Adventure Bike Rider Forum

I always give them a jetwash--with care. I find the hot commercial jet washes don't clean properly and leave stains--but do use them occasionally to get the worst of the mud off before loading them up. I use muck off or similar. I use waterproof grease on wheel bearings etc and never toast a bearing through water--even offroad. I give them a polish rinse and then some wd or similar. Yes it takes time, but you can see when things are going south, lost hardware etc--and when properly clean they dry off very quickly. Mine live outside , but under cover--plenty of air circulation--and the finishes don't suffer over winter. When dry I put a cover over them and they survive well--better than getting condensation in a closed space--if its heated then thats a different matter.We are not all like the Yanks with an underground heated basement with a collection of 6 bikes or more.

I wash the main muck off with a cold water hose
I not got time to let it dry as I dont trust the neighbours and its usually bad weather
then a good spray of GT85, including the chain
then put under vented cover.

for a more thorough periodic clean I use paraffin, especially the chain and swing arms area, which by now are caked with sticky black gunge
these areas are always in prime condition under that gunge
then a liberal dripping spray of GT85
but this only happens very rarely or when selling

i usually only clean the chain by spraying more chain oil on top
my chains seem to last for ages
but i spray them before and after riding
hoping the gungey stuff will wash off and not paste in.
it is the gungey stuff that preserves them i think (perhaps wrongly?)

on the car i used to use that triple wax turtle wax wash and shine stuff but it took the surface off the silver finish leavung it grey.
when i realised this was happening i used tesco shampoo wash then saw that the finish became dark grey but looked better than the light grey.

my grandson used that foam wash stuff on my little car and i was shocked how good it was, and how it lasted well.

For my emtb i always give it a cold water hose down after every ride, then take it into my flat and let it dry then a coating of gt85.
lately it gives me a bad chest as it it ptfe and i struggle for a few hours breathing so i have stopped doing that and spray it on the way out to a ride in the blowing wind .. i use it for the chain as i cant think of anything better atm, but halfords do a chain lube. Just thought, i could use the motorbike chain lube?

I get the girlfriend to clean the bike ...... she wants to ride pillion so that comes at a cost !!!!!

I use tfr. traffic film remover this is used on trucks in the industry and is great for getting things clean again and removing all the stubborn dirt... There's 2 kinds there's really strong stuff that is caustic and then the non caustic stuff the none caustic stuff is the stuff I use... Would want the caustic chemicals eating away at my bike if it didn't get washed off properly so I use non caustic stuff to play it safe... You can get a 25litre drum delivered to your door for around 20 notes... So cheaper then any muck off etc but just as good as its industrial quality that's not branded

I cleaned mine a couple of weeks ago, sprayed it with ACF50, that's all it'll get now until Spring.

I'll be commuting over the winter - wipe the lights & number plate as required, but I'll just let it build up a nice protective layer until the salt is off the roads.

D

Pretty much the same as above -a power wash when the notion takes me & always timed it so the bike gets a good run straight after to get a good drying out in all the nooks and crannies.

Don't use ACF50, instead give the bike a good covering between WD40 and spray on 3in1 oil and let the winter dirt build up until i take another notion and do the same again

Careful with the WD40 as it swells up rubber seals and permanently damages them, also wiring looms , it can turn them into a sticky mess, Wurth 2040 or the other stuff ( cant remember the bloody name) is all good and cheaper