Topic: am I strange because my bike is clean but not real shiny?

[wardenerd]

I ride both my bikes alot but i do not have a great urge to sand and shine them like most of the other members.  I like mine to look their age and show their bumps sort of like their owner.  Are there other members like me?

[Jordan]

seen um look like total crap but run like a fine tuned watch, also seen um look like a bazillion bucks but run like total crap. Some are attracted by shiny stuff, like moths to a flame, me? I like the mechanical sounds of a smooth running engine. Guess that makes me strange too.

[nobody]

I'm the same way. Once in a blue moon I'll pull out some wax and chrome polish but that's rare. I prefer my women without make up, that goes for bikes too.

[MoMo]

I prefer mine fine tuned, but if the bike is for resale I do a bit of polishing  on parts that would have been shiny originally.  I rarely polish motor cases or covers, mostly just chrome with fine steel wool and Simichrome, on the higher end sale bikes I do clean the motor cases and use Mothers to make it a bit more presentable. Originally, the aluminum looked like aluminum not chrome,  so I leave them that way, plus it is a good excuse for less work ...Larry

[lone*X]

I'm the same way. Once in a blue moon I'll pull out some wax and chrome polish but that's rare. I prefer my women without make up, that goes for bikes too.

But you gotta take care of the skin as well.  Just like a pretty young girlfriend or wife,  gotta do what they gotta do to still look pretty and still run the marathon after a 40+ year relationship.  You let them go and eventually they fall apart.   
 

[nobody]

Haha, I don't let her go, she gets the attention she needs to stay strong and healthy. She doesn't need my help to look good, even if she's covered in dirt and loaded down with baggage.

[greenjeans]

It's called "patina"    It takes a long time to achieve and always somehow looks just right. 

[Goofaroo]

It's the only way to go. It gives them some character and makes them a lot more useful because you don't have to worry about scratching them and getting them dirty. I only demand that my bikes run and handle flawlessly.

[flybox1]

ride em hard, and regularly!
wipe em off.

[nobody]

So I searched "patina motorcycle" on google, I found this, haha.

[Jordan]

LOL! the problem is some peoples idea of Patina. Some sellers seem to think rust and rotting rubber adds value to their retirement package.

[flybox1]

So I searched "patina motorcycle" on google, I found this, haha.

Looks like a good rat start...
I'm sure there are many similar mailboxes you could weld up, add a PC too, POR-15 and fab into a newfangled tank.   Toaster or Mailbox style? anyone?

If yer @$$ is so big that you need a mailbox bumpstop, you might (be a redneck) want a bigger bike. 

[bollingball]

Wardenerd Just got a PM from Jerry about the ride are you going to try to make it? If so maybe we can try and shape up a leg of the ride from the east coast over to the mountains. I was at Bragg in the sixties now I am about 50 miles from you. PM if interested. Maybe we can meet up after the holidays. Check my profile I'm on the map.

                                                  Ken Bolling

[DavePhipps]

Wow, people clean these things, and polish them? That's riding time taken away.
OK, seriosly I don't clean the bike much in the winter as the water tends to freeze. I do wash it off every few weks or so in warmer weather. I might even try polishing something on the race bike, but never the street bike.

[wardenerd]

bollingball sounds great I could use a ride to the mountains or even Mount Olive

[singedebile]

Haha, I don't let her go, she gets the attention she needs to stay strong and healthy. She doesn't need my help to look good, even if she's covered in dirt and loaded down with baggage.

what kind of helmet is that,

(and i agree.. i dont understand how people spend as much money as they do on fresh paint when there is a beautiful patina and a couple scratches/small dents that remind of all the places she has been)

[madmtnmotors]

Chrome won't get you home...

[nobody]

I compared a bike to a woman earlier, I'm about to do it again. Upper scale, make up clad beauties are nice to look at but that's about it. Give me one with natural beauty who's not afraid of her scars or not afraid to take risks and get dirty. My bike was made to be ridden and ridden hard, she does it with a smile and without fear

Oh, and the helmet is the Momo Fighter model, very comfortable.

[seanbarney41]

I ride both my bikes alot but i do not have a great urge to sand and shine them like most of the other members.  I like mine to look their age and show their bumps sort of like their owner.  Are there other members like me?

If it works good, it looks good.  I just love it when I hear about guys tearin' stuff down to the frame, powdercoat all this stuff, buff this, polish that, paint this, brand new shiny gee gaw for that...and they haven't even tried to ride the poor old thing.  There is a flipside though...kaizen(sp.?) tells us that cleaning is checking,

[fastbroshi]

  Sean I was about to comment on that same point.  Cleaning the bike thoroughly gives me the chance to give the bike a good eyeball and remind myself of some things I've been absentminded about, not to mention just a general check of fasteners.   Maybe you do that anyway.

  Case in point:  I removed the horn from my VFR in the process of tightening the bearings in the neck.  My one mistake was not tightening the bolts once I put it back on;  I just put it in place and hand tightened them.  About 100 miles later I heard an odd high pitched sound after a run on the highway.  All of a sudden it seemed like the brakes were dragging.  Nope, the horn had fallen down and somehow gotten lodged between the front fender and tire, dragging me to a stop!!  I shudder to think what might've happened at 70mph. 

  Anyway, if I'd cleaned the bike at all after that I might've noticed my error as I usually get up under there to clean the fairing in front of the radiator.

[Grnrngr]

I give a good cleaning now and then, a lot less this time of year cuz it just gets covered with road dirt that much faster riding in the rain. The Virago sat 14 yrs and all of the aluminum got oxidized, a good cleaning with a green scrubbie got the crusties off, but I haven't put any time into polishing it. Gonna have to change the back tire soon, and since I decided to part the other one, I'll be polishing the hub and brake plate before I do the swap, simply because it's already off, and, well..why not? much easier that way, then it's that much easier to keep it clean. But generally, I just give 'em a good washin now and then.....

[laser145]

Haha, I don't let her go, she gets the attention she needs to stay strong and healthy. She doesn't need my help to look good, even if she's covered in dirt and loaded down with baggage.

what kind of helmet is that,

(and i agree.. i dont understand how people spend as much money as they do on fresh paint when there is a beautiful patina and a couple scratches/small dents that remind of all the places she has been)

The helmet is a MOMO... look here...http://www.momohelmets.com/

Cheers

[Nikkisixx]

My toys are clean, but not trailer queens. 

In high school, my buddy would wash and wax and detail his car on Friday afternoon while I tuned and tweaked mine.  My car was hell at the drags, and I had to give my buddy a ride home several times. 

[CycleRanger]

So I searched "patina motorcycle" on google, I found this, haha.

"Was running when it was parked."

[dave500]

So I searched "patina motorcycle" on google, I found this, haha.

have a look at the tread on that rear tyre,its disgusting.