I never wash my bike. The fucking thing is filthy almost all the time. Spray the mechanical doohickeys with a silicone lubrican't, rinse the rest, and ride. Or just wait for rain.

maybe now that I'm not cleaning bikes I'll keep it cleaner....doubt it but never know

before and after each ride... i like my bike to shine... i'm kinda OCD about it... the little dings and scratches on the bottom side of the lowers really irritate me...

I rubbed my with a microfiber cloth and Honda polish before and after each ride. None of my street bikes ever saw a hose. They just didn't get dirty enough for that.

I don't clean mine bikes nearly as often as people say I should. I ride them a lot though so they tend to be dirty from miles.

My bike got washed today. My housemate was outside washing his car and decided to wash my bike. It took him all of about 10-15 minutes and most of that was spent on the rims. :lol:

She may get another one before the rally. :lol:

I washed it approx. 3 times last year. It's sitting in a garage with mud on the lower and up on the undertail right now.

Gonna try and ride a little less this year. I'll have more time for cleaning it. It's a real shame too, it's so sexy when the rims are cleaned and the white is polished..

I wash mine 2-3 times a year, usually if given the choice of washing it or riding it, I ride it.

Since we're still under drought restrictions, which means no car washing, lawn sprinkling, outdoor plant watering, etc., bathing Baby in the driveway is a no-no. She gets a quick sponge bath before and after riding to get dust, bugs and road grime off. I've thought about taking her to the car wash that has hot water, but not sure I want to hit her with the high pressure spray. Plus, I don't know what's in that pink stuff they advertise as soap.

Honda spray wax and soft towel will wash it up nicely and not violate the water use laws

Thats me. I wash it when I work on it. Thats pretty much it. Oh, I do keep the chain clean tho, for some reason dirt doesnt bother me, but a gunked up chain does.

Hush your mouth, Jennings dirt brings good luck! I didnt wash mine until it all fell off, still have the tires with dirt embedded tho! :lol:

I agree 100%. I wont ever be selling mine, and if she does anything but street and track, she's going straight track. I love her, we play hard, is maintained well other than cleaning and she has "character". (*note: Character = dirt, scratches, a few dings and ZIP TIES! :wink:)

I think its a matter of opinion, I had it, didnt care for it, Honda polish FTW above ICE.

You know, this statement bothers me. How long does it take? 5 or 10 minutes?? People waste hours a day online, but won't take even a bit of time to clean something?? It's just weird to me.

was thinking the same thing

I ONLY wash it when I put something new on. I'm just lazy tho.

The previous owner of the Buell gave me a can of Honda Polish when I bought her. I like the stuff...makes for a quick and easy cleaning.


Good point.

Honda Polish is great, but I don't want to scratch the finish polishing w/dirt and sand that's on the bike. So, safely behind the closed garage door, I'll use a bucket of hot water and a little very diluted simple green or non-ammonia window cleaner to get the dirt to release, then I use the Plexus and a clean soft rag to polish.

You'd think with all of the rain (and now snow) we've received this year that they'd lift some of the restrictions, but not so.

I don't call a spray bottle and a clean rag washing the bike. Washing takes and hr or two. Now if it's clean, and I get some bugs on it, I'll sometimes spray it down. But if it's dirty I use lots of water as I don't want to rub dirt on the black tank and leave scratches.

It's just a waste of time, especially if you wipe down your bike frequently. I used it on my '04 one day and nothing changed. Just a waste of time, money and a waste of quick detailer that you could use just wiping it down normally.

I'm more interested in using the clay bar on my Jeep than the bike.

Go for it. Let me know what happens. I'm willing to bet nothing. But you could just lie to yourself. :idk:

Listen, dick, I'm just looking for some opinions on the shit. I've never used one.

Yeah, let me know the results. Calm down, champ.

Here, watch this, bitch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfEfLGL59GI

Not bad. Thats gonna take some time to do the whole rig.

Do that and then wax it. You really won't notice a difference from just using the bar. After the wax, it should shine real nice though. Not sure if those built-up particles will have long-term affects on your paint though. I'm curious to see how long it'll take before it starts feeling like sand paper again? Proly not too long.

I'm thinking about that Mequiars Tech Wax. You ever used it? I've got a Mequiars Cleaner wax that I use now.

I use Tech Wax 2.0. It's their latest product. I just waxed my truck the other day, and the bike about a week earlier. Works good. Holds the water beading quality for a decent amount of time, too. I also use their latest qucik detailer, "Quick Detailer Plus", or something like that. It's in a black bottle now. They added wax-like properties in it. It doesn't leave a residue or anything still. I only use McGuires products. I tried the Eagle One QD and I had to work harder to get rid of the residue it left. Wasn't bad, but Mcguires has it beat.

I like mequires stuff. Rock solid.

Clay bar is used to take out minor little scuffs, the "sandpaper" feel to the clearcoat, and can be used to remove any foreign materials that are stuck to your paint (ie tar)

It does not replace waxing the vehicle.

