washing my Nomad

[racinchef]

Now that I rode my Nomad in the rain for the first it came time to wash it for the first time. I take the basic no-fuss approach to my bike. I use a carwash soap and an automotive grade sponge and soft brush. Basically I just wet the bike down in the shade and start washing it from front to back, top to bottom, rinsing as I go along. After I'm done washing and rinsing I tilt the bike over both sides to let as much water run off. Then I dry the bike with a clean soft towel. I just bought a twelve-pack of microfiber towels and I highly recommend them as they suck up a lot of water. They are 16" square and I only used two to dry my bike. After I've gotten as much as I can. I break out the gasoline powered air dryer; I start the engine and ride the bike up to sixty mph to blast out any water I can't get to. After that I park the bike in the sun so that any residual moisture evaporates. I also open my saddlebags and tour-pack and wipe down the rubber gaskets and contacts. I will have to get a bike lift to better wash the underside of the pipes, saddlebags and get into the wheels better. Other than that, that's it. I don't polish my bike. When I was much younger I brought my bike inside over the winter and took it apart and washed everything inside and out, but bachelor living fixed it so that is not possible. Now my baby is once again gleaming fast black and chrome. I will be getting quick release fittings for my saddlebags and seats because the back end of a bike gets the dirt and dust. How do you wash your bike?

[beezer]

use a leaf blower to dry your bike. It's alot faster and will blow water out of nooks and crannies (not to be confused with Todd's cranium) that you can't get with a towel.

[chuckster131]

WOW ! I should have you wash mine too..

I do use a good car wash soap to wash with, then rinse. Once that is done I use Eagle One spray wax, this can be sprayed on while the bike is wet, and dry with the micro fiber towels.

A leaf blower works great to blow the water away as well.

[ells]

Running the bike to dry it can bake on any residue, depending on how well you rinse and water hardness. You wash, I'll dry.

[scott2007nomad]

Sad to say but I'm a fair weather biker.
I avoid the rain as much as possible therefore my "washing" very seldom consists of using a hose.
Mostly spot cleaning and polishing.

During the times I do break out the hose, it is to get to the engine parts that can't be reached by hand or towel and I too use a leaf blower or ride it to dry.

On a similar note:
When I trailered my bike home (purchased used two states away) it got an incredible soaking while driving through a monsoon.
I've recently had the back rest off and the windshield off and noticed rust between the layers of parts as well as rust on the headlight bucket where the screws go into the sides.
I wonder if that rust was caused by the previous owner or my trip through the storm bringing it back.

Scott

[cactusjack]

"When I trailered my bike home (purchased used two states away) it got an incredible soaking while driving through a monsoon."

You wouldn't have picked it up in Arizona, would you?

[dragon57]

+1 on the leaf blower; best thing going!

When I wash my bikes, I use an automotive wash/wax product, but I never spray water on a bike. I use a t-shirt, soaked in the water-wash solution and squeezed about two-thirds of the way out. I rinse with clear water, using the same method, then dry with a clean cloth. I clean and dry the hard to reach spots (engine, etc) with a special cleaning brush, then scrub the tires with a stiff bristle brush. No tire dressing. Mother's Chrome Polish and Eagle One Plastic Polish for the chrome and windshield.

http://www.bikebrush.com/ < for the brush

[dantama]

I predict that many would be horrified at my way of washing, but it works for me.

I take it to the car wash and spray it off. I don't spray (with the full stream, residual spray is fine) the hubs, electricals, and steering stem with the full pressure. I end it with the spot free rinse so that it doesn't leave water spots.

I let it drip dry on the way home and don't have any problems with water spots.

I had my first Nomad for 4 years and 63,000 miles and washed it that same way. Didn't have any problems with rust or bearings etc, so I keep doing it; for $2 and 4 minutes of time, I'm as shinny as can be.

If the bike has a lot of bugs on it,I run it through the car wash.Otherwise I just wash it in the driveway.I just use a hose on low pressure to wet and rinse,and a sponge and soapy water to clean.

Spray bottles and rags for me. I don't like to squirt it with a hose. I have ridden in the rain, and parked in the rain. I'm not afraid of water. It's just too hard to get it all off fast (before it starts to dry and spot) if washed with a hose.

[ringadingh]

I use a garden hose and a bucket of soapy water, rinse, and dry with a leafblower.

Yeah, that's what everybody says: use a leaf blower. I don't own one because I pay people to cut my lawns, and they do the blowing. Is just an electric one sufficient? Or do you really need a gas powered blower?

[dantama]

Caddmann, I don't know if you have a water softener, but if you do they are usually hooked up only to your hot water. The times that I did wash it at home (When I had a house, not a condo) when I was done rinsing it, I'd get water coming from the hot side, and pour over the bike. The soft water dries with no spots.

BTW, that's all the "spot free rinse" at the car wash is.

I actually have one, and I have hose bibs outside for both hard and soft water.