Started the disassembly last night - Deep Clean and Detail

Lance Mark

Lance Mark

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I spent some time last night taking the bike apart.

I still need to remove the tank, front fender, front lower fairings, air intake, and the gap filler on the rear. There is a piece on each side of the rear fender that i'd like to take off to further expose the rear fender, but I'd have to remove the exhaust and I'd prefer not to do that. I don't plan on removing the rear fender or the wheels either.

Once it's done, I'll go after the carcass of the bike and make it as clean as I can. No need for a hose. I'll do it all with spray bottles and MF towels. Then each removed piece will be cleaned, corrected, and reattached.

I'm excited to finally start this project. I really appreciate all the help and advice folks here have generously offered. After I clean, but before I correct, I'll take detailed pics so I can share some before and after pics.

Wish me luck guys. :)

View attachment 73122
 
CB, Good to see you over here. Lots of great info and helpful people here.
 
You're even crazier than me LOL.

The only things I remove when detailing my bike are the saddle bags and the side covers. Everything else is done in-place.

My wheels and tires get the full-treatment anytime they are off the bike for whatever reason, but just get the wipe-down treatments in between.

Have Fun!!!
 
eaglefan said:
CB, Good to see you over here. Lots of great info and helpful people here.
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ok dude....this is all your fault

before you sent me here, I asked a simple question asking for a product recommendation

that was about 6-7 weeks ago, ya kinda talked me into polishing, and when I realized I could pull it off, well, i got another one, and a bunch of potions, lotions, and creams and pads....and some chemicals, and a crap ton of different towels, of course you can see I needed a place to put it all, hence the cart

you could have just told me to s-100 and harley gloss it :)
 
2black1s said:
You're even crazier than me LOL.

The only things I remove when detailing my bike are the saddle bags and the side covers. Everything else is done in-place.

My wheels and tires get the full-treatment anytime they are off the bike for whatever reason, but just get the wipe-down treatments in between.

Have Fun!!!
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I've been looking at crazy in the rear view mirror for a while now.

Each piece will be polished to perfection, and refastened with white glove treatment. Once I'm done, I'll stand back, enjoy it for a few minutes, take a bunch of pictures.....and then go see how well the bugs slide off of the new sealant. It'll get ridden. It's cool to look at, but even more fun for a cannonball into the wind. Wife and I are heading to SD in May. A long trip like that really does a number on my sled.
 
CaffeineBuzz said:
ok dude....this is all your fault

before you sent me here, I asked a simple question asking for a product recommendation

that was about 6-7 weeks ago, ya kinda talked me into polishing, and when I realized I could pull it off, well, i got another one, and a bunch of potions, lotions, and creams and pads....and some chemicals, and a crap ton of different towels, of course you can see I needed a place to put it all, hence the cart

you could have just told me to s-100 and harley gloss it :)
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Dont know if I should say sorry or you can thank me!
Have fun no matter what. Also, be thankful your's isn't the dreaded vivid black think mine. It is a huge pain to keep it how I want it
 
eaglefan said:
Dont know if I should say sorry or you can thank me!
Have fun no matter what. Also, be thankful your's isn't the dreaded vivid black think mine. It is a huge pain to keep it how I want it
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thank you, my friend, i wouldn't be here if you hadn't suggested I step it up a bit

I got the tank off, took out the spacers and extension on the rear fender, got the lowers fairings detached from the crash bar last night, but not completely, it's a pita to disassemble the wet head lowers, front fender comes off tonight

then it's up on the lift, I plan on starting with the tires
 
Good deal! Keep us posted. Be ready for the "I use pledge and the paint looks great" remarks.
 
eaglefan said:
Good deal! Keep us posted. Be ready for the "I use pledge and the paint looks great" remarks.
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I was able to get the rest of the bike taken apart, only thing left was the rear fender which I didn't want to try and remove.

The bike is almost ready for me to start putting some parts back on. The wheels are done. The glossy painted parts of the engine and transmission have all been cleaned, clayed, hand polished and sealed. All of the chrome is polished. I even cleaned, clay barred, hand polished, and sealed the frame. I'll have pics soon. As well, I've used a combination of damp cloths, cotton swabs, and time and patience to clean out the battery area, the inside of the upper fairing, as well as both of the side service areas that are covered by the side covers.

