How do YOU detail your bike?

[TYEster]

Originally Posted by askmrjesus

I admire a man with True Grit, and you have it.

You pushed it through the seals on your forks, and all the bearings and bushings you could find, at 80 McBillion miles an hour.

So, there it is, reading Rust Monthly's Swimsuit Edition, thinking to itself, "Man these tapered rollers are kinda cute. Maybe I'll just wedge myself up there some..."

The ironic side of all this, is that when grit decides to have sex with your bearings, there's no lube, because you blew it all out when you blew the grit in.

In my experience, this means someone is going to cry.

JC

Cool story bro.

I'll let you know when that happens.

[askmrjesus]

Originally Posted by TYEster

Cool story bro.

I'll let you know when that happens.

That's ok.

I'm sure it won't happen to YOUR bike, on account of how it's so much better than other bikes...

Besides, everyone knows that the laws of common sense don't really apply in Texas.

JC

[Tmall]

Originally Posted by askmrjesus

That's ok.

I'm sure it won't happen to YOUR bike, on account of how it's so much better than other bikes...

Besides, everyone knows that the laws of common sense don't really apply in Texas.

JC

I wonder what kind of abuse a DIRT bike could take that would be comparable to getting it wet?

[askmrjesus]

Originally Posted by Tmall

I wonder what kind of abuse a DIRT bike could take that would be comparable to getting it wet?

Riiiiight, cause dirt bikes have the magic bearings that withstand water pressure at 150 times the normal atmospheric pressure.

I completely forgot about that...

JC

[Tmall]

Originally Posted by askmrjesus

Riiiiight, cause dirt bikes have the magic bearings that withstand water pressure at 150 times the normal atmospheric pressure.

I completely forgot about that...

JC

Good assumption. I also hold it close enough to take off the stickers and cut the seat.

[askmrjesus]

Originally Posted by Tmall

Good assumption. I also hold it close enough to take off the stickers and cut the seat.

I see.

You're one of those "smart guys" that uses a pressure washer from a "safe" distance, which basically turns a pressure washer into a really expensive gas burning garden hose.

JC

[Tmall]

Originally Posted by askmrjesus

I see.

You're one of those "smart guys" that uses a pressure washer from a "safe" distance, which basically turns a pressure washer into a really expensive gas burning garden hose.

JC

That's a whole lot of blah blah blah to say, "If you're not an idiot you can use a pressure washer on a motorcycle".

[TYEster]

Originally Posted by askmrjesus

Riiiiight, cause dirt bikes have the magic bearings that withstand water pressure at 150 times the normal atmospheric pressure.

I completely forgot about that...

JC

Well after 100 washes our oldest dirtbike still has plenty of bearing grease left, so you can claim whatever you want.

Dirtbikes these days ARE built to withstand pressure washing unlike the bikes of your era.

Fork seals are the most common failing part, however I HARDLY would say it comes from pressure washing the forks. I mean, setting your compression low and hitting a BIG jump and landing hard will blow out your seals. Also forks these days come with multiple chambers for this very purpose, and my shocks have about 3 seals that particles will have to breach before really cause damage to valves or springs.

I don't worry about the oil because that's changed with every seal change. With the amount of riding we do(50 wks out of the year) we usually have to change the seals once a year. The only way to extend that is to either NOT ride, which will cause drying of the seals and they will deteriorate faster than if you had ridden, or ride the bike around in a field just to say it was ridden. Neither of which are fun.

You can talk all the science on paper you want, I KNOW from experience of 4 years of pressure washing it takes a LONG time for water to really wear out bearings and bushings, thankfully those are replaced when they need be. I do take exceptional care of my bikes because I tend to resell them often, but we have several we have kept for awhile all of which are tip top. General maintenance and a good wash actually extend the life of the parts because if we left the dirt on them, they would not last long.

So I'll take my chances with what works versus what doesn't.

[tommymac]

Originally Posted by TYEster

Well after 100 washes our oldest dirtbike still has plenty of bearing grease left, so you can claim whatever you want.

Dirtbikes these days ARE built to withstand pressure washing unlike the bikes of your era.

Fork seals are the most common failing part, however I HARDLY would say it comes from pressure washing the forks. I mean, setting your compression low and hitting a BIG jump and landing hard will blow out your seals. Also forks these days come with multiple chambers for this very purpose, and my shocks have about 3 seals that particles will have to breach before really cause damage to valves or springs.

I don't worry about the oil because that's changed with every seal change. With the amount of riding we do(50 wks out of the year) we usually have to change the seals once a year. The only way to extend that is to either NOT ride, which will cause drying of the seals and they will deteriorate faster than if you had ridden, or ride the bike around in a field just to say it was ridden. Neither of which are fun.

You can talk all the science on paper you want, I KNOW from experience of 4 years of pressure washing it takes a LONG time for water to really wear out bearings and bushings, thankfully those are replaced when they need be. I do take exceptional care of my bikes because I tend to resell them often, but we have several we have kept for awhile all of which are tip top. General maintenance and a good wash actually extend the life of the parts because if we left the dirt on them, they would not last long.

So I'll take my chances with what works versus what doesn't.

They didnt have internal combustion engines in his early days, remember time started on his berfday

Are the dirtbike fork/seals different from the street ones. I had one go on my aprilia and we think it was hastened because of riding on and off the construction sites a lot of mud, dirt an dvarious debris here and its all over the fenders and undersides of the bike. I now wipe down the tubes after I ride through the site just to be safe

[TYEster]

Originally Posted by tommymac

They didnt have internal combustion engines in his early days, remember time started on his berfday

Are the dirtbike fork/seals different from the street ones. I had one go on my aprilia and we think it was hastened because of riding on and off the construction sites a lot of mud, dirt an dvarious debris here and its all over the fenders and undersides of the bike. I now wipe down the tubes after I ride through the site just to be safe

Technically speaking all forks are the same because they all do the same job.

However internals can vary from bike to bike. If you wipe your tubes down, make sure you put a little oil back on the dust seal(the visible oil seal) so it doesn't dry and crack, dirt will have an easier time reaching your internals. Preferably fork oil.