Cleaning .....

[Black Bandit]

Nice fireblade

Looks like a ladyboy.

Sounds like you are speaking from experience

Sounds like he's been to Thailand.

[gn2]

No, the Ladyboys of Bangkok came to Aberdeen.
Fact is I know what a proper woman looks like and that isn't it in the picture.

[you you]

No, the Ladyboys of Bangkok came to Aberdeen.
Fact is I know what a proper woman looks like and that isn't it in the picture.

Would it be the full beard?

[scisor34]

No, the Ladyboys of Bangkok came to Aberdeen.
Fact is I know what a proper woman looks like and that isn't it in the picture.

Would it be the full beard?

[gse123]

The only thing I am still struggling to get clean are some of the matt metal features like the foot pegs etc. Even with a generous application of Muc-off, then good quality car/bike detergent with a detailing small scrubbing brush it still will not lift all the black marks from the metal. Any good advise on cleaning these bits?

[gn2]

Solvol autosol metal polish.
Linky

[gse123]

Thanks! Just ordered some.

[you you]

Got to have Solvol in the garage

And copper grease

[Trawlerman]

Just finished cleaning mine. Took me an hour or so but she's gleaming now.

I must say that she looks even better than when she was delivered A good wash down and a shampooing with TurtleWax followed by a good polish with a detailing mitt.

Finished off with a liberal dosing of ACF-50 around the forks, swingarm and transmission cover. Had the stuff for ages but never got around to using before now. The transmission cover on my Vespa was so bad that it hardly seemed worth bothering.

[princebuster]

Good thread right here, as it's heading towards winter - with all the salt that will be on the roads and getting on my suspension etc, what would be best to clean these (weekly)?

[Oldie]

Good thread right here, as it's heading towards winter - with all the salt that will be on the roads and getting on my suspension etc, what would be best to clean these (weekly)?

Unless you have a garden hose which is easily accessible then invest in a 5L garden sprayer to quickly remove any salt after every (salty) ride and then spray with a bottle of FS365. It's good at keeping rust at bay if applied on a regular basis so once a week should be fine.

You can, of course, be much more thorough but riding through a UK winter is never going to be good for a bike - just do your best, I'd say.

[princebuster]

Good thread right here, as it's heading towards winter - with all the salt that will be on the roads and getting on my suspension etc, what would be best to clean these (weekly)?

Unless you have a garden hose which is easily accessible then invest in a 5L garden sprayer to quickly remove any salt after every (salty) ride and then spray with a bottle of FS365. It's good at keeping rust at bay if applied on a regular basis so once a week should be fine.

You can, of course, be much more thorough but riding through a UK winter is never going to be good for a bike - just do your best, I'd say.

Thanks Oldie!

[Mel46]

I would normally say that a garden hose is your friend when it comes to rinsing off your bike, but if your winters are bad then you may have already put the hose away to keep it from freezing. I am not sure what you would or could do if the weather is freezing. Wait until a warmer day??

If you have a 5L garden sprayer, put hot water in it. That should melt off some of the crud. Getting the underside is really the important stuff, especially the center stand area. Too much salt and other road grime there could cause the center stand to freeze up or even break.

[Jge64]

winter cleaning easily done by using a rinseless procedure, I wrote it up for a few car sites here....

https://www.dropbox.com/s/se7v56z0yyn2m ... 1.pdf?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/bnn23zdrp758u ... 2.pdf?dl=0

[gregsta]

I used a power washer everytime for washing my old honda PCX and run into no issues a lond side ArmorAll Armor All Shield Liquid Car Polishing Wax as you can polish plastic with this wax and it make my bike look amazing.

[you you]

I would normally say that a garden hose is your friend when it comes to rinsing off your bike, but if your winters are bad then you may have already put the hose away to keep it from freezing. I am not sure what you would or could do if the weather is freezing. Wait until a warmer day??

If you have a 5L garden sprayer, put hot water in it. That should melt off some of the crud. Getting the underside is really the important stuff, especially the center stand area. Too much salt and other road grime there could cause the center stand to freeze up or even break.

Never ever wash off salt with warm or hot water.

Cold only.

[fish]

Beet juice is used frequently around this part of Ohio on winter roads.....sadly it is mixed with salt brine. So, still not safe to let it sit on your scooter.
Green garden sprayer gives it a rinse after each ride --- saves getting out a frozen garden hose.
Blow dry with a leaf blower & a towel.
I do NOT ride my new scooter on salted roads - even dry previously salted roads -- until a rain has cleaned the road surface.
I haul out the 5 yr old Kymco for runs on dry salted roads ---- the bodywork helps keep itself remarkably clean --- and it still gets a rinse and a dry after each such ride.
Everything received an application with ACF-50 last summer. Small & large soft bristle paintbrush works it well into all areas.
Fish

[Mel46]

If you put hot water in the garden sprayer on a freezing day, I just figured that the water would only be warm by the time it reached the bike. Otherwise it would probably freeze as it goes on. That wouldn't get much crud off.

I don't know how cold it gets in the UK during the winter. I just know that when I was in the Antarctic, as well as when I was in the Arctic, if we tried to use tepid water to wash our helo it would freeze as it rolled down the side. We had to heat the water in order to keep it usable. Interestingly enough, once the planes were washed we ended up with a slick deck. Since we could not keep the water from freezing on the deck we would have to break up the newly formed ice with shovels.

Good luck with your cleaning. Whatever you end up doing, just be sure that the center stand hinge is cleaned and lubed ever so often.

[you you]

If you put hot water in the garden sprayer on a freezing day, I just figured that the water would only be warm by the time it reached the bike. Otherwise it would probably freeze as it goes on. That wouldn't get much crud off.

I don't know how cold it gets in the UK during the winter. I just know that when I was in the Antarctic, as well as when I was in the Arctic, if we tried to use tepid water to wash our helo it would freeze as it rolled down the side. We had to heat the water in order to keep it usable. Interestingly enough, once the planes were washed we ended up with a slick deck. Since we could not keep the water from freezing on the deck we would have to break up the newly formed ice with shovels.

Good luck with your cleaning. Whatever you end up doing, just be sure that the center stand hinge is cleaned and lubed ever so often.

Fair enough but it might feel it but the UK doesn't get as cold as the Artic or Antarctic.