Bath Time For The FJR

[FJRocket]

Quarter car wash and about $5. If the wheels are bad, I use wheel cleaner and a mit. Then go to the quarter wash. Love that spotless rinse.

It ain't a Harley, you know!

 

[Centerline]

S100 is absolutely magical stuff. Just make sure bike is COOL. I spray it on all over and under. Next Mr. Clean Auto-dry carwash with the hose. Takes maybe 15-25 minutes altogether, then about 5 minutes with the leafblower. Results absolutely phenomenal!!!

McGuires wax products.

 

[JREW]

Quarter car wash and about $5. If the wheels are bad, I use wheel cleaner and a mit. Then go to the quarter wash. Love that spotless rinse.

Careful on the high pressure car wash. They will force water into the bearing. If you have ever broken down a bike to replace the swing arm bearings, you will be amazed at the amount of crap that is in there. The high pressure is great for getting the dirt off of hard to reach spots, but be careful with the bearings.

 

[nusman68]

1) Don't wash bike yet

2) Ride bike to Houston, scoring Iron Butt points along the way

3) Take bike to local Harley dealer on a Saturday (where all bikes are welcome) when the Hooters girls are washing bikes

4) Stand back & enjoy the view, take many digital photos to share with your FJR brothers

5) If your wife is reading this now, disregard steps 1 - 4. :dribble:

 

[thelew]

First post on the forum. Nice job.

Anyway, I found a product called Rejex. It is made for the aviation industry and is supposed the be very slick, making bugs hard to stick. Did the bike and the bugs come right off with a detail spray. It is a lengthy process. Put it on, wait twenty minutes, take it off. let it cure for twekve hours. Something to do on a rainy day. It has a great gloss ( rub out all scratches first as it is just a polish) . Supposed to last 6 months. I like it. You can use it on the windshield too. Goes on and off real easy.

thelew

B)

 

[Claymore]

As per a poster's testimonial (TWN? Radman? I am too lazy to look it up), I have been using Meguiar's Tech Wax - not only does it shine up well and easy, the bugs come off easily with just water. And I have had then slathered - recently found a swarm of dragonflies - yuccchhhh!

One important note - obviously the bike has to be cool - if you are using a hose at all - cover the ends of the exhaust with plastic bags - you definately do not want to fill your jugs with H2O....

 

[Toecutter]

Usually I just get a bucket of water and a clean mitt, wipe with wet mitt and towel dry. About fifteen minutes and it looks pretty clean. Of course, it's probably a lot harder to get away with on them blue ones.

 

[teerex51]

Too bad they didn't have little buckets filled with soapy water and little sponges!

TWN,

It's a known fact ants can be trained... :agent:

Termites, on the other hand, can be difficult.

Stef

 

[brazos parker]

+1 on the Meguiar's Tech Wax...makes the faster '05's even faster as the air just "slips" by! :haha:

 

[SoCalMike]

When using a blow dryer on your bike get an electric one. I've read on my car forums that the gas blowers tend to mix exhaust gases into the airstream and that some may leave a residue (I've never seen this myself but thought I'd pass that info along).

Also, get a "California Duster" to help keep the bike clean between washes. It's excellent for removing loose dust on painted surfaces.

 

[XLR8]

https://motorcyclebloggers.com/2005/07/26/g...-riders-wisely/

The Motul bike wash stuff is similar to s100 and works just as well if not better. I also use Extreme Simple Green for aircraft and it does not corrode aluminum. It's not on the market yet but will be soon. I got a huge free sample off their website. I don't think they realize they have a motorbike market.

Ditto on the Cali Duster. Priceless in a arid climate.

-r

 

[OrangevaleFJR]

Somewhere I read about a product that is good at getting melted boot sole marks off the pipes. I're prefer not to scratch my pipes all to %&^$, and the darn rubber marks aren't coming off :-(

Help?

 

[daviddowns2000]

In addition to the stuff mentioned by others, I use several cheap paintbrushes of different sizes to get into crevices, etc. I wrap the metal collars on the brushes with duct tape to prevent damaging any finishes. I don't have a leaf blower so I use a shopvac with the airflow reversed to dry off the big puddles before warming the engine up to finish drying things off. A crevice tool for the shopvac would be great, but I don't have one and it works pretty well anyway. Be sure the cannister and hoses of the shopvac are clean before using it on the bike (don't ask!).

 

[Toynut]

Try these for corking your exhaust pipes while washing/storage. You can get them at stores that sell dirt bike/Motocross equipment. About $5.00 each, and they fit multiple size outlets(no jokes please).

 

[Tim05fjr]

Here's a quick tip for those on the road clean ups.

When traveling and you get a windshield and front fairing full of bugs, Take one of your large towels from motel room and soak it in hot water. Then lay it on the shield for a few minutes. The bugs and grime will soften up and wipe away clean.

Just make sure the motel staff doesn't see you doing it. :angry:

Tim

 

[OrangevaleFJR]

For the aluminum pipes and cans: Mothers "Incredible Billet Metal Polish" I used this today and the aluminum pipes that led into the cans were previously discolored. The polish cleaned them up really fast and really well...pipes and cans look great!

 

[jestal]

del

 

[islandcommuter]

The last couple of times my bike got washed the wife did it.

Talk about tips and techniques... how the hell did you manage that???

 

[OrangevaleFJR]

Somewhere I read about a product that is good at getting melted boot sole marks off the pipes. I're prefer not to scratch my pipes all to %&^$, and the darn rubber marks aren't coming off :-(
Help?

K...still looking for the answer to this one

 

[TestPilot]

If you have a leaf blower, use it to dry it off. Make sure you blow the water out of the radiator. Also makes very quick work of blowing water out of the screws and other tight spots.

Heard someone do this with his Vacuum Mulcher/Leaf Blower. When reversed to blow, all he did was put a fine layer of dust and leaf debris back on the wet bike. I use compressed air - carefully.