Modern Vespa

I was thinking about this the other day, I've had my GTS for 9 months now and I'm ashamed to say... I've never washed it! Granted it's silver and that hides the dirt but that's no excuse! It's looking a bit rough at the moment and about time I broke out the suds and got busy!

I used to think my 63' GS160 ran better after I polished it, it was it's way of saying thanks.

-Kav

I never wash it with soap and water. At least once a week i clean it with a honda combo that cleans and protects it. I use it on everything except for the seat and tires. Salt spray is a real PIA here being 2 blocks from the beach.

Every morning as the scooter is warming up I wipe it down with a micro-fiber towel & Meguiar's® Quik Detailer®, I also use a small california car duster. http://www.calcarduster.com/dashduster.asp Call me anal but I like my baby to shine!

Larry

I used to wash it once a month when I had access to a hose at my old apartment but our new condo doesn't have a hose anywhere. I take it to the do it yourself car wash and use the motorcycle spray cleaner I bought at our local shop and LIGHTLY rinse the scooter with the hose. It has been a while since I've washed it because of the rain we've been having. So I guess technically I rinse it multiple times a week when I ride in the rain.

Since I park it right in front of the pier, I have to wash it and wax it every weekend without fail due to the salt.

VESPARICAN 8)

Yep, clean towel and Quick Mist Detailer. I've never washed my scooters with soap and water. I know, I'm obsessive....

I voted never, but I'm not ashamed of that.

I'm not obsessive about washing the scooter, however, when it is bug season I always spray the bug splattered areas with Honda spray cleaner and polish after the ride.

I wash it with soap and water then chamois it.

But need to give it a good waxing due to the cut and polish job I had. I vow to buy proper cleaning products at that point.

(And we're on serious water restrictions here at the moment. Only allowed to wash with a bucket at the moment. If we go up another stage car washing gets banned completely. I assume they include bikes in that.)

I don't wash my scooters with water, but..... I use Meguires quick detail everytime I ride it (sometimes before and after but usually always after).
Pat

Between family, job, etc. who's got time to wash? I'd rather just have more! They're not museum pieces after all!

I swear its impossible to see dirt on the Exaclibur Silver, sometimes Ill wash it just because time has passed but it rarely looks dirty unless I drive in rainy weather.

I have only used soap and water a couple times since I bout the scoot in 04. I use the Maguires Quick detailing mist spray when it needs it and then a good coat of micro polymer wax. It looks great, no problems with scratching or rust. The only major scratches on the scoot are from the cover rubbing on it when the wind picked up late one night. I will paint the exhaust soon as it is showing some minor paint bubbling. Just changed the oil and will take it for a spin before dinner tonight.


Ride Safe, Brian.

Once a week using one of those sheepskin like mitts with Turtle Wax car wash. I also wax some part of it at least once a week. I'm anal too, and being retired, I have more time for it.

Ed

I washed it last fall at the car wash to get off the mud. I do the show-n-shine thing before a big group ride or rally. Other than that, I knock the bugs off the front and ride. It is pretty filthy right now.

more often than I wash behind my ears.
And with more of a gentle touch to boot.

I have said this before, I have never washed my scooter.

I do think about it, and then I just get on it and ride? I dunno I used to wash my truck every week (it is a Black Chevy). It got so dirty, just sitting in my driveway! My GT just does not look bad to me? I just have not washed it, Beale.

I voted every weekend, but that's not entirely true. Generally speaking, it's about once a week, though sometimes it only gets a wipe down and not a full wash. Now if only my cars would get the same attention....

jacqui

And after Vegas it really needs it.

I bet I use as much cleaning and wax fluid as I do gas. Yeesh

The Roadbum

I've never washed my LX 150...

but my husband washes it for me after almost every ride ! He has also waxed it a couple of times.

Just curious: why do a lot of you folks NOT use soap and water? I think he uses the fancy "BMW Shampoo" we have for our car.

