After the Road Trip

2black1s

2black1s

New member
Joined
Jan 23, 2015
Messages
1,783
Reaction score
0

Introduction

On Memorial Day, May 31[SUP]st[/SUP], 2021 I set out for a 2,500-mile ride from my home in Simi Valley, Ca to visit family and friends in and around Cleveland, Ohio. The trip took 3 1/2 days riding primarily from sunrise to sunset each day. 747.5 miles the first day, 837 the second, 720.4 the third, and finally 217.8 on the fourth day. Once in Cleveland, I stayed at my mom’s (she’s 91 years-old) house in Richmond Hts., an eastern suburb of Cleveland, for two weeks.

The day after arriving in Cleveland, I spent about 5 hours cleaning the bike. No real detailing per se, just a thorough wash and cleaning following the trip. It rained off-n-on for the final day and a half so the bike was plenty dirty, but the rain was also a blessing-in-disguise as it softened and removed the bugs acquired during the first two days of the trip.

I do this trip every summer (since 2004). As such, I have confiscated one cabinet in my mom’s garage to store my cleaning supplies so they are always there for me when I arrive. I also have a motorcycle jack that I leave there. The jack is a near necessity when it comes to cleaning bikes, especially the wheels.

The next two weeks were spent primarily spending time with my mom, brothers, and visiting old friends. I only rode about 200 miles while in Cleveland. Then the return trip.

I left Cleveland on Wednesday, June 16[SUP]th[/SUP] and got home on Friday, June 18[SUP]th[/SUP]. Three days for the return trip, again, riding primarily from sunrise to sunset each day. 927.3 miles on day one, 783.4 miles on day two, and 799.1 miles to finish the return trip on day three.

Day two was hot, 107 in Denver, but day three was brutal… 117 in Vegas and 120 in Baker, CA. This stretch of brutal heat on day three extended from just passed St. George, Utah well into California where the temperature was 110+ the entire distance of about 300 miles. I was completely exhausted and drained from the heat when I got home. And it sure felt good to be home… The temperature was 77 degrees.

The entire round-trip was 5,230 miles.

I got home Friday night. Saturday and Sunday were spent relaxing and recuperating (and watching the US Open). Monday was doing yard work. Tuesday came and it was now “bike” time.


“After the Road Trip”

This begins the real meat and motive for this thread… The 24.5 hours I spent over four days detailing the bike upon my return.

I started by giving the bike a good bath. First up was cleaning the engine cases and wheels with S100 Total Cycle Cleaner, then a bucket and hose wash job with Meguiar’s 62 Shampoo for the rest of the bike. That was followed by a DI water final rinse, and then dried with the trusty old leaf blower.

This removed all of the road grime, but the bugs were so baked-on that their remains would need further attention during the forthcoming claying process. There were also some water spots that were not completely removed thanks to being unexpectedly blasted by some sprinklers, on three separate occasions, at my second overnight rest stop.

That was it for Tuesday. About 4 hours for the bathing. Then I let the bike dry-out thoroughly until the next day before proceeding.

Wednesday through Friday were spent doing the real detailing… About 20.5 hours’ worth. My intentions were to polish all of the painted surfaces to as near perfection as viable (my real intent was “perfect” but we all know that is not possible). As such, I focused on specific panels/sections from start to finish, ensuring that they were as “good-as-it-gets” before moving on to the next. Clay, polish, wax… Next. Repeat as required.

The products/tools used were:
- Auto Scrub fine and medium grade sponge pads for claying
- Meguiar’s 210 Ultra Pro Finishing Polish
- Griot’s GR3 Rotary w/3-inch knitted wool BOSS pads & 1-inch yellow foam BOSS pads
- Griot’s G8 DA w/3-inch yellow foam BOSS pads
- Meguiar’s Ultimate Liquid Wax (hand applied)

Panel/section sequence and labor hours:
- Side Covers (2); ~ 2 hours
- Saddle Bags (2); ~ 5 hours
- Front Fairing, Inner & Outer/Windshield; ~ 3 hours
- Fuel Tank; ~ 2 hours (includes R&R Center Console)
- Front Fender; ~ 1 hour
- Lower Fairings (2); ~ 1.5 hours
- Tour Pack; ~ 2.5 hours (includes R&R Luggage rack)
- Rear Fender; ~ 0.5 hours
Notes: Side Covers and Saddle Bags removed from bike. All other parts processed in-place. No machine polishing for the windshield; fine clay followed by Meguiar’s 6 Cleaner Wax only.

