F650 (Bike) Cleaning FAQ

(CleaningFAQ.htm) compiled & edited by Kristian #562
(Bikeclean.htm) Compiled and edited by Scott ID, #1244
FAQs merged, updated and edited by Winter #1935
Please read the Disclaimer before attempting any work in this FAQ.
Last Updated: 15 June 2007, by Winter #1935

• Introduction
• Section 1: General Cleaning
  • Grease Removal
  • Bug Removal
  • Keeping Legs Bug Free
  • Waxes, Restoration of Black Parts
  • Strange hole near spark plug?
  • Cleaning without water?
• Section 2: Specific Parts
  • Radiator Cleaning
  • Fork Cleaning
  • Triple Tree / Fork Clamps
  • Rim Cleaning
  • Wheel Cleaning
  • Windshield Cleaning
  • Removing melted nylon straps from the exhaust
  • Seat Cleaning
• Section 3: Cleaning Gear

Other FAQs you might want to check include:

• General Chain FAQ (Chain Cleaning)
• Helmet FAQ (Helmet Cleaning)

Cleaning your bike is an important part of bike maintenance. Often when you clean your bike, you will notice something that may be loose or even missing. This is especially important for parts of your bike that are a critical part of your survival. It is also a good chance to get get to know your bike more.

The question "What do you use to clean your bike?" comes up every few weeks. Below are some of the various opinions offered. But first, a few cautionary statements:

1. Paper towels can scratch plastic windscreens (and face shields).
2. Avoid using high pressure water when cleaning your bike; high pressure delivery can force water into electrical connections, etc.
3. Some folks have had good luck with commercial engine degreasers, or wheel cleaners. Others have found such cleaners will damage finishes. Beware of what you use; consider testing on a small, obscure area before spraying large portions of your bike with such cleaners.
4. Whether you enjoy cleaning your bike or not, dirt and grease left on the enamel paint of an engine can become permanently fused to the finish if left on very long. Also, a thorough bike cleaning session forces you to look closely at the bike to see if anything is coming loose or has been damaged.
5. In general, detergents designed for washing automobiles will not harm the finish of your bike. Other household detergents, such as Simple Green, are effective cleaners but may damage the shine and finish of your paint and/or clear-coated wheels, especially if applied to dry surfaces, or when left sitting too long.

• Never ever use Power (High Pressure) or Steam Washers.
• Use warm, mild detergent. Use a Soft Cloth.
• Clean around your battery and make sure the hoses are plugged back in so you don't leak acid all over your swingarm.
• Once a week (or so) to the local do it yourself place and let the soap slowly rain onto the bike then rinse with no spot water. In between I use Honda Spray Polish for all parts except black. For the black I use products specifically designed that won't wash off in rain. Not all products for the black are the same quality. -Killswitch
• I use dish washing soap and plenty of low pressure water . . . I put the wax back on after every wash and it stays pretty shiny most of the time.-Steve#417
• A little bit of vinegar into a bucket of hot water, applied with a chamois does a pretty fair job of a final wipedown (especially good for automotive glass). Dissolves those hard water spots... -Marty #436
• I use "The Solution" and a towel (the towels are very cheap at thrift stores and I cut them into manageable sized pieces). If the bugs are really thick, I've been known to use a pressure washer, but I try to steer away from that option. For the windscreen, I use a towel and 210 or Pledge or Honda Spray polish. For the rims or any metal, it's BOMS AWAY (no joke and it's really good!). -Timmer
• Between-detailing:
  Wash with Meguiar's Gold Class wash and water, using a soft mitt. Go for a ride to dry it.
  Detailing:
  Wash with a dish soap solution and a soft mitt to strip the wax. Use elbow grease to get crud off. Use polish if you have a scuff that won't go away with elbow grease (Meguiar's Scratch-X, first line; Meguiar's Fine-Cut Cleaner followed by Scratch-X, second line). I wash all of the bike but the wheels with this, including the cluster, bikini fairing, and engine.
  
  Wheels - Griot's green wheel cleaner. $10 for a bottle that will last forever. Works great. Use a separate mitt to avoid getting corrosive brake dust on your paint. Rinse. Dry with microfibers.
  
