10 tips to clean your motorbike
The good weather arrives there is nothing worse than being seen riding a motorbike very dirty. The question of dignity, no? We can have black nails and forget to brush our teeth but ride a motorcycle dirty, no. The question of priorities.
Certainly, if your machine sleeps under a tarp in a heated garage, placed on a thick carpet, it is probably in the same condition as when you saw it for the first time, in the window of the dealer. But for a few privileged, how many motorcycles face the elements and sleep outside, sometimes in the rain and in the cold?
In addition to the pleasure of having a nickel machine, a clean machine is more resistant to the ravages of time, because oxidation is a chemical process that does not take RTT. The application of protective products repels even these deadlines. Finally, a clean motorbike allows you to better see, quickly, any leak or failure and remedy it before it is too late; this allows to optimize the maintenance of the bike.
Here are some motorbike cleaning tips
1. Start the degreaser
We’re not going to play it big fat: if we clean this bike, we clean it completely. Now, there is a painful part to clean, these are the wheels, even more, side crutch if you have the secondary chain on the left. There, no miracles start by softening or even dissolving, all the beautiful layer of dirt aggregated in good thick chain fat. How? By specific products, degreasers, that we apply, not with an old slip without future, but with a microfiber glove.
2. No high-pressure lance
A favorite tool of a former heel chair (and with a few nervous tics at the shoulders), the high-pressure lance is not necessarily recommended for washing a motorbike. If it’s perfect for cleaning cement, the paint on your bike and the thin stickers may not like it. In addition, the pressure can force water to go where it should not go. Corrosion is not the only enemy of your bike: when we see how certain circuits are made, we say that the Kutcher will not remove the problems, but attract them. Same for the wheel and steering bearings, as well as the secondary chain.
And if in spite of everything, you want to wash at high pressure, avoid especially the jet on the saddle. The water then gets to pass through to clog the underlying foam which will break down faster than in time.
You may also like to read: 5 Ways to Save Money on Annual Car Maintenance
3. Favor the freshness: the water and the bike, they are cold
If you come back from an off-road trail, you’ll be surprised to find that the mud goes much better with cold water than with hot water. It’s chemical …
Similarly, it is tempting to wash his bike directly after a ride. As it is done, we are quiet and we just have to put on the couch to look. And yet, that’s not a good idea. The metal parts expand with the heat and if it is cooled suddenly, it will contract too quickly, which will first damage the surface treatments, then eventually weaken them. This is even more true for classic motorcycle exhausts, covered with a thin layer of chrome.
4. Do not wash your motorbike in full sun
Even if it’s nicer, do not wash a motorbike in the sun. And even less a bike that has remained many hours in full sun. Simply because a paint that has heated becomes less resistant and could be more easily scored micro scratches. Similarly, if you rinse your motorcycle badly, traces of soap can be difficult to make go on the painted sections.
5. Only use products dedicated to the motorcycle
You have some “special curly hair” shampoo? Well, it’s a bad idea to think about finishing it on your tank. Use products dedicated to the motorcycle that contains elements that do not attack the parts where they must be affixed.
6. Use a soft, damp cloth
Assuming that the dust is very fine particles and that if you crush them with a dry cloth, it will scratch. So, either you are nostalgic of the 33 laps (but bravo if you get the same regularity of the line), a soft and slightly moistened cloth will allow you to avoid these indelible traces. And as long as you’re manic, you can use two containers to rinse: one for dirt, the other for soap. That way, you do not rectangle the mud you just removed. It’s not Nutella, either.
7. Do not let the water stay in the hollow parts
Already in “The Big Blue”, Jacques Mayol said it: the water, it makes rust. So, you do not want to wash your bike and then, when you have the feeling of a job well done, let an insidious evil gnaw inside. So, to prevent water from getting inside the exhausts, for example, one solution: start the engine and turn it a little. You may even see some steam evaporate. This is proof that you did well.
8. A good wax to finish
To shine permanently, finish with a wax that you apply with the appropriate small pad. Again, no wax for pumps or floors even if it smells good honey bee. But one made for metal surfaces.
Tips: wash your bike well, gently
9. Lubricate after washing
You will think to lubricate the essential elements once the bike is washed and dried. A little kick in the cables and around the crutch pins, for example, it can not hurt. And do not forget the chain, possibly after a short walk of a few kilometers, because the grease will be better absorbed on a hot chain.
10. The minimum service between two large washes
You can spend two hours properly cleaning your bike and it’s not necessarily something you can do often. So, the key is to keep your machine at a “presentable” level during these intervals. Remove the mosquitoes after each big trip, rather than let them dry forever. Regularly pass a protective layer of silicone. That’s the way to keep a long bike presentable and in good condition.
Now you fully prepare to next ride !!