What kind of owner are you?

3623 Views 15 Replies 12 Participants Last post by DillPickle311, Feb 13, 2019

Geepers

Discussion Starter · Feb 9, 2019

Some guys ride a lot and hardly ever clean their bike, some hardly ever ride and clean their bike a lot. Because I'm OCD I tend to do both ...ie ride my arse off AND polish my bike all the time (I buy Autoglym Super Resin Polish in bulk

) How about you?

Save

1 - 16 of 16 Posts

shrubbo

· #2 · Feb 9, 2019

I only washed it yesterday because the Corbin has some serious dirt ground into it from our ride a couple of weeks ago. The dirt comes from riding it on roads that are called that loosely. I ride all weather conditions and then put it in the shed until next week and I was pretty chuffed to find that I had dragged the pipes on the ground in some corners.

In short... option 1

Save

Firefight100

· #3 · Feb 9, 2019

I ride mine everyday for everything. I rarely wash it. I do about 15k miles a year.
It will get a wash and shine before I head out to Inzane in June.

Save

Mahaflac

· #4 · Feb 9, 2019

I polish it about once a quarter. Spray detailer nearly every time I ride.

Save

Reactions: 1

bscrive

· #5 · Feb 10, 2019

I clean mine about once a week with spray detailer. The only time I wash it is if I ran through some nasty crap on the road.

Save

Reactions: 1

Prgrmerror

· #6 · Feb 10, 2019

I never wash it. I clean it with pledge all surface spray once a month but do give the wind screen a once over almost every time I go out. Probably 5k a year. Not my daily commuter.

Save

DillPickle311

· #7 · Feb 10, 2019

We've had a lot of rain. Sometimes you have to wash with dish-wash detergent. I clean shield before every ride.

This machine should never be ridden nasty dirty. Would be a poor reflection of the rider. Besides, it doesn't glide through the air as well when dirty.

Save

JackB

· #8 · Feb 10, 2019

My bikes are always clean and I drive them between the two I put on about 12,000 miles a year and I live I'm Wisconsin.

Save

Reactions: 2

JPGRider

· #9 · Feb 10, 2019

I ride about 40K a year. I clean the paint/clear coat with Mequiars paint cleaner for clear coats every six months and polish with Mequiars Ulitmate polymer 'wax' every couple of months. I use detailer after most rides to remove bugs and road grime. Honda black paint is good and the bike looks brand new after 60k. With this process any surface 'scratches' or haze buff right out of the clearcoat. I only wash the underside of the fenders and the radiators (unless I get in mud/dirt). In AZ this process really helps with the bugs and sand so the paint does not get pitted. (I see bikes here where the forks and forward exposed parts show paint damage from bugs and sand/blowing dirt but not my Valkyrie).

Save

Reactions: 2

Geepers

Discussion Starter · #10 · Feb 10, 2019 (Edited)

I find this really interesting...ie that we're so different. For some of us a shiny bike is a huge part of the enjoyment of riding. For others it doesn't seem to factor in at all. I've often wished I could be more like the "dirty doesn't matter" brigade but have never been able to. Must be ingrained from childhood or something. Mind you, I take it pretty much to the extreme. I ride 20-30,000 km a year but my bike always looks like it stepped out of the showroom.

Save

Reactions: 1

bdfpc

· #11 · Feb 11, 2019

I ride fast to blow all the dirt off. Every once in a while I will wipe it down with Pledge. Unless it's "love bug" season, then I will clean it after every ride.....

Save

Rich Wentz

· #12 · Feb 11, 2019

"I don't want a pickle. I just wanna ride my motorcicles"..

Save

DillPickle311

· #13 · Feb 12, 2019

Hate to admit it... I'm dreading riding this thing in the summer due to bugs.

Mississippi bugs have a way of finding strange places to die on motorcycles and the valk is no bug deflector. Even if I wax the crap out of it, the bugs here have juicy guts that almost work better than super glue so getting that stuff off is a real chore.

You have to stay on top of it too because they get harder to clean off if you leave it on there too long. I just can't ride with a nasty shield.

Then, we get to experience those black love bugs that are hooked up by twos and there are gazillions.

I know there are lots of products out there to make it easier but in the end, takes good ole elbow grease, huh?

Rant over!

See less See more

Save

Reactions: 1

Valk

· #14 · Feb 12, 2019

Those love bugs are THE worst... They are thick as thieves AND their guts harden into cement AND eat through clear coat... You gotta wax your bike/screen/every surface exposed to the wind and still it only mitigates them a bit.. washing them all off same day of ride is only solution and PITA.. luckily they are only a summer nuisance and I’m not much of a summer heat rider on the bike.. my car another story

Save

Geepers

Discussion Starter · #15 · Feb 13, 2019

DillPickle311 said:
Hate to admit it... I'm dreading riding this thing in the summer due to bugs.

Mississippi bugs have a way of finding strange places to die on motorcycles and the valk is no bug deflector. Even if I wax the crap out of it, the bugs here have juicy guts that almost work better than super glue so getting that stuff off is a real chore.

You have to stay on top of it too because they get harder to clean off if you leave it on there too long. I just can't ride with a nasty shield.

Then, we get to experience those black love bugs that are hooked up by twos and there are gazillions.

I know there are lots of products out there to make it easier but in the end, takes good ole elbow grease, huh?

Rant over!

I try and ride when the bugs aren't so active. Early mornings are best here, dusk is definitely the worst. Not always possible I know. Changes with the seasons too.

Save

DillPickle311

· #16 · Feb 13, 2019

I know we all have ways of dealing with these critters. Yesterday I even tried to find a temp plastic film on google that you can tear off. It's out there but in the end, just cheaper and easier to wash and wipe.

Bugs, cold, heat, and sometimes rain is not keeping me from riding. Still, I want my machine looking purty! Makes me feel better anyway.

Save

Reactions: 1

1 - 16 of 16 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month