  Apply wax; I use Meguiar's High-Tech Yellow (#26) liquid. Easy to apply, nice glow, lasts a long time. Buff with another microfiber.
  
  Clean and lube the chain; the soapy water might have taken off some of the lube. -Roadstergal
• After reading some of the other posts on this thread I feel it important to respond. Cleaning is important, not for appearances, but in order to carefully examine the condition of the bike. Good cleaning causes you to really look closely at the bike to see if anything is coming loose or has been damaged. I ride off road most of the time by the way. Here is my routine:
  
  Without pressure I wet the bike down. Then I spray it with Simple Green. Then I wipe everything with a wet rag. Rinse, and dry and lube the chain. I go through some puddles that form a nasty film on the bike that is really hard to get off. For deep cleaning I use a toothbrush to get the lettering and tight spots clean. This is for appearance sake only I admit. I think the most important parts to clean are the chain, chain rollers/guides and the forks. Which brings up another issue. Your forks will leak if you go offroad. There're under warranty so plan on getting them replaced when they go. Get a Touratech low fender and it will keep a ton of mud, and grit off the forks. - SierraDakar
• The main reason I use Simple Green is because the owners manual for my previously owned bike recommended it for clear coated surfaces. I don't know if the F650 has any clear coated parts or not. I have never noticed ANY oxidation from using Simple Green, however I NEVER let it set on the bike, as I rinse immediately before it has a chance to dry. I follow up by drying the bike and applying a good brand of wax (like McGuires). I also find degreasing the swing arm, etc. a breeze with WD 40. There may be something better, I don't know, but this works well for me and I have never seen any damage because of it.Oh yea, and Simple Green smells goooood too! -Gail
• I have never noticed ANY oxidation from using Simple Green, however I NEVER let it set on the bike, as I rinse immediately before it has a chance to dry. Actually, I think your good luck has more to do with the fact that you wet the bike first. This from the Simple Green website FAQs:
  
  Aluminum - Is it safe to use Simple Green on aluminum?
  Simple Green products have been successfully and safely used on aircraft, automotive, industrial and consumer aluminum items for over 20 years. However, caution and common sense must be used: Aluminum is a soft metal that easily corrodes with unprotected exposure to water. The aqueous-base and alkalinity of Simple Green or Crystal Simple Green can accelerate the corrosion process. Therefore, contact times of All-Purpose Simple Green and Crystal Simple Green with unprotected or unpainted aluminum surfaces should be kept as brief as the job will allow - never for more than 10 minutes. Large cleaning jobs should be conducted in smaller-area stages to achieve lower contact time. Rinsing after cleaning should always be extremely thorough - paying special attention to flush out cracks and crevices to remove all Simple Green/Crystal Simple Green residues. Unfinished, uncoated or unpainted aluminum cleaned with Simple Green products should receive some sort of protectant after cleaning to prevent oxidation.
  
  I prefer to use an aluminum safe product on my bike. I'm reasonably certain Simple Green was the reason the clear coat came off my F wheels and hubs. I use Wurth Wheel Cleaner on the brake dust and Wurth Carb cleaner on everything else save the chain, which I clean with Kerosene. Meguires or Zymol soap for the painted surfaces. - dlearl
  
  
• I think you have it dialed in, dlearl. Most of the really serious, Pebble beach, concours types that I know wouldn't have Simple Green or WD-40 in their garage. But they love Wurth products! Simple Green and WD-40 (kerosene) are just too harsh. They do the job, but are not kind to aluminum and plastic/rubber parts. Wurth products are not inexpensive, and not always easy to find. The Porsche and BMW dealerships (and independent shops) have them.
  
  On the other hand, maybe it makes some sense to use relatively quick, easy, inexpensive products on a daily driver/dual-sporter that is not a concours, sunny-day-only machine. At least the beast is clean, what's a little oxidation or missing clear coat....we're talkin' mountain trails and mud here....
  
