How best to clean the grime from under the tank?

[mr_magicfingers]

Bought my first GS last week and after taking the tank of in the past couple of days found a fairly thick layer of oily grime covering everything under there, wiring, connectors, alarm box etc. I want to clean this out but I'm wary of too much water getting around.

First thought is to spray liberally with degreaser and I have a half gallon of simple green that might do the job, work it around gently with a paint brush and then rinse off with a sponge and water. Obviously most bike electrics are water resistant but I don't want to mess things up. Does this seem a reasonable way to go about cleaning the worst of it off?

I'd like to clean it up a bit so that it's less messy when working on it. Hope it's not too daft a question.

J.

 

[Vern]

Steam clean it or jet wash it.That's what I do with mine,and what we used to do with half million quid rally cars.Just blow the water off afterwards with an airline.Job done.

Now wait for everyone to come along and tell you not to do it like that

 

[mr_magicfingers]

I wondered about doing that, but thought that jetwashing the undertank area might not be the best idea with all the electrics under there. I guess if it works in the engine bay of a car it should work under there. Perhaps spray some degreaser on first, leave it for 5 mins and spray off. Gonna look strange down at the jetwash dismantling the bike before washing it

 

[motobiker]

How often does the Tank have to come off?

Once a year... if that?

 

[Vern]

How often does the Tank have to come off?

Once a year... if that?

A lot more on the 1200

 

[mr_magicfingers]

More a case that I don't want to have a continuing build up of greasy crap under there and thought it wise to clean it out and start with it in a decent state. Plus, I'm about to wire in an extra power socket and install an autocom and it's nasty under there. I'm going to work through the whole bike gradually getting rid of the corrosion and ingrained dirt. I'm planning on keeping this bike a good long while so might as well start taking care of it now.

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

More a case that I don't want to have a continuing build up of greasy crap under there and thought it wise to clean it out and start with it in a decent state. Plus, I'm about to wire in an extra power socket and install an autocom and it's nasty under there. I'm going to work through the whole bike gradually getting rid of the corrosion and ingrained dirt. I'm planning on keeping this bike a good long while so might as well start taking care of it now.

Post some pics of how bad it is

 

[mr_magicfingers]

will do so when I have a few mins spare.

 

[Mzokk]

If your worried about water take the tank off (wait till its near empty) turn it upside down onto an old blanket or pillow spray it with wd40 and wipe it with a rag. Spray the wiring and wipe with a rag. I normally do this at the end of the winter. But on the underside of the tank I painted on waxoyl when I got the bike and had no problems removing the tank access panel to replace the fuel filter a year or two later. I've never cleaned this waxoyl off to replace it (been there for about five years) and will need to replace the fuel filter again soon so may give it a spray of wd40 to see if there is any corrosion under the waxoyl......doubt it though.

 

[davegs]

Lesson No. one.

First thing to learn about GS's is DON'T CLEAN THE BLOODY THING!!!
just RIDE IT. Could all this "gunge" be ACF 50 anti corrosion gunge?.

 

[dancata]

First thing to learn about GS's is DON'T CLEAN THE BLOODY THING!!!
just RIDE IT. Could all this "gunge" be ACF 50 anti corrosion gunge?.

+1

I have pressure cleaned my bike with water and destroyed the coil (1100gs)

 

[JoeC]

I give my tank a rub down in the bath

 

[John Armstrong]

Personally I'd not put a pressure washer anywhere near the under tank area with all it's electrical connectors, pumps etc etc.

My thoughts, carefull wipe with a damp cloth / paint brush, and then ACF50 it.

 

[sproggy]

Mine was filthy under the tank when I bought it - it was really horrible to work under there. I sprayed it liberally with Muc-off, left it for a few minutes and then pressure-washed it from a safe distance. Came up near-spotless (it's the cleanest bit of the bike now......) and no nasty side-effects.

Good stuff, Muc-off

 

[bart2181]

mine too was filthy when i first bought it and now its even filthier.mine was bought to be ridden not cleaned

 

[Den]

mine too was filthy when i first bought it and now its even filthier.mine was bought to be ridden not cleaned

Aye .... thats my philosophy as well.

I was born to live .. and live hard. So I never wash. Shampoo? ... for poofs. Let it grow long and greasy. A body is for using and abusing ... not pampering.
Plaque. Its a protective covering is it not ? Might look a bit mingy ... but keeps the teeth underneath from corroding. The same goes for the cheese under my foreskin. Lovely stuff. Its good for lubricating chains when you run out of lube.
Off road adventure toe nails. never cut them .... use them for climbing trees.

I'm an adventure/off road man. I was born to be ridden ... and ridden hard. S,funny how many ladies dont want to do it though.

 

[Stewart H]

I remove a little bit of it with my hands every time I take the tank off, on my bike it is ACF50 and road grime. I am far too scared to actually go jetwashing under there, the jetwash and the airline to blowdry it are a couple of miles apart

Stewart

 

[Vern]

mine too was filthy when i first bought it and now its even filthier.mine was bought to be ridden not cleaned

Like I never ride mine

 

[Vern]

I remove a little bit of it with my hands every time I take the tank off, on my bike it is ACF50 and road grime. I am far too scared to actually go jetwashing under there, the jetwash and the airline to blowdry it are a couple of miles apart

Stewart

Pop over to the workshop if you're a scaredy cat,at least you won't have far to walk home,and there's a big skip there as well

 

[Stewart H]

Pop over to the workshop if you're a scaredy cat,at least you won't have far to walk home,and there's a big skip there as well

I dont know if the two of us could lift the thing into the skip
I might pop over sometime and have a look at you, I have heard there is coffee, unsure about cleaning the bike though
You are somewhere near Queensferry arent you?

Stewart