Washing the bike

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Yea, I don't think the Supercorsa SP'S are very good rain tires...and Ducati didn't offer a Panigale with rain package. The MultiStrada would be a better rain bike. Not that the Panigale can't be ridden in the rain as we have witnessed Antihero take it around the world in every condition known to man but that doesn't mean is was specifically built for all conditions.
 
Aprilia RSV4 F guy here. Washing the bike with one of Meguiar's high end soaps then blow drying it with my Toro 2 speed leave blower works great. Meguiar's seems to have a small amount of wax in it to keep your finish. The Toro blows out a good amount to dry it completely in a short amount of time. I use the Bike Spirits (old Honda formula) on the wheels and it looks great.
 
FWIW,

I would not recommend doing a "dry" wash on a Ducat, or any painted surface where longevity of shine is a concern...

Want to see something scary... google a microscopic picture of pollen. Want to consider something scarier... wiping that off your paint with the assistance of lubricant which hopefully can encapsulate enough of the particulate to avoid those little medieval maces from dragging across your paint... Keep going with scary? Knowing that a microfiber towel will never release said pollen, and it will build up in the towel you use.

Even scarier than the nightmare above? Pollen isn't even close to the most abrasive thing you are wiping off your paint. Certain dusts can be unbelievably abrasive... Road film (pulverized concert dust mixed with petroleum) are terrible... Iron oxide from brake application? No thanks...

If the goal is to simply clean something? Then by all means, spray and wipe your way to bliss. Most spray and wipes have some type of wax or silicone content that will fill in the microscopic scratches you are inducing into the paint while you clean, so as long as you clean often and keep that greasy layer on there you may never know the difference.. Until the scratches become so frequent and deep that the wax cannot hide them completely... Or, with enough time, the constant blanketing of scratches over scratches thins the clear coat too much...

However if the goal is long-term preservation of the gloss and the paint itself, then I would suggest we shift gears in our thinking. Clean isn't good enough (this can be accomplished with toilet paper and water, if you really wanted), but rather how do we clean in a way that doesn't abrade the surface. EVERYTHING on your paint is a little microscopic abrasive, just waiting to grind against your finish and sand it down for you..

First, water...Flooding the surface with some volume of water can float these little abrasive fuckers away from the paint and aid in cleaning... But water doesn't penetrate enough around the particulate nor is it slick enough (anybody who has tried to procreate in a pool or hot tub knows what I am saying)... What makes water wetter? Generally surfactants... In other words, soaps and particular polymers.

So rinse the bike first, with lots of water. Get a large (5-gallon bucket) and fill it with about 4 -gallons of water. Then add the recommended amount of soap, and use the jet of water from the nozzle to mix the solution. Some soaps will suds more than others, but this is not a measure of quality. In fact, the suds are something that is added to the solution to make people like it more. Who doesn't like bubbles?

So what kind of soap? Well, that depends, but a quality automotive soap is fine. If we are going the store bought route, there are tons of options. What do I look for in a soap? Rinseability. I like a soap that I can leave on the surface a little too long and rinse, and it comes right off without leaving a film that kills water beading and makes drying tedious. There are lots of options, most automotive soaps are going to contain polymers or waxes to add some small amount of protection and (potentially) gloss. Just find one that rinses easy. And USE THE RIGHT AMOUNT... Too much soap in the solution costs money and it can make it hard to rinse off...

If we want to add even more protection to the wash process we can use a second bucket, add a grit guard to the bucket, or both. Why a second bucket? You probably wouldn't wash your Ducati with a soapy bucket filled with beach sand, right? Well, every time you get some dirt on your wash media it is released in your wash bucket when you dip it for more soap.

A second bucket, filled with just water, can be used as a trap... Pick up soap from wash bucket, wash a small section, rinse wash towel / mitt in rinse bucket to release dirt, pick up fresh soap.. Its easy, its cheap, and it works...

A grit guard is a special vented grate which helps any dirt that is released from your wash mitt / towel from swirling backing into the wash solution. I use one in each bucket, but I'm crazy.

So what should you wash the bike with then? A mitt, a towel, what? Well, I don't like microfiber anything for washing dirt, because microfiber is very grabby. It can be hard to the dirt, pollen, road dust, to release very well. However, on mostly clean surfaces I love microfiber (good microfiber, not .... from Costco). A natural lamb's wool wash mitt or a very soft sponge will work perfectly fine for cleaning dirty surfaces.

