Triumph T120, WASHING YOUR MOTORCYCLE. The ultimate bike cleaning method ? 

Thankyou very much John, much appreciated sir!

Thank you sir, have to admit I do use a compressor myself, but not everyone owns a compressor so I thought I would leave it out and just go down a route everyone could follow without having to lay out for expensive equipment!

Excellent video. I currently use S100 - have used it on my previous bikes and now the T120 with success. May have to try Muck Off when I run out of S100. Another air method I use for preliminary drying is my gas powered leaf blower - more mobile and not as concentrated as an air compressor nozzle.

Thank you sir!

one of those cheap high power pet dryers available on Amazon work a treat, they really blow the water out

Also use a leaf blower here to finish things off .. you´d be surprised at all the water that sits in nooks and crannies .. a compressor on the other hand often has oil and especially dirty rusty water sitting in the bottom of it´s tank and that grime can be blown out with the air even though it may not always be noticeable… before wiping dry though a bucket of water mixed with a little Neophos shine from the dish washer thrown over the bike makes for a streak free finish

nice bike! Thank you sir I shall continue to do my best!

Hi Spencer the centre stand is standard on the T120, and the screen fitted is the Dart classic. If you would like to take a look through my videos, I did publish a review a few months ago!

Your welcome Christopher, thanks for watching!

Thank you mr Vega!

Thank you James and thanks for joining in!

Hi Dave, Thanks, I use a good anti fling lube, I always wipe off the excess before it dries, and leave it overnight before riding. so I have minimal problems with lube fling. I always wash the rear wheel last so any pickup is not transferred elsewhere. the mitt is then washed before its used again. I always finish by waxing the rear wheel and the petro solvents used in the wax remove any lube with ease whilst waxing and protecting the rim! Thanks very much for watching nice to hear from you again.

Glad you found it works out for you sir! thanks for watching!

your welcome sir! thanks for watching!

I had to commute for many years on a bike myself John and I know keeping your bike in order is a difficult losing battle. unfortunately, especially now, manufacturers believe the bulk of their products will be tucked up in a garage during the winter months. so ,scant attention is given to corrosion protection I commiserate with you its not easy watching your pride and joy deteriorating the way you describe. I will be publishing a video on chain cleaning and lubing this week keep an eye open for it and rest assured come October time, ill be giving some tips on how to keep the elements at bay during the winter months!

Ah its all in the technique sir, nothing to it really, Lift! don't pull!

Actually im a little embarrased the muc off is quite expensive at the moment compared to the last time i bought it. still works out to be economical though! simoniz is always a good choice in my book sounds like a good deal, but i have loads of the muc off shampoo at the moment, found it on offer at £5 for two bottles a few months ago and filled my basket up! Will look forward to seeing your photos mr Bond always good catching up with you!

Thanks for watching Mr Dark, your comment is appreciated!

Thank you sir, im not familiar with 6t9 i shall have to have a look at those!

Thanks Ade Glad you enjoyed it, and your right the key is to touch the bike as little as possible!

Im not a big fan of it sir! too thick and sticky for summer use, and not very effective for rust prevention in winter from my experience!

JurreS yes its still perfectly suitable for matt paint work.

I had the same question. Thanks!

My seat does too! but its the optional stitched one.

Your a bit late to the game with this comment Ian. we have devoted entire videos to this subject in the 2 years since this video was published, including the types of salt used in Muc Off, try to keep up!

Thank you sir!

this is a common problem. Assuming the, pipe is chrome get a wooden spatula and scrape off any heavy deposits. then get a wad of common aluminium baking foil wet it down and use it like sandpaper to abrade the plastic away. don't scrub too hard. aluminium is far softer than chrome so it should not damage it but it is harder than carbonised plastic. it will take a bit of time but it usually does the trick.

Hi David, thank you, I believe it doesnt matter what your bike is, or whether its old or new, they are all fantastic and represent a big financial investment. so its well worth the effort to preserve them. The only problem with the longer format is that people tend to get bored and click off before the finish, hence the comments in this weeks video, a lot of people last week were asking questions that were answered in the latter part of the video, because they had clicked off at 5 or 6 minutes and it became quite frustrating asking them to watch the video, again, all the way through to obtain the answer! The longer format is not that much more work than the usual 6 to 8 minutes really i always get plenty of footage and just ruthlessly edit it down. Thanks for your comment on the production quality it is something i put a lot of effort in to, and im constantly looking at ways of improving it further. You tube is very saturated with creators now and i believe viewers expectations on production quality are getting higher. and certainly for me a 720p helmet camera just doesnt cut it any more!

Yes they have them in stock but to be honest ive just been too busy to take the bike in for fitting. she is due for her first annual service soon so ill get it done then!

Just put a piece of wet kitchen roll over the area and leave it for 5 to 10 minutes. it will rehydrate the bugs and they should then just wash off with ease! work well with helmet visors too!

