Man oh man....

[planedick]

clean, polish, clean polish... It just goes on and on. The '79 I had before wasn't a show bike. I just hit the coin operated pressure wash place once a week and ride, ride, ride. Now I open the garage door and in the light I see all the dust and dirt on Pathfinder and I just have to clean and polish before I ride. I never knew there was so much road grime out there. Even after the rain, what little there was, when I figured things would be a little cleaner, it's still clean, polish, clean polish..... I guess being such good "eye candy" has it's price to pay.

[mason79]

yeah it's just a garage queen...

[planedick]

Oh yeah...

Gets lots more riding than yours Mason..... So there!!!! LOL

[DiverRay]

Well, you can do like I do, ride the heck out of it and wash it at least twice a month!

[79XS11F]

These bikes are pretty rare in these parts so the bike gets lots of attention when I use her. People expect to see the bike in pristine condition because she's a vintage machine. I no longer use her in the rain because the cleaning and polishing that a wet ride leads to is too time consuming. This is one of the reasons I decided to have 2 bikes. One as many know will become a vintage "show" bike that is used only on days when the weather is PERFECT. The other will be "my bike" that is used day in and day out and allowed to get wet and or dirty :-) It will be the one that is hopped up and modified.
Rob

[jimboreeno]

Man, it is a trade off! I really WANT mine to look like a show bike...but she is my commute as well. Plus I still don't feel I have the expertise to do what would really need to be done to get her in top condition...pull her apart and go piece by piece. Being that I am also a raving cheapskate I am having a debate with myself about the exhaust system... recoat or replace. No amount of elbow grease is gonna bring that chrome back at this point!

[TADracer]

Show bike...Schmo bike

The best show bike I ever saw was here in New Orleans several years ago at the World of Wheels. Yeah, it was a naked Harley but the thing was just kept clean and all original and you can tell she was riden regularly. No big fancy rotating display or blinking lights and mirrors to show her off. She just stood on the concrete floor of the Superdome on her side stand. It looked REAL and that is what made it stand out among all the polish and chrome trailer queens.

Ride Pathfinder!

[fredintoon]

An old joke - - -

- - - the punch line? "Dont go! It's a trick! There's two of the bastards!"
And Planedick, that's your answer.
You need two of the bastards. One you keep all the mechanicals perfect, just ride the hell out of it and never mind it's looks because who's gonna see it? Those to the side just see a blur, those behind just see dust & small stones. T'other one you tart up like a whore's handbag and push out onto the driveway to amaze the passers by.
Fred Hill, S'toon.

[planedick]

Two...

I keep kicking myself in the backside for selling the '79, which wasn't pretty, but it was mechanically perfect and ran great. I should'a kept it for the daily ride... Oh well, clean polish, ride, clean, polish, ride.

[sixtysix]

I cleaned my bike once last year (OK maybe twice). Right now I can go in the garage and look at the layers of bugs and remember all the great rides!!

On our rallys here in the east we have the 'shiney bike club' and everone else. I like to ride waaay more than clean. But the clean bikes do get all the attention. It really makes you appreciate all that work they did while I was drinking a few cold ones.

One year at Americade I actually watched some Goldwingers bring thier bikes to the hotel, clean them from the ride (like an hour) and cover them. It rained a little bit and they came out, took the covers off, and cleaned the bikes again, but the cover back on. You gotta be kidding me, if I ever do this, kill me

Bottom line? If cleaning your bike increases the pride in your ride, then it is time well spent. My bike rides the same clean or dirty!