Motorcycle Detailing

D

Dalton

New member
Not sure if this is the right forum but......



I bought my first bike this week. Cant wait to get in the road. Grew up on Dirt Bikes and always wanted a street bike so wife gave me the a-ok so I did it. Anyway, any suggestions on detailing it? I can imagine that it has to be different than working on a car. Tips and tricks and advise would be appreciated.



Thanks
 
what kind of bike is it? cruiser or sport?



Cleaning is easy...use a good spray bottle and fill it with 1/5th wash solution and 4/5th hot water. saturate the bike with it and rinse with a full blast of water. Use a good wheel cleaner on the brake and wheel setups also near the swingarm pivot too. Dry with compressed air of some sort after you have toweled off the bodywork...wax as you desire and lightly coat all bare metal with either a spray detailer or mist a lubricant on it(DO NOT GO NEAR TIRES OR BRAKES) Be sure to have a good metal polish on hand to do tedious work (spokes, engine, controls, etc.) I like Nevr Dull Wadding or even a light wheel cleaner!



Have fun and for God's sake ride safe and smart!!!
 
Here is how I wash my bike:



I use regular car shampoo, two buckets, and three mitts.



I wash the brake rotors and calipers first, using a mitt dedicated to that purpose. I roll the bike forward/backward a bit to get at all areas. I use a small brush to get into the crevices.



Next, I wash the wheels, undertail, exhaust, swingarm and footpegs using my second mitt. Parts that I do not wash are the left side of the rear wheel, the left side of the swingarm, and around the sidestand. The chain fling on those parts will just contaminate the mitt.



Next, using a good sheepskin mitt and fresh buckets of shampoo and water, I wash the remaining parts of the bike. I start with the windshield and headlight cover which are made of soft plastic and easily scratched



After rinsing, I dry it with a microfibre towel avoiding the areas I did not wash. I use a dedicated towel to dry the brake rotors as some dirty water will come out of the vent holes.



I then remove the seat to dry the water that gets in there and to wipe down all the surfaces.



For the areas with chain fling, I wipe them down with blue shop towels and kerosene.
 
DCopp said:
what kind of bike is it? cruiser or sport?



Cleaning is easy...use a good spray bottle and fill it with 1/5th wash solution and 4/5th hot water. saturate the bike with it and rinse with a full blast of water. Use a good wheel cleaner on the brake and wheel setups also near the swingarm pivot too. Dry with compressed air of some sort after you have toweled off the bodywork...wax as you desire and lightly coat all bare metal with either a spray detailer or mist a lubricant on it(DO NOT GO NEAR TIRES OR BRAKES) Be sure to have a good metal polish on hand to do tedious work (spokes, engine, controls, etc.) I like Nevr Dull Wadding or even a light wheel cleaner!



Have fun and for God's sake ride safe and smart!!!
Click to expand...



Since it is my first bike I didnt want to spend a fortune so I got a new Yamaha V-Star 1100 Classic Silverado. Its really nice and didnt break the bank. If I like the hoby I will upgrade to a Harley in a couple of years.



Thanks for the advise.
 
Detailing tips:



1. Don't use anything on the brake rotors and be careful about overspray when using aerosol products on other parts.



2. Don't use anything abrasive on the fork sliders.



3. Don't use anything on the seat that might make it slippery.



4. Don't use tire dressings. Much more of the treaded portions of the tires are visible than on a car due to the rounded profile. A dressed sidewall will negatively highlight the treaded portion.



5. For the windshield and headlight cover, Plexus is the best product by far.



6. The painted and black plastic areas can be treated as you would on your car using cleaners, polishes, waxes, trim detailer, etc. The sides of the gas tank are prone to hazing, so put several layers of wax on there. I wax mine everytime I wash. Use good quality products that won't leave white lines on the edges of the decals.



7. The non-coated, non-anodized metal parts can be cleaned up with metal polish. For the levers and pedals, be careful to not get any polish in the pivot areas. I take my levers and pedals off once or twice a year to thoroughly clean, polish, and lubricate them.



8. Polishing the fairing bolts makes a surprising improvement in the appearance. I remove them for polishing and use a Q-tip to clean the polish out of the hole.
 
I found the "Air force blaster" works best for getting the water off/out of the small area (so it won't cause pre-mature rust). Compressed air works, but with this dryer, you can blow all the water off your bike. I think a quick towel drying then the blower works faster. then some S100 and your rolling off with a shiny bike.



Read about it here: http://www.autogeek.net/metairforbla.html



buy it here (cheapest I have found): http://www.autogeek.net/metairforbla.html



Scroll down... it the same one talked about in auto detailing.



