Keeping it clean on a dirt road

[frj322]

Hi everyone,
Looking for some input on how everyone keeps their Spyders clean when riding on dirt roads.
We've got a mile of dirt between the house and the pavement and just one trip and the machines are covered!
There's got to be a better way than washing them every other day....
I can't be the only one with this situation, moving isn't an option and I'd just like some input on a "quick-clean" routine that some of my fellow dirt-road dwellers may have developed to deal with this issue?
Thanks in advance...

[SportsterDoc]

Ride slow for that mile: <15 MPH.
Blow off (most) dust with a leaf blower.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-24-V...ded/1000244465

[cohoff]

I have the same problem frj322, except I have 7 miles of dirt road before I hit pavement. I have a thick layer of dirt on my bike every time I take it out. It is a pain in the a$$. Riding slow doesn't work for me as the wind always blows here so the dirt from the road ends up on my bike no matter what speed I ride (I've tried anywhere from 10 mph to 30 mph). Unfortunately, I haven't found a solution either.

[frj322]

I feel your pain cohoff... it’s just bad enough that a leaf blower has no effect and no matter how slow one rides it makes no difference!

[MNF3]

With only a mile, you could look into having soy oil sprayed on the road to keep the dust down. That’s done a lot around here.

[fjray]

With only a mile, you could look into having soy oil sprayed on the road to keep the dust down. That’s done a lot around here.

Where I live our little road assn. checked out the soy based stuff and for a little better than a mile and a half they quoted 10k. Not doable for us.

[Peter Aawen]

I'm not trying to be funny or critical here, but in the interests of looking 'outside the box' for a solution to your dilemma, maybe you need to learn to accept & celebrate the dust as a sign that at least you are still able to get out and about??

There was a time I kept all of my vehicles immaculately polished all the time - I even won shows & awards for that sorta stuff... But I did grow up in the country/on a large-ish properties where there was always work to be done and little time to waste, so maybe I was pre-disposed to accepting that dirt & dust is a badge of honour rather than something to get rid of ASAP?! Certainly since my (invalidaty forced) retirement from firstly the Military & then ultimately most regular 'work' type activities, my outlook on life has changed significantly from seeing 'always polished & immaculately presented' as a goal in life!! These days, I simply don't have enough time or energy to waste on that sorta stuff!!

One of the few things I can still do is ryde, so I do!! I don't avoid dirt, gravel, &/or freshly chip sealed roads (and we've got plenty of all of those around here!! ) but I still don't needlessly abuse or neglect anything - my Spyder included! My Spyder still gets 'cleaned' regularly - it either gets dried with the leaf blower after I've been ryding in the rain; or it gets all the dust & loose chunky bits hosed off and then dried with the leaf blower maybe every 5ish rydes/week or so. And I 'wash' it maybe once or twice a year; give it a good clean & polish, and marvel at how great it still looks!

Funnily enough, quite a few years ago now I was told by a fella in the business of detailing & selling Prestige Auto's, a bloke who had the reputation of only offering the best prepared and immaculately looking machines, that the ideal way to maintain the long term appearance of your vehicle so that it could look its absolute BEST when it eventually came time to sell it was to do pretty much what I do now!! Keep the 'wash and polish' routine to a minimum; don't EVER use a pressure sprayer or go to a 'no touch' car wash (or any car wash actually!! ); only regularly gently hose off &/or vacuum away any/all loose debris and dust; and NEVER use your hand, clothing, a brush, or anything dry to touch or dust or spot clean your vehicle... It's the 'touching the paintwork & chrome' that does the wearing & damage to the brightwork, especially if it's done with a hand or clothing that has got all those corrosive and damaging skin oils & any lotions, after-shaves etc on it/impregnated in it! Absolute WORST thing to do - cos every single time you wash &/or polish your vehicle, you ARE damaging the brightwork, so keep that touching &/or polishing &/or rubbing stuff to a minimum as detailed above; then when it comes time to sell, get your vehicle detailed by someone who knows what they're doing and it'll look HEAPS better than one that's been washed & polished every week of its life! And you get to spend a whole lot more of your life doing and enjoying the more important stuff!

Ryde More, Worry Less, and clean/polish only when you must!

[ARtraveler]

I'm not trying to be funny or critical here, but in the interests of looking 'outside the box' for a solution to your dilemma, maybe you need to learn to accept & celebrate the dust as a sign that at least you are still able to get out and about??

