[johnqwerty]

what are the best mothods of cleaning your bike, does anyone hose down their bikes?? im afriad of rust. also what is the best way to clean the hard to get places on the rims???

 

[deputydog95]

i spray the bike with a light mist then wash it with car soap. dry it down with some microfiber cloths. that's about it. water won't hurt anything. just don't start pressure washing the nook and crannies. i've ridden in the rain a thousand times and never had a problem, so I don't think washing it will hurt it.

as far as the wheels, microfiber cloths again. soap them up and run them around the wheels. i find it easier to clean the bike when it's on front and rear stands.

if you're worried about rust, which i wouldn't, just get the bike up to operating temp by riding it for a few minutes. between the wind and the heat, all the moisture will be gone.

 

[John]

You hear that MOTO, micro fiber cloths, just as I suggested.

I soap and hose it no problem. Blow dry with air compressor and large and small micro towels we sell to distributors.

 

[migz123]

http://www.ducati.ms/forums/showthread.php?t=3458

 

[TwinRider]

Cleaning

I use Honda Spray Polish and Cleaner... The stuff works great for just about everything. If the bike gets really dirty (like wheels), I might use soap & water to get the majority of the grime off and then hit it with the spray polish. I also use microfiber cloths.

 

[manso72]

Plexus!!!!!!!! itl quick detail on the plastics and clean all the crud off the wheels including chain wax.... and it leaves a nice shiny wax feel when youre done .... it takes me maybe 10 minutes to clean the whole bike (okey maybe 20 when the bug hits me) you could get this from chapparal motorsports in san bernadino or online.

 

[badass916sp]

By far the best cleaner I have ever found is Simple Green. You can dilute it with water and spray it on wheels... gets the oil off like a dream.

My method for washing is: spray with water, wipe off with cloth, then spray with Simple Green and wipe, the nwash off again to remove the Simple Green, then carfully dry it until it's spotless.

I have had other riders come up to me and say "Wow, your wheels are really clean, how did you do it?" Seriously.

 

[mals900ss]

I use Meguires soft wash, a gentle hose and my bike has it's own bug scrubbing sponge.. also her own matching coloured bath towel that gets washed then put through the drier to make it soft.

I've bought most of my friends towels that match their bikes colour as presents..

Mal

 

[deputydog95]

I forgot to mention this. Somebody at the track showed me this.

Pledge Furniture polish. Pick the scent of your choice

It's just really cheap canned wax. It works great. Leaves a fantastic shine. I wouldn't doubt if it's the same or similar stuff as Plexus and the other more expensive brands use.

 

[Venomized]

Becareful with the simple green. I was cleaning my fairings (on the innerside thankfully) because it had some excess oil from when I made a bonehead move and forgot to put the oil cap back on. I caught it early though. Anyhow, I noticed the paint was bleeding a little bit. So I immediately water it off and just used soap and water. Just pointing out what happened to me over the weekend. Becareful!

 

[ShadowROne]

what are the best mothods of cleaning your bike, does anyone hose down their bikes?? im afriad of rust. also what is the best way to clean the hard to get places on the rims???

I do it the easy way... Hose + car wash + simple green for the rims + towel...
I also like to take the excess water out of the small places with my air compressor if I cant take her out for a spin...

 

[nathanTX]

Simple Green works great for really tough greasy stuff like wheels, sprockets and swingarms. But I have heard of it etching exposed aluminum if left to dry. While it *should* be OK for painted surfaces, I have heard just enough negative stories like the one above to be a little leary of using it all over the bike, or in full strength (mix it to normal not heavy duty cleaning solution level if using the concentrate) and I always follow the simple green up with regular car wash soap.

IMO, Plexus simply sucks. Can't hold a candle to Honda Polish. The proof for me was one time when I was in a Kawasaki dealership (or was it Yamaha?) and they were using Honda Polish with duct tape over the label so no one could tell it was from Honda. By far the best stuff on the market if you want a spray and wipe style cleaner/polish. I use it for in between polishings and use a more traditional (i.e. lenthy application) car polish when she's really getting prettied up.

 

[Fox]

By far the best cleaner I have ever found is Simple Green. You can dilute it with water and spray it on wheels... gets the oil off like a dream.

My method for washing is: spray with water, wipe off with cloth, then spray with Simple Green and wipe, the nwash off again to remove the Simple Green, then carfully dry it until it's spotless.

I have had other riders come up to me and say "Wow, your wheels are really clean, how did you do it?" Seriously.

do not, i repeat DO NOT use simple green to clean your bike. I was a marine corps avation mechanic... we used to use simple green to clean our aircraft. We had very strange problems with Al corrosion. they tested everything they could, and finally they tested the simple green. if you put an ounce of Al halfway immersed in simple green, it loses 25% of its mass in one week. this is very disturbing, especially for an Al intensive bike. wheels specificly would worry me... you have a wheel fracture at speed thats going to be a nasty wreck.

 

[brianmdavis]

Thanks for the input on Simple Green. I use WD-40 on all grease etc... Then use Gold Mcguire's car wash...

Fantastic!

 

[Fox]

rubbing alcohol works well on grease