My 1150GS Cleaning Obsession

[Russell Taylor]

#2568

Okay, so I'm on the GS list now. The 1150GS I've been banging on about has arrived. If you have missed the saga to date, look here……………http://forum.bmwor.org.nz/index.php/topic,1156.0.htmlAnyway, Daffy (yes, I've called it Daffy, sigh) is tucked away in my garage, after I spent a big part of yesterday cleaning it. Mostly it was just suffering from neglect, but I had to fit a new rear indicator, and scrape off lots of gunk. It has been superficially cleaned quite well, but the deep down stuff hasn't been done.Who has had to do a really GOOD job restoring header pipes? Who has had to restore spokes? Each of these items has a fair amount of apparent gunk build up, to the point where pitting may have occurred.Any experiences you can relate would be great. I am considering Scotchbrite on the spokes, are they stainless? The bike is a year 2000, although registered in 1999. I'm not sure how harsh I can be, I really don't want to damage the metal. The header is maybe going to be taken off and taken to a polisher.Out of interest it is on Conti Road Attacks,and they ride very well. The bloke at Motohaus in Auckland reckons they are the bees knees for the 1150, so I'll be sticking with them.Always good to get your input. 😎

[Dave Ross]

#9920

Bike cleaning, hmmm. The first time it took me 3.5 hours. The second time around two. somewhere along the way I've realized that the bike would never be properly clean again. My current method goes like this. Check weather forecast, if it looks like rain go for a ride. Ok that's exaggerated, I clean it religiously every three month for 20 minutes, whether it needs it or not. I would not worry about the headers, it's a losing battle. The spokes are not much different. You could try a bit of Autosol on a rag strip and then vigorously move that back and forth.The Road Attack tyres will not be very useful on your adventure rides. But they will help to keep the spokes clean.Most of all, enjoy your new ride. I know that the cleaning ritual will help you to bond with the bike, but riding it lots will speed this process up.

[Anonymous]

#9921

I tend to agree with Alex's philosophy, because it is hard to see how clean or otherwise your bike is while you are riding it.I have one friend who takes it to extremes, and washes his bike once a funeral: we like to have a year when his bike stays dirty, we know we're all still out there doing it while it stays that way.

[Russell Taylor]

#9922

AAArrrgggghhhhhhhh…………………I am having a personal crisis. Have I bought a bike I should never clean? Should I just live with whatever I dirty it with?Somehow I am thinking that the bloke who invented the R80GS intended it to stay dirty, or at the very least get dirty. Maybe I shoukd just let the dirt take over, build a bridge and get over it.Ah well, that's why we love bikes, they challenge us and we learn a few things about ourselves as a result.The spokes are beyond cleaning, one day maybe they'll be replaced. Meantime, I'll just live with them. The headers are going to stay grubby, and my tube of Autosol isn't going near my bike.Thanks for the personal counselling.

[Jim Young]

#9923

I have Conti Road Attacks on my 1200GS and I think they are great as I do mainly road riding.I would sugest that if you intend to do any gravel that you think about dual sport tyres like Tourance,s which I had on my 1150GS and I do believe that the Conti Trail attacks are very good too.Personal preference really as it's what you feel comfortable with.But the main thing is enjoy the bike.Have you got any pics yet ?

[Dave Ross]

#9924

AAArrrgggghhhhhhhh.....................I am having a personal crisis. Have I bought a bike I should never clean? Should I just live with whatever I dirty it with?Thanks for the personal counselling.

If it goes against your nature, clean it often. It doesn't hurt the bike. I just found that 9 out of 10 times it got dirty again the following day. My GS is my daily transport (16600km since Jan.), there is no way I'd be able to keep it clean. Even prior to that it was hard to keep clean for more than a couple of days. One gravel road and you have dust everywhere.  You will settle on a level of cleanliness that you are comfortable with. A weekend toy road bike is much easier to keep clean. Ask Luigi, he will turn around at the first sight of a darker cloud, so the carbon fiber on his Cagiva will remain spotless.We GS riders are a grubby bunch :-). We aim for the puddles and the mud. Having said all that, cleaning time is a good time to check all the safety items. I always clean it before a service. On the tyres again, the softer compound gets cut up in the gravel, the Trail Attacks would be a better compromise. I've notice lots of little cuts and cracks in the Bridgestone Battlewings I've had. They have a 90% road bias, but handle ok on dry gravel. Trail Attacks should be as good or better. My next tyre will be an Anakee, should be fun riding a road tyre again.

[Anonymous]

#9925

GuysWhat the heck is all this talk about cleaning! 😮You should be out there riding itTalk about where the next ride is etc etc, not how clean the spokes shall be2 words sum it upHARDEN UP  😀

[Russell Taylor]

#9926

SSSSsssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh……………..I promised Daffy (it's yellow and black with a beak, what else would I call it?  😀 ) I'd treat it as well as the recently departed F800ST.Hey, funny story. The chap who rode away on my F800 mentioned that it only did 250 km before the reserve light came on. I had regularly had 320, so wondered why. When he said that he did 140 most of the way back to Wellytown I smiled and knew why.Daffy in pics will be here soon.

[Russell Taylor]

#9927

As promised. Comments welcome, given the wealth of knowledge in our group.

[Russell Taylor]

#9928

Actually, the thorough clean is always a great way to learn a new bike. I found a couple of things I had to fix, so it was worth the effort.Now I just need to go out and ride it.

[Dave Ross]

#9929

Beautiful bike, these yellow bikes look almost as good as the black ones. I am sure you'll love it. How many kms has it done?

[Russell Taylor]

#9930

40600 km. Almost run in, apparently 🙂

[Anonymous]

#9931

Aaah the spoked wheels…, look lovely but are a devil to keep clean, I use the lowest grade of wire wool (supposed to be for wood) to keep them clean. I don't think they are stainless, I've always assumed they are just chromed.All recommendations are that you just clean them, and never, ever, be tempted to tighten them, you can check for bad ones by tapping them, (they should all play roughly the same note).  I had reason to have my front wheel re-trued a few years back and they couldn't get it back to perfect condition, the word on the forums is that there's a a very expensive CNC machine (whatever that is) in Germany, and only there can a proper job be done.

[Dave Morris]

#9932

u & No L can Ride togeter and look like BILL & BEN

[Jim Young]

#9933

Nice one, got a few extra's on it as well, is that a bigger screen than normal ?

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