  I use Simple Green and WD-40, too....just not on fine machinery. -CascadeThumper
• The thing is, car soap/dish soap are just as quick and easy as simple green - so for me, it's an easy choice to just use the less harsh stuff that will do the job anyway. -Roadstergal
• We prefer motorcycle-specific cleaners because they are intended not only for paint but for the various metals, plastics, vinyl and other materials on a motorcycle. They are also formulated to get rid of the dead bugs, road mung and other junk motorcycles typically collect. No matter what kind of soap you use, rinse frequently to keep it from drying on the surface. Avoid getting water in your exhaust pipes. - From http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/tech/detail9906/
• When mine gets disgustingly dirty or I want to impress the natives I hose the cold bike down with a fairly forceful spray from every and all angles. Then I rustle up the cleaning paraphernalia; spray bottle of cleaning solution (Simoniz super concentrated car wash, diluted as instructed - cost at any good store $5 per gallon and safe for all finishes and materials) and a lambswool mitt. I then spritz the bike again (to better hydrate those dessicated critters don't ya know) and liberally apply the cleaner followed by the mittrag etc. Rinse and repeat if necessary. Put it on the side stand and a good pint of trapped water will run out in about a minute - return to full upright. I then blow dry it with an electric Toro leaf blower ($29 at Home Depot). Do not use a gasoline powered one as they spit oil - No more rusty chains and or water spots. I then fire it up for a couple minutes and then put it in the garage. For cleaning the engine, skid plate, case guard, rims, struts etc I use WD-40 on a small cloth (works for road tar, some tarnish and rust blooms) followed up with Protect All waxcleaner on a rag. For the plastic I use either Plexus and or Protect All (the latter you kind of have to wipe off and lasts betterlonger) sprayed on a rag, both about $10 per 13oz can. The world is now more beautiful. motoplaner #1671
• I like to keep my bike looking good and I use the cleaning session to inspect for possible problems. I avoid using a forceful stream of water. Like mentioned earlier, the water can get into wheel bearings. It also can get into swingarm bearings, shock linkage bearings, and steering head bearings. All of this stuff is a PITA to maintain and it is worth taking a little extra care to extend the life of these parts. So.... I wet my bike with a light spray of water and hand wash the bike with a mild soap and water solution. I might use some special cleaner on something like the skid plate, but I am very careful when I spray it on. Drying with a blower might be a bad idea (for the same reason as using a forceful stream of water). I like to ride my bike after washing to speed the drying process. andy112652 #1481

• Simple green and a nylon brush for the engine and suspension, s100 gel for the wheels only if they are really bad, a regular care wash and wax for everything else, some "dress-up" for the tires and plastic... looking for a good stainless steel polish for that mirror of a staintune...-veryhumid
• Simple Green! Make sure motor is cold. billmallin
• . . . half and half mixture of kerosene and simple green in a spray to degrease (works very well) t
• WD-40 and a brush works very well, as does Simple Green. Scott ID, #1244
• I use GreasedLightning's Orang Blast. Works as good or better than Simple Green and it's safe for aluminum. dlearl
  - used some of that stuff full strength and it marked up my rims. Take care. damalden
• 2/3 kerosene, 1/3 ammonia based floor cleaner (Handy Andy in Oz). Mix together/shake until it's an emulsion, spray on, brush into small areas, leave to work and hose off. Works great, better than any other degreaser I've tried. norbrat
• +1 on Gunk. I use the spray can Engine Bright version (not the foamy one). Works great, but I recommend avoiding electrical connectors and devices with direct spray. Don't ask - it was an expensive alternator. mark1305
• Some stuff doesn't succumb to normal washing and scrubbing. When your bike is dry, those hold-out stains are the next thing to tackle. Tar and some saps don't melt with water. You can use a tar remover or other mild solvent for these. I like WD-40, which also works well on chain lube and that unidentifiable brown stuff that builds up under bikes. Keep solvents off your tires and plastics. -From http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/tech/detail9906/
• S100...not sure who makes it but it's in a white bottle with blue writing. Biodegradeable too. I use Simple Green too but this stuff is way better on grease and grime. I've only found it at motorcycle stores. rightspy

• I'm so pissed. I sprayed some (Gunk) bug and tar remover on my bike to get off all of the damned love bugs off from my ride this weekend. Some of it got on my motor and there are marks where it dripped . . . don't let any bug and tar remover get on your engine! billmallin
  • Well... this was over a year ago... but I just found the answer, so I figured I would share in case you experience something similar... Meguiars SCRATCH X . . . I wanted to clean up the wheels on my truck, so I used Scratch X to polish them up a bit. There was a slight stain on one of the wheels, and what-do-you-know... the Scratch X removed the stain... which got me to thinking...
    