What do dry with? Well this is a tricky question, to be honest. Before I tackle it, lets considered a few things. Anything that is rough to your skin, is rougher to the paint. If it doesn't feel nice when scrubbed against your arm, don't use it..

Second, water is viscous. You can actually use a low pressure stream of water to remove 90-95 percent of the water from your bike, before you ever touch it with a towel. This is usually called "flooding the paint" and there are some cool YouTube videos if my description doesn't make sense.

I like to blow my bike dry at this point. You can use an electric leaf blower (not gas as some shoot the exhaust out the nozzle) as a low cost option. I have an expensive MetroVac Master Blaster with a 300mph nozzle velocity which uses heated and filtered air, but that is kind of an expensive option. I routinely detail seven-figure cars, so for me it makes sense.

As far as drying towels, remember if it hurts you it hurts the paint. Your old underwear and beach towels don't cut it. Instead, get a nice, high-quality microfiber drying towel (usually called a waffle weave) and dry to pat the bike dry vs. rub it against the surface (if you are being real anal retentive).

That's all I got (for now).
 
Thanks Todd! That's the most detailed and informative info I've ever read regarding cleaning your bike. Lean something new every day...
 
Holy crap. Thats a heck of a synopsis. Good thing i never painted the bike. The matte carbon has been bulletproof. I do get a lot of "hey what kind of bike is that"? though.
 
FWIW,

I would not recommend doing a "dry" wash on a Ducat, or any painted surface where longevity of shine is a concern...

Want to see something scary... google a microscopic picture of pollen. Want to consider something scarier... wiping that off your paint with the assistance of lubricant which hopefully can encapsulate enough of the particulate to avoid those little medieval maces from dragging across your paint... Keep going with scary? Knowing that a microfiber towel will never release said pollen, and it will build up in the towel you use.

Even scarier than the nightmare above? Pollen isn't even close to the most abrasive thing you are wiping off your paint. Certain dusts can be unbelievably abrasive... Road film (pulverized concert dust mixed with petroleum) are terrible... Iron oxide from brake application? No thanks...

If the goal is to simply clean something? Then by all means, spray and wipe your way to bliss. Most spray and wipes have some type of wax or silicone content that will fill in the microscopic scratches you are inducing into the paint while you clean, so as long as you clean often and keep that greasy layer on there you may never know the difference.. Until the scratches become so frequent and deep that the wax cannot hide them completely... Or, with enough time, the constant blanketing of scratches over scratches thins the clear coat too much...

However if the goal is long-term preservation of the gloss and the paint itself, then I would suggest we shift gears in our thinking. Clean isn't good enough (this can be accomplished with toilet paper and water, if you really wanted), but rather how do we clean in a way that doesn't abrade the surface. EVERYTHING on your paint is a little microscopic abrasive, just waiting to grind against your finish and sand it down for you..

First, water...Flooding the surface with some volume of water can float these little abrasive fuckers away from the paint and aid in cleaning... But water doesn't penetrate enough around the particulate nor is it slick enough (anybody who has tried to procreate in a pool or hot tub knows what I am saying)... What makes water wetter? Generally surfactants... In other words, soaps and particular polymers.

So rinse the bike first, with lots of water. Get a large (5-gallon bucket) and fill it with about 4 -gallons of water. Then add the recommended amount of soap, and use the jet of water from the nozzle to mix the solution. Some soaps will suds more than others, but this is not a measure of quality. In fact, the suds are something that is added to the solution to make people like it more. Who doesn't like bubbles?

So what kind of soap? Well, that depends, but a quality automotive soap is fine. If we are going the store bought route, there are tons of options. What do I look for in a soap? Rinseability. I like a soap that I can leave on the surface a little too long and rinse, and it comes right off without leaving a film that kills water beading and makes drying tedious. There are lots of options, most automotive soaps are going to contain polymers or waxes to add some small amount of protection and (potentially) gloss. Just find one that rinses easy. And USE THE RIGHT AMOUNT... Too much soap in the solution costs money and it can make it hard to rinse off...

If we want to add even more protection to the wash process we can use a second bucket, add a grit guard to the bucket, or both. Why a second bucket? You probably wouldn't wash your Ducati with a soapy bucket filled with beach sand, right? Well, every time you get some dirt on your wash media it is released in your wash bucket when you dip it for more soap.

A second bucket, filled with just water, can be used as a trap... Pick up soap from wash bucket, wash a small section, rinse wash towel / mitt in rinse bucket to release dirt, pick up fresh soap.. Its easy, its cheap, and it works...