I also use it on my car to get the water out of the cracks... great toy and you don't have to listen to your air compressor run... this is much quieter.



If you don't use some kind of air to blow the water out all those small areas, stuff will rust.
 
i actually like to put dressing on my seats because i like to move around. however, don't put anything on the pillion pad because your passenger will slide straight off the back the first time you hit the gas. haha.
 
Thats funny. I have a very close friend who bought a V-Rod last year off Ebay. Got an awesome deal. Once in a life time really. Anyway, when I told him what I bought he said "I looked at those and almost made the same mistake. Then I came to my sneses and got a Harley". Seems like Harley owners have this superiority complex like anything but a Harley is no good. Whatever. My bike cost 1/4 of a comperable Harley and to me is just fine
 
Hey Dcopp - replied to your post on my bike thread too!



Funny about the poorly designed bike bit. They aren't my cup of tea either!! - I;m not sure if they are poorly designd - they just haven't bothered re-designing them for about 4 lifetimes or something!! so most of the technology is pre-first world war!!!
 
There are certain aspects of them that are poorly designed. There have been class action suits filed against them for this. Things such as brake calipers falling off while going down the road. They sell out their inventory each and every year, most at full price. Why change? I don't care for them, but for some, it's all about the image. It's funny that a v-rod owner would give you grief. V-Rods are HDs worst selling bike. The die-hards don't like them because they're water cooled and a new design.



Another good cleaner for windshields and visors is Honda cleaner. But any decent "slick" detailer spray will work just fine. If the windshield gets scratched, waterspots, general neglect, use some AIO, it's very effective at getting things looking good again. The screen on my father's BMW is 7 years old and still looks clean even though the old man has never washed the bike ever. I put some AIO on it once a year and it looks good.
 
All motorcyles are great, but a Harley is a Harley. Nothing can take it's place. By the way, the S-100 product line for motorcyles is a great start for motorcyle detailing



Tom :cool:
 
Harley's rock...



i know it's been said, but just incase anyone misses it...



NO DRESSING ON THE TIRES!!!!!



A friend of mine detailed his bike, and dressed the tires...





It didn't end well.
 
I have 13 motorcycles I do before shows. Value form 10G's to 50G's. It's tediouse but very rewarding.

4 Products:

Simichrome (eastwood.com)-for chrome and other polished metals. I just started using it and it makes all metals shinny like chrome and look new. I use it when AIO won't get it as nice as I want it.

AIO- It will clean, polish and protect on fiberglass, glass, chrome, and metal. Makes waxes and sealents bond to painted fiberglass or plastic 100 times better.

SG- Bonds to protect and shine plastic, metal, and glass. Last 6 months and protects it from all contamints. Stops contamints sticking to your finish so it's easier to clean.

P21S-Will make everybody look at your bike.

Do this: Clay all paint and metal to remove heavy contamints. Go over metal parts of bike to see what need heavy polish. I now use simichrome on all polished metals the first detail then just keep up with AIO. Then use AIO. Apply with MF's or PC only use a dime size. I only use 3 dime sizes to do a whole bike. You don't want to use alot because it's a paint to remove and it's already hard enought to do all those little pieces. It dries really quick. NExt SG, apply with MF or pc but only put a nickel size at a time because it's the same as AIO if you use to much it's a pain to remove. My trick and others is to leave it on for 24 hrs to totally cure. You will get total flatness so it will shine and protect better. If can't wait that long then remove after total application. Finally P21S or S100(same). Apply with mf applicator or PC. Use only on paint. Watch it shine!

I suggest to keep it up is Sonus or P21S Shampoo, Sonus Acrylic Spritz. Don't use cleaners on metal because that will just remove the wax, sg and AIO. You shouldn't have to use cleaners. Get 3 chenille or mf mits, 2 buckets (one to rinse other for soap), 303 protectant, and a hot chick. You only have to do this at the beginning of the riding season. You can apply P21S as many times as you want.

I guarantee you will be beyond happy with the results and tons of complements.
 
Another bit of advice is to avoid using products containing silicone oil on the brake rotors and calipers. This includes S100 Total Cycle Cleaner and most car wash shampoos.



Oil on the brakes is bad. :nono
 
blackntan said:
Harley's rock...



i know it's been said, but just incase anyone misses it...



NO DRESSING ON THE TIRES!!!!!



A friend of mine detailed his bike, and dressed the tires...





It didn't end well.
Click to expand...



You can dress the tires, just not out to the edge where the treads start.
 
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