There was a time I kept all of my vehicles immaculately polished all the time - I even won shows & awards for that sorta stuff... But I did grow up in the country/on a large-ish properties where there was always work to be done and little time to waste, so maybe I was pre-disposed to accepting that dirt & dust is a badge of honour rather than something to get rid of ASAP?! Certainly since my (invalidaty forced) retirement from firstly the Military & then ultimately most regular 'work' type activities, my outlook on life has changed significantly from seeing 'always polished & immaculately presented' as a goal in life!! These days, I simply don't have enough time or energy to waste on that sorta stuff!!

One of the few things I can still do is ryde, so I do!! I don't avoid dirt, gravel, &/or freshly chip sealed roads (and we've got plenty of all of those around here!! ) but I still don't needlessly abuse or neglect anything - my Spyder included! My Spyder still gets 'cleaned' regularly - it either gets dried with the leaf blower after I've been ryding in the rain; or it gets all the dust & loose chunky bits hosed off and then dried with the leaf blower maybe every 5ish rydes/week or so. And I 'wash' it maybe once or twice a year; give it a good clean & polish, and marvel at how great it still looks!

Funnily enough, quite a few years ago now I was told by a fella in the business of detailing & selling Prestige Auto's, a bloke who had the reputation of only offering the best prepared and immaculately looking machines, that the ideal way to maintain the long term appearance of your vehicle so that it could look its absolute BEST when it eventually came time to sell it was to do pretty much what I do now!! Keep the 'wash and polish' routine to a minimum; don't EVER use a pressure sprayer or go to a 'no touch' car wash (or any car wash actually!! ); only regularly gently hose off &/or vacuum away any/all loose debris and dust; and NEVER use your hand, clothing, a brush, or anything dry to touch or dust or spot clean your vehicle... It's the 'touching the paintwork & chrome' that does the wearing & damage to the brightwork, especially if it's done with a hand or clothing that has got all those corrosive and damaging skin oils & any lotions, after-shaves etc on it/impregnated in it! Absolute WORST thing to do - cos every single time you wash &/or polish your vehicle, you ARE damaging the brightwork, so keep that touching &/or polishing &/or rubbing stuff to a minimum as detailed above; then when it comes time to sell, get your vehicle detailed by someone who knows what they're doing and it'll look HEAPS better than one that's been washed & polished every week of its life! And you get to spend a whole lot more of your life doing and enjoying the more important stuff!

Ryde More, Worry Less, and clean/polish only when you must!

I totally concur with your thinking Peter. I have also written about the "Alaska Grunge" look. I liked it then, and I like it now. My F3L has had two washings since I bought it in December 2019. However, once in a while, it gets a spray and wipe down with a cloth on the tupperware to keep it looking acceptable to onlookers. So far, so good.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I'm not trying to be funny or critical here, but in the interests of looking 'outside the box' for a solution to your dilemma, maybe you need to learn to accept & celebrate the dust as a sign that at least you are still able to get out and about??

There was a time I kept all of my vehicles immaculately polished all the time - I even won shows & awards for that sorta stuff... But I did grow up in the country/on a large-ish properties where there was always work to be done and little time to waste, so maybe I was pre-disposed to accepting that dirt & dust is a badge of honour rather than something to get rid of ASAP?! Certainly since my (invalidaty forced) retirement from firstly the Military & then ultimately most regular 'work' type activities, my outlook on life has changed significantly from seeing 'always polished & immaculately presented' as a goal in life!! These days, I simply don't have enough time or energy to waste on that sorta stuff!!

One of the few things I can still do is ryde, so I do!! I don't avoid dirt, gravel, &/or freshly chip sealed roads (and we've got plenty of all of those around here!! ) but I still don't needlessly abuse or neglect anything - my Spyder included! My Spyder still gets 'cleaned' regularly - it either gets dried with the leaf blower after I've been ryding in the rain; or it gets all the dust & loose chunky bits hosed off and then dried with the leaf blower maybe every 5ish rydes/week or so. And I 'wash' it maybe once or twice a year; give it a good clean & polish, and marvel at how great it still looks!

Funnily enough, quite a few years ago now I was told by a fella in the business of detailing & selling Prestige Auto's, a bloke who had the reputation of only offering the best prepared and immaculately looking machines, that the ideal way to maintain the long term appearance of your vehicle so that it could look its absolute BEST when it eventually came time to sell it was to do pretty much what I do now!! Keep the 'wash and polish' routine to a minimum; don't EVER use a pressure sprayer or go to a 'no touch' car wash (or any car wash actually!! ); only regularly gently hose off &/or vacuum away any/all loose debris and dust; and NEVER use your hand, clothing, a brush, or anything dry to touch or dust or spot clean your vehicle... It's the 'touching the paintwork & chrome' that does the wearing & damage to the brightwork, especially if it's done with a hand or clothing that has got all those corrosive and damaging skin oils & any lotions, after-shaves etc on it/impregnated in it! Absolute WORST thing to do - cos every single time you wash &/or polish your vehicle, you ARE damaging the brightwork, so keep that touching &/or polishing &/or rubbing stuff to a minimum as detailed above; then when it comes time to sell, get your vehicle detailed by someone who knows what they're doing and it'll look HEAPS better than one that's been washed & polished every week of its life! And you get to spend a whole lot more of your life doing and enjoying the more important stuff!