A grit guard is a special vented grate which helps any dirt that is released from your wash mitt / towel from swirling backing into the wash solution. I use one in each bucket, but I'm crazy.

So what should you wash the bike with then? A mitt, a towel, what? Well, I don't like microfiber anything for washing dirt, because microfiber is very grabby. It can be hard to the dirt, pollen, road dust, to release very well. However, on mostly clean surfaces I love microfiber (good microfiber, not .... from Costco). A natural lamb's wool wash mitt or a very soft sponge will work perfectly fine for cleaning dirty surfaces.

What do dry with? Well this is a tricky question, to be honest. Before I tackle it, lets considered a few things. Anything that is rough to your skin, is rougher to the paint. If it doesn't feel nice when scrubbed against your arm, don't use it..

Second, water is viscous. You can actually use a low pressure stream of water to remove 90-95 percent of the water from your bike, before you ever touch it with a towel. This is usually called "flooding the paint" and there are some cool YouTube videos if my description doesn't make sense.

I like to blow my bike dry at this point. You can use an electric leaf blower (not gas as some shoot the exhaust out the nozzle) as a low cost option. I have an expensive MetroVac Master Blaster with a 300mph nozzle velocity which uses heated and filtered air, but that is kind of an expensive option. I routinely detail seven-figure cars, so for me it makes sense.

As far as drying towels, remember if it hurts you it hurts the paint. Your old underwear and beach towels don't cut it. Instead, get a nice, high-quality microfiber drying towel (usually called a waffle weave) and dry to pat the bike dry vs. rub it against the surface (if you are being real anal retentive).

That's all I got (for now).

I have a friend that does what most people here are saying (dry cleaning). He comes over and asks me all the time why I wash my bike with water and soap. I kept explaining to him but he though I was crazy so one day he showed up while I was mid wash. I had him feel the fairings after I it was washed and blow dried. He said it felt somewhat rough. I explained to him why. Then I applied my liquid wax. After I applied and buff out the wax I had him run his CLEAN hand again.... Now he understands!
 
Yea. Actually I don't think the production bikes from the dealer were supposed to be "raced in the rain". I can tell you that of the three Ducati dealerships that I frequent here in SoCal that electrical/electronic issues are by far the #1 reason the bike is in the shop. I suppose I am fortunate to be able to ride in dry weather all week. I have personally never ridden a (road) bike in the rain.

Those are not a water related electronics issue.

Those are Italian electronic issues, nothing more.

I promise you they do not melt in the water
 
FWIW,

I would not recommend doing a "dry" wash on a Ducat, or any painted surface where longevity of shine is a concern...

.

That's a good start :D

The paint on out bikes is really thick with white anyway, you can get away with murder and it all orbitals out with light polish. the red is more fragile and we have had complaints and it definitely shows more of the wear in sunlight.

I agree and its why I pressure wash grime off, and its why my bike looks like new 4 years later.

Soap? use a few drops of hair shampoo, then bug and tar for the stuff left from chain lube excess.

I use the your typical shammys to dry and no visible scratches

Have not needed to wax it but did last year, any good sealant is fine. No need to polish unless you dry wash. :eek:
 
FWIW,

I would not recommend doing a "dry" wash on a Ducat, or any painted surface where longevity of shine is a concern...

Want to see something scary... google a microscopic picture of pollen. Want to consider something scarier... wiping that off your paint with the assistance of lubricant which hopefully can encapsulate enough of the particulate to avoid those little medieval maces from dragging across your paint... Keep going with scary? Knowing that a microfiber towel will never release said pollen, and it will build up in the towel you use.

Even scarier than the nightmare above? Pollen isn't even close to the most abrasive thing you are wiping off your paint. Certain dusts can be unbelievably abrasive... Road film (pulverized concert dust mixed with petroleum) are terrible... Iron oxide from brake application? No thanks...

If the goal is to simply clean something? Then by all means, spray and wipe your way to bliss. Most spray and wipes have some type of wax or silicone content that will fill in the microscopic scratches you are inducing into the paint while you clean, so as long as you clean often and keep that greasy layer on there you may never know the difference.. Until the scratches become so frequent and deep that the wax cannot hide them completely... Or, with enough time, the constant blanketing of scratches over scratches thins the clear coat too much...

However if the goal is long-term preservation of the gloss and the paint itself, then I would suggest we shift gears in our thinking. Clean isn't good enough (this can be accomplished with toilet paper and water, if you really wanted), but rather how do we clean in a way that doesn't abrade the surface. EVERYTHING on your paint is a little microscopic abrasive, just waiting to grind against your finish and sand it down for you..

