I have read many articles about cleaning the bike. Follow the advice to buy a aCF 50, which seems to have stopped all corrosion. But like any other Greece if you over use it, dirt will cling to the bike like flies on�� my bike is currently a mess with volcanic ash, mud and ocean spray. But like I said the aCF 50 is doing a real good job of protecting my bike despite all these elements and the humidity in which I live. I was wondering how everybody is cleaning their bike?

IMHO there are two ways to look at this one: (a) Clean it thoroughly and very regularly, or (b) coat it in something protective and don't clean it at all.

The downside of (a) is that it's a lot of work and in the winter months and it's almost impossible to get the bike dry after washing; also, unless you're going to wash/clean it religiously after every ride it will corrode between washes.

The issue with (b) is that your bike will look a bit sh!t and filthy all the time, but you will be able to rest easy in the knowledge that it's not corroding underneath. Come the better weather you can clean off all the protective layer and the crud with it and enjoy a shiny, corrosion-free bike!

I go with (b) in the winter and I'm more of an (a) in the summer!

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I go with (b) too and swear by ACF50 and a spray of FS365 after a wet ride. I've even run in a couple of Harleys over winter having applied ACF50 the day I got them, and sold them in showroom condition.

The thing is, the ACF50 option can be a bit stressful as you watch your bike get more and more grimy and salty and wonder "Did I miss a section, or a few fasteners?"

I currently have a brand-new R1200GS that is covered in ACF50 and totally plastered in road grime. It's taking a lot of will-power to not give it a damn good clean and polish!!!

I tend to give the bikes an occasional hose down with cold water just to get the worst of the crap off as I don't want to scratch the bike with all the grit on it, and then come January I'll do a full clean and re-application of ACF50.

It's stressful, but a damn sight better than hibernating the bikes for 5 months!

My question is, do you spray ACF50 over the whole bike or just on the area's you think might rust ???? like nuts bolts frame area's rims.

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And which kind of product do you use to remove after the long winter?

I've always used a cup of ACF50 and a small 1/4" brush and gone front to back over the bike painting every fastener and spoke. I then dip a clean rag in the cup and wipe the ACF50 over larger metal surfaces such as the forks, bars etc. I would give the engine area a bit of a spray, but the spray was never much good.

This year though I treated myself to a Bosch paint sprayer (the wife thinks I got it to do the fence panels in the spring!) The sprayer is awesome. I still paint the fasteners by hand first, but I then cover the wheels with a sheet and spray all over the rest of the bike and it leaves a really nice light mist. Now my mates bring their bikes to me for winter prepping as well as cleaning!

I'm an all year round "b"person. Mainly due to my over generous application of acf 50 and its expense. I clean my bike to 3 times per year. But what I really wanted to know is what products and methods are used to get the bike clean. I've read that high pressure washes are meant to be avoided and brushes should be used to get the dirt off along with some kind of detergent. Is normal household detergent usable?

ACF50 comes off quite easily with the normal cleaning routine.

As a keen vehicle detailer with OCD I could write a book about cleaning bikes: snow foam, two bucket method, 6 different brushes, two different wool mits, 3 pump sprayers of different degreasers, quick detailers and wheel cleaners, 3 different waxes ...

In reality, SDOC100 has always been great but this year I've switched to Castrol Greentec. It's not only cheaper and seems just as good, but you can get it at Halfords so you can always grab a bottle in 10 minutes when you run out. Spray on the cleaner, agitate on the bodywork with a clean wash mitt, and on the dirtier areas with a soft brush, leave it 5 minutes and hose off. A spray of quick detailer on the bodywork, Autoglym Fastglass on the screen and mirrors and you're done.

I have a pressure washer which I've used for ages, but one time it started taking the paint off the rear hub! So now the pressure washer is mainly used for the foam pre-wash in the summer in order to get loose dirt off before the contact wash, and the regular hose is used for rinsing after every wash.

One thing I always do though is put some masking tape over the ignition and seat locks and plastic bags over the switchgear and exhausts.

After washing I always run the bikes until the fan comes on to make sure everything dries off. I also use a bike dryer most of the time to make sure fasteners don't sit with water in them. But then we're back to my OCD...

Edit: I almost forgot! I also have a good fan heater in the garage too. In the cold weather, after a wash, a put the fan heater on a timer and aim it at the bike from a safe distance. So I get an hour of warm air blowing over the bike to make sure it's dry.

Oh how I wish I could be one of these people that just washes their bikes 3 times per year!!!!

My weapon of choice for cleaning would be SDoc100 Gel Total Bike Cleaner. There are many other spray on - wait - wash off type cleaners out there specifically for bikes that'll do the job just as well.

I wouldn't use household stuff like washing-up liquid as it contains high salt levels, which leave a residue that promotes corrosion.

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A bike dryer!?