With the painted parts complete, my focus now turned to the chrome. I hit the frontal chrome, the pipes, and the left side Primary Cover with clay, followed by Meguiar’s 6 Cleaner Wax or Meguiar’s D115 Express Wash & Wax as I felt appropriate. The remaining chrome and the wheels were simply wiped with D115.

The finishing touch was Meguiar’s 40 Vinyl & Rubber Cleaner/Conditioner for the seat, rear speaker pods, plastic trim, and miscellaneous satin black components.

These last two steps comprised approximately 3 hours bringing the grand total to 24.5 hours. I’d hate to have to pay for this!

This morning (Sunday) I met up with four other weekend riding buddies for breakfast and a 100-mile ride. Two of them know me well so it was no surprise to them that I could spend 24.5 hours detailing my bike, but the other two guys were shocked. They were 2- or 3-hour guys. As shocked as they were, they were equally drooling over how good my bike looked. That was very rewarding!

Now for the pics…

Washing the bike in my mom’s garage (Cleveland)…
View attachment 73748


And Mom…
View attachment 73749


Bike’s condition at the end of the trip…
View attachment 73750 View attachment 73751


The beginning of my 24.5 hour ordeal; My 4-hour wash job…
View attachment 73752 View attachment 73753 View attachment 73754


RO/DI water rinse system…
View attachment 73756 View attachment 73757 View attachment 73758


And the finished product…
View attachment 73759 View attachment 73760 View attachment 73761

View attachment 73771 View attachment 73762 View attachment 73763

View attachment 73764 View attachment 73765 View attachment 73767

View attachment 73768 View attachment 73769 View attachment 73770

Pics Continued in the Next Thread...
 
This thread deserves an award for every category across the board, seriously

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk
 
2black1s said:
Well thank you very much! I hope others will enjoy it as much as you.
Click to expand...
Rarely has someone detailed so much of everything, it was like bring there! I assume you've been on The Tail of the Dragon

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk
 
Hopefully, you missed the Ohio cicadas, or they weren't too bad in the north eastern part of the state. I can't imagine riding a bike thru those things.

17yrs between the next batch of cicadas will be too soon. I'll be cleaning their remains out of my truck for the next three years.
 
Klasse Act said:
... I assume you've been on The Tail of the Dragon
Click to expand...

Been there 4 times. These pics are from my last visit in 2017...

Where we stayed for 4 days; Maggie Valley, NC. I'm second from the left.
View attachment 73781

Deals Gap at the top of the Dragon
View attachment 73782

I think this is Cherohala Hwy -0r- It might be at the TN end of the Dragon - Not sure.
View attachment 73784

And a few misc. pics from the same trip...

US 50 in Nevada - America's Loneliest Road
View attachment 73783 View attachment 73793

Loveland Pass in Colorado
View attachment 73785 View attachment 73794

Yellowstone
View attachment 73786 View attachment 73795

Yosemite
View attachment 73787 View attachment 73788 View attachment 73789 View attachment 73792

I've been through all lower 48 states, multiple routes through many, on my bike trips over the years. Mostly riding alone. It's been a blast!

And I've gone through the same or similar detailing of the bike(s) after each one of them.
 
waddell64 said:
Hopefully, you missed the Ohio cicadas, or they weren't too bad in the north eastern part of the state. I can't imagine riding a bike thru those things.

17yrs between the next batch of cicadas will be too soon. I'll be cleaning their remains out of my truck for the next three years.
Click to expand...

LOL. I had bugs for sure but not the worst I've been through. That came in Montana or Wyoming or thereabouts several years ago.
 
2black1s said:

Introduction

On Memorial Day, May 31[SUP]st[/SUP], 2021 I set out for a 2,500-mile ride from my home in Simi Valley, Ca to visit family and friends in and around Cleveland, Ohio. The trip took 3 1/2 days riding primarily from sunrise to sunset each day. 747.5 miles the first day, 837 the second, 720.4 the third, and finally 217.8 on the fourth day. Once in Cleveland, I stayed at my mom’s (she’s 91 years-old) house in Richmond Hts., an eastern suburb of Cleveland, for two weeks.
Click to expand...

