Giving the RT a Good Wash

[sjcpanther]

The manual says nothing about how to clean the RT. What is the best thing to use?

Standard car wash material? Soap and water?

Any danger getting anything wet, such as speakers, switch controls, etc?

Armor-All on the seats?

Windex on the windshield, or something else, since I believe it is fiberglass?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you.

[2Paw]

No! to the amourall on the seats unless you want to slide off. My kids that to a Suzuki I had a few years ago and I had problems for weeks before I could get it all worked off

[lookerjdc]

bucket, a microfiber cloth, a garden hose, etc....

wet it down, wash it using gentle soap and the microfiber cloth, then wipe it dry (or as my brother does, use a leaf blower......)

you just dont want to use harsh cloths or soaps

[can-am sam]

Be sure to use car wash soap not dish soap. I try not to use the hose around the handlebars and the instrument cluster. For waxing I use Turtle wax "Ice". It can be applied to the plastic parts and leaves a shine without any wax residue. It works great!

[Can-Am Poogs]

The manual says nothing about how to clean the RT. What is the best thing to use?

Standard car wash material? Soap and water?

Any danger getting anything wet, such as speakers, switch controls, etc?

Armor-All on the seats?

Windex on the windshield, or something else, since I believe it is fiberglass?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you.
I don't use soap. I just use water and a microfiber cloth to get grime and dirt off and dry it down. XPS spray cleaner and polish combined on all painted surfaces as a cleaner and detailer. Mothers black on black on all the black plastic, and Plexus on all the clear plastic. I don't spray water on anything. Hand wash with a bucket. Keep Windex far far away from the bike. Keep excessive water away from handlebar controls and speakers. Nothing on the seat or foot pegs of the bike that is going to make the surface slippery. If I was going to use something on the seat, I would use a leather or vinyl conditioner similar to what may be used on a furniture. That's my 2 cents. Have fun. I haven't even taken the tarp off my Spyder from storage in my garage. I can't wait to get it dirty.

[Oldmanzues]

Any information using Black on Black on pegs or seats ? It seems to work great on the black stuff.Oldmanzues

[Can-Am Poogs]

Any information using Black on Black on pegs or seats ? It seems to work great on the black stuff.Oldmanzues

Never want to lead anybody to try something I haven't tried. I don't do my foot pegs because I figure my feet are going right back on them as soon as possible, so they just get dirty again. As for the seat, I have never done anything more than wipe it with a damp cloth. I would be interested in hearing what others do to condition the seat. I don't find it gets that dirty.

[sjcpanther]

Thanks, guys. I really appreciate the advice!

[Rockwall]

It is great advice for us new ryders on the block.

[Bob Ledford]

1. Park in a cool shady place if it hot or a nice warm place if it cool.

2. Buckets wash mitt, tooth brush, something like a bottle brush small round and thin

3. A good non harsh cleaner such as fantastic, Glass Plus, or 409. When it comes to what do I use for the body, I usually try to get either Maquirs, arm All Car Wash liquid or whatever the special of the week at Walmart.

4. I start by rinsing the loose dirt and grit off. It also acts as a pre-softening agent for globs of real dirty dirt," Then I spray the fantastic cleaner on the wheel assemblies so they can be doing their thing. The I pour a couple ounces of the car wash soap in the bucket and hit it with the hose in stream mode making lots of suds. I love sudsy bubbles.

5. Wash and rinse your way around the Spyder until you either get it clean to suit you. Or you run out of bubbles and soapy water, keeping your fuzzy wash mitt, wet and rinsed clean of dirty water. The way I do it is toss it in the bucket slosh or slop it around in the water and sudsy bubbles. Don't be surprised if it gets all over you too.

6. Wet the wheels and use he brush to scrub the tires, rims, spokes,rotors, around the wheel weights. Works to clean the cracks between panels especially if you have a light color or a color that shows dust, dirt, or debris tracks.

7. Give it a final rinse and roll it in the garage. Remember the dad burn seats wet before you plop your butt in the puddles. Unless you like wet drawers!

8. Grab a couple of used worn out bath towels and dry your baby down to where she shines like you want it too.

9. Toss the dirty water out and rinse the grit out of it. Do the same to the wash mitt but wring it out good or it will get super stinky while dries out. I usually hang it on the wash bucket to dry. Or the next wash job which would be my Silverado or her SRX!...


10. Grab your rain suit and drive the super clean Spyder to the store for a cold refreshment so it can get dirty again and enjoy the ride!!!!!!

[RAYYOU]

S100 Total Cycle cleaner works great. Just spray it on and hose it off. Then I dry it with a spray on wet wax.

[shelbydave]

NO WINDEX ON WINDSHIELD!!!!

That was shouting to get your attention. Windex will haze it.

