe remaining water with drying towel.
Start to get all remaining water out of places I can not reach or if there is some in the exhaust.
Remove from paddock stand and place on side stand(this usually cases some dripping again).
Wipe off water again that appeared aswell as wheels
Wax chain.

I don't like putting things on my seat as it makes it feel different under me and I like consistency when I ride.
For plastic treatment I use "Black in a Flash" once every 3 months or so.

That is more or less it.

[vinayv]

Warm water and car shampoo. Rinse off with a spray nozzle on the hosepipe. Allow to drip dry a little and then wipe of the remaining water with a dry cloth. During this time of the year, the windshield (and my helmet visor get a C-Thru treatment. I leave the bike in the sun to warm up the seat and dry off the chrome properly, after this i use a solution of water and Kleen Green to spray the chrome and wipe off with a microfibre cloth. One the seat is warm, I use leather food to treat the leather

[hei ew]

awesome posts guys, thanks. i'll try the black in a flash and pressure washer , seems it's safe to do .
i use Q-20 on everything , BUT my wd-40 is for cleaning my slotcar tyres before a race ;p

when i had bikes with chains i used fluidfilm , that stuff stuck on the chain
for chrome i know autosol works awesome.

[Stranger]

I see a leaf blower in a post above, I use a small air blower but a hairdryer works just as well. Give it a try the results might surprise you.

[AMZ]

so you don't wash your bike regularly? like on a weekly basis , maybe 2 weeks per wash?
and you actually trust someone else to wash your bike.
high pressure washers all over your engine and into the spark plug areas.

Yes, even longer between washes.
Yes, of course.
Who cares?

[Diakonos]

Park in the shade.
Quick spray with the hose pipe to wet the whole bike, and to remove the large debris.
Spray the whole bike with BelRay Bike Wash (this stuff is AMAZING, but very hard to find)
Look at the beauty for five minutes, while I share an orange or apple or cooldrink with my baby daughter.
Rinse the bike with the hose, and marvel at ALL the dirt coming off - even the gunk on the mags seemingly dissolve away.
Let her drip-dry, do my "Maintain-The-Chain" routine, and we're ready to go!

[Harvs]

Weekly/Bi-weekly:
1 Prop bike up on paddock stand in shade
2 Hose whole bike down
3 Spray dirt nurse over entire bike and wait a couple minutes
4 Rinse
5 Get bucket with Meguairs car wash
6 Wash bike with wash mitt/sponge
7 Wash rims with those car wheel brush things
8 Rinse
9 Dry bike with drying cloths (usually use 2)
10 Once bike is dry, apply Meguairs wax & polish to painted bits
11 Done

If I'm doing chain maintenance: clean chain before step 2 and apply chain lube after step 10 - usually only do chain maintenance every second month or so.