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PostPosted: Tue May 20, 2008 12:36 
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Folks,

I've had the Kawasaki for 6 months and never cleaned it. I have to do it outside as we live in an old townhouse with no garage.

What should I use to get the muck and grease off and could I do it in the Jetwash?

C.

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PostPosted: Tue May 20, 2008 12:52 
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Muc Off is untouched as the best bike cleaning product on the planet.

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PostPosted: Tue May 20, 2008 13:18 
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Image

:twisted: :D

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PostPosted: Tue May 20, 2008 13:19 
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In all seriousness, I have a bike cover that effectively is a little room for the bike - you wheel it onto the base and then zip the top over. Might be worth investing in something like it. I THINK it came from Lidl or somewhere like that.

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PostPosted: Tue May 20, 2008 23:17 
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generally; i'm not keen on cleaning my bike, so prolly i don't have a lot to offer. but from what i read (somewhere) is that a jet washer is a big NO NO. i've read stories about people having the paint coming off after cleaning their bikes with a jet washer.
on the other side, i know people who clean their bikes with toothbrushes :)
anyhow, if you're going to do some major cleaning anytime soon, you might need to reapply some oil on your chain as the grease might get washed away, too.


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PostPosted: Wed May 21, 2008 08:02 
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Never ever ever use a jetwash! If you have ANY oil leaks, no matter how minor, you WILL blow water into the engine.

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PostPosted: Wed May 21, 2008 11:37 
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Sixy_the_red wrote:
Never ever ever use a jetwash! If you have ANY oil leaks, no matter how minor, you WILL blow water into the engine.


I found it does your wheel bearings in too :(

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PostPosted: Wed May 21, 2008 11:44 
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Folks,

Thanks for the advice - I was worried about the Jetwash - give that a miss.

Yep, Muc off sounds good - I have some of their special brushes - £12.99! That's a lot.

Sixy, I've seen your bike. It looks matt black to me. Now that's low maintenance.

Yep, I got a cover from ebay. It's just road dirt on my bike.

Yep, got some chain lube ready. I put too much on before, which is why the bike is so greasy at the back.

Guess it's time to wash it.

PS - Good that there is this section. Now that I've absorbed the speeding points I want to talk about other things, and I like this forum. Good place to hang out. :)

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PostPosted: Wed May 21, 2008 12:23 
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FWIW I always use chain wax rather than wet lube. Once it's dry (a couple of seconds) it doesn't fling, and more importantly it doesn't act like a grit-magnet.

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PostPosted: Wed May 21, 2008 13:34 
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Sixy_the_red wrote:
FWIW I always use chain wax rather than wet lube. Once it's dry (a couple of seconds) it doesn't fling, and more importantly it doesn't act like a grit-magnet.

any specific product (i.e. wax) that you recommend?


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PostPosted: Wed May 21, 2008 14:37 
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I use Castrol chain wax.

Always make sure that, if you're using an o-ring chain, that the product specifically states that it is suitable. If you use the wrong thing it can swell or perish the o-rings.

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PostPosted: Wed May 21, 2008 19:48 
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I always jetwash the bike down at local garage.

its quick and easy and can quickly get into areas like the swing arm get all the crud off and others areas where crud goes and is hard to get at.

I've never had the jetwash take the paint off a bike, i don't see that happening unless you are trying to use some really powerfull jetwash as in the type to clean buildings or slabs (which arent meant to be used for vehicles anyways) or unless you have some really backstreet garage or DIY dodgy paint job. if jetwashes were taking paint off vehicles they would be getting sued left right and centre.

jetwash is like a gun so don't need to fire it full pelt at every part of the bike. i.e. be carefull not to damage electrical connections. fairing if it has one or plastics round about the seat. give it a gentle soaking with the jetwash. if i am trying to sell the bike i'd then take the bike home give the fairing and plastics a wash with a bucket and sponge then polish them and use chrome cleaner to shin up the exhast etc..

i aint that anal about washing bikes normally because i do silly miles typically 80miles a day going to work. in the winter when the roads are really salty i tend to put grease or some oil off exposed chrome or metal parts to hopefully stop rusting.


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PostPosted: Wed May 21, 2008 19:53 
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Cooler wrote:
Yep, got some chain lube ready. I put too much on before, which is why the bike is so greasy at the back.


Best time to put chain lube on is after a ride when the chain is hot, which means its expanded a bit and lube will soak in between the rollers.

Put some newspaper bellow the chain incase some of it comes off and leave it. Then next day wipe down chain with a dry cloth to take off the excess. The excess stuff is no use anyways since it will just get flung making a mess. Plus if your in the habbit of going far over on corners you don't really want the edges of your tyres covered in chain lube.


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PostPosted: Wed May 21, 2008 20:57 
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Kenny1975 wrote:
I always jetwash the bike down at local garage.

its quick and easy and can quickly get into areas like the swing arm get all the crud off and others areas where crud goes and is hard to get at.