I have a bit more plastic to clean and seal up before I start returning parts to the bike. As well, I want to address some messy wiring in the side service areas and see if I can clean up the fairing wiring a bit. I'm not talking about wiping down each wire, I've already done that, I'm talking about rerouting some wires and zip tying to make them look neater.

I've heard of guys using Pledge.

View attachment 73184
 
going on day 11....still not done

done so far:

  • dismantled bike
  • washed, decon, and clayed nearly every part
  • cleaned wiring, electronics, internal amp for the radio, and various connections and components in the fairing, both side access areas to the batter, and down in the battery area
  • washed, clayed, polished and sealed the frame
  • washed, hand polished, and sealed the inner upper fairing
  • washed, clayed, hand polished, sealed lower fairing
  • washed, and washed, and washed, wheels, clay barred, hand polished, and sealed wheels
  • washed, clay barred, machine polished, sealed lower fairing caps
  • washed, hand polished, and sealed front and rear crash bars
  • washed, clayed, and both hand and machine polished and sealed the rear fender extension and gap filler
  • washed, clayed, machine polished the side panels
  • rerouted wiring and cleaned up camera wiring

still need to:

  • clay bar, machine polish, seal the gas tank
  • wash, clay bar, machine polish, and seal the fairing
  • clean and seal the windshield
  • wash, clay, machine polish the front fender
  • wash, clay, machine polish, and seal the saddle bags
  • remove back rest and luggage rack from tour pack, wash, clay, machine polish, and seal this as well

so far, the most tedious part was about 2 hours spent on my back cleaning, wiping, checking, recleaning, rechecking the underneath of the bike, the wheels were a real challenge as well, but it helped to clean them on a lift where they could be spun for easier cleaning....I'm starting to get some delam on the chrome on my wheels :(....when clean this deep, you find 'stuff'
 
Can you imagine what this would cost if you were paying someone to do it?

The process you are going through is a perfect example of why questions like "How much should a full detail cost"? or "How long should it take to do a full detail"? are so subjective. Way too many variables involved.

I actually see the process you are going through as bordering on "restoration" and not your typical "detail".
 
2black1s said:
Can you imagine what this would cost if you were paying someone to do it?

The process you are going through is a perfect example of why questions like "How much should a full detail cost"? or "How long should it take to do a full detail"? are so subjective. Way too many variables involved.

I actually see the process you are going through as bordering on "restoration" and not your typical "detail".
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lol....on the inside of the rear fender is a small triangular housing that protects the rear tail light assembly electrical molex connection, it's bolted and kept in place by a small nut and washer....that got removed, scrubbed inside and out with a toothbrush, dried....and sealed....but only after i washed the inside of the fender

how do you charge for that? :)
 
Clearly the best way to do it, Caffeine. If you have the time it gets done right!
 
Paul A. said:
Clearly the best way to do it, Caffeine. If you have the time it gets done right!
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I've watched a lot of videos on guys detailing bikes and there are some amazing outcomes.

A lot of what I did will never be seen or appreciated by anyone other than me.
 
It is finally done. I spent about 60 hrs total. It was pretty dark last night when I put the final pieces on, so no pics yet.

I am going to try and get some pics tonight if possible.

Go figure, I've spent 2 solid weeks detailing this bike and the first day I can ride it....it's raining. :)

I know this post is worthless without pics, but I promise to put together an extensive before and after.

Edit: Added the below pics as a sneak peak.

View attachment 73289View attachment 73290View attachment 73291
 
Lance Mark said:
lol....on the inside of the rear fender is a small triangular housing that protects the rear tail light assembly electrical molex connection, it's bolted and kept in place by a small nut and washer....that got removed, scrubbed inside and out with a toothbrush, dried....and sealed....but only after i washed the inside of the fender

how do you charge for that? :)
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What LSP are you using?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Really enjoyed reading this. I get it, when you start detailing something of your own it's hard to draw that line. That being said, the steps you took are crazy thorough. But I'm sure when it was done it was such a good feeling of accomplishment, till the first bug hit. Nice job! and nice bike.
 
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