[muleman1]

As an overprotective new owner, I haven't got mine dirty enough to warrant soap yet.

But I use a product that's a favorite of RV'rs trying to keep their full body paint jobs fresh.

303 Aerospace Protectant. Leaves a slick shine and provides UV protection to keep your :spyder2:'s butt from getting burnt by the sun.

[GadgetGuy442]

ShelbyDave - just a data point... Have used Windex on my 2010 RTS for more than 3 years now... Still looks like new!

Bill

[NancysToy]

ShelbyDave - just a data point... Have used Windex on my 2010 RTS for more than 3 years now... Still looks like new!

Bill
You are lucky. Any product with ammonia will eventually cloud and craze acrylic or polycarbonate plastics. The Spyder windshield is polycarbonate (like Lexan). Same goes for products with alcohol, like Rain-X. Usually 2-4 years is about the limit. Windex Multipurpose with Vinegar is a better alternative.

[Desert Spyder]

What about under the plastic gang? Do you support cleaning cooled metal and with what? A mechanic friend of mine says I have a lot of dust underneath, I live in the desert, and it acts like sandpaper on any moving parts. You people who live near the ocean and and icy roads experience salt on the belly of the beast. Thoughts?

[Tx web rider]

ride it in the rain like a mad man let it drip dry in the garage road grime and grunge

i love hoping on mine filthy after a good rain ride and pull up to a polished chrome monster

shows them Harley riders who spend 8 hours polishing chrome and hide their bike in the garage till a blue bird day and cringe if it gets a bug splat \

what real riding is about lol

[bikeguy]

Nothing to add about cleaning the RT. Personally, I love dirty motorcycles and I only wash mine when the wife says she won't ride anymore unless I do. But I do want to comment on my experience with ArmorAll on seats. I've used it on my dirt bikes for years. In my experience if you put a heavy coat on and let it sit until it's tacky, almost dry, then wipe it off, the seat will not be slick but it will be protected. That said, I don't use anything but water on my RT but it doesn't get the abuse that the dirt bikes get. Cotton

[missouriboy]

Where I live the wind blows dry dust constantly, which collects on everything even if you just washed it. (I have no garage, just a carport roof.) I use a California CarDuster when a wet-wash is not yet justified. Its slogan is something like "Remove dust, don't just move it around. WITHOUT SCRATCHING." It works as advertised and does a great job, especially on the instrument area, seat, and blackware. It's a soft dry-mop treated lightly with wax to make the dust cling to it, so avoid using it on the windshield and mirrors.

Of course, it's excellent for Cars and trucks too! Who knew? :dontknow:

[rc51ny]

Just a couple of things to add to the above mentioned wash job:

1. I cut a large sheet of Saran wrap--or other plastic wrap--and wrap it around the controls on the handle bars. Just a just to keep the majority of water out of those controls. Water probably won't hurt it--I'm just anal about that.
2. Hose it down to get all the loose dirt and grime off. Use a hot damp cloth on the front and windshield to loosen up bug splats
3. Car wash soap and sponge to wash her down
4. Rinse completely
5. I use my leaf blower to dry it. Gets all the water out of the nooks and crannies
6. Lemon pledge the plastics
7. Plexus on the windshield

Now--get out on the road and get it dirty again!!! LOL The entire process takes LESS than 1/2 hour.

[NancysToy]

Where I live the wind blows dry dust constantly, which collects on everything even if you just washed it. (I have no garage, just a carport roof.) I use a California CarDuster when a wet-wash is not yet justified. Its slogan is something like "Remove dust, don't just move it around. WITHOUT SCRATCHING." It works as advertised and does a great job, especially on the instrument area, seat, and blackware. It's a soft dry-mop treated lightly with wax to make the dust cling to it, so avoid using it on the windshield and mirrors.

Of course, it's excellent for Cars and trucks too! Who knew? :dontknow:

:thumbup: I carry a small California CarDuster in my rear cargo compartment.

[viperryder]

The manual says nothing about how to clean the RT. What is the best thing to use?

Standard car wash material? Soap and water?

Any danger getting anything wet, such as speakers, switch controls, etc?

Armor-All on the seats?

Windex on the windshield, or something else, since I believe it is fiberglass?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you.

DO NOT USE WINDEX ON YOUR WINDSHEILD. IT WILL START TO CAUSE CRASING. BAD FOR THE WINDSHEILD:shocked::shocked:

[frank3]

After reading all the posts, guess I'm at the extreme. Here's my procedure:
1. Go to nearest car wash.
2. Park Spyder with parking brake OFF.
3. Raise seat.
4. Insert 14 quarters and select "Wash W/Soap.
5. Throughly spray Spydereverywhere including under seat.
6. Roll Spyder forward to access other portion of tires and continue washing.
7. Select "Wax" and rinse with "Wax" cycle.
8. Select "Rinse W/Spot Free" and finish rinse.
9. Dry off with cotton towel.

