How often do you wash your bike?

[OfficerImpersonator]

I get flak all the time about having a "dirty" bike. My all-white RT-P sure shows the slightest bit of dirt, but I don't care. A dirty bike (within reason) is a bike that's used and loved.

How about you? Shine and polish all the time or don't give a damn?

[Voni]

Ride it!

Voni
sMiling

[Rapid_Roy]

Whenever it rains when I am riding it.:thumb

[GlobalRider]

I get flak all the time about having a "dirty" bike.

And I get it for having a clean bike (unless I'm on the road for a month). Ahhh, they're just envious and lazy.

[26667]

I had to check clean as a whistle just beacuse mine's been up on the lift so much this summer and my work (sorry to use that word on this forum) sched' has been so slammed, the only dirt I'm getting is dust. I've spent so many night-time hours out waiting for the dog to pee, there's not much to do but wipe off that dust or that little bit of corrosion while I stand and admire it in the garage.:violin

But 'The old Farmeres Almanac' says we're in for a warm winter so maybe I can get it nice and dirty for a long winter of wiping and planning.

[BubbaZanetti]

Ride it!

Voni
sMiling



for the past month i've been taking the exact opposite approach. it's been in my parents garage, up in new england, all nice and clean under a cover:banghead

[mandypants]

I've washed mine once since I've owned it, with a few spot cleanings here and there.

My bike thinks it's a GS...

[dancogan]

I love cleaning it. Love checking it over to make sure everything's tight and nothing's leaking, and I enjoy riding it when most of the bugs and road tar have been washed away. But I'd rather ride than wash, so it isn't spotless! :dance

[tessler]

The dealer washes and details it everytime I bring it in :)

[larrydk]

I don't like a dirty bike, but I'd rather ride than wash

[cobermark1]

When it is dirty :thumb

[17butler]

The more my knuckles get scared up from washing it, the less I wash. Alas, the washer just started. it is raining!

[AirForce]

I ride a GS, live 1 mile down a dirt road, and commute 65 miles a day. Still, it gets washed every couple of weeks. Yeah, I know, sign of a sick mind. But I can't help it, I feel better when my bike (truck, lawnmower, chainsaw) is clean.

[tourunigo]

While I don't spend much time washing (the bike), I do find that taking time to clean the bike gives you some good up close 'n' personal time with the machine. Time to slowly and methodically observe, adjust, repair, etc as required. -Bob

[AirForce]

C'mon Mandy, you should be able to get your significant other to wash it for you!!:rofl

I've washed mine once since I've owned it, with a few spot cleanings here and there.

My bike thinks it's a GS...

[jenunn]

I think the best part of this post was on the MOA home page under "Latest Forum Posts" it read ....How Often Do You Wash Your..............

I was disappointed when I opened the thread and the last word was "bike". I though we were getting into something racy here.

[BubbaZanetti]

The dealer washes and details it everytime I bring it in :)

pfft, typical new yorker:)

[d_day_6]

I hate washing my bike..(is that considered a hate crime?) But the times I do, which is infrequent, I use the time wisely and look things over real good.

When it is nice enough to wash it and I am standing in the driveway, I ALWAYS ax myself.......Do I wanna wash it today, or do I wanna ride it today? Nuff said.

[bubbagazoo]

I voted for the second choice -- when it's dirty but I'm not anal retentive about it. The bigger issue for me is -- define dirty. From mid-May to the end of August, I will wash the front of my bike on a weekly basis to get rid of the dead bugs. Other than that, it really doesn't collect dirt. I suppose in the next couple of weeks, I will have to give my motorcycle its pre-winter bath. But I expect to ride at least two weeks after that. :brad

[Mongo]

More in the winter than in the summer but Generally speaking every 2 to 4 weeks. More towards every 2 in the winter and spring, 4 in the summer and fall.

[rkasal]

I grew up on a farm with a gravel road. I always keep my cars and bikes clean and promptly touch-up any paint areas. Keeping them clean not only helps them last longer but also "makes" me inspect as I clean. Finding one loose beamer engine bolt last month was a benefit of this habit. Plus, if any ever develop a leak, I'll see it quicker regardless of the garage floor.

Regards,


Randy Kasal

[tessler]

I grew up on a farm with a gravel road. I always keep my cars and bikes clean and promptly touch-up any paint areas. Keeping them clean not only helps them last longer but also "makes" me inspect as I clean. Finding one loose beamer engine bolt last month was a benefit of this habit. Plus, if any ever develop a leak, I'll see it quicker regardless of the garage floor.

Regards,


Randy Kasal
+1 :thumb Complimentary Beer coupon for Mr. Kasal at the next National. :)

ps: This quote should be prominently featured in the next ON, too.

[tessler]

pfft, typical new yorker:)

Nah... The following is typical New Yorker...

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/41B350VKXKL._AA280_.jpg

[535is]

Nah... The following is typical New Yorker...

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/41B350VKXKL._AA280_.jpg
... not to mention 9 runs down. :lol

[tessler]

... not to mention 9 runs down. :lol
They got Rocked, bro, I can tell you that.

We were watching in a bar on the West Side and Bubba Zanetti really drew attention to himself by standing up every 3minutes and doing the Tomahawk Chop.

