Is it just me or is cleaning the GS the worst bike ever?

wifes triumph legend is as bad to clean as my gs. we have dogs and use a dog fur drier that groomers use to dry the bikes.And before the side splitting replies start, a dog groomer is basically a person who valets hounds and not someone who goes ont net pretending to be a much younger dog in order to illicit sexual favours from much younger dogs
 
beaver said:
I do wash it on the ctr stand.. then put it on the side stand and like you say, about 1/2 ltr runs off... then i hold it the other way as low as I can go... some always comes off that way also.... but there are areas on top of the cylinders that still hold water... a leaf blower is just what I need for those !!
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Knew you would like that idea, I have used it for years, never fails.
 
I always found the GS/ GSA really easy to clean. The only tricky area was between the fins.

As above, rinse bike, then snow foam, rinse, then sponge with car shampoo, rinse and blow dry. Always use a Karcher. Job done.
 
beaver said:
I always come in with a few cuts from the thing though... sharp plastics or disc edges?...
cheers :)
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I’m the same. Always seem to take the knuckles off myself. So got myself some heavy duty marigolds which stops that. I also use a microfibre mit which makes some of it easier to do.

Last time I cleaned the bike was July though in fairness the weather has been so good the only dirt was some dust and bug splatter.

I don’t know where everyone is getting a spare three hours on a regular basis to clean the bike. I’m lucky if I have an hour. Plus if I spent three hours cleaning the bike I wouldn’t be able to stomach taking the bike out if it even looked like it was thinking about raining even a little when I was out riding.
 
brummy bloke said:
wifes triumph legend is as bad to clean as my gs. we have dogs and use a dog fur drier that groomers use to dry the bikes.And before the side splitting replies start, a dog groomer is basically a person who valets hounds and not someone who goes ont net pretending to be a much younger dog in order to illicit sexual favours from much younger dogs
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The lady doth protest too much LoL! ;)

Yes, I bought a dog dryer as it didn't take long to figure out that the exact same model was also being sold as a motorbike dryer at twice the cost! Buy the dog dryer version and it's £57 as opposed to £140 for the motorbike version, but basically it is the exact same machine.

Nearly wet myself laughing at some of the Amazon reviews from "professional dog groomers" (oooherr), one in particular which stated..........." be careful with the power settings as even set to low they are very powerful. I put a customer's pet Shihi Tzu on the grooming bench and switched the motor on......the little dog was blown clean off the bench!"
 
Weird Bob said:
I’m the same. Always seem to take the knuckles off myself. So got myself some heavy duty marigolds which stops that. I also use a microfibre mit which makes some of it easier to do.

Last time I cleaned the bike was July though in fairness the weather has been so good the only dirt was some dust and bug splatter.

I don’t know where everyone is getting a spare three hours on a regular basis to clean the bike. I’m lucky if I have an hour. Plus if I spent three hours cleaning the bike I wouldn’t be able to stomach taking the bike out if it even looked like it was thinking about raining even a little when I was out riding.
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Where did you get 3 hours from? :nenau
 
Piece of piss

I can fully wash and dry my 1150 GSA in less than an hour

In fact, I clean both mine every time to ride them nowadays, it's so quick and easy to do

My bikes are gleaming
 
Spray it with SDoc 100. pressure wash it off (Never use hotwasher if its got salt on it ) Spray with a good coat of ACF50 ....... dont wash again till the spring !
 
beaver said:
Some sound advise there folks.. many thanks :) thats what I need... a leaf blower!.. dual function... :) I aslo use muck-off
I always come in with a few cuts from the thing though... sharp plastics or disc edges?...
I will get some ACF50m ordered... thats what I was thinking of...
yes.. its around the engine and the rear end thats worst.. rear wheel off to do it right?
cheers :)
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Yes, rear wheel off to do it right. You can get to so much more that way. :thumb
 
Don’t tell a bmw dealer you use muc-off.

They recommend SDOC100, and this months Bike even mentioned it in their buyers guide article.
 
