Cleaning products/techniques ?

[pgillen]

A noob question.

My FZ6R will soon need to be cleaned. Would forum members care to share what products and techniques they use to keep their FZ6R in pristine condition.

There is a lot of matte black on the FZ6R – engine, frame and plastic panels. How do you treat these areas.

 

[DragonBlu]

I use Mequiars Quick Detailer spray after every ride on everything but the tires and seat. Mine still looks like new. Soap and water on the wheels and tires and blow dry. I clean after the bike is cooled down,usually the next day.

 

[JSP]

pshh...

Rain :thumbup:

Really though thats almost the most it gets.... I do use some wax on the paint sometimes. Other than that I havent done much.

I need to take a weekend and do a good detail job on it.

Here is a good site with lots of different motorcycle products:

Autogeek has hundreds of products to detail your motorcycle: cleaners, waxes, polishes, & more!

 

[DragonBlu]

Rain in Redmond? You must not clean your bike often. All I ever saw was dust.

 

[arkkornkid]

I use a good quality car wash soap. Hand wash with a mit. The electronics/dash will be fine unless you just keep a constant stream of water on them. A quick swipe with the mit and a rinse won't bother them, they were designed to handle rain. A ride around the block or a leaf blower takes care of the water and then an all over wipe with a shammy to take care of water spots.

Put wax on the painted stuff, mindful to keep it off the black plastics and rubber.... it's a pain to get it off of that. I use stuff called Raggtop on the black parts: it's used on vinyl convertible tops, works really well on the plastics and even the seat as long as you wipe the excess off. Any good vinyl cleaner and conditioner will work, I dislike Armor All.

Between waxings you can use the quick detail spray stuff. And I keep a small dash size California Duster right next to my bike in the garage so when I pull in it gets all the loose stuff knocked off right away before I cover her up.

 

[JSP]

Rain in Redmond? You must not clean your bike often. All I ever saw was dust.

Well now that summer is here, thats about all it will be so I'm told

This is my first actual summer here. Last 2 months we have had some decent rains.

I have looked into a couple engine bays here and they are just covered in dust. I think its time to actually start cleaning the bike regularly now, probably. :surrender:

 

[husker525]

Meguiars Quick Detailer after a light spray with the power washer. Foam window cleaner works well for stuck on bugs, and Plexus plastic polish works great on all the black matte areas. I wax the rest of the fairings and front fender, and the road grime doesn't stick to the paint. I have not had to use any soap for any area, just the car wash power spray on high pressure rinse.

 

[pgillen]

Thank you to the members who responded to my questions. This forum is a terrific resource.

 

[JonKerr]

I recently picked up some Motopro cleaner. Cycle Gear - MOTOPRO: Spray Polish & Cleaner, I've started using this stuff between full bike washes to get the bugs and crap off the painted surfaces. This stuff is great. I've also used it on my helmet and visor. Takes bugs and crap off without scratching the surfaces.

When it's time for a full wash (at least every 600 miles) I have kind of come up with a procedure.

1. Pull the bike out of the garage into the driveway, get it up on the rear stand, and use Maxima CleanUp to clean the chain. Spray it on liberally while rotating the rear tire backwards. Do Not Scrub!

2. Set the bike back down off the stand and wet the bike down with a hose running a LOT of water over the chain to wash the cleaner off. (The chain should look extremely clean after this.)

3. Wash the bike with Meguiars Deep Crystal Car Wash and a microfiber washing mitt.

4. Rinse the bike off with the hose, again, running a lot of water over the chain to make sure you get the cleaner all off of it.

5. Blow most excess water off the bike with compressed air form air compressor.

6. Get bike back on the rear stand and wipe any excess water off the chain to get it good and dry. Lube the chain with your choice of lube. I'm still on the fence about chain lubes. I've tried a number of them. Currently I'm using PJ1 Blue Label Lube. I'm not sure about it. I like the fact it really does not fly off at all. But it seems to make the chain a little gummy and sticky.

7. Use a micro fiber cloth to dry the remaining water off the bike, not worrying about water spots too much.

8. Use a microfiber cloth and Meguiars Quik Wax on all body work and the tank. This stuff will get rid of any water spots and will help make cleaning between washes much easier.

 

[ME_with_a_B]

I use "Turtle Wax - Bug & Tar Remover" with paper towels when I want to quickly clean up the bike without giving it a shower. The stuff smells good, and it really does help get all the crud off the fairings.

 

[Bikegirl88]

I dry the bike with a leaf blower