    So, when I got home today (after my Rita evacuation), I tried it on my engine on the Red Devil. With a little elbow grease and perseverance, sure enough, the stains are nearly impossible to see now. I'm a happy guy! billmallin
• 'Simple Green' is safe. For the bugs on the plastic, WD40 works pretty slick. I sometimes spray a light coat on the fork tubes, the bill and other places where the bugs like to crash to get 'em off easier 'before the ride'. Sorry about your streaking episode there, Bill. BTW, the engine was 'cold' when you sprayed this stuff on wasn't it? Ken WVHills
• For bugs on metal and plastic parts, I use Honda Spray Polish. Spray, let it sit for a few seconds and then wipe away. Very nice. Codewheeny

Anyone have a creative leg protection method for keeping my pants bug splat free? My legs are totally unprotected on this bike and ride in a very "buggy" area. Some of these suckers really hurt when they hit my knees or shins at 70mph. At the end of the ride, I have double digit dead bugs with butterfly yellow splats and flying beetle exoskeleton parts on my legs. Is there some kind of aero dynamic front attachment available? K6WLT

• Your expensive riding pants are supposed to get hit by stuff, to protect the stuff under the pants! Jesse
• I've got a set of RKA tank panniers on my bike (any tank panniers should work). I also have a set of crash bars (oops, ENGINE PROTECTION BARS) mounted - to which I've added 1/8" thick polypropylene sheet cut to the appropriate shape (kinda fairing lowers) and mounted to the bars by drilling holes in the plastic and using cable ties to hold them on the bars. A heat gun can be used if the plastic needs to have a non-flat shape. The downside to the protection is that you will now get more engine heat on your legs. You win some, you lose some... Marty #436
• Buy some vented over pants... if you must ride with your gun strapped to your side, buy the pants one size larger than what you need. They unzip all the way up the side of the pants and take a whopping 5 seconds to take off. I wear business pants under mine... they arrive bug-free everyday. My overpants have bug guts all over them. NameBrand #1629

• Armor All Ultimate Clean Protectant. This stuff is awesome for all of the little black parts... including the tank, beak, low fender, back of mirrors, and on and on... Another trick is to spray a light coat on the handlebars and all of the black bits (controls, etc.) surrounding them. Just lightly spray and let dry. It makes all of the controls and bar look new. You can also wipe some on your hoses and whatnot... billmallin
• "Back to Black" does a good job restoring blackness to your tank, handguards, radiator shroud, chain guard etc. and it doesn't collect dust like ArmorAll. WD-40 can be used to restore the factory clean appearance of your brake calipers; just be sure you don't get any on the brake pads or disc! I usually apply it to a rag, and wipe the caliper, brake line, etc. with the rag. Scott ID, #1244
• (Regarding ArmorAll and dust): this isn't the plain vanilla kind--it's the Armor All« Ultimate Clean Protectant... the one with the blue top. It's got some cleaning magic in it along with the protectant. It also doesn't seem to attract dust like plain vanilla Armor All. billmallin
• Apply wax; I use Meguiar's High-Tech Yellow (#26) liquid. Easy to apply, nice glow, lasts a long time. Buff with another microfiber. Roadstergal
• There was a glowing report of Meguiar's rather pricey wax in the current issue of Cycle World. Being a sucker for new fancy products, I bought a bottle at $15 at Pep Boys yesterday and used it today. My bike is looking very good today. It looks shinier than new. It is beautiful. If you have a medium-to-dark colored bike and you like it glistening, it's worth the money. However, it didn't do much for my husband's silver bike. Regular wax would work as well and be much cheaper. Bonnie #1158
• I use Meguiar's High-Tech Yellow (#26), if that's the stuff you're talking about. I used it on my Miatas and E30s, and now use it on the bikes. I consider it to be CBOA wax, about $10 for a bottle of the liquid stuff, and that lasts a good while. I've also tried their Gold Class, and it's crap (comes off quickly). The #26 lasts as long as I typically go between wax-strip detailings (2 to 6 months), sheds water nicely, and leaves a nice glow. Roadstergal

When cleaning the F650, some people notice a small hole right near the spark plug(s). Do not worry about this hole - it is a drain hole for the spark plugs: So when it rains, if water gets down into where the spark plug(s) are, it can drain out.

