Seems all my Harley buddies keep their bikes spotless. In 2009 I bought a Crossbones with the idea "I'm not going to spend more time cleaning this bike vs riding it". I've held true to that having put 27K on it so far. I do regularly give my bike a wipe down and a wash maybe once a week during regular riding season but it seems most of my Harley friends are obsessive about cleaning their bikes. Funny how my Ducati & BMW friends are more like me and don't fuss over their bikes cleanliness. I absolutely hate polished aluminum as it "spots" everytime a drop hits it, I've given up on keeping it polished....going for powder coating it all in the off season. Is there anyone here riding Harleys that feels like me?

 

I like a clean bike but am not obsessive about it. I clean it when the weather is too bad to ride and if there are an excessive amount of bugs and debris on it. However I do not clean it after every ride. I see no use in making it spotless after a Saturday ride if I have a Sunday ride planned. Plus I try to use mine as a daily commuter so it does not sit still for very long.

 

Dirty or clean?
Can bikes be like women?

 

I ride a lot more than I clean it. I use to keep it real clean but I would rather ride it than clean it. Plus I live in the country and by the time I ride a mile down the road it looks like I have put 100 miles it. A lot of farm fields around me and the dust and bugs are relentless in the summer months.

 

I ride mine more for sure, I will give it a good cleaning when I can't stand it anymore. Usually get caught in the rain the very next day.

 

I wash my bike and car once a week. It gives me time to go over the bike to see if things are ok while washing it. Plus I like a clean bike and by washing it more often it only takes about 30 minutes. I also ride a lot.

 

08 Ulysses. Washed it once when I got back from Alaska. 07 FXSTC is about twice now and is due. 09 XR1200 never so far. 10 Superglide never. 10 Ultra three times. 12 Vrod never and the 12 RG never.

I'm not much into cleaning them. I was going to leave the Uly at the condition that it returned from the 10K tour. I was going to hang it from the ceiling in the garage but decided to clean it up and use it to go fishing. Gave up on fishing so it just sits there. Wish I would have hung it up. The ceiling is 12' tall and I was going to put some of the pictures of the trip on it.

The service writer and the mechanic commented on the 10 Ultra when it went in for the brake switch recall and the RG which needed a warranty fix as the speakers didn't speak. They wondered about all the bugs and grim on it. I told them they looked fine to me from 30 feet.

 

the dealer washes mine every 5k when i take it in for service. will clean the windshield if it is really bad.

 

I ride more than I wash, but my bike is an '89, the PO wasn't meticulous and I've settled into a reasonable frequency of washings, and strive for a constant but slow improvement.

My bike now looks better than it had for years, but it will NEVER be showroom again while I own it, and I intend to own it until I can't ride anymore.

I subscribe to the theory that if I ever get the bike spotless that I will die. Not in any hurry to go.

 

I wash my vehicles when I think I'm going to get the most dry days/mileage after a wash. It's nobody's business how clean someone else's bike is or isn't but I have a hard time understanding why someone would pay the price HD charges for a motorcycle and not take care of it. I also make the connection of a dirty bike = poorly maintained all the way around.
JMHO
Ride Safe