Once or twice a year I also use the same method but remove the side tupperware prior to ridding to the car wash in order to clean up the grime that accumulates around the motor.
Have a 2010 model RT-S with 32,000 miles and no problems with this method.
Don't be afraid, wash and have fun.

[Bob Ledford]

What about under the plastic gang? Do you support cleaning cooled metal and with what? A mechanic friend of mine says I have a lot of dust underneath, I live in the desert, and it acts like sandpaper on any moving parts. You people who live near the ocean and and icy roads experience salt on the belly of the beast. Thoughts?

Pwhat I usually due is switch our multi-spray hose nozzle into the shower mode and stick it in the front air tunnels and flush the tunnels and the radiator core good. In FL we only worry about salt air, sand, and blue haired grandmothers to short to see over the steering wheel.

plus my Rotax doesn't leak yet!

[Desert Spyder]

Pwhat I usually due is switch our multi-spray hose nozzle into the shower mode and stick it in the front air tunnels and flush the tunnels and the radiator core good. In FL we only worry about salt air, sand, and blue haired grandmothers to short to see over the steering wheel.

plus my Rotax doesn't leak yet!

Blue haired grandmothers? Thats good to know. I thought Marge Simpson lived in Springfield with Rickylen.

[SpyderFun]

After reading all the posts, guess I'm at the extreme. Here's my procedure:
1. Go to nearest car wash.
2. Park Spyder with parking brake OFF.
3. Raise seat.
4. Insert 14 quarters and select "Wash W/Soap.
5. Throughly spray Spydereverywhere including under seat.
6. Roll Spyder forward to access other portion of tires and continue washing.
7. Select "Wax" and rinse with "Wax" cycle.
8. Select "Rinse W/Spot Free" and finish rinse.
9. Dry off with cotton towel.

Once or twice a year I also use the same method but remove the side tupperware prior to ridding to the car wash in order to clean up the grime that accumulates around the motor.
Have a 2010 model RT-S with 32,000 miles and no problems with this method.
Don't be afraid, wash and have fun.


Using a Hi-Pressure system could prove disastrous given all the electronics and their severe allergy to H2O and the ability of hi-pressure to penetrate seems. Using a hi-pressure system equates to riding your Spyder in a hurricane.....something it was not designed to do and likely it not covered under warranty.

IMHO, a low-pressure system (typical house spigot) with a "Rain Shower" setting on the handle is the best solution for little to no-worries on having water infiltration of your electronics.


-Mike

[sealfloorboards]

I have used Pledge on all the plastic of the bikes I've owned, including the windshield. I use it on my face shield and glasses every day. For me, it works great as a cleaner and polish. For the wheels and lower parts, I go to the carwash. Helps me to ride in style and....

Ride in comfort,
John
Seal Floorboards

[jmcbow]

Using a Hi-Pressure system could prove disastrous given all the electronics and their severe allergy to H2O and the ability of hi-pressure to penetrate seems. Using a hi-pressure system equates to riding your Spyder in a hurricane.....something it was not designed to do and likely it not covered under warranty.

IMHO, a low-pressure system (typical house spigot) with a "Rain Shower" setting on the handle is the best solution for little to no-worries on having water infiltration of your electronics.


-Mike

I know that there are those owners that would never use a convetional car wash port to wash their Spyder, that's absolutely their choice to make. I've owned 2 Spyders and have washed both (continue to wash my RT with pin stripping) at my local car wash. It's all about excersizing some caution and common sense. I don't get close when using the high pressure setting, I hose it down on the pre-soak setting, carefully hit those hard to reach spots with the higher pressure setting and then rinse it off with the spot free setting (also low pressure). 3 years with the RT and no problems. I never, ever hose down the control panel or inside fairing surfaces. I use a damp cloth and carefully wipe down those areas, or after a road trip will use a hand held spray bottle and go over these areas with a mild soap mixture. I am fanatical about keeping my Spyder clean, most days I simply wipe it down with a damp cloth or go over it with a California duster. But after a few days the wheels and undercarriage start to pick up dirt and grim. Then I head to the car wash. For me, it's a matter of convenience. I'm in and out in about 15 minutes. The short ride home blows off most of the water and leaves just a light wipe down after pulling into the garage.

[jerpinoy]

The manual says nothing about how to clean the RT. What is the best thing to use?

Standard car wash material? Soap and water?

Any danger getting anything wet, such as speakers, switch controls, etc?

Armor-All on the seats?

Windex on the windshield, or something else, since I believe it is fiberglass?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you.

The only advice to you is not to drive your SPYDER through a car wash coz you'll bubble up and you'll get very wet.:roflblack::roflblack::roflblack::roflblack:.