General topics » Washing a hot bike?

This is probably a daft question, but with winter and salty roads around the corner, what's the deal with hosing down the bike on the drive immediately after coming back from a ride? Not something I ever do, because I'm worried about cracking the engine block or something; but given that I wouldn't balk from, say, riding through moderately deep flood water and thoroughly drenching the engine, I wonder if it is a realistic concern? Logically it would be great to be able to quickly and roughly hose down the bike immediately on arriving back, while all the mud and maybe salt is still wet and getting rid of 90% of it, ahead of washing it properly maybe the next day or so.... Thoughts?

I can't imagine that hosing down your bike with clear water after a ride would be a problem. After all, don't you ride in the rain without cracking a block, or causing any other issues other than creating water spots?

But you might want to wait before spraying some types of cleaning solutions on a hot bike or your engine paint might be damaged.

I don't think it's a major concern. As Richard said, they're designed for riding in the rain, or through a big puddle.

The biggest concern I'd have is some part getting rapidly cooled down, like a bearing, which then sucks in water but even that's a minor concern.

What I always do after washing my bike is to ride it around for a few minutes. That dries out the engine, the brakes and various chassis parts. I believe that will reduce the chance of corrosion and rust spots forming on the brake rotors. After parking in my garage I then hook up a battery maintainer and then disconnect it when it shows that the battery is fully charged.

Just to add to this thread. Triumph advise washing your bike when cooled. No reason stated.
I have found, living in a hard water area, that when you hose down an engine that is warm, the water evaporats but leaves limescale. I now use an airline to reduce this problem. This cooling fins on the barrels are the main area.

Yeah…the time it takes to go inside and drop off the gear goes a long way to letting things cool down. The engine block is okay from overspray, but not dousing with water, when it’s hot. So, avoid flushing parts in cold water until it’s had a few minutes to cool. In short, if you can put your bare hand on it and not get immediately burned from the heat, it’s cool enough.

Zitat von wessie im Beitrag #4

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Personally, I tend to park the bike on my drive, go indoors, toilet, put the kettle on and dick about until the bike has cooled a bit.

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I think Dave (Wessie) has got the measure of this. By the time you have had a loo break, got your helmet off, unloaded the bike and made a brew the bike should be fine for a hose down. I find if I leave it any longer it tends to get forgotten and I realise the bike is still on the drive unwashed after dark!

I used to use the jet wash at Sainsbury's on the way home but these days I have a Bosh jet wash including snow foam attachment.

An equally relevant question. If you are commuting daily do you hose down before garaging? Historically I have not done that. In consequence I ended up with corroded radiator pipes on my F800GT which had to be replaced after riding weekdays through the 2019/2020 winter. Given my Bosh jet wash I now have the where-with-all for a low pressure hose down of the bike to wash off salt. It helps enormously that my return to office is part-time only. Washing a bike five days a week plus weekends would have been too much of a chore!

Chris

Zitat von L2RKE im Beitrag #6

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Just to add to this thread. Triumph advise washing your bike when cooled. No reason stated.
I have found, living in a hard water area, that when you hose down an engine that is warm, the water evaporats but leaves limescale. I now use an airline to reduce this problem. This cooling fins on the barrels are the main area.

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I should have added that I also use a small air blower to dry my bikes. I found one in a novelty catalog for only $30. While not as nice as the expensive blowers specifically designed for cars and motorcycles (complete with heated air), it was certainly cheap enough. But I still like to ride around to dry out some of the engine and chassis corners that seem to retain water no matter how hard you blow. Plus, you still need to dry out the brake pads thoroughly so that they don't cause rust spots on the disc, which is hard to do without heating up the parts a bit. However, I did forget that many people have "hard" water, as the water that is delivered to my home is really "soft" since it comes directly from the Serra Nevada Mountains.

Zitat von Freddyfruitbat im Beitrag #1

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This is probably a daft question, but with winter and salty roads around the corner, what's the deal with hosing down the bike on the drive immediately after coming back from a ride? Not something I ever do, because I'm worried about cracking the engine block or something; but given that I wouldn't balk from, say, riding through moderately deep flood water and thoroughly drenching the engine, I wonder if it is a realistic concern? Logically it would be great to be able to quickly and roughly hose down the bike immediately on arriving back, while all the mud and maybe salt is still wet and getting rid of 90% of it, ahead of washing it properly maybe the next day or so.... Thoughts?

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Zitat von Richard230 im Beitrag #11

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I should have added that I also use a small air blower to dry my bikes ..

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Zitat von Ray im Beitrag #14

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Zitat von Richard230 im Beitrag #11

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I should have added that I also use a small air blower to dry my bikes ..

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After washing the bike, I use a leaf blower to get rid of water that finds its way into the nooks and crannies. Works a treat.

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