View Full Version : Bike cleaning
Exupdog
08-11-08, 08:37 PM
After being called a weirdo in a recent thread for saying I was going to go bike cleaning, it set me wondering. Is it weird to enjoy cleaning your bike? I'm like the rest of you guys in so much as I love to ride my bike, but I really do enjoy the cleaning, polishing, tightening and tweaking that keeps my old bike running well and looking good. I can easily hide out in the garage for a couple of hours listening to an Eagles cd and doing the aforementioned bike molesting. Anyone else enjoy their bike fettling? The Eagles thing isn't a crucial part of it, that's just me being an old git and trying to recall the seventies when I was doing the same things with bikes that are worth more today than I paid for them then. Come on own up, is bike cleaning more of a toil than a pleasure?
I love giving my bikes what I call the deep clean - that means all the plastics off, wheels out and really go to town on the whole bike right under the bits that cover everything up. I even take fasteners off and polish them individually before putting them back in.
This happens about twice a year, the rest of the time it gets a bucket of soapy water and a chamois before polishing.
i must be weird to.... i find it therapeutic ... but i do prefer riding it...
I'll wash the bike if it's not too cold outside, but then it just gets a hosepipe over it (low pressure before anyone says anything), with a bit of soap, then a quick polish.
When it's cold outside I don't bother.
If it's a sunny day, I won't wash the bike either, mains as I'll be riding it.
Alpinestarhero
08-11-08, 08:54 PM
I like cleaning my bike. I don't like giving it a quick rinse though. I like to do it properly...get all the swingarm clean, rear shock, polish the downpipes, clean the wheels, get eh fiarings clean, polish them, clear grease and crap from the footpegs and around the sprocket areas and clean the engine itself. I dont have alot of time for that though, so I sort of d half-way between a quick wipe-down and a more full clean. I make sure my bike gets a good wash once a week now its winter, and if there is crap left on the bike fron riding in the rain, I'll at least rinse it off before it gets tucked away for the night before the next day's use.
The good thing about being thourough whencleaning is you can spot the little things that are wrong, or about to go wrong. Loose footpegs, corrosion, little oil leak, worn pads, worn sprockets, that sort of thing.
I also like to clean my chain well, and do that once a fortnight. parrafin, then dry, then some silkolene chain lube - a thin layer, its greasy messy stuff but I found it gives a good surface for the wurth stuff I apply a few times a week.
Nothing wrong with cleaning your bike :smt040
Exupdog
08-11-08, 08:57 PM
i must be weird to.... i find it therapeutic ... but i do prefer riding it...
Absolutely, the riding is the major fun part, but I find the cleaning has shown up potential problems in the past and it leaves me with a clear conscience when I put it away clean and looking good for the next ride.
I really quite enjoying cleaning my bike aswell.
Take my iPod + dock into the garage, crank it up and chill out. Depending on time of day and what I have planned I will also enjoy a beer or two whilst doing it. Nice way to underwind!
I hate doing it in the winter. But on a nice sunny day I love taking all the bits off and having a good clean. Nothing like getting it back to showroom condition!
Shellywoozle
08-11-08, 10:06 PM
I love cleaning Zuky, spraying the FS365 on after and starting her up and watching her smoke LOL.
Clean and protected = Shell smiling = sad Shell
Gene genie
08-11-08, 10:12 PM
very therapeutic. spent most of the day washing and pollishing mine. did the cage aswell for her indoors. blooming disgrace, why women cant keep cars clean and tidy i'll never know.
Shellywoozle
08-11-08, 10:15 PM
very therapeutic. spent most of the day washing and pollishing mine. did the cage aswell for her indoors. blooming disgrace, why women cant keep cars clean and tidy i'll never know.
Hey I cleaned my motor today, she lovely inside and out now. Then I went and got bike dirty ! :cheers:
Gene genie
08-11-08, 10:17 PM
Hey I cleaned my motor today, she lovely inside and out now. Then I went and got bike dirty ! :cheers:
maybe so, but why was it in such a crappy state to kick off with?:smt019
Shellywoozle
08-11-08, 10:21 PM
maybe so, but why was it in such a crappy state to kick off with?:smt019
Because I went down a country lane on Tuesday very fast and got it all muddy :smt019 but my car loved it :smt051
Gene genie
08-11-08, 10:22 PM
what do you call very fast?
dizzyblonde
08-11-08, 10:22 PM
I llllllllllllllllluuuuuurve cleaning my bikes
I llllllllllllllllluuuuuurve polishing them even more...but then theres a lot to polish..its got to be a lot OCD
did i mention i love polishing :-)
Dappa D
08-11-08, 10:42 PM
i also enjoy cleaning the bike.....just not enough time in the day atm with work/6 month old son/cooking dinner etc etc
and ts off the road atm :-(
Dangerous Dave
09-11-08, 11:07 AM
A clean and a twiddle of nuts, I spend most of my time doing that...
