Topic: Washing

[Ebrandon]

Forgive me if this is a ridiculous question, but is it ok to power wash the engine? There is some crud on mine that I would like to wash off, but I don't want to do anything that will f things up.

Also, I would like to shine her up a bit- not so intensely that i want to sand or anything. I am thinking that once I get it good and clean I can just use some elbow grease and one of the myriad of polishing. Any thoughts on what would best suit my purpose? I look in the FAQ but most of what I found was for a lot more intenseive cleaning than I am looking for.

Thanks!

[ProTeal55]

Be smart about it.
Take some time and cover/block/plastic bag up whatever you wanna keep water off of, like the cars, electrical, etc...
Don't go and blast the battery with water or anything like that.
Most v-twin shops sell bike specific cleaners that really do a good job of renewing the look of a motor...
Foamy Engine Brite from any local autoparts store always works as well...

[Boomologist]

Having to travel about 1 1/2 miles on dusty, dirt roads when ever I go somewhere, I usually stop at the first car wash and pressure wash the bike. Never had a problem but I do try to avoid the chain.

[Ebrandon]

Sweet, thanks guys!

[rory]

I haven't tried it with my present bike 1978 K, but Bought a 77 new in London ONT and power washed it several times took it back to the dealership {Farm north of London were a school shop teacher converted a barn into a small dealership} for running ruff by the time I got up there it was always fine I'm pretty sure the water was gettin were it shouldn't.Also I think you had to be careful with the sealed chains dint know  if that still applies to the newer chains. hope this helps

[TwoTired]

Pressure washing with ordinary water is okay.  However, the soap used at your typical facility is corrosive to all the electrical connections in the bike that are NOT water tight, which is all of them including ground connections to the frame.

In time, these connections will corrode, leaving you with battery and charging issues.

Cheers,

[Jonesy]

Lots of guys I know swear by S-100 bike cleaning products. You just spray it on, let it work, then hose it off.

[ofreen]

If you use a pressure washer with the more aggressive tips, it will erode the exposed edges of gaskets.

[Ebrandon]

Maybe I will just go with the cleaner, hose it off route. I would hate to mess something up cause i wanted my bike to be prettier.

[Rushoid]

Pressure washing with ordinary water is okay.  However, the soap used at your typical facility is corrosive to all the electrical connections in the bike that are NOT water tight, which is all of them including ground connections to the frame.

In time, these connections will corrode, leaving you with battery and charging issues.

Cheers,

I work in the car wash industry and I've seen the effects of these chemicals on aluminum, brass, etc. The soap won't hurt anything under normal circumstances but, if left to sit without rinsing, it will slowly corrode. This would really only happen in some nooks and crannies that didn't get rinsed. The raw soap is very corrosive, but by the time it gets to your car/bike, it's been diluted a lot (typically 100:1 water:soap). Some brands are worse than others of course. One of our techs got 3rd degree burns from working on one of our customers machines that wasn't using our soap. He was off work for 6 weeks!

Also, high-pressure water finds its way into all sorts of places so be careful where you aim that gun. I sprayed my bike off with the garden hose the other day and, afterward, my turn signals started flashing really fast. They were ok after drying out overnight.

[crazypj]

Stay away from centre of hubs. you can blast the grease out of wheel bearings, first thing you know is when you fall down (and may not get up again)