I'd be the first to admit,that whilst I'm not anal about it i do like my bike to be clean from time to time.
So here's my very simple recipe for keeping your bike mint (based on 40yrs biking experience)
Beginning of October.
Remove the loose stuff from the bike i.e seats tank exhaust engine bars etc.
Remove any tar spots using a quality tar remover,Thoroughly wash the bike using MER car shampoo warm water and various brushes rinse and leave to completely dry.
Polish every painted or coated surface of the bike using "Bilt Hamber autobalm" (brilliant stuff) when it's dry,usually around 15mins but can be left indefinitely,polish it off,reassemble the bike.
Total time for me on a 1200gs is around 5hrs.
During the winter,if you go out on salted roads rinse the bike in cold water at the end of your Journey.
Total time...5mins.
Each month give the bike a thorough wash again using brushes MER car shampoo and rinse with cold water.
Total time...1 hr
Beginning of April.
Repeat the October process.
No need to wash it again until your winter prep in October,but if you like to keep your bike clean as I do repeat the Monthly washes.
I've always looked after my bikes this way and the always remained in first class condition during my ownership.
At the end of the day if I've spent my hard earned money on buying a bike I don't think spending 15hrs a year looking after it is excessive.
No need for any expensive stuff such as sdoc 100 or acf50 bit of quality shampoo a good polish and a bit of time will keep any bike mint even when ridden all year.
Steve