(I'm not a total bum: I handle the chamois every now and then.)

yeee. why do u folks don't use water and soap?
I ride my lx50 4stroke every day ( 16km in total work-home ride).
I ride in every weather conditions, sun, rain, hail, thunderstorms... yea:)
I ride it all the time. In the summer i never wash it because my lx50 it's white, and it's difficult to see the dirt.. but in the winter, with rain and showers almost every day, when the rain drops dry on the surface mixed with dust... my white vespa looks .
In this seasons i wash my lx about once a month... with water and soap...
If you guys dont like water on your vespas... or if you tell me that is a bad thing, how should i feel ridding it every day with every kind of rain...
she's wet from mirrors to wheels.. (shoud i have some kind of special treatment to her?)... because i dont dry it every day.. it's impossible to do that... so she spends the night drying alone at my garage..
My lx have 3000km (with 10 months) and i've noticed some points with a rusty coloration: on the top case suport, and on the mirror arms.. should i be worried? should i use some kind of product... on her?

I use dishwashing detergent (hand variety not machine) and water about 1-2x per bike per year(incl the '74 that won an AmeriVespa award-nothing fancy here). Always looks fine.

I think there are some washing up things that can cut through protective waxes and whatnot.

and with water restrictions heading the way they are, washing is about to stop being an option for me. As is gardening, but nevermind.

Today! a beautiful day for washing my lx150 in San Francisco

Car wash products like "BMW Wash" don't leave soap film like some soaps can. We have hard water here in Los Angeles, and to avoid calcium spotting, I try to do a good job drying.

I sometimes use a Black & Decker product that filters all the minerals out of the rinse water. That way, I just wash, rinse, then walk away without worrying about spotting. The problem is that the filters don't last long, and seem a bit expensive.

Ed

I learned a trick from some sales guys at a motorcycle show - use Pledge to do a quick detail on your bike. It is cheap and does a good job, plus it leaves your scoot smelling 'lemony fresh'.

If you feel like you want a moto-specific product, Plexus is very good too.

I was a car detailer in high school and the habit sticks with me. My baby is cleaned and polished often. I am not type A about everything in my life but this sweet little GTS gets my attention.

I have to admit, even though I've had great intentions and meant to wash my scooter for the first time in x? months, I didn't do it until today.

My scooter thanks you for this thread. She's soooo shiny and sparkly now. We'll find out tomorrow if it's made her faster as well - she's definately more slippery to the touch.

I love my scooter.

Just remember that dishwashing detergent removes wax. Dawn is what most shops use to strip a car of it's wax to clean and prep it for the new finish.

I had her out for a nice 55 mile ride today, it was beautiful. I was so happy (as was she) I had to give Milena at least a Pledge job (too cold for a hose and such). 'took a quick picture with my daughter's camera. First time with my painted horn cover and new Cupinni rear cowel protectors.

Better pictures to come with my new camera and some beautiful spring upper midwest settings.

all the time. im always on the road. wagons and tractors are all over the country lanes round here. and they just love to spray the front of my scoot with manure.

I voted "it never gets dirty" because Gulliver has never been ridden in the rain or on non-paved rodes, so I just wipe it down after each ride with a damp cloth.

My golden retriever's called Gulliver!

I bought all the right kind of stuff to clean & polish but have only used it twice in the last year. It was kind of embarrasing when I spotted cobwebs on the scoot this morning. Was in a hurry so had to rely on the wind to blow them away.

Hey Lomunchi the Horn cover looks great! The "soccer" ball fits you very well, and the colors are perfect. The rear guards are a added bonus. Very good mods, Beale.

i wash mine whenever it needs it. it may be once a month or more, depending on how much it gets out, the road grime build-up and how many bugs we hit! i use the meguiars products as well to keep it lookin' its best! maybe i should've checked whenever it needs it? hmmmm . . .

I don't like riding a dirty scooter, so I will wash it typically once a week but that really depends on what the weather is like because I can easily go two weeks with the Dragon Red looking clean before needing to wash it if the weather is good.

mine has a hard life compared to yours.

Can't wash mine often, as we're under water restrictions here because of the drought. No hoses allowed.

That said, I ignored them this weekend. I don't think any of my neighbours are the kind to dob me in. (It's seriously encouraged. Big fines ahoy!).

The water restrictions are just a silly public face for the government, since something like 95% of the water usage is by industry, not by the general public - banning me from hosing my scooter isn't going to make one iota of a difference. (And it's not the most absurd restricion - the lawn watering ones are rediculous, and actually cause one to use more water AND have a poorer lawn... )

But anyways, I try not to push my luck too much. So once a month for me at most.

I only wash mine when it actually looks dirty. I do have to dust it off a lot, though, because my husband does a lot of wood working in the garage, and the scoots get covered in sawdust!