Okay, I went on the Polar Bear ride today and my bike is covered in salt dust. It looks like it's time to give it a good total bath. Here are my assumptions and steer me where I am wrong:
1. Remove seat (should I spray some WD-40 in the electrical connector before washing?)
2. Wash the saddlebags before handling them with all the salt dust on them. Then remove the saddlebags. (should I spray WD-40 on the electrical connectors here also?)
3. Jack up bike enough to get front wheel off the ground for cleaning.
4. Wet down bike, other than the inner fairing, and wash with warm sudsy solution.
5. Rinse with low pressure setting on hose nozzle.
6. Jack up more to do the rear wheel.
7. Take the bike down from the jack.
8. Rinse, blow off excess water, then dry.
9. Clean the inner fairing and instruments by hand.
10. Go out and get it dirty all over again and repeat.
At least, that's my general plan of action. Is there anything else to avoid with water? How about the rear speakers and the amp? The amp is under the tourpack, isn't it? I'm not asking about what cleaning solutions to use or what kind of towels or blower or anything like that. I've already noticed in other posts that there are as many products and opinions on what is best as there are members on the forum. I think I'm mostly concerned about any electrical areas that I should avoid with water, or at least any direct spray of water. It's all going to get wet one way or the other. The other thing is the open electrical connections from the heated seat and saddlebags when they are disconnected. I thought that maybe a shot of WD-40 or something. What other something would I want to consider?