Dappa D
09-11-08, 11:09 AM
A clean and a twiddle of nuts, I spend most of my time doing that...
toooo much info...this is a u rated forum!:mrgreen:
sv-robo
09-11-08, 11:58 AM
Bah!!...polishing,it's overated!!;)
xXBADGERXx
09-11-08, 12:34 PM
Bah!!...polishing,it's overated!!;)
Yeah , just chrome the crap out of everything and keep it clean :mrgreen:
I use my bike every day and she gets some serious grime all over her . There was an accident a couple of years ago here in North Wales and some cyclists were killed (it was a terrible thing to have happened) . Ever since then the council have gritted absolutely everywhere to the point where my visor is blurred and grimy after the 15 mile commute to work . The bike gets slathered in the stuff and this year I have taken to applying ACF50 to her . I don`t have the fortune of owning a garage so any cleaning has to be done by hand , outside my front door in all weathers .
She got a good clean on a weekly basis during the warmer months but this time of the year its been a quick brush over with hot soapy water over the bodywork , another warm bucket with a capfull of Mer Polish in it for a final clean down of the plastics/tank and then a quick squirt and brush over with some more ACF50 on the metalwork to make sure its not been removed by any detergents . A spot check of stuff like chain and brakes is about all I can do before retreating indoors to stop my fingers from shattering in the cold :D
missyburd
09-11-08, 12:36 PM
##waits for YC to come along and call everyone poofs :rolleyes: ## :mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:
xXBADGERXx
09-11-08, 12:37 PM
Yeah well he says they don`t get any dirtier after a year :D
yorkie_chris
09-11-08, 12:40 PM
You're all poofs. xBadger is correct.
xXBADGERXx
09-11-08, 12:40 PM
:takeabow:
missyburd
09-11-08, 12:43 PM
Yeah well he says they don`t get any dirtier after a year :D
Aye cos there's nowhere else for the dirt to cake on to! :p
xXBADGERXx
09-11-08, 12:48 PM
Yeah the "Under-Dirt" cannot support the weight of the new stuff so it shrugs it off :D
Don't see the point of cleaning my bike often as used daily , just give it a quick clean & cover in ACF50 once a year , Scot oiler looks after the chain .
If it was my Sunday best bike I would clean more often , however have never been able to afford a Sunday best bike
Cheers Steve
xXBADGERXx
09-11-08, 02:51 PM
Yeah a scottoiler works on my chain as well but I still check it over just in case
yorkie_chris
09-11-08, 02:52 PM
Yeah I have been known to put more oil in it and stuff.
Time cleaning it could either be spent modifying it, maintaining it in a useful manner or fiddling with the suspension.
Dangerous Dave
09-11-08, 02:55 PM
Time cleaning it could either be spent modifying it, maintaining it in a useful manner or fiddling with the suspension.
Such a wise head for a young'n!
yorkie_chris
09-11-08, 02:56 PM
Or better than all of the above... riding it!
xXBADGERXx
09-11-08, 03:56 PM
Time cleaning it could either be spent modifying it, maintaining it in a useful manner or fiddling with the suspension.
Suspension is sorted on mine until I get better springs for the front though , no more mods are required apart from some cooler covers and everything else is covered [-o<
Time cleaning it could either be spent modifying it, maintaining it in a useful manner or fiddling with the suspension.
Or better than all of the above... riding it!
But when you can't do either of those, cleaning and polishing is the next best thing.
It's better than sitting in front of the TV watching crappy soaps, reality shows or wanna-be's:D
xXBADGERXx
09-11-08, 04:10 PM
Actually I just felt guilty so went outside and wiped the headlights/indies and brake lights down , a quick squirt of Castrol chain wax on the sides of the chain where the scottoiler doesn`t get to and a bit more of ACF50 in places I had forgotten about . 2 minutes work and that`s me done for the week now :D
She is looking Manky now though with smeared dark stains all over the metalwork where the weather has tried to get past the ACF50
I actually prefer cleaning mine to riding them .... :smt107
In the garage, DVD on ( hang em high today ) ... polishing away ... very therapeutic
Spokey
Tim in Belgium
09-11-08, 09:47 PM
I actually prefer cleaning mine to riding them .... :smt107
Spokey
You're sick.
You're sick.
i KNOW ...:mrgreen:
but is is a "Sunday best", when it's warm and dry bike ...
and I have a reputation to maintain ...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72429791@N00/sets/1300331/
dizzyblonde
09-11-08, 09:55 PM
I actually prefer cleaning mine to riding them .... :smt107
In the garage, DVD on ( hang em high today ) ... polishing away ... very therapeutic
Spokey
weirdo;)
Dave looks really carp at the moment, came home in the rain tonight. His downpipe is not so shiny,his fairing cracked ad indicator held together with gaffer tape :-( hes been feeling a bit neglected since i fell off him. I hate cleaning them in the cold, but he so needs it, and polishing...roll on post xmas when he has his subs powdercoated, new shock, and nice new hel lines, he'll feel wanted again.
Now suzy is gleaming, wrapped up under a cover til the warmer weather, and someone fixes the electrics and puts that top yoke on...but she feels a million dollars, and so she should the amonut of money thats thrown at her....
Nice, warm, carpeted double garage, loads of room, TV on ( or stereo ) - tinkering with the bike gets me out of the house ... away from the wife and kids ... ;)
ideal
LOL
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