Damn Chris! How bout you come over and wash my bikes for me...

 

Meguiar's Gold Wash, cotton mitt, micro-fiber towels to dry. Meguiar's Gold wax on all painted parts, and because salt air/water corrosion is such a problem a product like YamaShield goes on all exposed metal (be careful around disc/caliper areas as anything that gets or works its way into the caliper will collect brake dust/dirt).

 

LOL

last week was the first time I actually detailed my bike and it was a lot of fun(compared to my car which takes much much longer) It only took me an hour and a half and I was taking my time enjoying it. Unfortunatly the bike gets dirtier faster than the car

 

really just use meguiars last touch detailer, and a microfiber every few hundred miles. keep the real nasy stuff from baking on, and is just a quick wipedown. good & cheap for blotting bugs. I may regret not waxing and treating the trim 10 years from now when the plastics are grey and the clearcoat fails... hopefully the bike plastics live that long...oh also paint is not black.

 

One of the F4i guys mentioned using baby wipes to clean his bike. That's all I use now for cleaning it - they work great. Then I use Eagle One spray-on Nanowax and about once a month a coat of Meguiars Carnauba Plus wax.

 

i bought the meguiars wash and wax need water needed spray havnt used it yet but ill let u noe how its works..andy1 use it it yet btw?

 

I use a product called Bike Brite. Just spray down the whole bike (except the gauges/ignition) and hose it off. A bit expensive at $12 a bottle though, and it takes just about a whole bottle to wash it once.

Then I have a whole list of other products I can use on the bike, waxes, polishes etc. Haven't really had a chance to use em yet though, since I just got the bike, but soon.

 

I wash the bike with Armor all soap, I use purple power cut 50/50 on the wheels and tires ( do not let this sit on paint!) I will remove the side fairings every third / forth wash and use the purple power mix to clean the motor. You have to be careful with the Purple Power, it is important to cut it and only use on a cool surfaces do not let it dry on paint you want to stay pretty.
After the bike is washed I carefully dry it then will use Wax shop wax, glaze and wax on parts that need a little extra work. I try to put a quick coat of wax on the wheels after each wash as they are white. ( seriously thinking about getting them powder coated black this winter)
If I do a quick clean up I wash,dry and then use Meguiar's detailing spray.

 

I haven't noticed any problems with the electronics*; I just hose my bike down like it was a car. In fact, I usually soap up the gauges and spray them off. Never seemed to be a problem.

As far as products: Meguiars all the way now, except I'm still working through some Armor All car wash. Otherwise, NXT wax on everything. Twice a year I'll clay bar, then cutting compound 105, then 205, then wax. WD-40 for the chain, then hose it down and then some chain wax. Windex on the clear plastics.

*Caveat: My mini-garage door opener hates water, so I have to take that off first.

 

+1 on Pledge. I used to use Maguire's Quick Detailer a few times between wash/wax but now I use Pledge. It gets the bugs and asphalt off my fairings with very little effort. Also cleans chain lube off chrome really well. Looks like pure a** for a few seconds after you wipe it on and then the streaks go away and it shines like it's freshly buffed.