Heys guys
Just thought I'd post what I've learnt over 20 years of biking about looking after ya bike.. maybe some of you have tips as well, most of it might be obvious, but I find the below the best way to keep your bike both looking good and not turning into a piece of junk within a year. A well looked after bike continues to feel like new.. and poorly maintained one, even just the basics will feel like a barge.
Worst thing you can ever do to a bike to clean it is the dreaded jet wash (garages do this to 2nd hand machines, but it's repeated use thats bad). It does clean really well and quickly, but it also removes any protection / lube on your bike and especially over winter your bike will corrode extra fast, probably faster than not cleaning it at all. Also knock on effect is pretty much every fastener will start to sieze, and you'll be forced to drill out bolts etc when needing maint.
I remember a mechanic saying you can always tell a bike thats been jet washed all it's life, everything is dry (and most bolts etc are rounded off as a result)
In the summer I try to avoid soap and water on bike and maybe only use this once every 3 weeks or so. In between I just spend 30mins with a small rag and a large can of WD40. Just spray onto rag and wipe everything over (making sure you avoid tyres / discs) and you'll be amazed at how clean bike looks, a thin oil like WD40 is actually best thing for removing other oil. Best of all it's then got a protective layer to protect against alloys oxidising / rust and makes it even easier to clean next time. The plastic body work just gets a quick and easy wipe over with 'Mer' for just a basic shine
There is a couple of other products on market even better than WD40 for protecting, name slips me but they were developed for planes in US navy and leave a much longer lasting film of protection
When you do get the hose out on bike don't go crazy with high pressure on lubed areas, rad grill or instruments / headlights. One thing to do is to put hose pipe on a hard jet and stuff it into the sides of your calipers to clean crud out. It's not enough to harm seals or strip lube from slider pin, but enough to just shift the crud / brake dust build up... and so far I've found this the best way to minimize having to strip your brake calipers so often for cleaning / lube)
When ever you remove any bolt / fastener on your bike apply copper grease / lube / slip to threaded parts before putting back. Means next time you remove it, no siezing. I think there are various anti sieze pastes about made from alum as well. (be careful on highly torqued parts as you need a little extra torque to offset the effect of compound)
After cleaning bike I always lube / adjust chain / check tyre pressures (for street stick with 36f 42r, lower pressures are for hardcore riders who require extra grip and heat in tyre, your tread with evaporate like this though and just not needed for road riding and most the time your tyre will be too soft as your temps will fall in traffic and slow handling). Also go around all moving joints like footpegs / gear shift bushes / levers with a light synthetic lube (I forgotten the one I use but it's branded 'high temperature lube), this means it doesn't just burn up if close to engine. I then go around and just do a visual on bolts etc, and also check for play in bearings on axles and headrace. Worth doing this as I've had a wheel litrally collapse on a ZX12 before from bearing giving way, and it's a scary thing.
Last thing all the above gives you is a wonderful smell, you walk into garage in morning and you can smell hot WD40.. hmhmhmhmhmhm, now where's the bike sex thread lol
Just thought I'd post what I've learnt over 20 years of biking about looking after ya bike.. maybe some of you have tips as well, most of it might be obvious, but I find the below the best way to keep your bike both looking good and not turning into a piece of junk within a year. A well looked after bike continues to feel like new.. and poorly maintained one, even just the basics will feel like a barge.
Worst thing you can ever do to a bike to clean it is the dreaded jet wash (garages do this to 2nd hand machines, but it's repeated use thats bad). It does clean really well and quickly, but it also removes any protection / lube on your bike and especially over winter your bike will corrode extra fast, probably faster than not cleaning it at all. Also knock on effect is pretty much every fastener will start to sieze, and you'll be forced to drill out bolts etc when needing maint.
I remember a mechanic saying you can always tell a bike thats been jet washed all it's life, everything is dry (and most bolts etc are rounded off as a result)
In the summer I try to avoid soap and water on bike and maybe only use this once every 3 weeks or so. In between I just spend 30mins with a small rag and a large can of WD40. Just spray onto rag and wipe everything over (making sure you avoid tyres / discs) and you'll be amazed at how clean bike looks, a thin oil like WD40 is actually best thing for removing other oil. Best of all it's then got a protective layer to protect against alloys oxidising / rust and makes it even easier to clean next time. The plastic body work just gets a quick and easy wipe over with 'Mer' for just a basic shine
There is a couple of other products on market even better than WD40 for protecting, name slips me but they were developed for planes in US navy and leave a much longer lasting film of protection
When you do get the hose out on bike don't go crazy with high pressure on lubed areas, rad grill or instruments / headlights. One thing to do is to put hose pipe on a hard jet and stuff it into the sides of your calipers to clean crud out. It's not enough to harm seals or strip lube from slider pin, but enough to just shift the crud / brake dust build up... and so far I've found this the best way to minimize having to strip your brake calipers so often for cleaning / lube)
When ever you remove any bolt / fastener on your bike apply copper grease / lube / slip to threaded parts before putting back. Means next time you remove it, no siezing. I think there are various anti sieze pastes about made from alum as well. (be careful on highly torqued parts as you need a little extra torque to offset the effect of compound)
After cleaning bike I always lube / adjust chain / check tyre pressures (for street stick with 36f 42r, lower pressures are for hardcore riders who require extra grip and heat in tyre, your tread with evaporate like this though and just not needed for road riding and most the time your tyre will be too soft as your temps will fall in traffic and slow handling). Also go around all moving joints like footpegs / gear shift bushes / levers with a light synthetic lube (I forgotten the one I use but it's branded 'high temperature lube), this means it doesn't just burn up if close to engine. I then go around and just do a visual on bolts etc, and also check for play in bearings on axles and headrace. Worth doing this as I've had a wheel litrally collapse on a ZX12 before from bearing giving way, and it's a scary thing.
Last thing all the above gives you is a wonderful smell, you walk into garage in morning and you can smell hot WD40.. hmhmhmhmhmhm, now where's the bike sex thread lol
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