When I managed the recon department at the dealership, we charged an extra $50 to claybar a vehicle being cleaned.

and yes, it takes a long damn time to do a whole vehicle

After every ride... I spray it off with this
http://www.getprice.com.au/images/up..._1876086-1.jpg

it'll remove bugs as long as their decently fresh (hence after every ride) but it'll keep your bike look'n pimp and takes all of about 30-60 seconds to do the whole bike...

I only washed my ZZR once... probably would have washed her again after indy with all the rain...

but for daily riding... quick detailer and a microfiber towel is all you need

ehh I've seen a clay bar make all the difference in the world in the right hands... :idk:

depending how clean u keep your shit, clay bar is a waste of alotta time, or a miracle worker.

every month or so and every time after I ride in the rain

Good news. Planning on cleaning the bike tomorrow.

lets just say not as often as I should. I always start out with good intentions of cleaning it on a nice day but with in min. I start thinking of how much more fun I would have taking a ride. so I tell myself Ill take a quick ride and then wash it.... well Im sure I don't need to tell you how that works out most days!

Picked up some Honda polish this weekend. But with the weather looking crappy, doesn't look like I'll have a chance to use it until next week. :panic:

Evidently you know nothing about clay barring.

What do you know. Share your thoughts.

A proper clay barring is like applying an extremely fine wet sanding to your paint. It removes crud and contaminants from the paint surface.

Strip all products off the paint using a soap like lemon dawn, then use a little bit of quick detailer as a lubricant for your clay barring... keep the clay bar lubed so it slides nicely and work around the vehicle.

If you run the back of your hand over a clay barred and non clay barred section and you can tell me it's a waste of your time and money, then you're either Helen Keller or just plain stupid.

You will notice as you go that the clay bar starts getting discolorations on it and such. That is the crap you're pulling out of the pits and craters in your paint that contaminants and acids and stuff have etched into it, and you're 'sanding' it smooth. Just keep kneading/folding the clay occasionally to keep the part of the clay touching the paint fresh.

After clay barring the paint is truly 'naked' and perfectly smooth. Now you lay down your protection. Lay down some wax, then some polish on top.

That's how you get the magazine look where the paint looks wet and you can see deep into it.

I'm gonna do this to my Jeep when the weather is a little nicer...and I actually have a day to do it.

never use the back of your hand to "feel" anything. whether its bodywork, color sanding, runs, anything paint related, i see u use the back of your hand, your opinion is now useless. use your the palm of your hand.

anywho, i helped a friend clay bar a car, and yea it felt incredibly smooth and looked gd, but it didnt feel any smoother than the paint job i had on my bike at the time, and it didnt look quite as "wet" as my bike. the paint jobs were about the same age, but i took way better care of mine. clay bar isnt always needed to get a magazine worthy shine.

edit-but from what id gather marko, if u took the time to do it on your car-u would be happy with the results based on your climate and the fact your jeep doesnt get pampered like your buell...

I actually meant more the backs/tops of your fingers. They are very sensitive. I should have clarified.

No it sure doesn't get pampered like the Buell. Although I do take care of it. I wash it often and wax it about once a year....but certainly not to the extent of the bike.

Just washed parts of the bike as I was putting the rear wheel on.

Whoever says it takes 10 minutes to wash a bike has never washed mine. With the wheels off, it still takes about 30 minutes to clean just one...

Just one what? Wheel? The trick is to wipe down your bike frequently so you don't have caked up shit on it when you go to clean it.

Buell wheels are a pain to clean. Takes time to get it done right.

really? I thought the buell ones would be simple... you only have one roater on the front... the rear may be a little tougher but can't see them being that hard :idk:

especially since it's belt drive so you don't have to worry about keeping the rag clear of the dirt and grime on the chain and sprocket...

It's not getting at the wheel that is the prob (although the rear is harder than that of my SV) but more the texture of the paint. it's very porus and holds the dirt and shit.

Also...the nooks and crannies.

Like thomas' english muffins? :lol:

Just like that.

What the fuck.

Nooks and crannies, nooks and crannies........

One wheel. I didn't write that very clearly. Sitting on the ground in front of me, it takes 30 minutes to get around all the "spokes". And don't even get me started on cleaning the fins on the engine....

That brings up another question... HOW CLEAN DO YOU CLEAN IT? For me... Get the bug intestine and road grim off and I'm good. But it'll always look used... Wouldn't have it any other way

Marko, Dlit, walk us through the steps and products that you use in cleaning your bikes.

Cleaning it is getting the all the visible dirty, tar, bugs and other nasties off of it. And then polish.

I wipe the bugs off the flyscreen, lights, and mirrors all the time. I'll hose down any mud under the fender. That's not "cleaning". That's like doing your windows at a gas station. It makes it cleaner, but you didn't wash it.