Ryde More, Worry Less, and clean/polish only when you must!

I adopted your philosophy decades ago ..... when I finally bought a leaf blower I started using that also ..... I cringe when I see the ADS for the " you don't hafta hose it down first " products - that Claim .... " it doesn't cause paint scratching "..... Hooey ... Add a Liquid Cleaner over Dust and at best you are creating a very fine pumice. And that does scratch paint ..... Lots of folks here believe " micro fiber cloth " between " tie down straps " and any painted surface also won't cause scratches ...Dbl. Hooey ..... I ( discovered ) & started using ratchet straps over the tire/s " in-line " years ago, because it worksbetter than anything I've ever seen.... I was watching the " Mecum Auto / truck Auctions " and they had Ads for their Vehicle transporter TT units. They actually showed how they strap down ONLY the Tires ( in-line ) and not just for the multi-million dollar cars..... good luck .... Mike

[frj322]

Thank you for all the replies everyone. Sadly I’m on a (mostly) county road, some is private so the soy solution wouldn’t be an option as the county will do what they see fit. I’m not really into “accepting” it, although I have no issue with those of you who offered that suggestion, if it works for you then to each their own but not me. I just can’t stomach riding approximately $18,000 worth of machine around dirty all the time.
The search continues....

[bikerbillone]

Seems the Spyder paint is soft, so hard rubbing with whatever is not a good idea, but I like for my machine to look decent too. Maybe a mild car soap and water with a leaf blow dry to remove water spots is the best we can do.

[JKMSPYDER]

My only suggestion would be to hose the Spyder down with water and then use a leaf blower to dry. At least you wouldn’t be using a rag or cloth that might scratch the paint.

[LongIsland]

I use a feather duster, after a ride and before a cleaning.

[frj322]

LongIsland that’s a pretty good idea! I wonder if a “California car duster” would be of value? Never tried one before but seems like it has good reviews... has anyone tried one?

[sledman]

I use a California Car Duster and wipe the bugs off with a wet micro fiber towel turned and rinsed frequently. Keep the car duster shook out, and don't rub your paint hard. Works great.

[sledman]

Also, I use the smaller Dash Duster version. It works better on our smaller machines.

[Gwolf]

Leave it dusty until it rains, then go ride in the rain.

No way to keep it clean when you ride every day. Cleaning gets old after a while.

When I do clean it, I take a picture so I can look at the picture and see what it looks like clean.

[SportsterDoc]

This makes me appreciate that the color is molded into the plastic on the Ryker!

[remus]

I used a california duster on a car when they first came out. a couple things to note was they seem to work better when they get dirty and your vehicle should be waxed before using it. it was not as good a a wash but is still got the vehicle pretty clean.

[frj322]

Thanks for all the advice everyone, I’m going to try the California car duster, will pick one up on the way home!

[LongIsland]

I use a feather duster, after a ride and before a cleaning.

I forgot that I also use a couple of swifter duster pads (without using the handle) when I feel like doing a super cleaning, then wash and wax).

[ChicagoSpyder]

Thank you for all the replies everyone. Sadly I’m on a (mostly) county road, some is private so the soy solution wouldn’t be an option as the county will do what they see fit. I’m not really into “accepting” it, although I have no issue with those of you who offered that suggestion, if it works for you then to each their own but not me. I just can’t stomach riding approximately $18,000 worth of machine around dirty all the time.
The search continues....

For a quick easy wash, and touchless if you want use Bike Wash I have been using it for years on my toys, hose the machine down spray the Bike Wash on and hose off, easy peasy lemon squeezy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...ature=emb_logo

Reach out to the county and or township to see if they have any oiling program, won't know unless you ask.

[Gwolf]

Not sure what these are called. They short ones work great for washing wheels and other uneven surfaces.



I got another larger one with 12 foot long, telescoping handle on it that works well for washing the truck, which is too tall to reach across the hood or get the windshield without a step stool.

You can replace the wash pads on them if you can find where they sell them. I got mine from a discount auto parts place.