Small world. I grew up in Lyndhurst with family all through the areas of Mayfield, Richmond, etc. The area has certainly changed but I am still proud to have called it home.
 
Thanks for sharing and all the pictures. Sounds like you ride enough that you worked at staying hydrated. That 110 degree heat all day is a chore. These new bikes do handle the heat much better.

Any roadside visits for speeding?
 
Surgically cleaned! It’s literally perfect. Nice pics. That’s serious riding.
 
TTQ B4U said:
Small world. I grew up in Lyndhurst with family all through the areas of Mayfield, Richmond, etc. The area has certainly changed but I am still proud to have called it home.
Click to expand...

Me too! Even though I've been in CA for 40 years now I'm still really happy to have grown up where I did and it will always be home to me.

What street did you grow up on? I grew up on Jeannette, off of Highland just west of Trebisky, before you go down the hill to Euclid.
 
Burger said:
Thanks for sharing and all the pictures. Sounds like you ride enough that you worked at staying hydrated. That 110 degree heat all day is a chore. These new bikes do handle the heat much better.

Any roadside visits for speeding?
Click to expand...

I drank at least a quart of Gatorade and/or water per hour. I learned a long time ago about keeping hydrated when riding in hot weather. Funny thing though, I carry a soft-sided cooler with me on my passenger seat with a water bladder in it that I can sip on as I ride, but it broke on the first day. I had to pull over and stop every 30 minutes or so to hydrate.

Another funny thing is that I thought I'd do the trip a little earlier in the season this year, rather than July, August, or September, primarily to avoid the extreme heat. That decision sure backfired. I wanted to do it in May, but a hernia surgery on April 26th pushed me out into June.

As for speeding tickets... I learned that too although only recently. It took a long time for me to realize I'm not 18 anymore LOL. I used to plan for two tickets per trip until about 4 or 5 years ago. Now I set the cruise for 10 over and I've never gotten a ticket using that methodology, at least on the Interstate portions of the ride.

The last ticket I can remember on one of these trips was in Louisiana in 2016.

EDIT: Look what I found...
View attachment 73798
 
Awesome dissertation, and great pics John! :props:
 
Thanks for posting! Good read, and great work cleaning it back up...and getting it looking great!
 
I'm sure the pictures don't really show how clean your bike is. I keep mine very clean, but you are way next level. Especially for someone who actually rides!

I too have a bladder with extra long drink hose. It's worth the little bit of hassle. Especially when forgetting to unclip the hose before dismounting.

Works much better not getting speeding tickets!

Good on you for a safe trip. I'll take the heat over riding in the rain.
 
Sizzle Chest said:
Thanks for posting! Good read, and great work cleaning it back up...and getting it looking great!
Click to expand...

Thanks.

I wish I had the photo skills that you and TTQ B4U have to really do justice for the results. The photos you two guys post of your work are phenomenal.
 
You just gave us one hell of a motorcycle detailing class!

I found it to be very nice how you broke down everything including the precise amount of hours spent on each section of the motorcycle!

The way you did this is not only a show and shine article but a how to article as well.

I noticed you mentioned that you used a leaf blower to dry the bike. I actually have a tool called the Metrovac Air Force Express that works perfect for drying motorcycles.

Here's the link:
MetroVac Air Force Express 25

The Airforce Express blows warm filtered air, and I use mine all of the time. You will either have to purchace, or fabricate a clamp to keep the hose from blowing off of the unit, but what I did with mine was simply wrap masking tape around the hose tightly where the hose plugs into the unit around the steel metal outlet.

You can store the unit in a sealed container when not in use to keep contaminants from getting into the system, or seal up the inlet and blower end of the hose in a manner of your choosing.

I'm curious to see how you knew when to use the fine vs medium grade autoscrub pads. Did you perform a baggie test on each section as you clayed?

I really love how well organized your set up is and you definitely have some cool tools and great products!

I'd like to see some hand techniques of how you polished the more complex areas as this is something I'm trying to learn myself.

Thank you so much for your article! I learned a bunch!

Sent from my SM-G975U using Autogeekonline mobile app
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top