Ducati Monster Forum

Hey all,

Hah, I was going out for my daily ride the other day (rain or shine, injury, sick, it always happens..) and I realised how damn dirty my bike is. I washed it and polished it once when I first bought it, but not a once since then. its not likely to be done again any time soon either! I think i may becoming the Mr Incredible-type mould of bike shiny-i-fying. Now to my question.

Are you A) the super polish-clean-buff type after every ride type cleaner?

B) The every-now-and-then type cleaner (quick warsh and keep on going)?

C) the filthy-end-of-the-spectrum type rider (ride and ride and clean? what the hell? No way....)?

Proud to say I'm the filthy end of the spectrum! My bikes for riding and looks pretty enough, in my opinion!

The floor is yours fellow Cati riders.

well i know who fits into catagory

A. that would be BIG T and 695

B. Jukie and Betty

C BIG

a bloody big A now clean that bike , cleaning after each ride does have its pluses like the time i found a cush drive had back out , stones jammed in funny places , loose bolts , chain tension , tyre pressure should i keep going  [thumbsup]

Bazz you should know better

for what

Too much fastidious cleaning, thats what....

I'm a B).  Every time I spend heaps of time cleaning it I then go for a ride usually through a swarm of bees and it ends up dirtier that before.  So I don't spend too much time cleaning anymore.  Spend more time riding  [moto] :)

I definitely spend more time riding than cleaning.  ;D [moto]

Between the 750 and the DS I'd average 1000k plus every week. [roll]

 Lots of quickie cleans with the "wash in a bottle", followed by some Plexus!  [thumbsup]

I'm a B, with tendencies toward a C, or maybe I'm a C with B tendencies.....

New bling makes me lean toward B, but never A.

The thought of cleaning does cross my mind occasionally, but by the time the helmet hits the top of my head and the gloves and jacket go on, all that sort of frivolous crap is forgotten. It may get cleaned again somewhere in the future, but then again perhaps not. Ill likely go out to clean it and end up fanging round the twisties for half the day instead.

P.S. I want a streetfighter.

With the commuting I do the bike has a regular layer of road grime, it helps to hide the chips anyway, so I'd say I'm a B. I give it a quick wash every now and then to make it look a bit prettier  :)

BTW, I always get a cut on a finger when I wash it, why do they have to have so many sharp nooks and crannies.

I'm an A-B or a B-A, I don't clean like a crazy person but I do like a bike that doesn't have greasy dirty bits.

B I think, or maybe a C. Once i get the bike back from the shop with new bling, then A for 5 minutes.

last time I took the bike out - handling was awful....only had 20psi up front! but at least the dirt matched the low tyre pressure

Yep I'm an "A" through and through.........

I'll buy a new tooth brush for the Duke before one for me.......  [cheeky]

And Mr Sheen loves me.....  ;D

cleaned my bike today and found the fairing bracket broken  :o see if i hadnt cleaned my bike after the weekend ride it would have brocken the other side then i would have a fairing flopping around and got all the blue stone out the likes too wedge itself in the bottom of the rear shocky , so there clean your bike after every ride  [cheeky] [laugh] [thumbsup]

I'm a C, thankyou  ;D

I clean the bike once a week, I like things to be clean and tidy
(I'm a neat freak, so bite me!  ;D )

But it has been handy to find if anything is loose or broken. Found a couple of loose bolts and brackets, noticed loose bolts for the number plate.
Also because I'm doing 200k's or more a week, I clean and lube the chain.
I kinda figure If I'm going to do the Chain, I may as well do the rest at the same time.

I started life out with my monster as an "A" definitely. As time goes by I see myself more of a "B" type of person. But saying that.........

Every now and then I become "Captain A"

+1 on bazzs' remarks about checking the bike over at each clean.

i'm definitely an "A" bordering on obsessive compulsive according to the missus too. [roll]
and bazz is spot on you find all manner of little things that require attention when you wash it. it's not frivolous crap. that said, each to their own, all those grubby neglected bikes just make mine look all the better, but no whining when it breaks and leaves you stranded cause you can't be bothered with silly things like maintenance, ok. [bang]

paul. [thumbsup]

I'm an A- or a B+ I think, definitely A+ on the driveline (years of bicycle prep) and on tyre inspection, probably a B+ on bodywork.

so do you guys find loose bolts by cleaning or by going over everything with hex wrench/spanners?

as you clean you see things that dont look right or there they will be missing , while cleaning the screen noticed it was moving so investigated and found a broken bracket  after a while you get to now the bits that need to ceep an eye  [thumbsup]

All those things don't matter, as the dirt/road grime holds it all together! In all seriousness though, I check all of those things mentioned, and you can still do those things without washing after every ride... You just get your hands dirtier. Damn, I'm getting chills just thinking about it(washing after every ride). To each his own though. My bikes in great mechanical condition, its just not that shiny. Not at all.

when was the last ime you checked you cush drives if one backs out youll get no change out of 4 grand , are your frame bolts tight if they come loose youll be up for new cases ,these bikes are not cheap to fix so cleaning my bike regularly helps keep an eye on things before major things happens each to there own cheers bazz  [thumbsup]

I wash mine depending on how dirty it is. In summer I arrive back home with a collection of various bug guts and its easier to clean them off then rather than later. If its winter and dry its actually cleaner so it might get left a few times. I don't commute on the bike so its mostly weekends.

However, when I do start cleaning I have trouble stopping. Last time I washed it I found myself removing the front guard and cleaning the underside until you could eat off it!
(http://home.iprimus.com.au/lharper/guard.jpg)

and taking pictures of it.....no seriously...you are bad!

A+

geee techno, you can wash mine anytime  :o ;)

So does the "A"stand for anal by any chance?

hhmmmm maybe  ;)

   blood oth  ;D [thumbsup]

Defiantly an A, lol

it pays off in the end for being O.C.D, i was able to get the most for my previous bike because of the condition...

when was the last ime you checked you cush drives if one backs out youll get no change out of 4 grand , are your frame bolts tight if they come loose youll be up for new cases ,these bikes are not cheap to fix so cleaning my bike regularly helps keep an eye on things before major things happens each to there own cheers bazz


Check, check, and double check.

Somewhere between B) and C), however, the odd de-bugging of headlight is sometimes required more often. Looks unsightly. :P

I'm into A territory today....using a toothbrush (don't worry, it's the missus one) to clean out bugs in between the glass lens and the chrome edge, which has been polished with brasso....scared me too....thought George Clooney was over my shoulder....then realised it was me!

 [laugh]