Never again...

[Wyomom]

I will never complain or tease DH again when he is washing our bikes. I have helped/washed my own but he just said I didn't do it his way or I wasn't thorough enough. So I said fine...do it yourself. I used to giggle when he would use the leafblower to dry them.

Well this morning he polished his up to ride to work tonight. So I thought I would just whip mine in and clean him up good. Oh my gosh...first it's a very warm day, so sweating like no other. Second, he hasn't ever cleaned the spokes, so that was a chore in itself! Third, I totally understand why he uses the leafblower - used it myself! And I still have about 1/4 of the bike still with wax on it, gotta go wipe it off. Got too hot and had to stop.

I will never complain about him taking too long or using the blower again!

[amethaelf]

My first bike had spokes. I used to like the look of them, that is, until I had to clean them each week. Washing/polishing my bike is a major process, takes me two days, one to wash, one to polish (not the whole day, of course, but I could!). I like the idea of the leafblower though. I used to think washing my bike was a good "bonding" experience, but I'm over that now.

[softail02]

Got a good taste of taking care of your own

Leaf blowers work even better than a air compressor!

I wipe my bike down between rides, but only wash it a couple of times a season unless I get caught in the rain.

The reason you see bikers take off when it looks like a rain coming in isn't so much the riding in rain part.........who wants to spend time fully washing their bike

Are you going to tell DH?????

[Condor]

Ditto what Softail02 said

[Blacktop]

I must have an illness I do bike detailing on the side The most I've ever charged for a bike was $225.00 and no it wasn't a trike.Yesterday I did one Heritage Softail in about 4.5 hours and made $100.00......my knees feel it today.I do carry a small compressor in the back of my truck to blow off the moisture before I begin to dry off & wax.I did get an invitation by the shop owner to come inside for the a/c of the shop,but yesterday I had a nice breeze & covered parking so I decided I'd rather hang out with all the bikers outside

[WhiteVTX]

Isn't the leaf blower great?! I used it when I detailed my bike two weeks ago.

[softail02]

I must have an illness I do bike detailing on the side The most I've ever charged for a bike was $225.00 and no it wasn't a trike.Yesterday I did one Heritage Softail in about 4.5 hours and made $100.00......my knees feel it today.I do carry a small compressor in the back of my truck to blow off the moisture before I begin to dry off & wax.I did get an invitation by the shop owner to come inside for the a/c of the shop,but yesterday I had a nice breeze & covered parking so I decided I'd rather hang out with all the bikers outside

I've been tempted to pay that $100 to the wash/detail guy at the HD dealership! Expecially when I come back from Daytona Bike Week. I've never had the nerve to ask/tell bf to stop and the dealership and unload my bike for detailing, lol. To much stuff behind our bikes in the trailer. So I end up out in the cold trying to wash all the salt off my bike. I doubt that our detail guy spends anywhere close to 4 hours detailing a bike, at least not for the normal $100 charge.

Right now my wheels/spokes need a major cleanup. Haven't found the energy for those.

[SFW]

$100......DH would have a fit!!

I learned a long time ago as DH says if you don't like it do it yourself...and he meant it.
Spokes and cleaning....yeah not in the same sentence for me...I just hope the awe and shine of the rest of the bike will suffice!!

[Blacktop]

I must have an illness I do bike detailing on the side The most I've ever charged for a bike was $225.00 and no it wasn't a trike.Yesterday I did one Heritage Softail in about 4.5 hours and made $100.00......my knees feel it today.I do carry a small compressor in the back of my truck to blow off the moisture before I begin to dry off & wax.I did get an invitation by the shop owner to come inside for the a/c of the shop,but yesterday I had a nice breeze & covered parking so I decided I'd rather hang out with all the bikers outside

I've been tempted to pay that $100 to the wash/detail guy at the HD dealership! Expecially when I come back from Daytona Bike Week. I've never had the nerve to ask/tell bf to stop and the dealership and unload my bike for detailing, lol. To much stuff behind our bikes in the trailer. So I end up out in the cold trying to wash all the salt off my bike. I doubt that our detail guy spends anywhere close to 4 hours detailing a bike, at least not for the normal $100 charge.

