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How do you wash your bike on trips?

BMW Triumphant

Ed Kilner #176066
Read a review on web bike world about a waterless wash chemical / mist spray kit...

So, what do you use?

Local dealer sells collapsible pail for $26. Anybody know a cheaper source along I-90? Trip starts next Friday!

I'm not crazy fastidious, but figure a little care each day, even for nspection value is a good idea.
 
Read a review on web bike world about a waterless wash chemical / mist spray kit...

So, what do you use?

Local dealer sells collapsible pail for $26. Anybody know a cheaper source along I-90? Trip starts next Friday!

I'm not crazy fastidious, but figure a little care each day, even for nspection value is a good idea.

About to leave (Wednesday) for 7 days out west (Rushmore, Custer, Yellowstone, etc.).

On long trips, usually just use one damp towel from the motel to wipe the RT down - another to dry. Keeps it looking smart. :thumb
 
I just take Bugslide and the micro towel that comes with it in a ziplock bag. It cleans off the shield, headlight and all the Tupperware if you want to touch it up as well. I usually do it in the morning as the dew helps dislodge the bugs as well. I know on my last trip to Nova Scotia I was really glad I carried it as the bugs in New Brunswick covered my bike in black bug guts. I buy Bugslide from a local dealer but they do it carry it online. I am sure the various touch up mists from any auto parts store would work just as well with a little more elbow grease.
 
On long trips, usually just use one damp towel from the motel to wipe the RT down - another to dry. Keeps it looking smart. :thumb[/QUOTE]

I don't want to stir anything up but one of the things that I've been told by motel owner's about motorcycles guests is the use of their towels to clean their motorcycles. The oil and grease is hard to wash out and in many cases they have to throw away the towels.. What I do is carry a micro fiber wash cloth in a zip lock bag in glove compartment (12RT) use at gas stations to soak off bugs from windscreen. At motels use ice tray with plastic liner,warm water. I try to mention at check in so they know I'm not destroying their linen. Many times I've been told that BMW riders are most welcome back and they hate the loud H-D crowd and neither do most of their guests.

Note: Kevin you wouldn't have time to stop at the Land of Oz rally would you?
 
Motel towels

I was at a motel in Ouray, CO last week and they had a little poem on the bathroom wall about the motel towels. They requested that guests not use them for servicing/cleaning their autos, etc., and instead requested that, if you need some rags, just ask at the front desk. I did so, and they gladly gave me a couple of rags cut from some old towels. I used them and then put them into a plastic bag and into my side case for the rest of the trip. One evening I ran a little warm water into the trash can, added some of the guest shampoo and gave the bike a quick wash, using those rags that had been picked up earlier in the week.

The lady at the front desk said that they used to lose between 10 and 20 towels each week due to people using them to for everything from cleaning/servicing their cars, cleaning shoes, or just cleaning their windshields.

At another motel, I experienced the 6:00 am "Harley wake-up"....when 2 Harley riders cranked up their straight pipe bikes. Made me want to suggest that Harley riders be required to park at a "satellite" parking lot somewhere a block away and walk to/from the motel:dance
 
Hey! Don't get me started about the Harley guys.
Towels.
Many a motel has a sign "Please do not use our towels to wash your car". Yes, you can believe it applies to motorcycles.
You ruin a towel that way.
I always carry a sponge and my own towel. Or two. One for the windshield, a new one in good condition, and an older one, for the greasy, oily or just plain nasty dirt. The old disposable one.
In Torrey, they have a rag box to use on your bike. With a sign, take some rags to wash your bike.
I do not do a thorough wash job on the road. You have to have some evidence that you actually went some place.
dc
 
I can only remember one time when a motel did not give us cleaning rags when we asked, and that one time was because the clerk did not know where the rags were. Last week at the Wattstull Inn at Buchanan, Va. the motel owner gave us nice microfiber towels for cleaning the bikes and told us to keep them.
 
Too many other things to do when on a trip. HOME is where the bike is cleaned and polished. Ride Safe

I'm not crazy about doing it then either, but headlights, windshield, and signal lenses get cleaned every day I ride.
 
Behold or Pledge or similar and a cotton t shirt. Spray it, let it soak, wipe it clean. carry a can all the time.
 
I carry a waffle-weave microfiber towel big enough to cover my windshield. When I pull over for the night I drape it over the windshield and pour water on it. About half an hour later when the bugs are all softened up I wipe down the windshield and lights. I'll rinse out the chunks in the motel sink. I don't bother cleaning the rest of the bike till I get home.
 
I carry a waffle-weave microfiber towel big enough to cover my windshield. When I pull over for the night I drape it over the windshield and pour water on it. About half an hour later when the bugs are all softened up I wipe down the windshield and lights. I'll rinse out the chunks in the motel sink. I don't bother cleaning the rest of the bike till I get home.

A great idea, I always carry several micro-fiber towels.
 
Almost every motel I've stayed in will provide you with rags if you ask. I use these only to wipe down the seat and clean the windshield. My panniers are packed with maybe four or five coloured rags. These get used and thrown away as necessary. Sometimes I wash them at motels. I keep a small ShamWow in a sealed bag for my visor. Other than that, rain works well on a trip.

On a 2008 trip to visit Dog River in Saskatchewan, I discovered when stopped at the provincial Welcome Centre that my boots, the engine guards, the panniers, and of course the fairing, were covered in gigantic, squashed, grasshoppers. Hit rain on the second last day of the trip. The bike looked great when I arrived home.

Of course in 2007 after sliding out on a Colorado gravel road, I found a self-serve car wash and gently hosed and rinsed down the bike and had another client do the same to me.

Have a blast on your trip next week! :thumb
 
On long trips, usually just use one damp towel from the motel to wipe the RT down - another to dry. Keeps it looking smart. :thumb

I don't want to stir anything up but one of the things that I've been told by motel owner's about motorcycles guests is the use of their towels to clean their motorcycles. The oil and grease is hard to wash out and in many cases they have to throw away the towels.. What I do is carry a micro fiber wash cloth in a zip lock bag in glove compartment (12RT) use at gas stations to soak off bugs from windscreen. At motels use ice tray with plastic liner,warm water. I try to mention at check in so they know I'm not destroying their linen. Many times I've been told that BMW riders are most welcome back and they hate the loud H-D crowd and neither do most of their guests.

Note: Kevin you wouldn't have time to stop at the Land of Oz rally would you?[/QUOTE]


OK - Old Dog here willing to learn new tricks. I will ask for cleaning rags at the 6 different motels we will be staying at, but first time I get grief, I'm back to using company linen. We'll see how it goes. :dance
 
Many times I've been told that BMW riders are most welcome back and they hate the loud H-D crowd and neither do most of their guests.[/QUOTE said:
Yes. And guess what they tell the Harley riders.
dc
 
About to leave (Wednesday) for 7 days out west (Rushmore, Custer, Yellowstone, etc.).

On long trips, usually just use one damp towel from the motel to wipe the RT down - another to dry. Keeps it looking smart. :thumb

ewwww, I use those for me. Now I have to worry about bug juice on the hotel towels.
 
the motorcycle sport touring association is having their 30th anniversary gathering in avon, co in june. the ski resort that is headquarters provides warm water and all the supplies for bike washing and only bikes are allowed to use the indoor garage during the event. :) might even wash mine this year.
 
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