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Washing your bike

6K views 28 replies 22 participants last post by  Dane_The_Meng 
#1 ·
im new to having a bike meant for off/on road got my new bike and finally had decent weather to go and get it dirty.
How do most of you wash your bike afterwards? And tips on these specific bikes?
 
#4 ·
Well, the washing style depends on how dirty your TW gets.
204722


If it has a light coat of dirt/mud like this TW, we prefer TW-Brians method
204723


I call it the "bird bath method". This causes a different kind of "pressure wash"...not falling pressure!
204724


I'm sure somebody will come on here and tell you a more common-sense approach to washing the TW...but it ain't as much fun!
 
#11 ·
I use Simple Green on the entire bike but try not to get too much around the wheel seals. A stiff brush works well to get the gunk of the chain. Also after drying the bike I use silicone spray on the undersides of the fenders and front frame down tube. This helps to keep the mud from sticking. Also if you have been riding in the dust clean your air filter!! The Dub's just have a small sheet of foam so it gets clogged pretty quickly. Spray with Simple Green,rinse and re oil it. Also if there's been a lot of water crossings give the swing arm zerks a shot of grease.
 
#13 ·
If you have a high mount front fender and you know there will be sticky mud put several strips of duct tape under it. Make sure it over laps and extends over the top. Then when it starts to build up just peel it off. I've used this trick on long muddy Hare Scrambles and it's kept me moving. It also works on the frame down tube.
 
#14 ·
I just gave mine a light wash for the first time. There doesn't seem to be much to watch out for or any hard places to hit.

I sprayed with water, then sprayed with a 1:10 solution of Simple Green everywhere but the seat and handlebars and instrument panel, then rinsed completely and gently wiped any area that still had light dirt/mud buildup on it with a cloth saturated in the Simple Green solution. I rinsed again, then patted the trim and gas tank dry with a towel. Lastly, I blew the bike once over with the leaf blower. Looks great!
 
#16 ·
Just don't throw out the baby with the bathwater...
 
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#24 ·
First... a little music... perhaps some light AC/DC to get my "Fat Gypsy" in the mood...

With a bucket filled with the finest chemical guys soap that money can buy, I scrub that girl down like she's got Covid-19, from tread to tread, giving it an extra enthusiastic two-pump scrub every time "thun-der" blasts from the speakers.

Making sure to get the interior fenders, front of the engine and exhaust, wheels, chain and all the more visible areas.


My girls always get the best shoes, while my actual girl kills it in some pumps, my TW doesn't seem to move as fast in heels, so the next best thing is making her tires looknice and new...

Armor all??? SACRELIGE!!!!

Lather her feet up with some delicious lemon pledge and watchthose tires get reborn without accelerating dry-rot, the motorcycle version of athletes foot.

I do this, all while making sure my "remove before takeoff" exhaust plug is securely seated in the mouth of my DG-V2 noisemaker to prevent water from getting into the exhaust and possibly back into the engine. No matter what your friend who's "ridden dirt bikes before he can walk" says, you don't need to spray inside the muffler to get all the carbon and soot out, that's where the carbon fairy lives, and she's allergic to water! You don't want a carbon fairy murder on your conscience.

Outside of that, make sure you wipe down your mirrors and lights, and that's pretty much how bathtime goes for my TW.
 
#26 ·
The good part about washing and or keeping the infamous TW clean is, if you actually dry it off with a towel or whatever, you also are doing a form of an inspection. You get to see all the intricate parts up close and personal. And that may, just may prevent a casualty by spotting something that's on the brink of breaking/wearing out/cracked or whatever. Not a thing wrong with giving the Dub a bath every so often.
Scott
 
#27 ·
Get your wife to wash the TW. Good luck with that! Sue tells me she rides them and crashes them. It's my job to clean them and fix them. She says its a good arrangement. Duh, I guess so. This is the reason why I don't wash the bikes very often. It's the difference between someone seeing your bike dirty or seeing your bike all scratched and scuffed. Either or, I should be prosecuted for cycle abuse. "But, Your Honor in my defense, I change the oil regularly".

I use a pressure washer. More power! Get'er done. Im aggressive with the tires, fenders and motor fins. But, passive around the handle bars, electrical connections and decals. Once the mud is off I spray and wipe the entire bike with WD 40. Spray and wipe. Spray and wipe. When I'm finished the bikes have clean scratches and scuffs with shine in between. Regarding getting water in places it shouldn't be, I've totally submerged the bike in a creek once and it started right up. Only one other time the bike was wetter and that was a Mhomaddness group rain ride in Boonville, Ca. Talk about wet. All the boats, I meant bikes, started right up during and afterwards. Dirts a Flyen SanDue 🙄😀
 
#29 ·
When I'm doing a lot of maintenance or identifying leaks, I'll wash it more thoroughly. Which last time (initial inspection after buying it) I did the full version of tmy procedure:

  • Hose down, keep wet and let sit for a few minutes.
  • Hose down again washing off most of the larger bits of mud and dirt
  • Car wash soap with electric power washer (cheap, low power even at highest pressure, not capable of damaging anything on the bike)
  • pressure wash with wide angle tip, keeps pressure even lower, avoid seals and bearings. Do those by hand. Basically if I can't hold my hand close to the pressure washer, it won't touch my bike. I have low water pressure here, if you have good pressure you could probably get away with a garden hose and a high pressure fitting.
  • if it looks good, done and ride it dry, or hit the water with the air compressor and then idle dry or ride around the neighborhood. Pushing grease through the swingarm zerk fittings to flush any possible water.
  • Check chain, dry and light lube on a snapjack
  • If still dirty and oil and dirt are caked on, that's when the white kerosene and the toothbrush come out. That's a whole extra process.
 
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