So I read in the manual to clean the bike, wash it down and then use a leaf blower to dry out all the bike. After this, put a coat of wax and lube all moving parts. Lube the chain after 5 minutes of warm up every time after you wash your bike.
I did my first wash the other day, I took the garden hose, gave it a good spray making sure not to get into the instrument panel and handle bars too much and also not into the muffler or pressure around the rear seat cowl (although i did get some water in the rear seat).
I then took some generic hand soap and a microfiber towel and gave it a good wash, rinsed and then took a leaf blower to dry, especially moving parts like the chain.
I then took some S100 cleaner and gave the fairings a clean. Then I took some mothers liquid wax and applied it to all the plastic pieces. Mistake! the plastic pieces that are not shiny near the side of the tank and the under-cowl hazed a slight white after a while in the sun. I don't know if it was the cleaner or wax, but Im betting on the latter. So note, don't wax the matte plastic parts or the rear hand grips. I obviously did not put wax on the windshield.
I then lastly took some leather/vinyl cleaner/protectant and applied that to the seats and used it to clean the haze off the matte parts and give it a good shine.
The owners manual has a really good section on what to clean with what and what not to wax. Do give that a good read if you haven't cleaned a bike before. Good tips like "do not use a high pressure wash." I took this to mean a garden hose is fine.
I highly recommend the leaf blower and not letting your bike air dry or sit wet.
For the last part, I bought some DuPont chain lube, rode my bike around for 10 minutes, put it on a rear stand and applied lube to the side, bottom and top of the chain.
Microfiber towels are amazing, no lint left behind and don't scratch the surface, buy a pack. Don't use paper towels on the windscreen, it will scratch it.
Anyone got any comments or tips on cleaning the bike? Specifically lubing parts, what else besides the chain needs to be lubed and with what?
I did my first wash the other day, I took the garden hose, gave it a good spray making sure not to get into the instrument panel and handle bars too much and also not into the muffler or pressure around the rear seat cowl (although i did get some water in the rear seat).
I then took some generic hand soap and a microfiber towel and gave it a good wash, rinsed and then took a leaf blower to dry, especially moving parts like the chain.
I then took some S100 cleaner and gave the fairings a clean. Then I took some mothers liquid wax and applied it to all the plastic pieces. Mistake! the plastic pieces that are not shiny near the side of the tank and the under-cowl hazed a slight white after a while in the sun. I don't know if it was the cleaner or wax, but Im betting on the latter. So note, don't wax the matte plastic parts or the rear hand grips. I obviously did not put wax on the windshield.
I then lastly took some leather/vinyl cleaner/protectant and applied that to the seats and used it to clean the haze off the matte parts and give it a good shine.
The owners manual has a really good section on what to clean with what and what not to wax. Do give that a good read if you haven't cleaned a bike before. Good tips like "do not use a high pressure wash." I took this to mean a garden hose is fine.
I highly recommend the leaf blower and not letting your bike air dry or sit wet.
For the last part, I bought some DuPont chain lube, rode my bike around for 10 minutes, put it on a rear stand and applied lube to the side, bottom and top of the chain.
Microfiber towels are amazing, no lint left behind and don't scratch the surface, buy a pack. Don't use paper towels on the windscreen, it will scratch it.
Anyone got any comments or tips on cleaning the bike? Specifically lubing parts, what else besides the chain needs to be lubed and with what?