WTF has happened to this place??? :confused:

Where's the
  • Real bikers leave em dirty
  • They look better caked in shite
  • I didn't wash my bike for 7 years but when I did it came up like new ....

Don't get me wrong, I love my bikes to be gleaming and strive to keep them that way but come on .... where's the angst we're so used to seeing :D

Oh ... and as a small foot note ... just because it has a Karcher badge on it, doesn't mean it's any good ;)
 
Tunneruk said:
Where's the
  • Real bikers leave em dirty
  • They look better caked in shite
  • I didn't wash my bike for 7 years but when I did it came up like new ....
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They aren’t on the forum anymore because when they washed off all the load-bearing dirt all they were left with was a small pile of plastic panels and zip ties :)
 
I think one obvious answer to that is that for many of us, our monetary investment in a GS was not inconsiderable, so personally speaking, I could not justify deliberately leaving a bike in a filthy state. It cost me more than I am really comfortable with. It just makes sense to both protect your investment and make it easier to work on the thing and to spot issues by keeping the bike clean. I don't wash mine after every ride but do wash it weekly when I am using it and montly it gets ACF50'd. OTT? Maybe, but at least I know it's well looked after between that and regular home maintenance. Would I ever buy a bike that I viewed that was in a filthy state? Doubtful. Is it really seen as a "manly" thing these days to leave a bike covered in crap? I think it's more manly to demonstrate that you've invested time and effort on your bike as well as enjoying riding it. Let it get it filthy (after all it's got to be used), enjoy it but keep it looked after is my personal approach.
 
I did buy a twin cam before the LC as it was not in the best of conditions and potentialy I could leave it dirty more than I'm used to... but the engine went south so bought a minter LC :blast

Now Im woried about it getting rough which was the idea getting a BMW in the first place.. the Bandit I had before was in showroom condition but did take time to keep it like that....
 
Tunneruk said:
WTF has happened to this place??? :confused:

Where's the
  • Real bikers leave em dirty
  • They look better caked in shite
  • I didn't wash my bike for 7 years but when I did it came up like new ....

Don't get me wrong, I love my bikes to be gleaming and strive to keep them that way but come on .... where's the angst we're so used to seeing :D

Oh ... and as a small foot note ... just because it has a Karcher badge on it, doesn't mean it's any good ;)
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But that is not cool anymore, one must be sparkling clean, and twat suit also.
 
I shall follow your lead, does any suit become a twat suit, dependent upon user or is it only for specific uses ?

Much may depend upon a suitable response.

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk
 
Morety said:
I think one obvious answer to that is that for many of us, our monetary investment in a GS was not inconsiderable, so personally speaking, I could not justify deliberately leaving a bike in a filthy state. It cost me more than I am really comfortable with. It just makes sense to both protect your investment and make it easier to work on the thing and to spot issues by keeping the bike clean. I don't wash mine after every ride but do wash it weekly when I am using it and montly it gets ACF50'd. OTT? Maybe, but at least I know it's well looked after between that and regular home maintenance. Would I ever buy a bike that I viewed that was in a filthy state? Doubtful. Is it really seen as a "manly" thing these days to leave a bike covered in crap? I think it's more manly to demonstrate that you've invested time and effort on your bike as well as enjoying riding it. Let it get it filthy (after all it's got to be used), enjoy it but keep it looked after is my personal approach.
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Don’t get me wrong I love a clean bike. I have a real hang up getting my bike dirty after I first pick it up from the showroom and every nut,bolt and nook are pristine.
I use my bike for work except when the weather is really crap. I just don’t have the time to dedicate to cleaning it on a regular basis.
 
That's fair enough Bob and more reason for a decent lathering in something like ACF periodically so when the crap is washed off the bike it comes up nice and tidy. I used to have nowt but a bike for years as my main transport so know only too well when you have to ride 50-100 miles commute each day, a wash once a week or fortnight is about as good as it gets.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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