So I have looked through the FAQ's and can not find an answer to my dilema of washing my bike. I live in an apartment so that means no access to a hose, and carrying a bucket of water to my garage would, well, be a pain in my butt. Not to mention I would probably make a huge mess. I don't really think I like the idea of taking it to a do-it-yourself car wash with the high pressure that comes out of the those things. Has anyone come across and waterless cleaners that work? Does anyone have any other ideas? All I can really think to do is have one spray bottle of soapy water, and another with plain water to rinse. If I could find a product that I could just spray on and wipe off, I would be ecstatic. pilotgoddess

• I've used a can of stuff from H*nda, called Pro H*nda Spray Cleaner and Polish. Doesn't use water, it does a really nice job if the bike isn't caked with mud (red clay in my case), and I use it occasionally after I've ridden in the rain, when there's light dirt left after the water dries. I believe Plexus also makes a similar product, and there's also a liquid called S101 (or S100?) that comes in a pump sprayer, small sized. Motorcycle Consumer News had a comparo article on all these bike-cleaning products last year. Most any (non-BMW) shop will carry these items. Sadlsor #1444
• Put a few really wet clothes in a bucket to carry down stairs to the bike---take a couple of dry rags to wip the wet off---unless you have mud, the wet rags wash the bike quite well without needing a pail of water. Bill No. 391
• Careful, [engine block cleaner] may turn your nicely painted engine and shiny aluminium bits a color you may not particularly like. Shank in Colorado #974
• Simple Green and a roll of paper towels. RevJVegas #1906

• Nylon detail brush or used toothbrush. Be careful, the fins are VERY delicate. Also, scrub with the fins, not against them, if you do you'll bend them over. David#476
• Have tried used up paint brushes. They work great, won't bend the delicate fins but you need to go over stubborn bugs and muck a few more strokes (soak the hard stuff, clean the rest of the bike, come back to it when soft, just like the hard bug guts on the screen). Like David above, go with the grain. XXX.
• First rinse with a gentle stream of water to get most of the mud off. Next, spray thoroughly with S100 or another dirt dissolving product and let it work for few minutes. Lastly, get David's detail brush (soft) in there with plenty of warm soapy water and rinse. Dry with a leaf blower. Art #884
• I kind of like vinegar, some 409 and soft water, mixed and sprayed at the end. It gets the last bits of hard to get to dirt and the vinegar dissolves the mineral water spots. One fell swoop. With this method you can ride at will. Brad in SB #979

• I had bought used RaceTech forks from my buddy. They had what appeared to be stains on them from something on the road because IÆve tried cleaning them every time IÆve washed the bike (some half a dozen or so times). They never seemed to improve. This is the rough texture cast aluminum and whatever it was was in there good. Yesterday while I had the wheels off for tire installation I decided to try cleaning them with WD-40 and a small wire brush. They cleaned up wonderfully they look nearly new and if IÆd not been anxious to get back to the tire project they would look new. IÆm not sure if I read it here or heard it on the radio show I listen to sometimes (they push WD-40, one of there sponsors) but for cleaning this part of my forks WD-40 was marvellous. Will in CA

the "aluminum looking" finish on the top of my triple tree (97 F650) is awful looking. dark spots and just sorta funky. i would like it to look brand new. any experiences and help with products/product use etc would be very much appreciated. dutch

• Try getting some metal polish such as Flitz or MAAS. I used some this weekend to clean up a pair of titanium exhausts. brewer90 #1695
• I *think* that part is painted. See if paint stripper works on it. If so, strip it and then either polish it or repaint it. Flash Flash 412 (CO)

