How to wash your dirt bike?????

[xerokewl10]

How do you go about washing your bike?Can i just spray it off with a hose?and what about a power-washer?What do i have to look out for when washing it?

 

[pro2k]

I used to wash it with a power washer but it seems to blow past the bearing seals in the shock linkage bearings. I think it also was forcing dirt past my fork seals and causing problems there. If you use it be sure to not blow it directly at the wheel bearings, head tube bearings, linkage bearings and fork seals.

Now, I just take it home and wash it off with a hose, soap it down with a big sponge, and rinse.

 

[Mike R.]

The trusty Garden hose

Garden Hose and Simple Green and a leaf blower to dry it.
Then spray it down with WD and lube the chain and she is good to go till next time :cool:

 

[SmogNazi]

On my 400ex quad i make a mixture of 10 percent simple green and 90percent water. Spray on, and within about 3 minutes wash off with the hose. Since the bikes are aluminum, i would not use simple green since it pits aluminum. Use soapy water, degreaser if needed in bad areas and quickly wash off. You will be ready to go

 

[jmossbarger]

The method that works best for me is a pressure washer and some purple cleaner. The purple cleaner is usually made by Castrol, but there are some cheap knock-offs that work just as well. You can find it in most Autozones.

The purple stuff is the secret. First knock off the big junks of mud and dirt, then soak the bike with the cleaner. let it sit for just a minute or so and then spray it with the hose or pressure washer. The last thing I do is the tires, soak each tire with the cleaner and then spray it off, the tires will look brand new!

I don't touch my bike with sponge or wash rag anymore, and it looks pristine when I am done.

As for the pressure washer, if you use your head and don't sit there blasting the linkage or fork seals, you won't have a problem.

Its also a good idea to soak the engine down with some WD-40 after you are done.

Good luck,
Joe

 

[YZmx85]

Can't believe anyone hasn't said this yet -> Plug up the silencer end-cap and cover the airbox with a plastic bag and rubber band. I don't use a pressure washer because they rip off my stickers and graphics. I wash mine everytime I'm done riding with a garden hose and dishwashing soap. DO NOT use dishwashing soap on anything with grease on it as it is a DEgreaser. Common sense no?

 

[NacNac250F]

Rinse your bike and spray everything with simple green and let it sit for about five minutes. After five minutes just rinse the bike and your done. If it was real muddy that day you might have to do it again. O and if you dont have an o-ring chain make sure you scrub the crap out of your chain.

 

[xerokewl10]

What is an o-rng chain and how do you know if you have one? Also what kind of oil do i use to oil the chain?

 

[Jeffack1]

Hi all. I use a power washer and just use the widest angle nozzle (40 degrees) and try to avoid spraying directly into the air box or silencer.

I knock off the big stuff with the power washer, soap the bike and then rinse with the power washer.

Finally to top it off, I get out the leaf blower and blow dry the bike and then coat the engine with silcone or wd40.

This works well for me.

Jeff

 

[BPJNT]

I clean it after every ride and when I clean the air filter, usually after 2 rides unless extremely dusty, I use an Acerbis Air Box Wash Cover to clean the air box. I use a hose only, tooth brush, longer toilet type scrubber w/ soft bristles and Simple Green. Bike is 05', but it keeps it looking new and I can check over bike for any problems because no dirt in my way. I work hard for my money and it doesn't take much to clean it, plus I enjoy it.

Don't forget to clean underneath, just put the bike on a triangle stand and get on your knees w/ a scrub brush and clean the mud, just be careful not to blow water up the vent hoses.

I also change the oil after 2 rides (Castrol 10w30), lube the chain after each ride and always check for loose bolts and do pre ride inspection.

BPJNT :nod:

 

[Joe_148]

I just spray off the dirt with a normal garden hose (stopped using pressure washer because its a real hassle to hook up and I realized I can do just as good a job with a normal hose) then spray simple green on certain parts of the bike (ex. back of bike first) then scrub the dirt off with a sponge then rinse it all off and repeat this till the whole bike is done. As someone else said get under the bike too, but an easier way I use is just lay the bike right over on the stand with the gas shut off (on the clutch side-I dont like putting that much weight/pressure on my throttle tube) and get underneath. When Im done I dry the whole bike with a towel (except the engine) and then spray wd-40 on the chain. Start up the engine, let it warm up for awhile (oh ya I forgot to say plug the exhaust-I use a rag, but take this out before starting ;) then ride up and down the street and apply both brakes several times to dry them up and prevent surface rust. If you wanna get that new bike look, Wet n' Black on the tires looks real nice and smells peerty also..

i would not use simple green since it pits aluminum

Can anyone confirm this? what is "pitting"? Ive been using simple green on my aluminum framed CR's for years, and at 100 percent, not mixed with water.. :yikes:

 

[DirtIsMyName]

Any cleaner with sodium hydroxide [LYE] can pit aluminum. Cleaners with surfactants are harmless unless you get them in your eyes, duh. Mr Clean works pretty good. WD40 is good as a pretreatment for real greasy areas.

You can hurt your bike with a pressure washer but if you hold the nozzle back from the bike you will minimize the problems. The pressure drops as the square of the distance from the nozzle.

 

[yam 3]

I also change the oil after 2 rides (Castrol 10w30), lube the chain after each ride and always check for loose bolts and do pre ride inspection.

BPJNT :nod:[/QUOTE]

You might want to change to 10-40 as the 10-30 has slipper agents in it that can toast your clutch :yikes: Look on the back of the bottle, if it says energy conserving in the seal looking deal, switch...I use castrol also with great results, but it is 10-40

 

[Joe_148]

what is "pitting"?

 

[acanz]

I just use the garden hose and some towels.... I dont even use soap.

If the bottom is really greasy, I spray some WD40 and then towel it off.

 

[DirtIsMyName]

what is "pitting"?

What I was talking about was that Lye (sodium hydroxide) will attack the anodization on aluminum. The worst I have ever seen was people cleaning parts with oven cleaner and making float bowls leak gas and crankcases leak vacuum/pressure.

 

[thewickedjester]

for an exact description, pitting is (i work in a machine shop, we use alumininum, and its a big problem) bassically where a chemical or something of the such will put little pits, ridges, and dips into the metal, big issue on brake rotors esspecially.

 

[pace]

I just leave mine out in the rain and let nature work it's magic. Orange-colored chains are the latest rage, and it means I have more time for wrenching and less for that tedious riding stuff.

Seriously though; pressure washing is fine so long as you go easy around bearing points such as the steering head, linkage, etc. Don't pressure wash the chain either, and be sure to plug your silencer. Seems like common sense, but..