what's your best trike washing secret?

[ditchmud]

I have a secret washing trick that I'm going to share with you all. It's very simple and you don't even have to touch a cloth to your machine. Believe it or not I wash all my atc and atvs this way.
I start out with my power washer but a garden hose will do also. I spray off all of the caked on mud. If you went to trikefest this may take a while:lol: after I've gotten all of the heavy mud off I use a spray bottle filled with a solution of water and the most important ingrediant Wisk. Yes Wisk laundry detergent. It is the only one that will work, and no i don't work for them. Something in wisk makes this stuff clean mud like nobody's business.
I spray my whole machine heavily with this solution and let it soak for ten minutes in the shade so it doesn't dry up. Or I just keep reapplying it. then after it's soak time I hose it off. That's it, no rags, no drying, nothing. It will not leave dirt spots or haze or anything, and wait untill you see your tires. Your wheels and tires will look brand new. If you try this let me know what you think. Or if you think you've got something better let's hear about it.

[brapp]

i use a product from the dolar store called awesome its sold at dolar general and dolar tree chains and is an awesome grease remover too.

[userj8670]

ditchmud,
whats your wisk to water ratio? 50:50? I just usually used a power washer, car cleaner and then mothers carnuba wax.

[ditchmud]

ditchmud,
whats your wisk to water ratio? 50:50? I just usually used a power washer, car cleaner and then mothers carnuba wax.

about 15%-25% wisk and the rest water. I mix it in a spray bottle that i bought but any spray bottle will work. Your machine will look great, and smell great too. It really makes it look like you detailed it. Everyone that i convinced into trying it (about 10 people so far) washes their machines this way. My buddy even washes his golf cart like this now after trying it.

[userj8670]

What do you do to keep the fenders shiny and engine gunk free? I am going to have to go out and try this. thanks for the heads up!

Jim

[clutchcargo]

I've heard that Mr. Clean works great, but haven't tried it yet.

[scooterroo]

soapy bucket of water, lots of rags, a tooth brush and some elbow grease. mr. clean magic erasers too, work wonders on plastic fenders. then of course the detailing of the bike to get it nice and shiny and new looking again.

[Dirtcrasher]

Great tip!

I may actually put some stickers on my machines if I could keep from blowing the pricks off everytime I use the pressure washer.....

[Black86tri-z]

i pressure wash then whipe plastics down with tire white wall cleaner takes all dirt out of scratchs works wicked good

[The Goat]

pee on it! i'm serious, it takes the paint and everything right off.

especially after a heavy night of drinking.







I'm like R-kelly when it comes to spraying tikes.

[TravEX]

Note to self, "Never buy used parts from The Goat."

j/k hehehe

Wisk works great. I mix it up and spray it on and leave it for about 15 minutes. For the motor I use Engine Bright. I coat the whole trike with WD40 when I'm done.

[Sargon2112]

Greased Lightening. 50:50 with water for normal washing and full strength for de greasing. Spray it down, let it soak for a few minutes, then hit it with either a garden hose & nozzle or pressure washer. The stuff is great.

[Erics350x]

i pressure wash then whipe plastics down with tire white wall cleaner takes all dirt out of scratchs works wicked good

X2 on the white wall cleaner, just not the bleach white kind. I use the stuff at car quest in a gallon. It'll take grease off, blood and other stains outta carpet, about anything you need to clean it works great. It's what alot of detail shops use on wheels, engines, and carpet.

[SWIGIN]

this isn't a secret but after i get the heavy mud off i always stand my bike up on the grab bar to get all of the hard to get places ......plus if you run a open air box you cant get water in your air tube this way.

im going to try the wisk idea.......any special type of wisk?

[SWIGIN]

What do you do to keep the fenders shiny and engine gunk free? I am going to have to go out and try this. thanks for the heads up!

Jim

i soak my motor with super clean/greased lightening/purple power and let it sit a few minutes then hose off.

if your motor is real nasty you will have to scrub it but once its clean all you need to do is the spray and hose deal to wash off fresh oil weepage.

[Dammit!]

I'm like R-kelly when it comes to spraying tikes.

Wow you really are like R Kelly. Nasty dude. :lol:

[The Goat]

that was on purpose. lol.

seriously, my cleaning trick is to bring the bike to one of the local car washes. the guy there doesn't realize he has the strongest degreaser ever on the purest setting.

that and his pressure washer water is over 160 degrees.

let the degreaser sit, and then blast it from a distance with the hot water. works beautifully.

anyone else using hot water?