• An earlier post asked about how to clean the guk off your rims. If it's like mine where it's mostly brake dust, oil, and pj1 chainlube, I can recommend lightly spraying wd-40(penetrating oil) on the rims being careful not to get any on the tires. Spotless after I wipe off and clean with soap. Docc - Austin, TX Y'all
• Just finished detailing my bike. I have been using "mother's all wheel" to clean the wheels. I spray it on, blast it off with water. On the rest of the bike I use Kar Kraft Wash and Wax. And now that it has dried I noticed a white kind of streaky film on my Behr wheels (OEM wheels). I've tried reapplying the all wheel and also tried some S100, but when they dry, the film is still there. It is the kind of film/stain that seems to disappear when wet, but when it dries it becomes easily visible again. Anyway, I wanted to find out a.) what are the darn wheels made of? b.) a cleaner or polish to try to save them! veryhumid #1832
  • My 02GS wheels are aluminum and don't appear to have a laquer coat on them. dbtcycle #1620
  • You're hosed. I can't speak to the Mothers, (Long Live Frank)but I believe the S-100 stripped the finish from your wheels. I did mine a week after I got it, but I used some other similar crap on them. It will also attack the engine finish. There is some kind of finish/paint on them. Throw it away & use something like simple green. Nothing you use will "remove" the streaks. I got as far as a scotchbrite pad and rubbing compound before I gave up. towpilot

• I used some of that orange degreaser on my wheels and spoke at about a 10 to 1 ratio and got some marks too. They are wearing off though. damalden
• He (dlearl) had seen my super skanky wheels at Panguitch and knew of my plight of trying to clean the years of brake dust, salt corrosion and NYC skank off my wheels. I have tried simple green, WD-40, brake cleaner, hexane, chloroform, ether and lots and lots of elbow grease to try and get the black skank off my wheels. NOTHING has ever worked. Until now. No kidding, just one squirt of this Wurth wheel cleaner and a little scrubbing with a brush and the black skank that had occupied my wheel for years came right off. Shank in Colorado
  • And for those of you who didn't voluntarily become Big Apple Skanky Beta Testers, this stuff is great for NORMALLY dirty wheels. My MO is: spray on, fill bucket with soapy water, wash rest of bike, squirt wheels with rinse water. By this time the cleaner has cleaned the wheels, chain lube fling and all, all by itself. dlearl

• What I wanted to know was what do you use to just clean bugs off between rides, etc. I have been using Windex and sometimes just a mixture of Dawn/water in a spray bottle and occasionally Honda cleaner, which is more of a cleaning wax, but it works pretty well. Is there anything, other than the obvious, that will damage the screen. I am not sure what material it is, but it is a Parabellum windscreen. I was curious as to what all the veterans use. Many thanks, Gail
• If you're at home use a wet towel and just drape it over the shield for 10 minutes, bugs will wipe off easily. damalden
• Paper can/will scratch plastic windshields/faceshields. (Just try using it on your rental airplane, and watch how fast the owner comes-a-yellin')
  
  I carry a can of Plexus plastic cleaner/polish and a soft cotton rag in my tankbag, and use it to clean my faceshield during gas stops. If the bugs are REAL thick, spray it on when you first stop, and wipe it off 1 minute later when you're done gassing up. (With practice you can stop, clean the faceshield and fill the tank in less than 2 minutes and never get off the bike!) Since I look over the windshield, I don't usually bother cleaning it on the road, saving the bug removal for later, when I wash the entire bike with soap and a soft wash mitt. But the Plexus would work great if you chose to clean it whilst travelling. Scott ID, #1244
• Not that I clean mine a lot (other than riding in the rain...), but Pledge and micro-fiber cloths. The Pledge "solvent" does a pretty good job of dissolving dried bug guts - the silicones/wax leave a shiny, repellent surface. A micro-fiber cloth works good to remove morning's dew, removing the bugs is "incidental." YMMV. Marty #436
• I'll second the use of Plexus....great stuff. jack

