I really enjoy your videos. Only other things I do are: 1) dry down the plastics with a chamois,: 2) start up the bike at the end and let it idle for a few minutes, just to make sure any water that may have got into the exhaust etc. dries out quickly. Cheers
Your videos are usually really good - but this one leaves a few things to be desired in my humble opinion. 😉 Now, I’m a detailing guy so I like my stuff to look like new - preferably better. So I might be a bit picky. But these are still general tips how you should do it. Don’t start washing from the top, start from the bottom. Starting from the top pushes the dirt down to the already dirty parts and can make it stick even worse. When washing the fork legs keep your pressure washer always pointing downwards so you don’t push dirt up towards your fork seals. I use a proper chain degreaser and a chain brush to clean the chain. Just start by spraying down your chain. Use a foam cannon with a proper degreaser to get rid of the mud and let it sit for a while. Then pressure washer from the bottom and up. Don’t use a pressure washer on the chain, just use normal pressure to rins of the chain and then use a proper amount of lube (never seen anyone use as much lube on a chain in my life as in this video… the rear wheel and everything will be drenched in lube splatter if you do it like that) you want a light coat, that’s all. Mainly for rust prevention. Don’t use a pressure washer on/in your controls, display or electric switches. Avoid bearings even if it’s not critical. Use a plug for your exhaust. I highly recommend products from Muc Off 👌🏻
My wife asked me a few years back what I wanted for Christmas, I replied a pet drier, she said, "we don't have a dog", I said it's for the bikes. She just laughed. But I did get one from eBay with 2 heat settings and 2 blower speeds for £20 and it's the same as the bike specific models that sell for £60. Also my bike manual recommends using gear oil for my chain which I do, applying it with a 1 inch pain brush. :)
Good video as ever. Im a very average rider, but do know a bit about keeping a bike really, really clean. A few things I’d add, and a couple I’m not sure I agree with… Don’t use a jetwash at all. A normal garden hose attachment is more than enough as you shouldn’t be blasting off mud, you should be soaking it off. Also, stay well away from the TFT and switchgear, preferably cover it up. It’s waterproof, but only to a point. Motorcycle cleaners are ok (ish) but only in the areas you really need them. Better to use a PH neutral car shampoo in my experience. Much cheaper, and much gentler on paintwork, anodising and plastics. Some of the cleaners out there are much too harsh to use regularly. That includes the ones that are regularly featured on some other channels…The faded ‘off black’ that some Triumphs and BMW engines go? That’s because of motorcycle specific cleaning products stripping the colour from the finish. It’s really important to dry your bike. Leaf blower, £50 from Screwfix is perfect, then a few clean microfibres over anything the leaf blower misses. And finally, too much chain lube! Modern chains really only need lube to stop them going rusty. A very light coating with the excess wiped off keeps your bike cleaner, and stops it turning into grinding paste.
I don't disagree with bike drying. I do however with using the a garden hose. When your bike is super muddy, especially with a lot of British mud a garden hose won't get the job done. I did a lot of garden hosing as a kid and it's an arduous process. On really bad enduros, the wash to a basic level has takes 3hrs with a commercial jet wash 🙂 Interesting thoughts on the bike cleaners. Don't be afraid to name and shame 🙂
@@BrakeMagazine I did a lot of garden hose. Jet wash changed my life. Makes a 2 hour job that in reality never gets done properly into 10 minutes. Now I also wash road bikes with it. It strips off the dead flies without rubbing, so the screen doesn't get scratched.
Simple green. Let it sit (don't let it dry). Then power washer. After, start it up and use something to blow dry it while its running. When its dry and cooled off spray her down with WD-40. That not only helps stop rust/corrosion, but also leaves a nice film on the bike that makes the next wash easier. (Only need to spray motor, chain, fenders, electricals) If you're washing a street bike then applying some quick wax back onto the fairings is a good idea since the simple green will strip off waxes.
When I lived with my brother he did landscaping so I would borrow his leaf blower to dry my bike off afterwards - half the time I didn't even need to scrub after a power wash, there would be no residue.
Road bikes: why not to use car snow foam first? I saw below promoting Mucoff. I highly recommend Bilt Hamber Touch less foam...simple test can be found here on YT on one detailing channel.
Spray some cooking oil underneath the clean fenders to make mud stick less to the plastics. Then finish it off with some bacon grease on to the engine and exhaust to give it a nice aroma. 😝
Great video. Thanks for sharing. I noticed something else i struggle with that's in this video : how did you effortlessly put your bike on that motocross stand?? I got one but haven't figured out how to stop the bike rolling forward when i try to lift the rear and it feels very heavy. Can you do a vid on that pls.? Love these mini tip monday vids....😍👍💪🏍
Do you carry any kind of first aid kit? That would be a good topic-considering we intend to fall off in the middle of nowhere-I just got myself quite a bit of gear and I can see plenty of options for it's use.Inept middle aged dudes!
Nice video but your black level is so high, why? This makes your video gray and muddy. Such a shame because your footage is good. Looks like youre using S-Log without knowing how to color grade it. Unless its about cleaning the mud out of your video :-D