[tri-Z ripper]

purple power and garden hose but going to buy wisk right now to give it a shot!!!

[brapp]

i just tek it down the creek behind thehouse works wonders lol

[joe_f7]

that was on purpose. lol.

seriously, my cleaning trick is to bring the bike to one of the local car washes. the guy there doesn't realize he has the strongest degreaser ever on the purest setting.

that and his pressure washer water is over 160 degrees.

let the degreaser sit, and then blast it from a distance with the hot water. works beautifully.

anyone else using hot water?


i use hot water too. i piped out a separate hot soft water hose bib at my house for washing vehicles and toys. makes any degreaser look good.

[oscarmayer]

when it comes to alloy parts i like purple stuff. can get it al autozone in spray bottle.
spray parts down, let it sit for 15 min hose off. if need use plastic scrub brushes and some more and it shoudl be clean in no time.

[NOS_350X]

Here is my procedure.
1 Take off the airfilter (after every ride)
2 Rince off get off most dirt/mud/sand
3 Spary off with Simple green, or Super clean
4 Let the cleaner sit for a minute, the wash it off
5 Stand the bike up on end, or lay dirbike on the side and repeat.
6 Drop it down, pull rag, or whatever intake blocking device you used for the intake and start the engine, Should run a bit lean and dry off the motor/exhaust
7 While you let it idle warming up wipe down finders frame axle that stuff. with a towel.
8 Go through and lubercate with whatever you like, the chain, levers, cables. All that suff.

I use a Steam cleaner so its hot too.

[sunblock]

Do you use the power or the liquid wisk or does it matter?

[devilman]

anyone do the wisk thing yet? how about some dirty pics and some wisked pics.

[Mrs.Mosh]

I have a secret washing trick that I'm going to share with you all. It's very simple and you don't even have to touch a cloth to your machine. Believe it or not I wash all my atc and atvs this way.
I start out with my power washer but a garden hose will do also. I spray off all of the caked on mud. If you went to trikefest this may take a while:lol: after I've gotten all of the heavy mud off I use a spray bottle filled with a solution of water and the most important ingrediant Wisk. Yes Wisk laundry detergent. It is the only one that will work, and no i don't work for them. Something in wisk makes this stuff clean mud like nobody's business.
I spray my whole machine heavily with this solution and let it soak for ten minutes in the shade so it doesn't dry up. Or I just keep reapplying it. then after it's soak time I hose it off. That's it, no rags, no drying, nothing. It will not leave dirt spots or haze or anything, and wait untill you see your tires. Your wheels and tires will look brand new. If you try this let me know what you think. Or if you think you've got something better let's hear about it.


I am going to have to try that! Thanks for the tip Ditchmud.

We usually start out with Super Clean, and a few sponges. After it's all clean, we like to use SC1. That stuff smells good, and makes the plastic look brand new again! Even if your tank is a little white, it brings the color right back (of course you have to re-apply after the next washing, but it looks great!).
Also use some WD40 on the motor, etc.

[NOS_350X]

I am going to have to try that! Thanks for the tip Ditchmud.

We usually start out with Super Clean, and a few sponges. After it's all clean, we like to use SC1. That stuff smells good, and makes the plastic look brand new again! Even if your tank is a little white, it brings the color right back (of course you have to re-apply after the next washing, but it looks great!).
Also use some WD40 on the motor, etc.


That SC1 is NICE does the best on black and rubber (use it on the tires for pics)
I got it for free through a sponsorship through Maxima. My biggest complaint about it is how it collects dust. I acutaly prefer WD40 and wipe it down with a towl now that i dont get it free anymore.

[userj8670]

You mentioned that you use WD40 to wipe down the motor....doesnt that attract more dust to it? I would think it would, just curious.


Jim:)

[DeePa]

i tried the wisk thing, it worked ok, but i didnt let it sit for the whole 10 mins...too hot out and too much to reapply

its a good start

[Dammit!]

6 Drop it down, pull rag, or whatever intake blocking device you used for the intake and start the engine, Should run a bit lean and dry off the motor/exhaust
7 While you let it idle warming up wipe down finders frame axle that stuff. with a towel.


Better way to dry them off: leaf blower. Seriously. I never tried it until GDkarma mentioned it but it works awesome.

