Bike is clean, go out for a long day ride, now what?? A buddy of mine keeps a bucket of water with only a little soap in it, uses that to wipe down his bike between washing. Don't want to rub the dirt into the black paint!! Suggestions??
I've tried all kinds of stuff. A complete wash/detail of the bike after every ride is just not something I want to do, or always have time for. So I've tried wet towels, S100 products, Honda spray, HD sprays, Glare Sahara, blah, blah, blah. I am very particular (anal) about not putting swirl marks or scratches in the paint due to grit on the bike when cleaning, even with soap/water. I finally found something that actually works...actually two products. Griot's Garage has a product called Speed Wash. If I have a lot of bugs on the front of the bike, and heavier road dust/film from rain, I'll use this to clean it all off. It takes about 5 minutes to get the windshield, fairing, lowers, forks, mirrors, and front fender. Another couple of minutes for the tops of the bags and rear. You can do the whole bike, or all the parts you can see, in about 15 minutes. I use Griot's green microfiber towels (comes in a kit) for this product. Spray it on, let it sit for a minute, then wipe it off with one side of the cloth, buff with another side. No swirls. It's like the stuff has a lubricant in it. It just works. The other product for a quick shine, or just to remove dust, is Griot's Speed Shine. Used with their Blue microfiber towels, this stuff shines the bike up while lifting the dust off. Again, no swirls. Their microfiber cloths are unlike any I've used...more plush, thicker, and super soft. I'm still a Glare fan for the once a year serious polish/detail on every piece of the bike, but in between, these Griot's products are the ticket. I don't know what's in it, but it's different than any other product I've tried. I've yet to find any Griot's product that doesn't work as advertised. I've got something for everything from them now. I keep an 8oz bottle of Speed Shine and a blue microfiber on the bike all the time now, in addtition to one of the flat packages of Windex (no amonia) wipes to clean the windshield at fill-ups when traveling or on longer day rides. I have hard water here at home, so using water to clean only happens when I have the time to thoroughly dry the bike off...I hate water spots, and my hard water leaves a ton of them if not dried right away. Of course, the best option is pictured above....
Who cares if they leave water spots?
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Topic: So how do you keep your bike clean between washing?? (Read 46839 times)