I woukd not even ride it in that condition .....not worth flinging off and taking your leg off....maybe it looks worse than it is....
To all the forum Police. Happy now? Cleaned the chain and swing arm a bit today. Just a quick over with Paraffin. Like I said, I love my Blade, but not enough to go OCD on cleaning her. I love my mum more, but I've also just told that I'm gonna stop bathing her too now! Chin
Unfortunately (for my wallet) I'm well into the detailing shenanigans. Winter is an exception where I do let the blade get minging, but under all the crud is a ceramic coat and layer of ACF, however my chain does not reach Chin levels of mankiness! First wash after winter is all about the prewash, get rid of all that abrasive grit before a wool mitt even touches the paintwork. Currently using Auto foam and surfex to do this, bike is pretty clean even after the first stage. Wheels get sprayed with iron remover. Rinse off Wash with a load of wool mitts and two bucket method. Normally I would clay the body work but don't due to the coating but will clay the exhaust and wheels. The body work will if required get a dose of chemical tar remover and iron fallout. Wash again then blow dry. For the final stage use Turtle Wax hybrid sealant (just discovered this) , cheap as chips and lasts for ages!
During the summer months I'll dry wash the bike using Vulcanet wipes every few rides. I'll detail the bike using Meguiars, Brasso stainless polish on the exhaust and WD40 on the wheels. Using only high quality cotton cloths to polish the bike up with microfiber detailing sponges as applicators. During the winter it gets foam washed most rides if not every ride due to the wet conditions and salt. As we know....bikes don't like salt and can quite quickly fcuk it up.
Have you checked the tension of your chain recently, as it looks a bit loose or there's a kink/tight spot near the bobbin? Chin
Yeah mate. It's just the angle of the picture, I had to look twice at that myself earlier haha! It's the bobbin that gives the illusion but it is tight and kink free.
Good, glad to hear it. Just doing a bit of Policing as I'm the chain maintenace and cleaning king! Chin
Hahaha! On here we have a divide. The serial shiners (like myself ha!) and the don't want to but have to cleaners .
Quick Muc off because i find it a bit damaging of left too long, low power wash carefully, wash with soapy water. Power spray off. Dry off with my portable compressor and wipe down with micro cloth. fast wax the panels and the wheels, sometimes canuba wax the tank and frt. keroseen (heating oil, currently 40p a litre straight out of the heating oil tank) clean the chain. wurth wax the chain. scottoiler FS365 the engine parts every so often ACF 50 the brake unions and key fasteners
Haven't cleaned the SP2 since I bought it in September, always under soft indoor bike cover, surprisingly my ducati one fits a treat in the winter I've got a r&g outdoor cover just to keep the cold off, but as for cleaning nah cant be fooked
If it's a wet wash (oo-er) then, Start off with chain and rear sprocket. Any generic chain cleaner. I've used loads of different brands and they've all done the job for me, although I will probably give Paraffin a try after reading the recommendations here. Spray all over the chain and rear sprocket, I use a three sided chain brush on the chain itself (https://muc-off.com/collections/motorcycle-step-1-clean/products/motorcycle-chain-brush something like that) and a Muc Off Detailing brush for the main face of the sprocket (https://muc-off.com/collections/motorcycle-step-1-clean/products/detailing-brush). It'll be gleaming in no time, once done, hose off and wipe clean with a bit of kitchen/blue towel. Next I move onto wheels, I use the same wheel cleaner as I do for my car, Turtlewax (https://www.halfords.com/motoring/c...ng/turtle-wax-wheel-cleaner-500ml-120538.html). Spray the cleaner on the wheels and leave for a few minutes. I then use the Muc off Wheel Brush (https://muc-off.com/collections/motorcycle-step-1-clean/products/wheel-component-brush) for the main part of the rim and a Muc Off 2 Prong Brush for the spokes (https://muc-off.com/collections/motorcycle-step-1-clean/products/two-prong-brush). Then Rinse off with hose or Jetwash. Next it's onto the main portion of the bike. I use aKarcher K2 (on softest setting and tip of the lance at least 2-3 feet) away with a Pro Kleen Foam lance Hose down with Karcher and then snow foam. I use Carplan Hi Foam Wash which is available at Halfords in 5 litre bottles (https://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-cleaning/car-shampoo/carplan-trade-hi-foam-wash-5l-703617.html) or you can pick them up on Ebay in 20L bottles. I got a 20L bottle off euro car parts on Ebay which has lasted me well over a year. I typically use a 1/3 - 1/2 Hot Water and 2/3-1/2 Foam combo when diluting the snow foam. Once all foamed up I use Muc Off Soft washing, brush all over (https://muc-off.com/collections/motorcycle-step-1-clean/products/soft-washing-brush) starting from top to bottom of the bike (not the wheels) and then Rinse Off. Once done, I use a Bike Dryer. I have a Bruhl one but you could probably get away with some of the pet Dryers out there are cheaper. It should catch everything, but I have a microfibre towel to mop up bits I've missed as well. Once done, I either use Muc Off Protectant Spray (https://muc-off.com/products/motorcycle-protectant usually available at Euro Car Parts for cheaper and around £6) or ACF50. If I'm using the Muc Off Protectant, I spray on the bike quite liberally (avoid tyres and brakes), leave it a few minutes and then wipe off the excess. For ACF 50, I use the aerosol bottle. If I'm going to ACF, I submerge the entire can/bottle in a sink of Hot water and use something heavy to weigh it down so its completely submerged. It'll spray and apply much better than using it cold. I do this before I start cleaning. To apply, I spray it onto a microfibre cloth and then apply to the bike by hand. With ACF, a little goes a long way, one aerosol bottle lasted me a couple of years, although I only use it 4-5 times a year in the winter months. Once done, I jetwash all of the cleaning Brushes I've used on the hardest setting, that normally blasts all the crap away. NB, I'm not sponsored by Muc Off, I bought a set of their cleaning brushes and having used sponges and Wash mitts, I find the brushes give the best result. I typically do more wet washes in the winter because of the amount of crap on the road. ACF is good but I don't quite subscribe to the apply it once at the beginning of winter and then just hose off in spring. Salt and Grime will still find a way through, you can leave it a bit longer between washes but I find I have to deep clean every 4-6 weeks of regular use. Normally wash a bike 2-3 times a month if its being used regularly/for commuting. I only do the chain if its manky (maybe 1 in 3 washes) In the summer/dry weather I like Vulcanet wipes as a "touch up" clean. I've currently got a tub of the Miyagi wipes because there were no Vulcanet at the place I bought them from, they're not bad but the Vulcanet are better IMO, pay a few extra quid for them. They are quite dear at £35 ish a tub, but I only needed 3 wipes per bike which equates to about 26 washes which is once every two weeks - so on the long term, not that much. Vulcanet are great if you don't have a water source (which I didn't when I lived in a flat). If it is absolutely covered in salt and grime though, i'd try rinse off as much as possible first before using the wipes. If you don't have a Jetwash but have a hose, SDoc 100 is also great. It's very expensive, but by far the best spray on general cleaner I've used. It suds/foams up nicely as well if you scrub, it is definitely not a spray on, rinse off cleaner as advertised. What I like about it is the "no need for drying" feature of the cleaner. I don't know what they put in it, but its pretty damn good. I still had to go over a few bits with a microfibre cloth to dry - but nowhere near as much as I would had I used any other cleaner such as the Muc Off Nano Cleaner or Guy martin Proper cleaner ...sorry, another wall of text