Your very welcome Raymond thanks for watching!

She is a comfortable bike sir, and i have to say far more comfortable than any of my previous 5 gs models, also much smoother and refined and easier/ more pleasurable to ride! of course the the only drawback at the moment is the non availability of serious luggage! but i feel she would take you anywhere you wanted to go!

Many thanks Stuart I'm in the process of arranging a test ride at my local dealer

All I can really say mike is that, that has never happened to me in the 10+years ive been using Muc off cleaner!

Interesting comment. I tried the muc off method on my new Thruxton R and my old Honda XL250. The results on both were consistent; the bright alloy casings and wheels as well as the black painted metal both went milky white. I followed the instructions in that I washed off the cleaner within the specified times. I am, as you can imagine, very disappointed and now face quite a lot of work in order to retrieve the situation

Hi Andrew, nice to hear from you and thanks for watching! I'm hoping maybe to do a review on the t100 in the near future as I think the t120 and t100 are going to be compared very closely by prospective purchasers. The seat on my bike if it is leather (personally I think I was lied to) doesn't seem to need any care as it is supposedly PU coated. but a proper leather seat will need some sort of dubbin or similar waterproof treatment on a regular basis. BAAK make some very sexy gear and I have not heard anything bad about them, but have no experience of their products myself! The moderns classic Triumph is all about customisation! and the freedom to make it personal to you sir go for it!

More good advice. Thanks Stuart, I will keep watching

thank you sir! try the muc off matt finish detailer on your matt paintwork!

I shall have to order it. unfortunately we lack that product in SA :-D

Yes people keep mentioning pet dryers but i have to admit i have not tried one as yet!

Yes, please give one a try they are a nice piece of kit. You can by the motorcycle specific version of the dryer but to me they are identical to the Pet Dryer version and always seem to cost more. Please be careful when you first try out the dryer. I first tried my new dryer out in the kitchen. Big mistake, the airblast was so powerful that the hose unit flew out of my hand and the blast of air blew over one of the wife's ornaments that she displays on the kitchen shelf. Luckily she was out at the time and I managed to repair it and place it back in exactly the same spot. She will (of course) eventually find out about this little mishap and I will be in BIG trouble! Recent subscriber - love the content of your vid's

LOL Hi again Michael, ill see if i can get my hands on one this summer!

yes i do use it in the winter stu, but it is very sticky stuff so doesn't enhance cleanliness! it is also very expensive. I will be making a winter bike preparation video in the autumn so keep an eye open for it!

Hi guys, I am a long term advocate of using ACF50, with one precaution. To preserve the molecular bond between ACF50 and fabric of your bike, the manufacturers advise that only Ph neutral cleaners be used. Acid or Alkaline products, such as Muc-off strip the dressing from the bikes surfaces, thereby removing the protection which we have spent time and money applying! With that in mind, might I suggest, Stuart, that you try SDoc100 cleaner, followed by Autoglym Polar blast Snow foam. I can highly recommend these from personal experience. Ride safe. 🏍🏍👍👍

well done sir and congratulations on your new bike! But, I have to ask, who the devil is Norman? Thanks for watching Robert!

stuart fillingham , sorry for renaming you Stuart, I think I may a bit older than you, that's my excuse. I have been motorcycling since 1967, rode some triumphs in those days and always admired the Bonnevile, after years on BMW's I thought the Bonneville would complete my motorcycling career.

good show sir! no offence taken! enjoy your new bike!

Yes of course Joe, stick the kettle on I'm on my way!

As far as I know sir this is a problem restricted to Germany! I have heard of it before. my suggestion would be to move to another country where they don't have such silly laws that interfere with the maintenance of your motorcycle! Failing that Georg, I don't see why you would need to change the method too much, you would maybe have to skip the final bucket wash, but the 2 stage muc off procedure should remain unchanged, and all you need to take to the wash box with you is the muc off cleaner and a drying towel.

When you wash your bike or car on the street you are essentially dumping chemicals and oil into the ground, albeit on a small scale, but if everyone does it then it quickly adds up. There is an argument to be made that this can be detrimental to the environment, since the pollutants finally end up in ground water and rivers. That is, I take it, the basis for this law in Germany. The wash boxes I mentioned process the dirty run-off and separate the oil and chemicals, more or less purifying the water. I’m sure you have laws in the UK that prohibit someone dumping used oil, or chucking trash out onto the side of the road. I spent a few years in Bath and recall ordnance signs warning that dog owner’s would be fined 1000 pounds in the event that the dog poo was not disposed of properly. I thought that was hilarious. Just like the signs in California warning motorists on highways of the $1000 fine to be imposed on anyone littering. Even if I do decide to go rogue and wash my bike on the side of the road, I do not have any access to running water. Germany, alas, does not provide water taps to the public to attach a hose to (another downside of living here). I have washed my bicycles using buckets of water, and that somehow works, although it does require more agitation with sponges and brushes and thus would conflict with your non-invasive method. A hose with some water pressure seems essential. I am thinking of buying a so-called portable cleaner which is a water tank attached to a water pump with a hose (and a battery for power). There is one available, Aqua2go GD70, which has a 17 liter tank. The alternative is the Kärcher OC3, which is much smaller, but the tank is only 4 liters and it seems that is only enough for two minutes of water which is probably not enough to clean a motorcycle. I will tell you how it goes. Thanks again for the inspiring videos which have made me feel more confident in cleaning my slightly dirty Triumph Street Scrambler (but then someone told me that dirty is the way it’s supposed to look!)

