Power washing

I do it. Be careful near seals.

i think is not doing any thing bad, as long as you don´t pressure wash ( point very near) the seals and you don´t let the detergent go to your brake pads...

my uncle did that and he did not have his bike strapped in really good and the water pressure knocked the bike out of the truck.

I thoroughly power wash my bike at the car wash after every trip to the sand dunes. I put a plastic bag over the filter and put in the exhaust plug and then hit it. It does a really good job getting out all the sand. After I get it home I spray WD40 on the PC pipe and any other bare metal. My bike looks brand new with no rust or dirt at all.

Do not forget to start the motorcycle and run it for a few minutes after pressure washing. I pressure washed my Australian IT250 before crating it for shipping. I drained the fuel tank, emptied all traces of fuel, then shipped the squeaky clean bike back to the USA, where it caught up with me two months later. Unfortunately I must have gotten some condensation into the airbox and it rusted up the crank bearings and siezed the piston, making for a manditory rebuild of the whole engine. If I'd have run it for a few minutes after cleaning, it would have evaporated the water, and preserved the motor.

Expensive lesson learned. Always run it after pressure washing it to get the engine hot. Also, don't pressure wash O-ring chains or the links will eventually sieze up and you'll need a new chain. Other tips include: Drain the carb float bowl if you are putting it away for more than a couple weeks, and either drain the contents of the fuel tank back into the jerry can, or put in fuel stabilizer. (That will keep your tank from changing color due to the infiltration of VOC's into the plastic)

+1 on the starting and warming it up immediately after washing.

I also recommend oiling the chain right after you wash it.

Rod