Race Retro is on at Stoneleigh Park Coventry this weekend. I was there to help prepare a couple of vehicles for sale, One that I did 1st thing in the morning as it was rather dirty was this Suzuki GSXR 600 owned by Jay Kay prepared and presented by Crescent Suzuki to him years ago now. He was the only owner and it's only done 500 miles so was probably a mere publicity stunt back in the day. It arrived looking a tad tired so as we were booked in for mainly a Lamborghini Jalpa and a Countach that day had limited time to give the bike a quick once over. Never been a fan of GSXRs but rather fancy this now.
Congratulations, shifting that light surface dust and the splashes that accumulated over 500 hard miles at the hands of jay Kay must have been a massive challenge
Thanks, Hence it was "A Quick Valet" A challenge it was not in the 40 mins I spent on it. Honestly I could of spent a day machine polishing it as it had probably had the paintwork dry wiped down at a lot of media days, so in retrospect has probably been incorrectly cleaned more times than your average 10000 mile bike and the swirled tired paint shows this.
So what is the best and simplist way(minimal cost) to clean/wipe down after a good play out on the bike. Not on about snotty wet days but dry days, loads of bug splats and associated surface grime from roads and the environment.
Low pressure jet wash or hose wash down to remove loose contaminants, I snow foam with a mixture of ph neutral shampoo mixed in over the bike, let dwell for a couple of minutes out of the sun if poss, rinse off, re-apply then wash as normal using 2 bucket method and a 3rd bucket for wheels, shocks, swingarm etc (using degreasers or tar removers if necessary) .. Rinse off, if any stubborn bugs remove either use a dedicated Bug / Organic matter remover, spray on and agitate with a soft paint friendly brush, or if you don't have that handy then simple and effective is to soak a cloth in the shampoo bucket then lay it over the affected area for a few minutes then clean off, should by now be bug free. I always use my warm air drying machine and Microfiber drying towel to remove all moisture water and use a dedicated detail spray to add a little gloss and protection. That's basic quick wash without going into too much detail. Quick wash for me on a well maintained bike is upto 2 hours, Full on Details on customer bikes that need more attention I spend on average 8 hours, Some longer, especially for in depth paint correction. Hope the above helps.
Haha mines been fine.....So far (famous last words) as long as you are sensible with water / jet wash etc and dry it thoroughly using a warm air dryer to dry all bodywork, Engines and electrics then it's much kinder to your paintwork than dry wiping. My bikes are regularly topped up with acf-50 or now XCP so zero issues with corrosion etc. I always say though if your happy with your methods and the finish then your ways the right way for you.
To be honest I wash the fairing off the bike as its so easy with a 996 and 999. What I need is a quick/easy bug removal system at the end of a summer evening ride.
Give this a try, http://www.raceglaze.co.uk/car-care-exterior/kenotek-bug-remover/ Quick and easy, rinse the frontal bug splattered area, spray, agitate if needed, rinse wash with a Ph neutral shampoo, rinse dry done. It's wax safe and is very kind on paintwork.