First, water...Flooding the surface with some volume of water can float these little abrasive fuckers away from the paint and aid in cleaning... But water doesn't penetrate enough around the particulate nor is it slick enough (anybody who has tried to procreate in a pool or hot tub knows what I am saying)... What makes water wetter? Generally surfactants... In other words, soaps and particular polymers.

So rinse the bike first, with lots of water. Get a large (5-gallon bucket) and fill it with about 4 -gallons of water. Then add the recommended amount of soap, and use the jet of water from the nozzle to mix the solution. Some soaps will suds more than others, but this is not a measure of quality. In fact, the suds are something that is added to the solution to make people like it more. Who doesn't like bubbles?

So what kind of soap? Well, that depends, but a quality automotive soap is fine. If we are going the store bought route, there are tons of options. What do I look for in a soap? Rinseability. I like a soap that I can leave on the surface a little too long and rinse, and it comes right off without leaving a film that kills water beading and makes drying tedious. There are lots of options, most automotive soaps are going to contain polymers or waxes to add some small amount of protection and (potentially) gloss. Just find one that rinses easy. And USE THE RIGHT AMOUNT... Too much soap in the solution costs money and it can make it hard to rinse off...

If we want to add even more protection to the wash process we can use a second bucket, add a grit guard to the bucket, or both. Why a second bucket? You probably wouldn't wash your Ducati with a soapy bucket filled with beach sand, right? Well, every time you get some dirt on your wash media it is released in your wash bucket when you dip it for more soap.

A second bucket, filled with just water, can be used as a trap... Pick up soap from wash bucket, wash a small section, rinse wash towel / mitt in rinse bucket to release dirt, pick up fresh soap.. Its easy, its cheap, and it works...

A grit guard is a special vented grate which helps any dirt that is released from your wash mitt / towel from swirling backing into the wash solution. I use one in each bucket, but I'm crazy.

So what should you wash the bike with then? A mitt, a towel, what? Well, I don't like microfiber anything for washing dirt, because microfiber is very grabby. It can be hard to the dirt, pollen, road dust, to release very well. However, on mostly clean surfaces I love microfiber (good microfiber, not .... from Costco). A natural lamb's wool wash mitt or a very soft sponge will work perfectly fine for cleaning dirty surfaces.

What do dry with? Well this is a tricky question, to be honest. Before I tackle it, lets considered a few things. Anything that is rough to your skin, is rougher to the paint. If it doesn't feel nice when scrubbed against your arm, don't use it..

Second, water is viscous. You can actually use a low pressure stream of water to remove 90-95 percent of the water from your bike, before you ever touch it with a towel. This is usually called "flooding the paint" and there are some cool YouTube videos if my description doesn't make sense.

I like to blow my bike dry at this point. You can use an electric leaf blower (not gas as some shoot the exhaust out the nozzle) as a low cost option. I have an expensive MetroVac Master Blaster with a 300mph nozzle velocity which uses heated and filtered air, but that is kind of an expensive option. I routinely detail seven-figure cars, so for me it makes sense.

As far as drying towels, remember if it hurts you it hurts the paint. Your old underwear and beach towels don't cut it. Instead, get a nice, high-quality microfiber drying towel (usually called a waffle weave) and dry to pat the bike dry vs. rub it against the surface (if you are being real anal retentive).

That's all I got (for now).

After reading half way through this, I had to take a nap.......
 
FWIW,

I would not recommend doing a "dry" wash on a Ducat, or any painted surface where longevity of shine is a concern...

...

...That's all I got (for now).

I'm a soap, water, low pressure water rinse and air dry guy....but if I did that much work to clean my bike, I'd never want to ride it.

Totally agree about the microfiber. Few years ago (old bike) I once tried to rub down the plastic windshield w/ a microfiber towl only to find out a piece of steel wool had stuck to it. Bad day.
 
This whole thread reminds me of guys on a Rolex forum that I'm on.

"Is it ok to shower with my Swiss over engineered, 300m, superlative chronometer Submariner?"

Or "How do you wipe down your watch at the end of the day? I rub mine with a baby rabbit as it rests on a micro fiber cloth before putting it back in the factory box".
 
Last edited:
Just updating if you get condensation in the dash, either park it in the sun on 40c day or go for a ride and it does go away.

Also if you wash the bike get compressed air and spray around the fuel cap as the water builds up/rust out the tank.
 

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