Cleaning

First topic message reminder :

Hello peeps,

I was just wondering what your cleaning regimes are (Rosco, you're exempt from this topic! :p)

I've been riding mine in slightly dirtier/wetter weather recently due to doing my IAM course - cant do it just on dry sunny days unfortunately.

Naturally, Kitty is getting dirty.

How do you guys and girls clean your bikes when they're dirty? Down pipes etc, hard to reach areas etc?

My bikes been treated professionally with ACF50 but I still worry.
Im thinking of getting some SDOC100 but worried it would remove the ACF50.

My current regime is:

Hose
Very Mild Snow Foam
Rinse
2 Bucket Wash
Rinse
Dry
Retreat more exposed areas with ACF50 such as bolts etc.

Regards

Mike

mikeyzf600 wrote:

My bikes been treated professionally with ACF50 but I still worry.

Who did it, All Year Biker? Might be an idea to ask the co who applied it.

All year Biker did mine, they have their own rage of cleaners, so could be biased into getting you to buy theirs though.

SteveCat wrote:

mikeyzf600 wrote:

My bikes been treated professionally with ACF50 but I still worry.

Who did it, All Year Biker? Might be an idea to ask the co who applied it.

All year Biker did mine, they have their own rage of cleaners, so could be biased into getting you to buy theirs though.

Yeh All Year Biker. Have emailed the bloke who did it but so far no reply. When he did it I was impressed with their products but weren't available to the public at the time. Plus I imagine they're quite potent to get the bike as clean as possible before application.

Think my spring time/salt free time plan is to remove the fairings, degrease/clean with muc off/Sdoc100, snow foam, rinse, dry, polish downpipes, scrub at any rust and reapply ACF50 by hand. Then clean fairings inside and out, then wax and polish the whole bike. Then in October time get AYB to treat it again.

SteveCat wrote:How do you normally clean your bike Tom?

TomCom wrote:clean bike with petrol? are you serious? . . . i clean it down with soup and water? where i can get that round brush?

Rosco wrote:I'm gonna try mulligatawny I think.

Snowcat wrote:I think batchelors do a great "cream of simoniz" !!

Gotta be local produce and recipe:- Cullen Skink

i crash bike last 3 years around september and get new one after february. so i didnt have to clean

TomCom wrote:i crash bike last 3 years around september and get new one after february. so i didnt have to clean

I hadn't thought of doing that to get out of cleaning Are you on bike #3 now or is it #4?

Lets try this another way .. Do you clean your car, if so what do you use?

What soap (soup) are you using, it isn't washing up liquid is it?

i dont clean car, i dont use car. i drive only bike everyday.
my wife clean car at carwash.
i gave car shampoo to clean it. but can i use that to clean down pipe??
can i use it to clean outside engine parts? i dont know what to use couse i dont want to damage anything. like seals
(1st bike i repair couse it was my crash , to fast driving)
rest 2 crashes someone else couse it they crash in me

You can use the car shampoo all over the bike. The Muc Off and Sdoc100 will help get grease/oil/ road grime off.
What is wrong with the downpipes?

TomCom wrote:i crash bike last 3 years around september and get new one after february. so i didnt have to clean

So from February when you got the bikes to September when you crashed the bikes what did you use to clean them, or did you use them every day for 7 months and not wash any of them?

I wash mine after every couple of rides and every time I ride in winter I at least hose it down to remove most of the salt!!

SteveCat wrote:.... The Muc Off and Sdoc100 will help get grease/oil/ road grime off...

is that safe for seal and not couse rust?

i wash them just outside with car shampoo. i think i can clean downpipe couse salt on the road?

cold water all over will sort out the salt. Some of us have treated the bike with ACF50, probably too late now to do it, puts a protection layer on the metalwork. Downpipes will burn off most protection though.

SteveCat wrote:cold water all over will sort out the salt. Some of us have treated the bike with ACF50, probably too late now to do it, puts a protection layer on the metalwork. Downpipes will burn off most protection though.

ACF50 spray on what?

Read this Tom about ACF50 . Scottoiler do a water based version - some more reading

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
that is after last ride out

Yup Tom that needs a clean, unless all that crud is holding it together then don't clean it haha

1 when cleaning bike alway wear your water proof,s
2 alway remove mirror,s before using car wash
3 keep a tight grip on the handle bar,s
stop,s you been flung off
4 make sure the water proof,s are over your bike boots NOT TUCKED IN THEM

I don't think I could sleep if my bike looked like that, Tom.

Does anyone ever run cold water through their calipers while spinning the wheel? I find it frees it up quite a bit and makes a bit of a difference. I'll regrease the pistons when the salt p***es off.

Regards

Mike