Most of you say your bike is your "baby" so treat her right give her a good rub down and warm her up b4 she takes you 4 a ride:d

 

After a long group ride I immediately throw a hot, wet towel across the front to loosen the bug guts and wipe them clean off after about 20 minutes. This is usually a Sunday so around mid-week I drag it out and wash/wax it.

Otherwise just a local stroll may be followed by a clean cloth and some QuickDetailer (since the bike is thoroughly waxed).

 

While i do love my bike, i also see it as an investment. Keeping the bike clean most of the time makes cleaning much easier and quicker. The more you let it go the harder it is to get all the junk off of it. Plus if you ever decide to resell and upgrade your current model you want the bike to look its best to keep resale value up. Would you want to buy a bike thats all scratched or faded paint? While i didn't buy my bike to "look cool" i still like to keep my bike like every other expensive item i own, clean and fully functional.

 

I've had my bike since October '08. Did a complete teardown which included a detail washing of the naked bike and polishing & waxing of the fairings. Used Zymol as a cleaner/polish, and 3M for wax (at least 5 coats). Since then the bike has not seen any water. I'll dust off the bike with a terry cloth, keep it covered in a garage, and hit the metal parts with Honda cleaner/polish every now and then. The bugs come off easy with a hot damp towel. Colorado is very dry so it doesn't rain much here

 

I've only had my bike for a couple of months now, and so far I've pretty much just been commuting on it...but as of yet a clean microfiber cloth and some plexus keeps it clean and looking sharp... I tend to give it a rub down a couple of times a week...it doesn't take but a few mins anyway as long as I keep up with it. I clean and lube the chain once a week.