How often do you clean/wash/detail your bike?

Yamerhaw · 02-16-2009, 02:11 PM

Just wondering, mine stays pretty much spotless and very shiny, even the wheels, usually unless its dark when i get home from riding, i wash and dry it, i figure i paid good hard earned money for it, might as well take care of it, i usually just ride it on the weekends, so sometime during the work week, its gonna probably be detailed, just about every week, i just enjoy doing it and like having a sharp looking bike

ZUKIMON · 02-16-2009, 02:48 PM

You do keep a clean looking ride! I keep mine semi clean. It's pretty dirty now, like I told you, as it has been sitting in two different basements this winter with no time to clean it. ...........I know, that's no excuse.........

fnfalman · 02-16-2009, 02:54 PM

I clean mine when something impairs functions.

Cutty72 · 02-16-2009, 02:55 PM

Mine generally looks like it gets ridden every day, hard, often in the rain, on sometimes muddy roads.

Wash it once a month or so... maybe more now that I should have more free time with my new job.

DLIT · 02-16-2009, 03:01 PM

I wipe it down before every ride. I try to anyways. That includes the wheels too. Clean wheels are the final key to a clean bike. People roll around on clean ass bikes, but their wheels have 6 months of brake dust and crap on 'em and it kills me. Every chance I get, I tell/show buddies what I use to keep my bike clean.

I never wash with soap and water. Before I get into it, I gotta take pics of what I use and I'll post them up later...

Here's an example of what my old R6 looked like w/ 12,000+ miles on it.

JoJoYZF · 02-16-2009, 03:12 PM

Since my bikes previous owner didnt seem to keep it all that clean, I dont worry about it as much. When I got it the wheels had spots on them that wont come off, the exhaust had spots on it and it had minor scratches. Once I get a new bike that can be kept looking clean a little easier, Im sure I will since I get OCD about it.

Cutty72 · 02-16-2009, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoJoYZF

Since my bikes previous owner didnt seem to keep it all that clean, I dont worry about it as much. When I got it the wheels had spots on them that wont come off, the exhaust had spots on it and it had minor scratches. Once I get a new bike that can be kept looking clean a little easier, Im sure I will since I get OCD about it.

I thought I'd be the same way with my Buell... but I'd rather ride than clean, so it doesn't stay near as clean as I originally thought.

Mrs. Colleen · 02-16-2009, 03:29 PM

I do not clean it very often...usually when my husband tells me it is really dirty.

I do usually wipe down the sides of the tank after every ride because dirt collects there...but I just wipe it with my hand and call it a day.

If I had a new bike with perfect paint and all that I would probably keep it cleaner...but honestly I figure the less I wash it the less chance I have of a star coming loose.

Archren · 02-16-2009, 03:48 PM

I wash mine once in a blue moon.

I really should be better about it.. but I haven't ridden it as much as I could, and with the cold, I didn't have the motivation (until Friday afternoon) to wash it. It's pretty clean now, but I need something to make getting in those nooks and crannies a lot easier.

marko138 · 02-16-2009, 03:55 PM

I'm with the mighty DLIT and Yamerhaw...I keep my shit proper. I paid good money for my rig and I want it to look good. I clean before and after every ride. Sometimes with Honda Polish...or when it's really dirty I'll get the soap and bucket out.

02-16-2009, 02:11 PM	#1
Yamerhaw Country Boy Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Hicktown in NC Moto: 07 R1 Posts: 797	How often do you clean/wash/detail your bike? Just wondering, mine stays pretty much spotless and very shiny, even the wheels, usually unless its dark when i get home from riding, i wash and dry it, i figure i paid good hard earned money for it, might as well take care of it, i usually just ride it on the weekends, so sometime during the work week, its gonna probably be detailed, just about every week, i just enjoy doing it and like having a sharp looking bike __________________ “If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason.” It takes a big man to cry, but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man. Last edited by Yamerhaw; 02-16-2009 at 02:13 PM..

02-16-2009, 02:54 PM	#3
fnfalman Europhile Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: SoCal Moto: Aprilia RS125, Aprilia SR50 Factory, Aprilia Tuono, BMW Rockster, KTM 990 Adventure Posts: 1,875	I clean mine when something impairs functions. __________________ *Cogito Ergo Vroom - I think therefore I ride*

02-16-2009, 03:01 PM	#5
DLIT Clit Commander Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Las Vegas Moto: 2012 Ducati 1199 Panigale S Posts: 4,189	I wipe it down before every ride. I try to anyways. That includes the wheels too. Clean wheels are the final key to a clean bike. People roll around on clean ass bikes, but their wheels have 6 months of brake dust and crap on 'em and it kills me. Every chance I get, I tell/show buddies what I use to keep my bike clean. I never wash with soap and water. Before I get into it, I gotta take pics of what I use and I'll post them up later... Here's an example of what my old R6 looked like w/ 12,000+ miles on it. __________________ Dress for the crash. Not the ride. Last edited by DLIT; 02-16-2009 at 03:04 PM..

02-16-2009, 03:48 PM	#9
Archren Sham WOW Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: ATX Moto: 2007 Ducati 1098 Posts: 2,741	I wash mine once in a blue moon. I really should be better about it.. but I haven't ridden it as much as I could, and with the cold, I didn't have the motivation (until Friday afternoon) to wash it. It's pretty clean now, but I need something to make getting in those nooks and crannies a lot easier. __________________ Photography "The Vincent was like a bullet that went straight; the Ducati is like the magic bullet that went sideways and hit JFK and the Governor of Texas at the same time. It was impossible." - Hunter S. Thompson, Song of the Sausage Creature "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." -Dr. Seuss

02-16-2009, 02:48 PM	#2
ZUKIMON Is this thing on? Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Ashe Co, NC (Near Boone) Moto: '01, 929RR Posts: 398	You do keep a clean looking ride! I keep mine semi clean. It's pretty dirty now, like I told you, as it has been sitting in two different basements this winter with no time to clean it. ...........I know, that's no excuse.........

02-16-2009, 03:12 PM	#6
JoJoYZF Bring on the Zombies! Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Cleveland Moto: 2000 Yamaha YZF600R Posts: 2,691	Since my bikes previous owner didnt seem to keep it all that clean, I dont worry about it as much. When I got it the wheels had spots on them that wont come off, the exhaust had spots on it and it had minor scratches. Once I get a new bike that can be kept looking clean a little easier, Im sure I will since I get OCD about it.