Petrol station bike wash

[midden]

So seems safe to say we are out of winter (Don't shoot me for speaking too soon) and is a good time to wash off the winter crap and hopefully that remaining shield of acf-50.
Not having hose at home I'm thinking of using one of those hose washes you see at the petrol stations.
Are they worthy and which level would be best?
 I presume they go same as car wash lvl1 plain water 2 soap blah blah blah

[Mattsplat]

I power wash my GenII but be careful of the engine paint, I blew some of it off on the sprocket cover!

Turns out its made of plastic 

Avoid your chain, it'll blast all the lube off.

I soap then rinse, point the jet in all them areas I cant reach by hand. Dry off with a micro cloth then I re-lube my chain.

[bigralphie]

Stand twice as far as you would from the car and don't train the jet on a single area without moving
Use to be a cracking coin op one at the top of my road could wash the bike for 20p 

gone now prob due to tight gits like me 

[Frosties]

It'll be fine fella. I tend to spray mine with Muckoff first and leave it a while to work its magic.


Just don't blast the shit out of the radiator and bend the fins. Try and avoid greased pivot points - headstock, swing arm pivots, wheel bearings etc. Apart from that crack on.

[Mattsplat]

Use to be a cracking coin op one at the top of my road could wash the bike for 20p 

20p, I thought I did well cleaning the bike for €1!!

I usually take a litre plastic bottle with me to fill with the aluminium wheel cleaner for the wife's alloy car wheels, its cost €5 for 500ml in the shops!

[Punkstig]

Some places (I think old essos) you pay for time and at the machine you push the buttons to select what you want,
Ie button for the soapy spray
Button for soapy brush
Button for high pressure
There's a few more choices but you get the idea, you can swap and change between all of them as often as you like whilst you got money in there!

[midden]

It'll be fine fella. I tend to spray mine with Muckoff first and leave it a while to work its magic.


Just don't blast the shit out of the radiator and bend the fins. Try and avoid greased pivot points - headstock, swing arm pivots, wheel bearings etc. Apart from that crack on.

Muckoff  that's the stuff they sell in Asda  often thought about buying some.  Shouldn't need it with tha acf already on though should I?

[richfzs]

Muc - off will take the Acf50 off...

[Frosties]

Muc - off will take the Acf50 off...

Errrrrrrr yup, it'll take the acf clean off - sorry fella, didn't read your first post properly. Just the jet wash then eh 

[darrsi]

Although i was getting deliberately near, don't get too close with a jet wash as it WILL blast your paint off.
 
http://foc-u.co.uk/index.php/topic,8354.msg82143.html#msg82143
 
 
Notice what 'Frosties' says about bending the radiator fins as well.
"Guilty, m'lud." 
 
 

[cbx63]

Didn't some one on here end up with a stains on his black engine from using a garage power wash. use with caution

[Lez72]

You should be fine using a garage pressure washer as long as (like others have said) you don't stand too close and don't direct the jet at the radiator or greased linkages. I think any possible staining is due to not getting rid of the excess water and cleaning chemicals prior to the bike heating up again i.e. like riding it home whilst still wet. If you dry it off as best as you can whilst at the garage you should be ok but make sure you lubricate the moving parts when you get home.

If you can get an outside tap fitted at home it's a bonus. I tend to use a Muc Off (or similar) type of motorcycle cleaner that I spray all around the lower parts of the bike (not seat or bodywork). I then use good old fashioned vehicle shampoo in hot water and a soft sponge and try and get into as much of the bikes nooks and crannies as possible. I then hose off all the cleaning fluids and use an air compressor to blast out a lot of the remaining water. I then coat with GT85 or ACF50 if I'm feeling flush and again use the air compressor to blast that around the engine and metal parts and drive any remaining water out. I then remove the residue with a soft, dry microfiber cloth followed by polishing the metal parts and bodywork. I then use brake cleaner on the callipers and discs to make sure there is nothing nasty left on them and relube the chain.

Its a lot of work but the bike looks better for it. 

[midden]

cheers for all tips and advise. In the end I opted to fit external tap bring hose from plot to double up with a new one to and have just rinsed the bike over with low pressure cold water and various brushes. Can see the acf film remains which I believe it's good for a couple of washes so this hopefully is good.  Have left in garage to drip dry ready for Ace cafe tomorrow. 
I know I'm lazy  [size=78%] [/size]

[Grandma]

Have a jet wash @ home & used garage one before & great for nooks & crannies just beware of pressure on rad & wheel bearings can damage