Karcher Pressure wash any good?

Hew · Dec 10, 2002

Does anyone use one of these pressure washers and are they any good?
They seem to offer a good method to wash salt and dirt off the bike especially from all the nooks and crannies. Prices start from as little as £50. Would one like this have enough pressure to do the job or is it necessary to look nearer the top of the range for a washer that will do the Job?
I know that the handbook states not to use them but if it cleans all the crap off the bike it’s a chance I will be willing to take.

shuck raider · Dec 10, 2002

Yeah, I got one from B&Q for about 80 quid, does what it says on the box. You don't have to use it as a power washer all the time, you can adjust the lance nozzle and it works like a hosepipe (less pressure). I don't use it full blast on the engine or electrics, but it is great for removing the sh1t from under guards and around the rear shock. Just don't point it anywhere you think might be vulnerable to water ingress. Also cleaned the concrete drive, almost drove past my house next time, didn't recognize the place. They are bloody powerful things though, so be careful. I screwed up a mahogany garden bench with mine, removed the wood as well as the muck

Heston Service · Dec 10, 2002

I'm quite scared to jet wash my bike after reading the manual.

What damage am I likely to do and what parts should I avoid?

A bucket and some soap looks like very hard work.

TERRY RYAN · Dec 10, 2002

ITS Great

Its the best thing since sliced bread
like everyone tells you it does what it says
on the box
I use my for my Van
Drive
BIKE GS CAREFULLY DOES IT
WALLS
WASHING

:illbe

Buy it
or get father christmas to get you one

needlongerlegs · Dec 11, 2002

Yup - Not Bad

But be carefull not to get to close mine took the paint off the fairing on my RS.

G.....

Vern · Dec 11, 2002

My pressure washer gets quite a bit of use, I don't believe all this stuff about using them on low pressure, don't see the point in that. Every now and again, I take the tank off, and steam clean all the electrics under the tank, come up lovely they do, and it's never done any harm yet.Think about it all you doubters, whats best, a good blasting with a steam cleaner, or leaving all the grit,salt and muck to eat it way into all the wiring? Turn it up full, and give it death.

Greg Masters · Dec 11, 2002

I have 40 quid's worth of B&Q washer. I occasionally use it on the bike to get the worst of the shit off, but try to avoid the greased areas like wheel bearings and the side-stand pivot etc.

I generally hand wash the bike after I've jet-washed it.

The jet-wash is great for cleaning car engines etc but what it's best at is cleaning patios and pathways. They come up a different colour and add thousands to the value of your house!!

GFI

Greg

PeterNicholson · Dec 11, 2002

The domestic Karchers are OK for occasional use, but are a bit fragile, long-term.
Kew/Hobby are a bit better made than (domestic)Karcher.
Industrial Karchers are well-made and tough, but expensive to maintain.
Clarke (from Machine Mart) are about the best at the low-medium end of the market (IMO, of course).

Based on 12 years of wearing the things out...

Best one I've had was a Clarke petrol-powered unit - 6 years service without a problem, until some toerag broke in to my lockup and pinched it :shoot:

The idiots also left the lance and hose (maybe mistaking it for a generator

).

Oh, and Kew/Karcher fittings are more or less interchangeable, as the HP hose fittings are the same size. Clarkes use a different size.

From experience - keep the HP spray well away from wheel- and suspension bearings. DAMHIK

(RIP) Yosi · Dec 11, 2002

Think about the high water pressure you get while riding at motorways speed in the rain. If that doesn't affect the electrics, bearings, etc. why should a washer whose pressure output is certainly lower?

Something to think about....

boxer · Dec 11, 2002

Pressure washers for a road bike are a bit OTT, IMO. If it's got that much crap on you've got to blast it with a pressure washer it needs washing more often.

Anything that can blast a hole in asphalt don't belong near a motorcycle. Even advocates warn of damage to seals/bearing and paintwork. Most baked on crap'll come off with a soaking and a bit of elbow grease.

Also, I'm not keen on the mist that's created when the HP water hits the bike, it must get places mere rain wouldn't.

Yosi, whilst I've never done either I would imagine holding your unprotected hand out whilst riding in the rain would sting a bit. Holding a hand near a pressure washer would need a trip to A+E.