Yeah pollution is a huge problem the world over and i wont knock Germany for taking the responsibility to tackle it! but i do wonder how effective it actually is when you consider a lot of the pollution from traffic fumes also ends up in the ground. In my defence most of the cleaning chemicals i use are biodegradable, and all are directed down a drain on my drive, which is then processed by the water company before being allowed back in to the water courses. Thanks for the comments Georg they are much appreciated!

Hey Stu, meguiars nxt generation metal polysh! (their spelling not mine!) will get most of it off with some very hard work, but, it will come back over time. the product of these modern lean burn engines I'm afraid!

Thank you. I have returned to motorcycling and keen to maintain the appearance of my bike but wasn't sure how much attention to give to the exhaust discolouring. I think I will leave it as it is and keep the rest in good order. Again many thanks. Stuart

Hi! which product are you struggling to get?

chrome cleaner is abrasive sir! so I never use it, have you seen the video I published last week which covers waxing and protecting?

stuart fillingham no this was the only one that popped on my feed. time to brew another cup of coffee methinks...

very good sir!

on my way sir! put the kettle on!

Well! welcome back to biking Manfred! How does it feel? you will love Yorkshire sir, any info you need just get in touch with me via facebook!

Hello Stuart! It feels great ... and I've got absolutely the bike I wanted! In former days I rode a BMW R100RT and had a lot of fun with it. Only on hot summer days it drove me insane because I was sweatening behind its fairing, there was no air cooling me inside of my protection clothing. So I wanted a naked bike. It's always a question of your personal matter of taste, but the design of the new BMW's don't fit my needs of style, because they in between of being modern or being classic. Triumph did a very good job with its modern classics - and the first bike which impressed me was in '69 when I was a kid a Triumph which was owned by a neighbour. I've done 5.600 kms up to now (300 on last Sunday) and my skills develop ... (I hope) I've done a safety training and one for getting into right leaning angle (?) in September I would go to the racetrack for view leading and curve technique You see "it got me back" Unfortunately I'm not on facebook but If you like we could contact via email please use if you would like manfred.oesterwinter@t-online.de So again sir: thanks for your inspiration, on Saturday is bike cleaning day (if the materials you suggested will arrive best regards and always a good ride Manfred

Hi Manfred glad to hear your enjoying the bike and i fullyagree with your comments! If you need to email me you can find the messageing facility on the main peofile page here on you tube, will look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you Siraj, and your welcome!

Your very welcome sir! how did the engine case turn out?

Haven't been able to spend any time on it again yet, probably later today. I'll let you know.

Thank you sir much appreciated! glad you approve! Im not sure there is wrong way to clean your bike but better ways are always worth looking at!

stuart fillingham: No thank YOU for making the effort and taking the time to show a better way of how to clean a T120 that you own and actually ride. Don't get me wrong, I've seen the videos about spraying foam all over the bike to clean it but I personally don't have/nor want the equipment to do that. And how you show a one bucket method is practical and makes sense on how you use it. I'm currently watching your other posted videos at the moment, good stuff! keep up the good work even if it isn't on the T120 Bonneville.

Once again thank you sir!

Your welcome Andy, thanks for watching.

Spooky! im just getting ready to film a new video on this subject, and the cleaner I now use! yes it would appear they were either telling fibs, or they have indeed changed to solution to get production costs down!

@@stuartfillingham Turns out the bottle does say it contains sodium salts. I just emailed you some pictures.

Your very welcome Paulie, thanks for watching!

Your welcome sir, little things can make a big difference.

I tried the GT85 and the miracle shine today tho maybe you could include how to open the bottle of miracle shine I ended up using a screwdriver to prise it open in the end

Ah child proof caps! just push down and unscrew! always a problem for proper bikers I should have mentioned it!

Thank you sir and thank you very much for watching!

Hi Phil yes I do but im afraid I dont really use it!

that ok mate I've found your Facebook page and I've requested friend so cool no probs

Thank you sir.

You allowed a Thruxton R to become soiled!?

you obviously didn't listen to what I said! try and keep up!

Only if your an idiot!

You too sir, Thanks for watching!