Pressure Washer?

[cwtart]

Got my 2008 RSV stripped down to the bone - replacing front brakes with R1s, stainless steel hydraulic lines, rebuilding all master cylinders, etc. This bike is new to me and I don't know the service history so am going over bike with fine-toothed comb.

 

My question is, can I power washer the naked bike without driving water into all the electrical connections or should I use a gentler method of cleaning before I put it back together?

 

[RDawson]

I never use a pressure washer anywhere near my bike. It will inject water in electrical and in bearings. Bad things happen.

[zagger]

Pressure washers are a good way to trash mechanical/electrical stuff. Used to build lots of waterproof hydraulic controls for firetrucks and had numbskulls destroy them with high pressure sprays which blasted past the normal waterproof seals.

zag

Edited May 5, 2020 by zagger

[Sylvester]

Maybe Gunk engine cleaner and a garden hose would work fine?

 

[SpencerPJ]

Another in the NO category with the pressure washer. Bad thinks happen........... I'm a Gunk man, but recently found some purple stuff at Wallyworld that's pretty good (and cheap).

[Patch]

Nice shop area!

So I use WD buying it by the gallon, I use compressed air set as low as my setup allows about 50 lbs

and coat the bike let it soak for 10 min reapply and using paint brushes of different stiffness I agitate the areas keeping the brushes in a partially filled can to keep the hard areas wet. I spot blow again with compressed air and a hand pump of wd son the final blow off is with clean fluid.

I only clean rag the larger areas after most of it is down to a damp appearance.

You don't want to spray directly onto electronic boxes or bearing with anything so keep that diligence up.

You can however remove connection plugs and apply the same method they will come out looking nice and clean.

[cwtart]

Nice shop area!

So I use WD buying it by the gallon, I use compressed air set as low as my setup allows about 50 lbs

and coat the bike let it soak for 10 min reapply and using paint brushes of different stiffness I agitate the areas keeping the brushes in a partially filled can to keep the hard areas wet. I spot blow again with compressed air and a hand pump of wd son the final blow off is with clean fluid.

I only clean rag the larger areas after most of it is down to a damp appearance.

You don't want to spray directly onto electronic boxes or bearing with anything so keep that diligence up.

You can however remove connection plugs and apply the same method they will come out looking nice and clean.

 

My thoughts are that when you are riding in a driving rain every nook and cranny of the bike gets wet so a little running water, via a hose, is not going to cause problems. With the bike dismantled, I want to clean the frame areas under the tank and other places. Does the washing with WD40 leave any film afterwards? My main concern is to not force any water into the myriad of electrical plugs.

[Patch]

A for example, if you happen to get a brake fluid spill I and many of will flush that off painted area with WD then wipe!

Is there a flim left? Yes a light one measured in microns, providing there is no debris of dirt/grease left behind.

So driving rain can be an issue new or old bikes. Running a hose is much different then pressure washing around components.

I am with you on the want for a clean shiny everywhere sports machine; but over the years we learn to lesson our risk.

 

So I am going to share a related experience my boy and I had: We have a 90 poor mans Ferrari, well when we had the drive train out my son washed every mm. of it then prepped every thing for his color scheme on the engine! We did some internal mods but nothing to take away from its original status.

He ran it a bit that summer, and parked it, the following season it would not start, no hell, no how, no way!

So "I know a guy" right and it killed me to think I had to ask someone into my shop to figure out what I usually go to their shops for but he knew these engines and so...

Well within the first 15 minutes I need to step out and run to get coffee, YOUT wow made no sense to me the track he was on!

Now you know what happens when a mechanic starts opening boxes right, ding ding. Well I said no it can't be pug tracing, he said look we'll try it if I'm wrong then I won't charge you the plugs. So we got a free set of plugs

4 hours later we still where we started. I slept on the problem over night adding up my essentials asking myself what could I b missing? Don't tease this old guy when it comes to combustion, hmm.

Remember the old mechanical mass air flow sensors? Very expensive stuff and hard to find, so I pulled it, opened it, called my boy over to the bench and asked, what were you thinking and what did you wash it with?

We rebuilt it and re soldered all the connections including the entire board, put it in and presto!

