How far is too far?

[NAKID]

That said, pretty soon I won't even need to buy El Matador's Cafe Seat Cowl, I'll just mold the muck on the back of my seat into shape! 

Not that it will ever be ready for sale...

[mrplease]

i don't understand the "i'd rather be riding than cleaning"...

i clean my bike after every ride. but i assure you it doesn't cut into my riding time. i go riding. then when i done riding for the day, I'M DONE. then i come home park it and i give it a little cleaning. how is that cutting into my riding time? i basically just like to keep my shit nice. thats all...

[Popeye the Sailor]

i don't understand the "i'd rather be riding than cleaning"...

i clean my bike after every ride. but i assure you it doesn't cut into my riding time. i go riding. then when i done riding for the day, I'M DONE. then i come home park it and i give it a little cleaning. how is that cutting into my riding time? i basically just like to keep my shit nice. thats all...

Alright, now try doing the same thing, without going home, or parking it. If it's your *only* vehicle, it just doesn't work.

[somegirl]

i don't understand the "i'd rather be riding than cleaning"...

i clean my bike after every ride. but i assure you it doesn't cut into my riding time. i go riding. then when i done riding for the day, I'M DONE. then i come home park it and i give it a little cleaning. how is that cutting into my riding time? i basically just like to keep my shit nice. thats all...

Do you commute on it, day in, day out, in any kind of weather?

[Holden]

Alright, now try doing the same thing, without going home, or parking it. If it's your *only* vehicle, it just doesn't work.

Do you commute on it, day in, day out, in any kind of weather?

You were obviously not riding while you were writing... you could have been cleaning instead.

Bottom line is you will find plenty of time for it if you care about it, and for some people caring for their bike means caring about cleaning it.

[Popeye the Sailor]

You were obviously not riding while you were writing... you could have been cleaning instead.

Bottom line is you will find plenty of time for it if you care about it, and for some people caring for their bike means caring about cleaning it.

She's texting on the back. 

[KnightofNi]

You were obviously not riding while you were writing... you could have been cleaning instead.

Bottom line is you will find plenty of time for it if you care about it, and for some people caring for their bike means caring about cleaning it.

having my bike be my only transport for 5 years now i'm with Mr I.
by the time I actually get home, the last thing i want to do is clean.

it's hard enough to make myself wipe the road salt off the chain in the winter, how am i going to motivate myself to wip off road dust?

[NAKID]

There's a difference in "going for a ride" and "riding". If you use it as your daily commuter, no one expects you to wash it after every "ride". But, if you are going out for a 100-200 miles at a time, yeah, you should probably wash it afterwards. That being said, I don't always follow my own advice...

[somegirl]

There's a difference in "going for a ride" and "riding". If you use it as your daily commuter, no one expects you to wash it after every "ride". But, if you are going out for a 100-200 miles at a time, yeah, you should probably wash it afterwards. That being said, I don't always follow my own advice...

My daily commute is a 70-150 mile ride, a lot of which is through the twisties.  What does that count as?

[AfroStar]

Bought my bike, July 08 (anniversary date coming up) after 3000+ miles I did my first cleaning two weeks ago. 

First I did a long 300+ miles the previous day, and 3 hour cleaning the next day.  it's worth it... first you appreciate the joys of riding, then you appreciate the beauty of the engineering. after you clean it, you take pictures of it and ride some more.  I'm not going to preach about cleaning your bike every week, but I do enjoying cleaning my Black Betty once and a while....lets me know why I bought a Ducati!

BTW I did use WD40 on my rims as a last resort, and it works!

[corndog67]

Whenever I change the tires, I wipe the wheels off.   And the chain whenever I WD-40 it.   And around the oil filter and the drain plug when I change the oil.   And I keep an eye on the fork tubes, and the shock shaft for dings and rust.   That's about it. 

[red baron]

I wash mine once a year unless they do it while it's in for service.

Except the wheels, I likes em white so maybe every other or third ride they get some attention.

[seevtsaab]

If no rain I wash every few weeks, living with a marginal well at the moment.

Living on a dirt road, the monster gets a weekend wash if it's been out in the rain - that ain't purty.

If I wasn't on a dirt road, and had unlimited water, the monster (as well as the cage) would sparkle.

I'm a Klasse AIO / SG guy.

[Cider]

It's bonding time with your machine. Just like riding.

+1.  Riding is more fun than cleaning, but cleaning the bike is better than mowing the lawn.  It's also a good time for me to check things out like chain/sprockets, tire wear, loose bolts, leaks, etc. 

Plus it annoys all my riding buddies that my bike is cleaner then theirs--that makes it worth the trouble 

[mrplease]

i'm pretty cRAzY about keeping my things clean!?! i don't even take my car out of the garage when it rains, let alone the bike. whenever its at least a 40% chance of rain i drive one of the wifes cars...

+1.  Riding is more fun than cleaning, but cleaning the bike is better than mowing the lawn.  It's also a good time for me to check things out like chain/sprockets, tire wear, loose bolts, leaks, etc. 

Plus it annoys all my riding buddies that my bike is cleaner then theirs--that makes it worth the trouble 

+1 on this to. it is a good time to bond and look at your bike. and you got that right, i'd much rather spend my time cleaning my bike than mowing the lawn. that probably why i pay someone to do that...