Bath Time For The FJR

[Carl]

Greetings,

I've just returned from a 600 mile road trip across Washington State and I now have a motorcycle with 1300 miles on it along with a fine collection of dead bugs and dust. I've used various products on my other bikes and vehicles in the past ranging from car soap to dish washing liquid, carnauba wax and so on. My results have been mixed.

Since this will be my new bike's first bath, I was hoping some of you veterans would give me your take on the process.

What are you favorite cleaning products and techniques? Do you do anything special to detail your bike? Do you finish with a wax, and if so, what parts of the bike do you wax?

Thanks in advance. All responses are appreciated.

Carl

 

[smitty141]

Bucket of soapy water, a hose, a wash mitt and get busy.. you can't hurt it. Just hose the heavy dirt off first. If it is really dirty, get some S-100 cleaner to spray on those hard to reach area's. Just be sure not to let it dry on your bike. And never spray it on a hot bike..and hose it off real good. I wash mine after every ride, never had any problems hosing it down...Good Luck..

 

[Captain Obvious]

Yeah, my advice is to come over here, and practice on mine. It might take a couple of practices to get to the point of being confident to do your own. I'll supply the soap, bucket, mit and water.

B)

 

[Thug]

As above...plus a truck wash let it sit for a while the longer the better. Re activate it with a light spray of water and let it sit for another 15 to 20 munites and then rinse thoroughly! do not let any residue. And of course elbow grease!

 

[penguin1300]

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.

 

[RTSR1/FJR]

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.

You stole my trick! lol Been doing that for years!

 

[JREW]

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.

Now I like that idea. I also use a soft tooth brush and small bottle brush to get into the little spots. The last couple of times my bike got washed the wife did it. She's not as detailed as I would like, but the level of effort on my part is perfect. Lazy ass can't be complaining.

 

[Old Dog]

Also, Dry it off pretty good and start it up and go for a long enough ride to dry up any hidden puddles. S100 spray wash is good stuff. My last bike went six years with never being touched by a wash mitt and it looked great.

 

[fjrupnorth]

While at Laguna Seca for the MotoGP this summer I noticed that the factory teams use a thick 4 inch paint brush to clean difficult to reach parts.

When I got home I sprayed the exposed mechanical parts of my FJR with S100, worked at it with the paint brush and then rinsed everything clean. I think it looks cleaner now than when the bike was new.

 

[escapefjrtist]

Stay away from the dish soap...strips the wax off really nice. Stick with a good car detergent and soak those bugs off. If you have any stubborn tar on the bottom parts and wheels, use WD-40 to take it off, following with soap and a quick wax.

--G

 

[Woodstock]

You could also just use my idea, although I admit to not being the first to think of it...

Just leave the bike dirty.

 

[TWILKIN650]

I agree with what everyone else said...

In addition here is a summary of things to consider from our Beemer brothers:

https://www.ibmwr.org/clean/index.html

They are just about as obsessive as we are.

 

[Getsum]

I use a CycleFiber cloth to wipe it down after short rides and then I use Plexus and S100 when I give it a full wash. The blower trick is sheer genius, I'm gonna do that next time I do a full wash.

The CycleFiber is pretty cool, you just wet it water and ring it out, then wipe off your bike.

 

[Thug]

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.

Me too! works great!

 

[Toynut]

Lot's of good ideas here.. Plexus, S100 high quality wash mitt, leaf blower.

I would add two more....

I use the Mr. Clean Autodry system to wash, soap and rinse off the bike with practically no water spots, (cheaper than S100).

I've been using the new Megiars Tech Wax for a phenominal wet look, particularily on the 05 bikes. There are others on the forum who also rave about it.

Good luck and have plenty of fresh terry cloth or microfiber towels available.

P.S. Everything but the wax is available at your friendly Costco superstore in large packages....so stock up now. B)

 

[roadrash]

Me, I go to a biker bar with lots of harleys. They get drunk and piss on my bike, (good to get road grime and bugs off). I flip them off and drive like hell to dry.

 

[Woodstock]

Me, I go to a biker bar with lots of harleys. They get drunk and piss on my bike, (good to get road grime and bugs off). I flip them off and drive like hell to dry.

LMAO :haha:

 

[twowheelnut]

The bike sat most all week as I needed the cage for work. So I popped open the garage door yesterday to do my maintenance and I notice this line of ants running toward the front tire of the bike where it terminated. WTF? Where'd the ants go? So I went on over and stooped down to see if the ants were disappearing into a crack or hole in the concrete floor... What the?! The little *******s are climbing up my tire and are swarming the front of the bike! They were after all the dead bugs from my ride last weekend! Bless their little hearts! Too bad they didn't have little buckets filled with soapy water and little sponges!

 

[valetz]

What are you favorite cleaning products and techniques? Do you do anything special to detail your bike?
Thanks in advance. All responses are appreciated.

Carl

Wait for rain.... Go for Ride...