Simon Eassom · Dec 11, 2002

I agree with Boxer . . . I've got a top-end of the market pressure washer and I absolutely love it. As Greg says, you can't beat it for cleaning moss and lichen off paths, roofs, brickwork etc. It's fantastic for the underneath of the car, wheel arches etc. But, for my motorbike I find it more trouble and faff than it's worth. By the time I've got it out the garage, connected up to an electric supply with an extension cable, connected up to the water supply with an extension hose (especially if I want hot water), I might as well have used a bucket and sponge. The "fiddly bits" need brush/sponge treatment by hand anyway. The temptation with a pressure washer is to put the lance end an inch away from the bike and blast it off. It's a bit like using a flame thrower to light a candle. There is no doubt that pressure washers can damage your bike (and not just because of water under pressure getting into bearings etc). But, if you back off on the pressure and use "spray" mode to cover the bike then what's the difference between the washer and chucking a bucket of water over the thing.
I bought a new £200 washer last month for all sorts of jobs and set out excitedly to wash my bike. I've done it twice now and I doubt I'll bother again. If you want a washer anyway, then fine. If you think spending £69.99 on one of the lower pressure Focus D-I-Y specials is worth it, then go for it.
If you do . . . the obvious danger areas are around bearings (wheel hubs, centre stand, steering heads etc), all electrics but especially if you start sticking the lance under the tank, brake callipers, and tyre valves.

PeterNicholson · Dec 11, 2002

Yosi queried thusly:

If that doesn't affect the electrics, bearings, etc. why should a washer whose pressure output is certainly lower?

Yosi - most of the lower-end pressure washers operate at around 80 - 100 bar - considerably more than you get by riding at 100mph in the rain.
Some of the kinkier high-end units will do anything up to 250bar, hot and cold. You probably wouldn't want to wash your GS with one of these...

BTW, I heard a (possibly apocryphal) tale of the guy working at the Wandsworth Council depot who took his (filthy)car in to work to get it clean in the drive-through they use for the refuse lorries. These have a row of nozzles that you drive the vehicle over to clean the underside. Bear in mind that these operate at 350 bar, and are designed to wash the underside of a dustcart which is 3 feet off the floor. I'm sure you can imagine what happened when the ageing Ford Sierra was driven over them at a height of 8 inches...

Hew · Dec 11, 2002

Thanks for all the replies.
If I am correct, there is no point in buying anything better than a basic model for cleaning bikes. The increased pressure of better models would only be used for other things.
I hate rust on bikes almost as much as I hate cleaning them so the ideal of a quick hose down and then a wipe over with WD40 is appealing.
It took ages to clean the bike after a recent long trip, which included some mild off-roading. Now that the roads are covered in salt I will only use my wife’s bike, this would also benefit from being cleaned occasionally

JohnnyBoxer · Dec 11, 2002

I've got a KEW semi-professional washer for about £300.
I swear by it and it gets the GS nice and clean.Used it on all my GS's ,without a problems as long as your careful (always wash wheels from opposite sides to avoid bearings etc).
If you've got a really dirty bike with baked on dirt - using a bucket would take a 'month of Sundays'.
So the GS , the Honda XR all get the Jet wash treatment - used sensibly by altering the pressure and taking time to clean your bike.
Another tip - never wash a warm/hot GS engine - because you'll damage the head gaskets

Vern · Dec 11, 2002

I bought a bearing,sealed one side,to show some oink how hard it was to blast the grease out of it.I set about it with an industial STEAM cleaner, and eventually got fed up with getting wet,the oink took over, and he got fed up after a while as well.The bearing was then left rattling around my toolbox for ever and a day,untill it got used in the front wheel of my AJS.It was still there after 5years when I sold it! My 1100 has had more abuse than you could ever imagine,it passed 120000 miles last night,and it's still on the same wheel bearings and that's been jet washed/steam cleaned all the time I've had it.You pays your money,you takes your choice.Imust go now,I've got to rub some oil of ulay into the petrol tank.

Steve Peake · Dec 12, 2002

Rather than buying a low pressure washer, how about spending a few quid on a hose pipe, and putting your thumb over the end?

With a bit of practice, you can do jets, sprays, or anything in between!

£69.99 for a thumb, when I've already got two, seems a bit steep.

(Of course, for anyone missing opposable thumbs, it's a bargain!)

Steve

The Foolish Fellow · Dec 13, 2002

bollox

are you sure that this thread shouldn't be moved to the bollox section

Alan Parker · Dec 13, 2002

I agree with a couple of the boys who say "don't bother". Bought a £200 Karcher & used it once on the car & once on the bike - carefully. More hassle than it's worth, & it may damage the goods.
Nothing does the job like a sponge & a good brush.Use the pressure washer for patios/drives/walls etc :banghead:

BAKERMAN · Dec 14, 2002

WASHERS

The cheaper the washer, the least time it will last.

The cheap ones have parts that are built only to last 2-8 hours.

Most folk buy one use it 30 mins and put it away for a month or two and use it again 30 mins, so on, maybe only using it 4 times a year, BINGO you go to use it its U.S and now out of warranty.

So the more you pay the better you get.

BawdyMonk · Jan 3, 2003

A lazy mate of mine used a pressure washer on his VFR, in short the bike was totally buggered up, ended up with new loom and at took about 2 years, yes 2 years of running around, Honda didn't want to know, even though the bike was less that 6 months old, if you use them stand well back! :redlight

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