'17 Street Glide

Lance Mark

Lance Mark

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Hello all. New to the site here. I've been learning quite a bit about the detailing world on another site.

Until now, I've basically hosed the bike down, covered it S-100 and rinsed and dried and sprayed some Harley Gloss on it. Next wash it gets is the two bucket method.

I feel like I'm at the paralysis by analysis stage. I'm pretty overwhelmed with choices.

I'm a complete noob and what I'm hoping to do is learn how to properly clean and protect my bike. I've already put about 40k miles on it in 2 years, so it's going to see some wear and it won't be perfect, but I'd like it to look as good as it can look. There are areas that need polishing and I'd like to learn to do that myself. Lot's of horror stories out there.

Looking at the Griot G8 and G9. Most if not all of the parts will be removed and polished on a table, so I'm not concerned about the G9 being too big for a bike.

I've heard Wolfgang products make products that are easier to use for noobs. This is where I'm hung up.

I had planned on trying Reset to wash it, and then testing to see if needed to be clay barred. If i need to clay bar it, there are a lot of options there. :(

So many choices...
 
I have two Harley's and given the choice of polishers that you are considering, it would be the G8 everytime. There's nothing on a Street Glide large enough and flat enough to warrant the G9. The G8 is the better tool for your application.

The G8 will perform better on every part of your bike except the tops of the saddle bag lids and the saddle bag sides. Those are the only two areas I can think of where the G9 will perform as well as the G8.
 
My advice would be to ceramic coat it. My brother used to have a Harley and the black paint was soft.

If you go with Rest just keep in mind it has the potential to degrade waxes and sealants. May want to consider Meguiar’s Hyperwash.
 
The Guz said:
My advice would be to ceramic coat it. My brother used to have a Harley and the black paint was soft.

If you go with Rest just keep in mind it has the potential to degrade waxes and sealants. May want to consider Meguiar’s Hyperwash.
Click to expand...

Harley paint today is much harder than in years past.

I had a black 2002 and 2011 and they both had super soft paint. They got swirled out by looking at them.

My next one was a 2017 and the paint was much harder. In fact, I had that 2017 for 2+ years and about 30,000 miles and never had to actually polish it. It never got swirled. Granted, this bike was a black metallic and the metallic helps to camouflage the swirls, but I literally never polished it. Wax only.

Now I have a 2019 and again the paint is on the harder side. This one is solid black and I have polished it twice - once when brand new and once about a month ago.

I don't know for sure but I think the paint hardness change occurred around 2014 with the introduction of the "Rushmore" models.
 
Thanks for chiming in fellas. Your advice is genuinely appreciated.

The bike was ceramic coated about 2 years ago by the HD dealership

some folks on an HD forum say that they don't use a true ceramic coating, it's more like a sealant

CanCoat by Gyeon is supposed to be a good option in a situation like mine, but I'm open....I picked Reset, because I'm trying to get the paint as clean as possible before I use the Gyeon Prep and CanCoat.
 
CaffeineBuzz said:
Hello all. New to the site here. I've been learning quite a bit about the detailing world on another site.

Until now, I've basically hosed the bike down, covered it S-100 and rinsed and dried and sprayed some Harley Gloss on it. Next wash it gets is the two bucket method.

I feel like I'm at the paralysis by analysis stage. I'm pretty overwhelmed with choices.

I'm a complete noob and what I'm hoping to do is learn how to properly clean and protect my bike. I've already put about 40k miles on it in 2 years, so it's going to see some wear and it won't be perfect, but I'd like it to look as good as it can look. There are areas that need polishing and I'd like to learn to do that myself. Lot's of horror stories out there.

Looking at the Griot G8 and G9. Most if not all of the parts will be removed and polished on a table, so I'm not concerned about the G9 being too big for a bike.

I've heard Wolfgang products make products that are easier to use for noobs. This is where I'm hung up.

I had planned on trying Reset to wash it, and then testing to see if needed to be clay barred. If i need to clay bar it, there are a lot of options there. :(

So many choices...
Click to expand...
I have a 1996 Custmsprty, lol, that's why my handle is Custmsprty.

I have the G8 and G9.

I bought the FLEX cordless 3 inch polisher a few months ago. Invest the extra money and cut the cord. It's perfect for bike detailing. It has multiple pad sizes. 1,2,3 inch.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Autogeekonline mobile app
 
S100 is still my go to bike cleaner. It's a great product.
You only need a few ounces of a product to protect it, same as polish.
Biggest thing IMHO has always been keeping my chrome shiny.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Autogeekonline mobile app
 
Flex 3 inch battery complete kit, Autogeek.

9b88ea7eb973949f50954fce882ec8d7.jpg


Sent from my SM-G975U using Autogeekonline mobile app
 
custmsprty said:
S100 is still my go to bike cleaner. It's a great product.
You only need a few ounces of a product to protect it, same as polish.
Biggest thing IMHO has always been keeping my chrome shiny.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Autogeekonline mobile app
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip. For as much as that machine will do, the price is super reasonable.

I have a G8 and G9 I'd like to get good at using before I add more to the stable.

With exception of the rear fender, most of the parts on my bike will be removed and polished on a table, so a cord isn't really problematic.

Thanks for chiming in.

Two wheels down, brother.
 
custmsprty said:
PS Made in China.
Not just the battery, the tool too.
As many of you know Flex sold out to a Chinese company a few years ago.
Click to expand...

Yup. Just like 95% of everything we buy.

As I have said before, China is very capable of making quality products. Just like every other Country.

Thinking of all Chinese made products as cheap garbage is backward thinking.

Do I wish these products were made in the USA? Absolutely. But anyone with half a brain knows that will not happen. :/
 
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