My method, wash trike with hose and dish soap. Dry with leaf blower. Spray everything plastic with armor all and everything metal with WD40 then wipe down the plastic and any metal parts that are shiny. Occasionally buff out any polished aluminum parts. I also armor all the tires but honestly I hate the armor all look on tires. I only do it to prevent dry rot.

[NOS_350X]

I dont use WD on the motor, Plastcs and metal parts. During races (on the banshee) I spray the front a-arms with WD and dirt/mud dosnet stick to it. On the 3 wheeler the front down tubes on the frame i spray.

Ya know, ive herd somone mention it before too (leaf blower), I have never done it, If anything other than starting the motor i blow it off with air from the air compressor.

[Mrs.Mosh]

You mentioned that you use WD40 to wipe down the motor....doesnt that attract more dust to it? I would think it would, just curious.


Jim:)
Actually,the WD-40 Stops things from rusting up,And it repels water on the electrics.So we use it for that purpose.It makes a difference when riding trails and you hit water.Some bikes cut out when they get wet in the creek, until the coil wire dries off.We have never had a machine cut out or run bad when we hit water becuase of the Wd-40.

Yes it collects dust,when riding,but it is a good trade off to keep the water away.
Besides they are only clean on the trail for the first few minutes anyway.:lol:

[ditchmud]

Has anybody tried the wisk yet, what did you think?

[atctim]

Hey Ditch - I have not tried the Wisk yet (never had any) - but after reading your post - I did try just plain Laundry detergent - the same way you described - and it works really really good. The laundry detergent has enzymes in it to lift the dirt. I think it is the best way to wash an ATV or bike since sliced bread. Finally - the wife did bring home some Wisk last night - so I am gonna try it on my 350X tonight. I showed Kintore and Seadoo over the weekend - they seemed to like it. I am a firm believer - this is the best washing tip out there I have ever heard of! thanks for sharing!

[SWIGIN]

Has anybody tried the wisk yet, what did you think?


you never answered as to what kind of wisk.

but i just bought a small bottle of wisk multi action original clean 3x concentrate .....hope it works

[atctim]

you never answered as to what kind of wisk.

but i just bought a small bottle of wisk multi action original clean 3x concentrate .....hope it works

LOL - wife could not find plain old wisk - As soon as I get home - I am gonna try out the Multi Action stuff too!

[longbedGTs]

I dont use a pressure washer since a regular water hose works just fine, but I do use Purple Power every now and then. I say every now and then because it has a habit of taking off paint if not rinsed off quick enough. I occasionally use Armor-All on the plastics and tank.

[devilman]

bucket, sponge, water, tooth brush and turtle wax ice car wash. then if i feel like it i will use the turtle wax ice liquid wax on the plastics and cables. i bought the wisk to give it a shot, just been to hot to do it.

[ditchmud]

you never answered as to what kind of wisk.

but i just bought a small bottle of wisk multi action original clean 3x concentrate .....hope it works

That's the stuff that I use. It's probablly a fancy name for the same old stuff.

[atctim]

the verdict is in for me - the wisk work marginally better than regular old laundry detergent.

[SCEADU]

I spray the whole machine down with simple Green set to foam, Then hose it off and do some hand washing with the car wash that has the beads in it (cant think of the name). If I really want it to shine I hit it with Future floor polish. The Future makes it easier to clean the next time I ride.

[sunblock]

My local store did not have wisk, so I tried some tide I had at home in a bucket with a soft washing brush. It worked well and my tires look great, but it also streaked and stained my douglas rims. it seemed to pull metal off the lugs that ran down the rim. havent tried to buff it out yet.

[Itrike]

I just got an atc 70 this weekend and tried out the Wisk on it. It works but not any different than simple green. Smells good now LOL. I think it may have cleaned the tires a little better.

[keister]

When I got back from a real mudfest on July 4th, I powerwashed the big chunks off and they have had the dry muddy haze ever since.
I did 50/50 Wisk and water 2X and now they shine like I used a bucket and sponge. Not perfect, but close.
The hardest part for me was always getting my sponge / rag between the racks and plastics. I may never do that again.

[keister]

My wife came out to the driveway while I was doing her quad. I said, "doesn't this look great? you'll never believe, I only used Wisk and water."
She looked less than impressed. She said, "I know, I told you I met a guy at TF who told me to clean it like that. I told you about this before, but you never listen to me........"

