Newbie questions...Bike cleaning

621Andy

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Be gentle I'm new here:D

I've just acquired an 1150GS from 2000 with 93K km on it...Swapped for a KTM 1190S (With a large cash adjustment:p )

Anyway we swapped bikes today and I'm now in the process of tarting it up a bit(I know, it's a GS and it's meant to be dirty!).

It's basically in very good nick for its age but is suffering a bit in one or two places(lower fork brace for example). I read that silver Smoothrite is a good match for BMW silver(?). What's the best way to get the silver paintwork clean generally?

Cleaning the cylinder between the fins( toothbrush? WD40?)

Faded black plastic trim?

Black frame touch up? Smoothrite again?

It also has a Remus can that I assume is stainless(?) that's got some stains on it that are proving a bit stubborn...

As it's a holiday weekend and I can't ride it until Friday anyway due to having to register it here in Germany, then I have plenty of time for titivating:p

Any tips tricks and hints welcome for getting it all sparkly for the first and last time very welcome!
 

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Hi and welcome .ACF50 will bring back all of the plastics it hides a multitude of Mark's fading etc but you will need to keep applying the other alternative is to spray paint . I have done it and it turns out well but the problem is if you only do some panels the rest will look shite along side wheres the acf50 will bring everything up. Silver smootrite and a paint brush applied in light coats is the best .The frame again use black smootrite. The fins if marked with petrol spills are possibly permanently marked but try wd40 or if you have the patiences use Autosol and a green scouring pad.
Good luck with your new bike.
Cheers
Dub 24
 
For exhausts I use Harpic Power Plus Max 10 (or 10% HCl) & Autosol for stubborn stains

:beerjug:
 
Thanks people:beerjug:

Some progress was made this afternoon despite strict German rules about 'working' on Sundays:nenau

I tried some local equivalent of ACF on one of the side panels and it seems to have done a good job.

The tank is off and I've checked the air filter and generally had a bit of a clean up underneath; One question though is I can't find anything that resembles the supposed rectangular plug for the Hall Sensor- Is there a round version? I know there are two different types but I don't know what they look like:nenau

Anyway, front wheel is polished and I've made a start on the cylinder fins.

More tomorrow including laying a wire for the TomTom...
 
Thank you again everyone!

I think the WD40 and the other stuff have done a good enough job with the plastics although that stuff looks good if a bit steep!

I'm still confused as to which plug is which; I've narrowed it down to which type thanks to Mikeyboy, but in all the pics and vids I've seen it's cable tied to the frame on the RHS, however it would appear someone has 'tidied-up' and stacked all the plugs together:blast

Any clues as to which one it is please? I'm guessing it's the one arrowed, but feel free to enlighten me otherwise:p
 

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Just a quick update! Thanks to Mikeyboy(again!) I found the other end of the Hall Sensor in front of the ECU and I do indeed have the earlier 'double-decker' style of plug.

Anyway a new one was ordered and it arrived at 1600 and was installed by 1730! old one looked very much like the original so not bad going for 20 years and 93k Km!

Lots of other bits and pieces done too so I'l probably start another thread detailing it all with pics...
 
Autosol and a toothbrush for the wheels. :thumb2 Same for the exhausts. Loads and loads of elbow grease. I spent a few hours on my header pipes the other day and nearly got the RHS one like a mirror. :D
 


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