I've never had the jetwash take the paint off a bike, i don't see that happening unless you are trying to use some really powerfull jetwash as in the type to clean buildings or slabs (which arent meant to be used for vehicles anyways) or unless you have some really backstreet garage or DIY dodgy paint job. if jetwashes were taking paint off vehicles they would be getting sued left right and centre.

jetwash is like a gun so don't need to fire it full pelt at every part of the bike. i.e. be carefull not to damage electrical connections. fairing if it has one or plastics round about the seat. give it a gentle soaking with the jetwash. if i am trying to sell the bike i'd then take the bike home give the fairing and plastics a wash with a bucket and sponge then polish them and use chrome cleaner to shin up the exhast etc..

i aint that anal about washing bikes normally because i do silly miles typically 80miles a day going to work. in the winter when the roads are really salty i tend to put grease or some oil off exposed chrome or metal parts to hopefully stop rusting.


Its all about how you use it.

A jetwash set to "fan" and applied obliquly, and with care, is likly to be fine.

Used as a "Jet"....

Jetwsh + dirt = sandblaster!

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PostPosted: Wed May 21, 2008 22:06 
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Jet washes are as varied as types of beer!
Nozzles for stripping off paint, moss, seaweed (from boat hulls) and meat from animal bones (in abattoirs) are available, and different models have varying pressures. 8-)
Some will knock loose paint off, but not firm paint... and you dont want to be finding out which is which the hard way! :nono:
Finally the distance at which you use the wand will vary the effect.

I have a sandblast cabinet with very fine aluminum silicate abrasive, and I clean old lacquer off parts for our local bike shop when they are doing restorations.

It will make a good job of cleaning alloy wheels before bead blasting and re-lacquering, or brake levers, engine casings etc.
If anyone is interested just let me know and I can point you in the right direction to get the right grit and a cabinet - or do the job for you if you bring it up! :drink2:
The only proviso is all grease and oil has to be cleaned off first otherwise it spoils my cabinet! :hissyfit:

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PostPosted: Sat May 24, 2008 12:29 
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I washed my bike last week :o , didn't want the MOT man getting his paws dirty :D . Anyway I normally do it at work with the steam cleaner. We had a Karcher industrial thingy, it was only a 13 amp one but did 1500psi and boiled water too. Well we wore that one out and have a new one now.

You just have to treat pressure washing with a little respect. All the gear that we wash have loads of bearings and delicate electronics and all of my gear has yards of chains on them too. We don't get trouble with them after they've had a bath so see no reason not to wash a bike with it, carefull you don't blow it off the side stand though :lol:

But... don't fire 1500 psi of boiling water directly at your bearings, leccy bits and other delicate areas. Some bikes and cars might have a coating underneath that will come straight off with hot water. By way of a scientific experiment, I put the bike on the center stand and blew the front wheel around with the water blast. The speedo needle went off the clock, but it was approximatly 90mph 8-)


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PostPosted: Sun May 25, 2008 09:21 
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I dump a can of WD40 over any bare metal and leave it to soak in. It usualy brings it up a treat. I then use wash-n-wax in warm water applied using of those pressurised garden sprayers to drill through the grime.. Finnish off with a paint brush in the same solution in those tight spots. Then once again over the metal work with WD40 to stop corrosion in the joints and bolt head areas.

I don't need to bother with the chain because mine is belt drive but when I did have one I followed the manufacturers instructions and cleaned it with engine oil. I put the bike on a stand and rotated the wheel while I brushed oil on with a paint brush out of a jam jar, also flushing away the dirt with the brush at the same time. Most modern chains are o-ringed so the links are ilternaly lubed anyway. I hate the chain lube shit. It just makes the crap stick like glue.


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PostPosted: Wed May 28, 2008 23:49 
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I can recommended using Scottoiler FS 365. It's a corrosion inhibitor that you spray on after washing or a wet run. Neutralises salt and and builds up a coating preventing corrosion. It also holds the road dirt so its easier to wash off. I put it on the motor, frame, swingarm etc - but keep it off the brakes!

I have a jet wash but don't use it on the bikes. A mate does and his ' 53 plate Tiger just failed its MoT on the front wheel bearings :roll: Though it more time consuming doing the whole bike by hand means you get to keep an eye on everything a little more closely.

Barkstar

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PostPosted: Sat May 31, 2008 12:38 
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paraffin in a pump spray - leave it on for a minute or two and then jet wash off. Jet washers are fine as long as you use a fine spray and deflect the jet.

make sure you re-lube the chain etc after.

the best thing for polishing the bike is cheap value furniture polish.

I clean my bike probably once every 10k


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PostPosted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 00:08 
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Well the best way I suppose is whats best for the individual. I can tell you what I do but best......who knows?

I wash it with warm soapy water and sponge, rinse with bucket or easy running hose. When its dried off a bit I use a rag and WD40 to get all crappy bits off (not the painted pannels)or even Mr Sheen works well. Then I put a real good wax polish on tank and pannels.

Dont get cleaning materials on working parts like bearings/ brakes/oil seals/chain etc.
As has been said...avoid jet washing but if you have to then be careful where you squirt it.
And NEVER EVER clean your bike if its going to look worse after youve cleaned it! lol


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