How do you wash your bike on trips?

[greenwald]

I don't want to stir anything up but one of the things that I've been told by motel owner's about motorcycles guests is the use of their towels to clean their motorcycles. The oil and grease is hard to wash out and in many cases they have to throw away the towels.. What I do is carry a micro fiber wash cloth in a zip lock bag in glove compartment (12RT) use at gas stations to soak off bugs from windscreen. At motels use ice tray with plastic liner,warm water. I try to mention at check in so they know I'm not destroying their linen. Many times I've been told that BMW riders are most welcome back and they hate the loud H-D crowd and neither do most of their guests.

Note: Kevin you wouldn't have time to stop at the Land of Oz rally would you?

OK - Old Dog here willing to learn new tricks. I will ask for cleaning rags at the 6 different motels we will be staying at, but first time I get grief, I'm back to using company linen. We'll see how it goes. [/QUOTE]

OK - confession time. Every motel that was asked did provide rags for us to use. Not so much that we were 'washing' the bikes as just keeping essential surfaces (windshields, auxl. lights, headlights and tail/signal lamps) clear of bugs and dirt - can become a safety issue, rather than vanity.

I will no longer soil the pristine towels from my room.

FYI - there are presently thousands of starving birds in South Dakota, as my two buddies and I apparently killed off every bug between Sioux Falls and the Black Hills!

[tommcgee]

I keep these in the tank bag for faceshield, windscreen, and bike lenses: http://www.windex.com/en-US/Products...ass-wipes.aspx

[22600]

I really feel embarrassed now; I've never washed my bike on a trip. I do usually ride through rain. Does that count?