How............................

Not to clean a bike .

I dropped into a certain bike shop today that sells BMW and other high end brands .
They were advertising a deal to get your bike detailed for $120 on site . To my surprise the had 3 bikes on the go at wash and dry stage .
The fact that they were using a high pressure cleaner on $70,000 worth of bikes sent alarm-bells ringing in my head .
I decided to stand back and observe .
One guy threw his chamois on the concrete ,hosed one side off ,picked it up off the concrete (no doubt with sand grains attached to the under side )
and proceeded to clean a screen and tank .

I rode off in disgust . Idiot cleaners and not one sales or service person who knew any better .

I will NOT let anyone else clean my bike. Even Jan.  But.  I will clean anyone elses bike with the same amount of detail that I clean my own. Something about standing back afterwards and admiring how good they look.

I've learned  a lot about cleaning bikes since I got the black bandit ......................marks if you look at it too hard .( the paint is getting harder with age though )

paul wrote:( the paint is getting harder with age though )

Not like some things eh Paul. 

Hammy wrote:

paul wrote:( the paint is getting harder with age though )

Not like some things eh Paul. 

Not for want of trying

Cleaning your own bike is a good form of maintenance and allows you to see if any bolts have loosened, fairings are cracked, oil leaks etc etc and you become familiar with the intricate parts of the bike.

I can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon after a weekend of riding, cleaning my Bandit, having a few VB's and listening to the test match on the radio.

Other people cleaning your bike with high pressure cleaners sounds like a sure way to damage seals and bushes and attract surface scratches on fairings.

Yep, standing back and admiring at the end is satisfying.