Mud fest fun, but jeeze

[Tree]

Well we finally got some much needed rain here in SoCal and me, tree jr. and Mike[socal] decided to hit a local track (Amago). When we first arrived the track was in pretty bad shape but they ended up grooming it to make it pretty decent. There were still a couple of areas with mud holes that made it very fun and the traction was unbelieveable. 

The only negative thing was the clean up afterwards. :(  It must have taken at least 90 mins just to rinse the surface layer of mud off. I plan to break the bike down in the next couple of days to get the rest of it cleaned as I plan on adjusting the valves and other basic maintenence.

But, I don't know how you people that get rain year round do it. You must spend more time cleaning your bikes then riding them. We don't see much rain throughout the year so most of the time all I have to do is give the bike a quick hose down to knock of the dust and then wipe it and I'm done. As meticulous as BigLou is with his bikes he must spend at least 15 hours after each ride taking every nut and bolt apart just to clean it. :think:

I know a power washer would probablly speed things up, but how do you mud guys do it?

 

[oldguy]

Well lets see scrape as much as posssible off (use the teflon cooking pan scrapers)- wet the bike down- spray on the ProClean- then power wash. At races it gets done with 10 gallons of water or less :thumb: normally this works between motos

 

[zero_it]

Unless it's an abnormally dry summer, I can find mud to ride in 365 days a year around here. Consequently, my bikes always look like crap! After every ride I put a plug in the end of the muffler and hose off everything I can. On the sloppiest, greasiest days that alone can take 20 to 30 minutes. Then I spray the whole bike down with ProSoap, let it soak for about 10 minutes and wash it by hand. After it's clean I hand dy the bike while it's running to drive the condensate out of the engine and exhaust system then hit the chain & various pivot points with WD-40. It takes a lot of scrubbing sometimes, but it's worth it. This little ritual keeps my bikes mechanically sound and parts & bearings don't seize up on me. I'm geneally reluctant to use a pressure washer, as that tends to drive mud & gunk into the bearings. Seems no matter what I do though, the plastics are really dull, the cases and frame scuffed up and the engine has a definite & permanent dirt color to it. Oh well, it is a DIRT bike!

 

[BSWIFT]

I've considered painting my bike, engine, frame, and plastics red, that way you won't be able to see the mud stains.  A power washer is a must.  Like you said, it's a dirt bike. :)

 

[Jeff Gilbert]

It rained like hell last night so it made for a great day of racing today. The track was sandy-loam and what usually takes about 10 minutes with a power washer took about 30 today. I even sprayed some armour all under the fenders before the race. Still in all, the sandy loam is a breeze to clean compared to the black muck I ride in sometimes. I have spent as much as 2 hours scraping and cleaning the surface crap off after riding in the black stuff. Gimme red dirt anyday Brian. :thumb:

 

[holeshot]

Originally posted by Tree
Well we finally got some much needed rain here in SoCal and me, tree jr. and Mike[socal] decided to hit a local track (Amago).

One of the advantages of a dez ride VS a track ride -


Dez ride = just a little dust to cleanup

Track ride = a lot of muck to clean off (even on dry days, since the tracks are watered all day)

 

[ktmboy]

So the truth is out----you're riding more enduros now so you don't have to wash the bike as often.

 

[BSWIFT]

Originally posted by Jeff Gilbert
Gimme red dirt anyday Brian. :thumb:

I thought you took some home on your riding clothes. Did your home cooked meal taste good? LOL :laugh:

 

[Jeff Gilbert]

Originally posted by BSWIFT
Did your home cooked meal taste good? LOL :laugh:

It wasn't bad at all. I didn't even taste the poison. :scream:

 

[BSWIFT]

Originally posted by Jeff Gilbert

It wasn't bad at all. I didn't even taste the poison. :scream:

LMAO!

 

[BSWIFT]

Is this the type of mud your talking about?

 

[BSWIFT]

Not sure why my pic won't post.