Right now my wheels/spokes need a major cleanup. Haven't found the energy for those.

Four hours is the shortest amount of time I spend on a bike.Most of the time,on bikes with spokes I spent four plus hours on them...most folks never clean their spokes.I usually spend from 9am to around 3pm.If it is a two day job it goes up from 100-150 to 175-225.The guy at your Harley shop has it made with the lifts,I'm on my back with all kinds of different stuff to get at the nooks and crannies

[Blacktop]

I hope I can post this picture of one of my nastiest bikes yet

phpGgSbaSPMx50.jpg (19.86 KiB) Viewed 350 times

This is one that took me two trips to the shop to get done Guess I'm a fool for a clean bike

[SFW]

sweet!!

I did all my fancy cleaning work to wake up today to a nice green coating from pollen - YUCK!!

[Wyomom]

Unfortunately the previous owner of Crush never cleaned anything! So this is the first cleaning that the spokes have had for a long time, I am guessing. I used a toothbrush, a cloth and just hot water. I didn't know what I was gonna have to do, so I just gave it a whirl with some basic stuff. Will hit it a little harder next time!

[Blacktop]

Unfortunately the previous owner of Crush never cleaned anything! So this is the first cleaning that the spokes have had for a long time, I am guessing. I used a toothbrush, a cloth and just hot water. I didn't know what I was gonna have to do, so I just gave it a whirl with some basic stuff. Will hit it a little harder next time!

Yeap,the ole' toothbrush works everytime.DH had my bike before me,and rarely did he do the spokes I've managed to restore the luster since I got Peppie last year,but it does take different techniques for different layers of grit.When they are really bad,I'm use terry cloth rags to scrub away the garbage,then for my finish cloth after layer of wax is removed with terry cloth I use the micro fiber cloths.

[SFW]

Well now ya'll made me look at my spokes and while the rest of my ride shines the spokes are a bit grey...
told DH about your detail costs....he has some good selective hearing!!

[amethaelf]

Theres a product here called Muc Off. You spray it on your bike for 30 seconds then hose it off. Hubby used it on his bike - we were so used to seeing the engine area as being grey, we thought that was the natural colour, that is, until the Muc Off cleaned it up. Now the real silver colour has come through beautifully. He has had his bike for over 5 years now and washes it regularly but this product really made us sit up and take notice of how quick and effectively it cleans. I'm sure there has to be a similiar type product there. Sure would beat cleaning those spokes with a toothbrush!!

[Blacktop]

Well now ya'll made me look at my spokes and while the rest of my ride shines the spokes are a bit grey...
told DH about your detail costs....he has some good selective hearing!!

Does that mean he is going to clean your spokes Tell him your going to ship the rims to me so I can clean them & see if he doesn't break his neck getting out the door with cleaning products

[firefly]

Hubby and I usually clean our bikes together, but I am always done before he is. He is so meticulous it drives my crazy - but I have to say, he does an awesome job. Every now and then he volunteers to clean mine and you can tell the difference . I have spokes and what makes it worse is that my Vulcan is chain driven - it takes hours to get the goo off. I love my Ruby, but my next bike will be with a belt or shaft drive, that's for sure !

[SFW]

Does that mean he is going to clean your spokes Tell him your going to ship the rims to me so I can clean them & see if he doesn't break his neck getting out the door with cleaning products

Honestly, DH would say - go find yourself a MC man!

[Blacktop]

Does that mean he is going to clean your spokes Tell him your going to ship the rims to me so I can clean them & see if he doesn't break his neck getting out the door with cleaning products

Honestly, DH would say - go find yourself a MC man!

Are you sure about that

[SFW]

Are you sure about that

Yes, because he has said that before to me. Anytime I bring up I need this for my MC, or can you help me put this on my MC.....

[cheyenne71597]

We usually only wash the bikes in the beginning of the season, unless we get caught in rain. We use Captain Richards spray for clean ups inbetween washing. It takes off bugs and whatever, then shines!!