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How to wash your bike.
Car Washes
First of all, never, ever take your bike to a car wash and use high pressure spray on it. A Harley is designed to stand up to wet roads and rain, but it is not designed for high pressure spray. The spray will eventually force its way up under your gaskets and you will be stuck at the car wash for a while, cause it won’t start. If you will notice at Sturgis, Laughlin, Daytona, etc. at the Bike Wash stands, they have bikini clad girls hand washing bikes. They aren’t using portable high pressure sprayers, which would be easier for them, they are actually hand washing the bikes. This isn’t just for your entertainment, so you can watch them get all soapy, the hand washing is for a reason.
Paper Towels
Second of all, never, ever use a paper towel to wash, dry or wipe off your bike. Paper is a wood product, it actually has very small wood chips in it and it will scratch your bike.
Washing Solution
For washing your bike, use any car wash solution, but never use household products to clean your bike. Dishwashing detergents are too aggressive and will strip the wax and dull the finish on black engines or plastic housings. Use only a thick 100% cotton terry cloth rag or mitt, or a lambs wool mitt. The loops in the terry cloth or lambs wool helps trap the dirt and helps keep it from scratching your bike. If your bike is extremely greasy and oily, use a degreaser before washing (such as PJ1 Degreaser Contact Cleaner or PJ1 Spray and Wash).
Towels and Rags
This might sound really petty, but I suggest that you buy thick 100% cotton terry cloth towels for drying your bike. Do not use these towels for anything else, keep them in a sealed container when not in use, and DO NOT EVER put them on the ground. The reason is, if you just grab some old towels from the house, you never know what they have been used for and they might have something trapped in the loops that can scratch your bike, this is the same reasoning behind not ever laying them on the ground before, during or after drying your bike, you might get pine needles, metal shavings, saw dust or anything else trapped in it and it can do damage. After you have used these specific towels, if you just throw them up in a cabinet or just lay them on a shelf in the garage, God only knows what will end up on them or who else in the household will use them for something that will render them useless due to contamination. This is why I suggest you buy a sealed container to keep them in. Just make sure you wash all new cloths and towels before using them, because they have what is called "sizing" in them and this needs to be removed.
In the auto wax department of Wal-Mart, they have a bundle of 4 very thick blue towels called "Detailing Towels" and a bundle of 6 cotton "Finishing Rags" at a very reasonable price. Both of these are excellent.
Wax or Polish?
Should you use WAX or POLISH? Let me describe the difference, and then you might have a better idea of what to buy.
Polishes have a very fine grit to them. They actually take off a very, very small portion of clear coat in order to get rid of oxidation caused by UV rays that dull the paint. They also are used for removing "swirl marks" and "spider webbing" caused from previous washings and waxing. If your "swirl marks and "spider webbing" are just a little to deep for a polish to handle, then try a swirl remover, such as Mequir’s Swirl Remover. This is the same as polish, however, it has a little bit more grit to it to go a little deeper, but not as deep as a compound.
Waxes, have no grit to them. If your wax is labeled as a "cleaner wax", such as Mother’s Carnauba Cleaner Wax, this means that it has a mild chemical cleaning agent in it, not grit, therefore it does not remove any clear coat, but it can help with pollutants, bug guts and other things like that. I have researched the subject of what waxes are preferred by show car enthusiasts and show bike enthusiasts, and they all agree that a carnauba wax is the best. It is the best wax for protecting your paint job from UV rays and pollution. Many brands manufacture carnauba wax, and they are all good.
Just about all the wax manufacturers now produce a instant detailing spray. This product is great for the times you want your bike to look great, but it has a layer of dust on it from just sitting in the garage or from driving on some of our over abundant dirt and gravel roads, and you just don’t have time to wash it. . Just spray this product on and wipe it off with a clean detailing rag. You can also spray this product on your wax applicator before your apply the wax. It will make the wax easier to apply and to wipe off.
My suggestion for buying special towels and keeping them sealed in a container also applies to the applicators, towels and detailing rags used for applying and removing your wax or polish.
Black or Other Very Dark Paint
A special note for those with black or any very dark paint job. According to Meguiar’s and Mother’s Wax representatives, for a really deep shine, first apply a glaze, wipe it off and then apply wax. Glaze is sold in the same section as the waxes, and it is labeled as "Glaze". This is twice the work, but worth it.
Windshields
If you have a windshield on your bike, you need to periodically renew the windshield for appearance sake and for safety’s sake. While you are traveling down the road at 60-70 mph, dust, bugs, stones, etc. are having a mild sandblasting effect on your windshield and dulling it. To renew its deep, clear appearance, use a windshield cleaner designed for motorcycles (not for the glass on your vehicle). Follow it with a coat of wax or instant detailing spray.
Spoke Wheels
An easy way to clean your spokes is with a wide shoelace. Wrap the shoelace a couple of times around the spoke and pull it back and forth over the length of the spoke.
Wrinkle Black Cases
You can clean and clean and clean those black cases, you can even use a toothbrush, but when it is all dry, it still looks dull due to water deposits and even worse, misapplied wax. Try Pam cooking spray. After your bike is washed and waxed, spray a small amount of Pam on a soft rag and polish the wrinkle black areas. It will shine better than new.
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