[From MARS]

Before every multiday ride. That's been working out to every couple of weeks. I use the time to check everything and clear the radiators and oil cooler (K12RS). When I leave on a trip, she's spotless.

Tom

[hondarider]

I was just thinking about this very topic today. I have a bunch of motorcycles and I've always kept them meticulously clean...even my dirtbikes and quads get a thorough cleaning after very ride. But the GS doesn't look right when it's all sparkly and clean...when I first bought it, I polished all the shiny surfaces, waxed all the painted surfaces, and replaced anything that showed even the slightest blemish...I made it better than new...but it didn't really make it any more attractive to look at. Then I took it for a 300 mile loop one day. I cam home with mud on the panniers, bug guts on the windshield and hand guards, whole insects packed into the oil cooler, road spray on the engine, bluing on the pipes, dirt on the rims, and road dust on the paralever. It was filthy. And it looked better than new. It's hard to explain...but this bike looks so much better dirty...the GS wears the "patina of travel" with pride. I can't bring myself to wash it...I want to see just how dirty I can get it...then I'll do it this winter when I'm tackling routine maintenance and then I'll start the process over in the Spring...I guess I like my bike like I like my women...dirty:thumb

[terham]

Why wash it? It's just going to get dirty again. It's why I don't make my bed - I'm just going to sleep in it again. It at least makes sense to me.:dunno

[Cliffy777]

The guys at my local dealership give me grief because I don't wash the bike enough. Dang.
This year I started using that Bom stuff with micro-fiber cloths. Works really well and I am a happy camper.

[YELLOW_S]

I think I ride a GS, even though its a R1100S, I havn't cleaned it for two months. It needs a shower bad... :hungover

[rinty]

Washing a bike is a lot more work than washing a car, because of all the surfaces, so I tend to leave leave it for weeks at a time.

Rinty

[CustomSarge]

Nun (sic) of the above. But completely inline ::: GOD washes my bike (the LTX..anyway). Occasionally, I assist His efforts on the LTX, but He leaves the HR & KS up to me.... but I appreciate it all. TNX BigGuy... <<<)))

[Paul_F]

Before leaving on and returning from a rally or a trip I wash the bike (plus once at a car wash after sliding up a gravel Colorado road) . I guess that makes fifteen times so far this year. Of course after each intense ride, I wash the bugs off the windshield and front faring. This week I stayed with a Gold Wing friend in N.C. who accused me of being like all of the other beemer riders that he knows who never wash their bikes. He got me to buy some stuff that will not only keeps the rims shiny, but clean for months. I'll put the first coat on tomorrow to find out if the stuff really works. I have a least one more trip left in me so I guess that's two more washes for this season, plus the winter prep wash.

After reading the detailing article last fall, I have polished and waxed the bike twice since putting the bike on the road on April 1st. Actually before reading that article, I never washed or waxed before. Is this too much cleaning? Will it diminish the life of the bike? It always looks dirty to my friends. Oh, I have yet to touch up the scratches from my 0 mph drops. Does that count towards not being too anal?

When I stop riding for the season, I plan on washing the two cars for the first time this year. God takes care of them.

[BubbaZanetti]

I think I ride a GS, even though its a R1100S, I havn't cleaned it for two months. It needs a shower bad... :hungover

but do you ride it off road?? it really "comes into it's own" there.......lol


also, look its CLIFFY!~!!!!!!

[RandallIsland]

There is no chrome for a reason.
Ride, ride, ride...

I think the best part of this post was on the MOA home page under "Latest Forum Posts" it read ....How Often Do You Wash Your..............

I was disappointed when I opened the thread and the last word was "bike". I though we were getting into something racy here.

ehhumm

[The_Veg]

When I do feel the urge to wash it, I go to one of those coin-operated U-hose-it sort of car-wash places. That gets it really clean in just a few minutes, so I don't really lose any riding-time. If you have an airhead, the fluorescent green stuff really gets the oil-stains off.

[flgoff]

My 650 GS, put on the road new May16, now has 13000+ miles on it. After a recent weekend of riding many miles of red dirt roads in Arkansas, I had to spend a couple of hours trying to get that red dust off . . . the bike came out pretty good, but the tank bag and attached panniers will apparently never really be black again . . . I kind of like that rusty brown patina anyway. At age 73 I'm too damned old to be wasting riding time to wash a bike . . . besides, the caked dust lets the techies know where to look for oil leaks!

[BradfordBenn]

I wash it/towel it off every couple of weeks when I am riding so that like others have said, I can find leaks and loose stuff. Not like I would know what to do if I found something.

Speaking of which I do have something to post about how to fix something...

[rgvilla]

[QUOTE=tessler;245879]They got Rocked, bro, I can tell you that.

GO INDIANS!!!!

[sonnata]

Almost never. If the windshield & front fairing gets too buggy for me, I might lay some old terrycloth towels on it & soak them with a hose. 5 minutes later, the bugs come right off.

[wezul]

Uh . . . . whenever it needs it?!
NEXT!

[rottenbiker]

why wash when you can ride?

[crazydrummerdude]

I've washed the R75 once in 3 years..

I sprayed down the R90 once in 3 months..

The other bikes get cleaned when we have to scrape the dirt away to get to a broken part.. but I wouldn't quite call it "washing."