You will clean your bike better and more thorough if you follow a logical order. Do your degreasing first. This is usually necessary in the areas that seem to attract oily dirt, such as the rear wheels, suspension linkages, and the engine area. Start at one end of the bike and methodically work your way to the other, using a soft brush or rag, depending on what you are cleaning.

Follow this with a thorough wash of every area on the bike using a good quality auto soap/shampoo, using a soft rag or a sponge. Don't forget the hidden areas. The insides of the fenders get real dirty, and some bikes collect dirt and dust under the seats, and inside the plastic body panels (metal one's too, if your bike is that old). Rinse the bike throrougly with water, then chamois and towel it dry. You're still not finished, but I'll bet it already looks a lot better.

When your bike is dry, it's time for the surface protectants. Put some good quality leather/vinyl protectant on it. Use either the Honda recommended protectants on the remainder of your bike, or the commercial equivalent. Next, put a nice layer of wax on those painted surfaces. Finally, step back, stretch out those stiff muscles, and enjoy that pretty machine.

When choosing cleaning materials,there are two things to beware of. First of all, you don't want to be cleaning a surface with anything that is harder than the surface. Scratches can occur on both plastic and metal, so use as soft a material as is effective. If a soft sponge gets the job done, leave the plastic bristles in the bucket! The next concern is your cleaning fluids. Different types of cleaning require different cleaning fluids. A gentle automotive cleaning soap is perfect for your plastic bodywork, but isn't going to be very effective on engine grime, especially if it's a bit greasy or oily. Conversely, a good degreaser will take that engine grime off quick, but may harm your painted surfaces, and will most assuredly remove any wax that's on your bike. Use the proper materials in the correct areas, and you will do no harm.

• Soaps & shampoos- For all around general purpose cleaning, just get a good quality car shampoo/soap. Never use dishwashing liquid or laundry detergent. Many household cleaners and detergents contain alkali's, which are not good for metal surfaces. Many will remove wax from your bike, leaving the surfaces unprotected.
• Degreasing- You can do a lot of damage with degreasing materials if you're not careful. Immediately wash off any that happens to get on your plastic or painted areas. Use a soft brush to clean with. If you keep up with your regularly scheduled maintenance, and clean regularly, you shouldn't ever need "industrial strenth" degreasers and stiff brushes. Don't let that kind of oil and grime build up! If you see a leak, get it taken care of before it coats your engine area . I'm not going to recommend any specific degreasers. I don't want to hear from anyone telling me that I'm responsible for their bike becoming ugly, however, I use bug and tar remover, and sometimes carburetor cleaner, but I'm very careful where I use it, and I always use it in a well ventilated area.
• High pressure washes- Don't do it! You may get your bike clean, but you'll probably also be washing away needed lubrication from many areas, including even wheel bearings! How would you like to have your orifices cleaned with one of those things? Your bike probably feels the same way. Remember, it's your baby! Treat it like one.
• Windshields-All manufacturers don't use the same plastics, so don't assume that what worked on one bike is good for another. Follow the cleaning instructions that came with your bike or your aftermarket windscreen/fairing. The Hondaline windscreen for the 90's 750 is made of a tough material called Lexan, but believe me, it can be scratched. I use soap and water with a soft rag. Once in a great while I might use some Windex to get some tough stuff off, but never-ever use anything harder than a soft rag.
• Protective materials- Just cleaning the bike is not enough. You must also protect the surfaces from the elements. A good quality, non-abrasive car wax will do nicely on your plastic and painted surfaces. Protect your chrome and aluminum surfaces with an appropriate polish. Nothing looks worse than rusted chrome and pitted aluminum. Don't forget those pretty wheels. Honda makes a spray protectant that is supposed to be an all-purpose, use everywhere protectant. I've never tried it, so I can't make a recommendation. Don't forget your seat. Any good quality leather/vinyl protectant should work. Just don't use the stuff that leaves behind a shiny, slippery surface. That's a real problem when your cornering. One last warning--remember how nice your car looked when you put armor-all on the tires? There are lots of similar products which make those tires look so shiny and new! NEVER NEVER NEVER put that stuff on your motorcycle tires. It's not a good thing to have a slippery tire when you only have two and you are leaning them to turn. Just keep your tires clean, keep your bike protected from the sun, and you won't need that stuff.

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• Your Tips

Pass on your special cleaning tips, or model specific "problem areas" to your fellow Nighthawk enthusiasts.

• from Doug vB- Here's a cleaning tip I picked up from an office-mate who's very motorcycle-knowledgeable: The hand-cleaner GoJo is a great degreaser. Many people already have a tub of it, so they can avoid buying kerosene or Simple Green or whatever. Plus it's incredibly cheap. A little GoJo on a toothbrush is about the best chain cleaner you can get. It should be rinsed off with water, which brings me to another tip. For those of us who live in apartments and don't have easy access to a hose/spigot, a hand-pump herbicide spray can (with a rubber hose/nozzle) works fine. It shoots a fairly low-pressure flow of water, and the stream is very directable, so you can keep water away from sparkplug wells, etc.

• from Hall Stevenson- when you wash your bike, it's a good idea to immediately take it out and ride around for a few miles, to blow out water from all of the little spaces that can't be reached with a towel. He noticed his spark plugs had a bit of rust on them, so obviously water gets trapped in lots of places when you spray it around.

• from Bryan Rider - for general cleaning, get some S100 ( under the Honda name at many dealers). this sutff will clean anything. I rebuilt a 72 CB175 and cleand 80% of the parts with this. I just detailed my new bike and it looks like new. Also, use the GOJO on the sadle (vinyl ONLY). Put this stuff on the seat (liberally) and let it sit for an hour or so. Wipe off the excess and the saddle will look like new. the-riders@worldnet.att.net

    

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