Motorcycle wash may sound easy but it involves its share of some dos and don’ts that should be strictly followed when it comes to giving your bike a proper wash. Timely wash is important for your bike as it helps to protect the surface finishes and keep the machine shining like new. Also keep an eye out for damages, oil or brake fluid leakages, wear and tear while washing your motorcycle as damaged parts tend to catch up rust easily.

A bike can be washed on a weekly interval, or every two weeks depending up the requirement and the riding terrain. But make sure you do not end up washing it more than required, as overdoing it may develop rust on several fragile and exposed places on the bike like disc plates, clutch or brake cables, bar ends and many such parts.

Follow the below steps for proper washing guidance:

1.       Unhook all the luggage off the bike, and inspect clearly if you have any gadgets attached to it like a GPS or an aftermarket sensor, unplugging them would be the best idea as you wouldn’t want water to destroy such costly piece of electronics.  

2.       If you have just arrived from a ride, or if the bike is hot even from a short 10-20 mins ride, make sure to cool it down before you start with the washing procedure because cold water and hot engine is not the combo you would want.

3.       Find a plane spot to park your motorcycle, and lift the rear wheel up on a center stand or a paddock stand (available on Grandpitstop.com). It would help the wheel to rotate freely and thus easy cleaning.

4.       Do yourself a favor by not parking the bike anywhere near a driveway or a street as the leftovers might create a hazardous situation. Also, make sure you don’t park your bike under direct sunlight as it may dry off the washing shampoo faster than you think making the process harder.

5.       Avoid using a strong water jet as it destroy your bike’s electricals. Also, the bike should only be washed with cold water because as contrary – warm water catalyzes the effect of liquid contaminants such as mineral deposits, which when sprayed on to the surface may leave marks which are quite hard to remove.

6.       Spray the water thoroughly on the motorcycle surface to loosen all the dirt from the hidden spots like under tail section, belly pan, tyre hugger and more. Do not target the jet directly on to the radiator grille, as it may damage radiator fins which are then very costly to replace.

7.       When all the dirt and muck has been successfully removed, use the microfiber cloth soaked in the washing shampoo and rub across length and breadth of the bike’s surface. Cover all spots, especially the tricky places like the windshield which is usually splattered with bugs and flies from the ride.

8.       You can always use the Motul cleaner spray (available on Grandpitstop.com) for removing grease stains from the rear wheel or swingarm which might have gotten dirty from your last chain maintenance session.

9.       Now without further ado make sure you generously splatter the bike with the water gun and rinse all corners without sparing a single shampoo bubble.

10.   By now, the bike is all clean but wet. If you have a blower/dryer now is the time to put it to test. A blower will literally force away all the water dripping down the bike, and then the remaining water should be soaked using a microfiber cloth gently wiped across the bike.

11.   When the bike is all dried up, use Motul E5 Shine and Go spray (available on Grandpitstop.com) to polish your bike surface. Apply a light film of sprayed polish followed by a gentle microfiber cloth rub across the body panels. Such spray can be used to polish both plastic as well as metal surfaces.  

12.   Polishing is the full and final step, and by this time you bike is shining like new.