harleys are supposed to be black. that way you cannot see the oil and grease all over everything. the dealer washes mine when it is in for the 5k services---3 or 4 times a year. i will wash the windshield if it is covered in bug guts...course i let the dirty water drip down on the fairing and the front end. if you have the time to wash and wax a bike-you should be out riding around some where.

 

I only buy black bikes. Ride them all over the country then wash them at the end of the season. They look great.





No swirls. I use Pledge.

 

I don't care if it does, I don't like any other color. So I don't notice it.

 

my thought exactly

 

Lots of extra effort. Moreso than any other color I've had.

But sure has a nice look if you go thru the efforts.
Nothing like a real 'deep' look on a black paintset.

 

not hard at all, but then again i enjoy detailing.

my method...

beginning of every season and once mid-season i do a full wash and use a clay bar on the tins, then put two nice coats of wax on the paint

about once a month (usually wait for a rainy day so i don't miss any riding time) i pull the bike into the garage, jack it up, and detail it front to back top to bottom. spray detailer to remove dust, then meguiars swirl x to take out fine scratches, then two coats of meguiars tech wax. i also clean my spokes and get into all the nooks and crannies on these detailings.

pre and post ride i wipe down the tins with a good spray detailer and a microfiber towel (takes all of 5 minutes to do)

it may seem like alot but it isn't. sure the once a month detailing jobs take a whole afternoon, but like i said i usually take advantage of a rainy day to sit in the garage with a dozen or so of my favorite beer and go over the bike. this time is also spent checking bolts and **** like that. i ride my bike almost every day from march-november so the folks that say why polish when you can ride are wrong, i don't miss riding time to clean my bike, it's just that when i do ride, i like to ride a clean machine.

 

Do they actually paint "Real Harley's" any color other than black? I'm confused . . .

IMHO absolutely nothing looks better than Black and Chrome on a sunny day. . . and we've got a few of them here in So. Cal.

Also; Detailing the bike is just a part of my Therapy . . . and I like my Therapy sessions . . . every last mile and wax encrusted rag included.

 

Well to be honest I'd rather clean black paint than chrome any day. My truck isn't black but I have a chrome Weston wheel-to-wheel step bars on it, I've never polished it and I wish I got it in black.

I don't mind washing but I can't stand polishing. I don't think I'll ever have another chrome piece on a truck I own.

When I do get a Harley I'm hoping to find a black one and I'll probably black it out with a little bit of chrome for contrast.

 

chrome is so easy to clean it's ridiculous.

it's not porous like aluminum, so there's no real need to "polish"

just wipe it down, it's plated to be shiny.

 

To be blunt....kinda.

My SG is the first black bike I've owned, and it shows any/every bit of dirt a lot more than the red and green bikes I've had in the past, as well as my wife's blue one.