Best way to clean my bike??

[kyle]

OK this does sound like a stupid question but what is the best way to clean my ZXR?

Do u tend to wach bikes lyk a car as in hose and soapy spunge or are ther bits tht cnt get wet (other thn the obvious speedo etc)??

Its covered in mud at the back cos i went on an off road sesh accidently !! can u tell ive just pased my test lol!!

Cheers

[RedexRobB]

Personally i like to strip the bike and get in nooks and crannies. But as a general clean i suppose just like a car. Just avoid jetting the hose in places like the brakes and bearings, a rinse with water is fine, high pressure water isnt.

Generally a quick clean for me is spray hosing the bike down, to soften any of the dirt and pressure the water underneath the mudguard to get the crap out, then spray some proper motorcycle cleaning shampoo like autoglym, scrub with a wet sponge, rinse off with the hose. Then a use a chamois leather to dry off. Try not to wash in the sunlight (chance would be a fine thing these days) as that can give you dry marks where the water has evaporated. Then take it for a quick spin to air dry, get home, another wipe with the chamois leather from water that has inevitably come out of places you couldnt get to. Stand there and admire!

[Northern ANdy]

personally I don't bother. But if I was to clean it, I use a sponge and warm water with turtle wax in, then chamois it dry.

[Jamz]

personally I don't bother. But if I was to clean it, I use a sponge and warm water with turtle wax in, then chamois it dry.

Good man!

I prefer to ride it - not clean it!

I use Auto-Glym bike cleaner because it seems to be the best, bucket of warm water and a sponge.

Fairing first - front panels and tank then rear panels, exhaust, swingarm, wheels (don't really bother with the left side of the rear wheel because it's not worth it).

I bought a nice fluffy bath towel just for my ZXR and have used it to dry every bike since.

It probably takes 15-20 mins, but then again I ride every day all year round. If it's a weekend toy I can understand you wanting to spend hours cleaning and polishing your pride and joy...





... can I fk!

[deviant]

clean? bike?


Erm yeah...


I don't think I've washed mine all year. When I do I do it exactly the same as the car - hose, bucket, some sort of car shampoo, and a sponge. I don't own a pressure washer but I'd be wary of using one on the bike - I've heard all sorts of stories from blasting decals off the fairings to getting water into the electrics. Normal mains water pressure should be fine - no worse than riding in the rain.

That's just a quick wash of the bits you can see and easily get to - I very rarely take the fairings off, largely because it exposes a lot of bits that are a pain to clean properly, so what's the point?

I did wash it every week for about the first month I owned it. In fact I probably washed it more in the first three months than I have in the (almost) three years since! Then I stopped being a student (is it a coincidence that Rob cleans his bike so much?)

[RedexRobB]

Clean my bike so much? Last year my 7R got cleaned 3 times in 9 months, but mainly to keep the salty toad off of it over winter, it got washed in early june and never got cleaned again until the end of october and i must have covered about 3K miles, it was absolutley filthy, the floor was so dirty underneath where i washed it i felt i had to clean the floor out of embarrasment!

[lindaloo]

my dad makes me laugh...cleans his bike before he goes for a ride ???
never understood that for logic....is that so if he drops it it looks nice??
think he even uses furniture polish on it pmsl

[rene]

never used to clean the 400, then i got the 750 and used to keep it spot less, cleaned it all the time every if i hadent used it! looked lovely and givings you somthing to be proud of. Its easyer to keep ontop of maintence like cleaning than do it all in one big job...

crosser is stripped and cleaned after every uses

[The Pole]

I go round it with Muck-off and get a damp tea towel on the nose to get the flies off. then go for Auto-glym shampoo all over (fairings first). use a tooth brush on some bits to get those hard to reach back teeth and the rough side of a sponge to get any chain lube crud off. then rinse with clean water. dry with chamois and go over fairings with silicon spray and buffer. spend ages polishing frame and swing arm. dry lube the chain then a quick blast and a rub down. it sparkles.

[RedexRobB]

Thats a point, polish! I use Autoglym Instant Show Shine to make it sparkle!

[zxr_oli]

I don't bother cleaning it in the winter, after a couple of days your back to where you started
Esp. those damn green wheels

[RedexRobB]

Stay on top of the brakes tho, especially if salt has been put down.

[rene]

cleaning brakes are one of them jobs i really dislike doing, so i went and brought calipers with 2 more pistons

[RedexRobB]

The lazy mans maintenance schedule

[Northern ANdy]

uh I strip my crosser every few outings, its horrid because you find all the damage you've done when you fall off.