i'm nearing 10,000 miles and have never washed my klx...i was caught in a downpour last week and thought the rain would give it a wash, but it actually made it worse....

i lube the chain and clean around the front sprocket when i'm switching out from 15t and 13t....besides that, i only wipe the plastics when needed with a paper towel at the gas station...

it's starting to get pretty thick and grimy around the shifter and all the small spaces around the engine....wiping smears the black grime even more....

should i just use the green degreaser stuff i use to clean my bicycle parts?....dishwashing soap, hose and water?....i'm just not a fan of putting water on mechanical parts....but, the bike needs a cleaning...any helpful tips?

deej?

 

I'd avoid car wash, high pressure style stuff and just stick with a bucket of warm, soapy, detergent and a soft bristle car wash brush. I use the conventionally sized car wash brush with a short handle and a couple of those wheel cleaning brushes to get into the tight spaces on the bike. I simply rinse with the garden hose that has an adjustable flow rate nozzle at the grip handle. On some parts of the bike you can rinse with some decent pressure and adjust accordingly when you're around bearings, electrical connector locations, and any other sensitive areas. I hate washing my bike, so deej and I are polar opposites, but at least once or twice a year I have to bite the bullet after being unable to avoid mud or such. I will also wash the bike just before some major service episode like I just accomplished where I'm working on the suspension, wheel bearings, suspension links, and other critical components.

 

I wash mine after every long ride.

Usually just hose it off and wipe it down on the lawn real quick.

When it is really muddy or dirty, I just take it to the car wash and wash it like a car. As long as you don't stand 2" away from it and blast it. I just stand back a few feet with the wand.

Never had any issues doing it this way.

Yeah, just use the green stuff to clean the engine. Don't forget to get some plastic protectant stuff on the body parts to protect from fading.

 

I am a Deej fan! My bike rarely has any dust on it.

You are not going to hurt it by washing it. You don't need to do high pressure however and don't direct water to bearing areas such as the for crown race etc. Don't be paranoid either.

I use dish soap and dollar store degreaser on the grimiest parts. My bike will require more maintenance in bearings etc for my **** side but so be it.

Take off your chain guard front and rear to get at the areas that are really grimy and hard to reach otherwise.

 

Why would you not wash it regularly?
If nothing else. it gives you the chance to give the bike a check-over!

 

I actually believe that a lot of washing, even the careful kind, can be a bit harmful to a bike. Bikes are built better and better over the years, but even with that, electrical connectors, switches, sealed bearings, leather and/or fabric items, etc...they do better without water than with. I'm not promoting never cleaning a bike by any means. My KLX isn't a Harley chrome float or a Goldwing. I only wash it when it really needs it. But I don't judge anyone who likes to constantly wash theirs...cough, cough, deej, cough.

 

I really like the bike wash sprays like S100, Slick Off-Road, etc. S100 has a wheel degreaser that is great. I use that on the chain with A Grudge chain brush. It cleans up the countershaft sprocket/chain slider nicely also.

I recommend washing your bike whenever possible. It gives you the chance to inspect it, check nuts and bolts, wiring that is being rubbed through, etc. Just like the Army-we "recover" from a patrol deployment and that means cleaning and inspection.

 

Damn! 10,000 miles and no wash?! I wash mine pretty much every weekend, unless itīs been sunny all week. I just use a hose, bucket, car wash shampoo and a fat sponge, and kerosene on the engine to soften all the pavement crap that sticks to it.
During raining season, I may quick wash it daily (hose and sponge only) to get all the dirt that sticks to it. Until the weekend comes.

I hate leaving the garage with a dirt bike.

 

scrubbing bubbles as strange as it sounds works really well on dirt and grease

 

i don't mind the dirty bike when i'm commuting and going to work....but, when i go out on those group rides next to all the shiny ducati, aprilia, r6, r1, cbr, etc....i feel a little embarrassed....i look around their shifter and front sprocket and it's clean even there!....