BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

Now that I have your attention... what are the various strategies you use to clean those jugs?

Once the bugs and road tar gets baked on how do you get it off? Are any of these components painted and thus we must be careful of strong solvents?

What about mild abrasives- like 00 steel wool, or scrubby pads?

Are there some tricks or are just going to have to settle for hard labor?

I use a spray on wheel cleaner, and a wheel brush(plastic). Works for me!

WD-40 works great for the really serious stuff.

My best advice is to go to Home Deapthroat or Blowes and get yourself some paint stirrers. When you wrap a soft cloth around them they are great for getting deep in between the fins.

It's a real pain in the butt, though--it's best to try to turn it into a Zen thing

I use S100 (bike must be cold!) and a bristled dish washing brush.

Spray on, let it sit a minute, brush well, hose off.

Then wash the rest of the bike with some Mother's Gold....

http://www.s100.com/s100_tcc.htm

+1 on the S100.
When I picked up my 02 RR from CRM (local dealer) it looked cleaner than when I dropped it off. I asked them if they washed it and they said yes. Then I saw a guy hosing off another bike. They must be using the same or similar stuff because the labor $ to wash a bike didn't show up in my bill (not a cheap bill either, but very good service).

I picked up a 1 liter jug of it @ BOBs BMW for $11 or so, put it in my own spray bottle & it works very well. Not as clean, polished & bug-free as my colleague's H-D, but as the CRM sales lady said, most BMW types & especially GSers consider cleaning optional.

S100 is great, makes it clean and doesn't take long.

DLS

A few guys I know use a heavy duty 'truck wash'. Spray and rinse, with not much need for manual scrubbing. However, after a few really long and dirty rides, it just didn't work for me, so I did something that might anger the purists.

I mixed up some drain cleaner. The kind that you pre-mix with water before using. Very caustic. I let it foam away on the alloy for a bit, then rinsed it off with about an olympic swimming pool worth of water, then rode the bike until it was well and truly dry.

Lovely clean alloy. Just avoid the electrics as far as you can, and don't spray it up too high. Didn't affect the paint on the engine, but I'd be wary about the tank and oil coolers. You just have to get it all off or well diluted with lots of water, or the caustic agents will keep working!

I use some degreaser cleaner I discovered under the sink for the engine/tranny. Spray on, let sit, rinse off. If I am extra inspired (rarely happens! ), I use a dishwashing brush I have to try to get into the fins some.

Washing takes me less than 15 minutes. More than that on washing just ain't right!

I considered washing my bike once, then thought better of it and went riding instead....

ba

If I don't get my bike too clean, then I don't notice when it's too dirty.


Maybe I should have a GS?

I found the easiest way to clean my RR. I have a good friend that is considering getting a BMW. He comes over and tries the RR on occasion, knows where the key is kept. Each time he returns the bike it has been detailed. I told him on Saturday to keep test riding it.

mcollect wrote:I found the easiest way to clean my RR. I have a good friend that is considering getting a BMW. He comes over and tries the RR on occasion, knows where the key is kept. Each time he returns the bike it has been detailed. I told him on Saturday to keep test riding it.

LOL!!
When I was 17, my older brother's friend had a KZ900. he used to work nights, and left the key for me as long as I kept the tank full. My brother got wind of me riding around without a MC endorsement, and had his friend put a stop to it.