Road Regular VUpdated 1 Jul 2026
Sign in to react
Thumbing through the manual…
Road Regular VUpdated 1 Jul 2026
Sign in to react
A proper wash does more than look good: it clears corrosive road salt and chain fling, and it's when you spot leaks, loose bolts and worn parts up close. It also has real ways to go wrong - blasting a pressure washer at wheel bearings, linkages, the chain or electrics forces water where it does damage. This is the safe routine: cool bike, gentle rinse, two-bucket wash top-down, wheels last, dry, and re-lube the chain.
Wash a cold bike out of direct sun - shampoo dries into streaks on hot paint, and cold water on a hot engine or brakes isn't ideal. Park somewhere shaded and stable. If you use any pressure washer, keep it low and well back.
Give the whole bike a gentle low-pressure rinse from the top down to float off the loose grit before you touch it with a mitt. Dragging a mitt over dry grit is how you put swirl scratches in the paint.
One bucket of shampoo solution, one of clean rinse water. Load the mitt from the soap bucket, wash a panel, then rinse the mitt in the clean bucket before re-loading so grit ends up in the rinse water, not back on your paint. Work top to bottom (cleanest to dirtiest) with light pressure.
Save the dirtiest bits for last with a separate brush so you don't carry brake dust and chain grime up onto the bodywork. Use a dedicated, O-ring-safe cleaner on the chain if it needs it - not household degreaser, which can attack the O-rings.
Final low-pressure rinse top-down, then dry with microfibre towels and blow or shake water out of crevices, plug recesses and switch housings. A short, gentle ride helps sling the last water out - just remember the brakes will be wet and weak for the first few stops.
Washing strips the chain lube, so a clean chain is a dry chain - re-lube it before you ride any distance (see the chain guide). Wipe a light corrosion protectant over bare metal and switchgear if you like, keeping it well clear of the brake discs, pads and tyres.
All motorcycles
Sign in to join the conversation.
No comments yet.