[keister]

I was Wisking the BR last night while the neighborhood kids had a kickball game in the cul de sac. The kickball came bouncing down my driveway, past the 4Runner, past the Tacoma, and toward me hosing off the BR.
The ball hit the rear rack and the 12-year-old girl fielding it started yelling, "it hit the trike, it hit the trike!!"
I asked her, "is that an out or a home run?" She said, "hitting the trike is automatic 3 outs!"

I get great respect from my neighborhood kids. Hitting parked cars, mailboxes, etc results in no penalty; the ball is still in play.
Also, after being corrected a number of times, all the kids now refer to them as trikes or 3-wheelers. The adults still call my BR and 350X "quads," though.

[ditchmud]

She looked less than impressed. She said, "I know, I told you I met a guy at TF who told me to clean it like that. I told you about this before, but you never listen to me........"

yep, I told her .....I don't listen to my wife either!:lol:

[SWIGIN]

ok here is what i got.....i only used the garden hose and i only maybe let it sit wet for 5 min tops.

no rubing at all....my batterys died in my camera but i will get some after shots and i let 1 wheel dirty to show what it does with no rubbing but in the first shot you can see it was dusty with some mud on it

the second shot just shows how dusty and dull the frame is from the last ride

unless you rub each frame tube with a rag you all know how the dirt film is on a frame....soon ill have the after pics

[SWIGIN]

ok heres the pics....it is bright outside so the pics dont realy show how clean it realy got.

first pic is the clean frame....i did nothing other then spray on the mix and hose it off with a hose.

next 2 pics are my bead locks...the first pic is the clean wheel and the second i didnt spray yet but i guess enough got on it when doing the fenders and everything eles that its pretty darn clean too....lol

oh yeah.....for you beadlock guys, i never had beadlocks come clean so easily as today with wisk

4th and 5th pic just shows how it works on plastic and my polished aluminum shock bottles (wich i havnt polished since i instaled them a year ago)

last pic shows my chrome swingarm witch always showed a dirty film after washing .....till today

also there is no water spots on any of my aluminum or chrome and i didnt dry it at all.....just air dry. the only thing i will do different next time is i will dilute it more then 25%. the stuff i got is 3x consintrated and i did get a fine soapy residue but no dirt...lol

thanks for the tip i will be useing this one!

[sgp56]

put vinegar with water. works miracles

[fabiodriven]

OK, I didn't have any wisk, so I used tide. seemed to work just fine. Take a good look boys, She doesn't look like this too often!

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r275/fabiodriven/Tecate%20250/P7290030.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r275/fabiodriven/Tecate%20250/P7290031.jpg

[freaksfix]

My wife came out to the driveway while I was doing her quad. I said, "doesn't this look great? you'll never believe, I only used Wisk and water."
She looked less than impressed. She said, "I know, I told you I met a guy at TF who told me to clean it like that. I told you about this before, but you never listen to me........"



thats freakin funny!!!!

[ditchmud]

put vinegar with water. works miracles
Ah yes the massengil wash, I'll pass. I don't want my machines to smell like a douche :lol: :lol:

[ditchmud]

Another good trick to make your plastic look good is to spray it and wipe it down with pledge furniture polish/wax after it's been washed. I used to use that on my street bikes fairings and other plastic parts but i use it on my trikes and stuff too.

[Merge_88]

I tried the Wisk trick on my trikes that had sat for four days after a mud ride this last weekend. I sprayed the thick stuff off with my pressure washer and then let the solution soak for 15 minutes. I then resprayed the trikes and was really amazed how well it worked. I usually have to scrub my white 200X fenders, but the Wisk did all the work for me. Thanks for this great tip!

[homebrew13]

i have a trick for qetting gummie residue off your plastics and making them shine in the process. Home Depot carries it and its actually an air freshener. its called pure citrus by north american. its 100% orange oil. the employee's at HD use it to remove all kinds of adheasive's. i'm sure it would cut grease well too.

[3Razors]

+1 recommendation for the Wisk tip. Next to oven cleaner its the best stuff I've found to break up oil/grime on a motor and it doesn't take off paint like oven cleaner. The price is very reasonable too!

[Jonpin]

Hope this dont sound stupid but is there a certain flavor "scent" to use maby a chemicle in it that makes it work better just curious been wanting to try this but always forget to get wisk when im at the store.

[UlsterATCFan]

My secret is very simple - keep your trikes clean at all times :acr