• Have you ever had a nylon strap melt all over the exhaust pipe? Once cooled, I use a sharp razor blade held at a low angle to the pipe to remove large chunks without scratching the pipe. The residual black staining can be removed using some #0000 steel wool when the pipe is hot. Rub with the steel wool, and most of it will come off. Some naptha applied to steel wool can be used to remove the remaining stains. (Just don't use naptha when exhaust is hot!) Scott ID, #1244
• I just let mine cool and popped it off with a pocket knife. Made sure not to hit the can with the blade, but it mostly came right off. There will be some marks that you cannot get off, but otherwise this has worked the dozen or so times I have melted something to the muffler. mattys

• a washcloth and some soap in the shower for my seat. jetdocX
• Armor all I have steered away from because I have once told that it dries things out which causes cracks and etc... but now I think that has changed. bmwgsrider #1993
• Clean - soap and water. Protect - sheepskin. Marty
• i have a leather saddle and use aquaseal. damalden #1598
• Don't get wax on the thing whatever you do! A bottle of wax exploded all over my seat and it is near impossible to get it out of all those little nooks and crannies. Almost a year later it still has white spots all over it after scrubbing it with a brush and a lot of different cleaning products. pilotgoddess
• this stuff... hands down. My anal retentive Porche friend uses it... (we're talking cleaning with Qtips here)... not to shiny... good in the sun.
• The reason I don't use ArmorAll on my seat is that it makes it too slippery! I've never noticed it having any deleterious effects when I've used it in my cages. HelmetHead
• Anyone who has put Armor-All on a motorcycle seat has wished they had not done it. Their opinion changes the very first time they come to a stop. If you like riding on the tank, then by all means, Armor-All is your product of choice for motorcycle seat care. Flash #412
• silly as it sounds I use "Pledge" on the plastic and the seat... It works great. I really don't clean the seat that much only when its really dirty... cdnabn49
• I use WURTH Rubber Care. dlearl

My First Gear stuff is dusty and dirty...no mud though. What would be the best way to clean it up without damage to the waterproofing? beem_dubya #1328

• I handwash my gear in the bathtub with Woolite. You'd be amazed at how much dirt comes out of seemingly clean gear. Some of my stuff is supposed to be safe for washing machines, but I still handwash it anyway. dinskeep
• Ditto. Always handwash and cold water is safest. RevJVegas #1906
• how about drying? just hang it up for a couple of days? rob feature
• The last time I washed my textile jacket, I let it hang outside, out of the sunlight, and it was dry in about 2 to 3 hours. I would think that you'd NEVER want to put your gear in a dryer unless you're justing lookin to destroy it. PS: the care instructions on my gear is sewn on the inside and that's what I follow. RevJVegas #1906
• For waterproof stuff, I use Nikwax waterproof-safe cleaner. Roadstergal
• So you need to wash this stuff? I thought the dried bugs add character to the suit. If I wash my riding gear, I would truly be riding alone. That's F'ing scary, dude. Nobody to talk to. jetdocs550 #1546
• The LDR community on the whole endorses (by virtue of their collective use of) Nikwax. Everything you need to know about when to use which product is explained on their website. Sadlsor #1444
• I used natures own washing machine... Three years of riding almost every day. I think I washed the winter lining once or twice, but that was about it. The jacket never smelled bad, and although it was sometimes dirty, it always came up good. That jacket has been retired due to old age / over use now - six months on and it looks like another three years at least in this jacket. Towards the end the waterproofing went too. Winter #1935
• Seconded. I use Nikwax Tech Wash for routine cleaning of my Kilimanjaro. Every two or three washings I treat it with Nikwax TX Direct Wash-In. Codewheeney #1418
• I mostly let the rain do it for me while I ride.... Problem is, it doesn't rain here very often either.... A.T. #1625
• You're supposed to wash these things? And here I finally got my jacket trained to come to me when I call it. I tried using Hey Honey* but that didn't work. Besides, Hey Honey has ruined a lot of my good stuff before, so I just wash it in the laundry tub by hand and hang to dry. Hey Honey hasn't worked very well for me but others have reported great success with it. I think I got a defective product. (*as in "Hey, Honey can you wash this?"). Jester ##1752 BBG# 76