Just a washing!

hope that experience helps, I would use plastic sheeting laid over 2x4's as a basin to trap and not spoil your concrete floor then have at it, finish up with low pressure soap and water, warm is better, wax and take pics

[cowpuc]

My thoughts are that when you are riding in a driving rain every nook and cranny of the bike gets wet so a little running water, via a hose, is not going to cause problems. With the bike dismantled, I want to clean the frame areas under the tank and other places. Does the washing with WD40 leave any film afterwards? My main concern is to not force any water into the myriad of electrical plugs.

 

Here's the thing CW, and I dont mean this pridefully or with any malice,, if someone I didnt know walked up and asked if they could use my 3200 pspi powerwasher to scrub their bike I would say no and do so because I would not want them blaming me or my powerwasher for paint being blown off their scoot, radio/dash board being filled with water or bearings having all the grease blown out of them. They may or may not reply,, wellllll I saw you washing your bike (wouldnt have seen me washing Tweeks/my 83 because that dirt on her from past adVentures is a keep sake) with it - what gives?

What gives is right,,,, I have washed hundreds of bikes thru the years with power washers and have done so successfully,, to think a person can clean the caked on clay from an MX track off a KX500 without a powerwasher is craziness.. When using a powerwasher I am very careful with what I spray at full force and what I back off with the wand and spray with a light spray.. The areas that, as you say, get wet during a downpour rain ride are absolutely washable with a powerwasher as long as you are mindful of how hard you are forcing the water onto it, even the hardest of hardest downpour thunderstorm is not going to create 3200 psi of force if you know what I mean,, just use common sense.. Also,, those areas that normally do not get water on/in them,, again,, like a dash board,, should be hand cleaned IMHO but you sound like the kind of person who has the common sense to already know that.. Also wrapping areas like air cleaners/exhaust pipe openings is mandatory whether powerwashing or hose washing IMHO and air blasting water out of collection spots like spark plug wells is also common sense, as is pulling plug caps and drying out caps to prevent carbon tracking...

That dust under the tank and in areas seen in your pic should clean up fairly easily with out having to use hard/direct pressure washer high pressure,, if you have caked on - oil soaked dirt gathered there - you have more problems to worry about besides washing your bike with a powerwasher ..

[cwtart]

Here's the thing CW, and I dont mean this pridefully or with any malice,, if someone I didnt know walked up and asked if they could use my 3200 pspi powerwasher to scrub their bike I would say no and do so because I would not want them blaming me or my powerwasher for paint being blown off their scoot, radio/dash board being filled with water or bearings having all the grease blown out of them. They may or may not reply,, wellllll I saw you washing your bike (wouldnt have seen me washing Tweeks/my 83 because that dirt on her from past adVentures is a keep sake) with it - what gives?

What gives is right,,,, I have washed hundreds of bikes thru the years with power washers and have done so successfully,, to think a person can clean the caked on clay from an MX track off a KX500 without a powerwasher is craziness.. When using a powerwasher I am very careful with what I spray at full force and what I back off with the wand and spray with a light spray.. The areas that, as you say, get wet during a downpour rain ride are absolutely washable with a powerwasher as long as you are mindful of how hard you are forcing the water onto it, even the hardest of hardest downpour thunderstorm is not going to create 3200 psi of force if you know what I mean,, just use common sense.. Also,, those areas that normally do not get water on/in them,, again,, like a dash board,, should be hand cleaned IMHO but you sound like the kind of person who has the common sense to already know that.. Also wrapping areas like air cleaners/exhaust pipe openings is mandatory whether powerwashing or hose washing IMHO and air blasting water out of collection spots like spark plug wells is also common sense, as is pulling plug caps and drying out caps to prevent carbon tracking...

That dust under the tank and in areas seen in your pic should clean up fairly easily with out having to use hard/direct pressure washer high pressure,, if you have caked on - oil soaked dirt gathered there - you have more problems to worry about besides ..

 

You guys are absolutely right - no power washer. I will use mild soap and a soft-bristle scrub brush on the normally-hidden parts of the bike and just rinse off with a garden hose. Thanks for all the pointers.