Thermal Shock While Washing Motorcycle

 

I'm about to run it down to the coin car wash, wait for it to cool for 20
minutes, then wash it while being gentle on the spray (don't want to get
water where water don't belong).

Question:  can I just spray it directly after parking without a cooldown?
How much of a concern is thermal shock?

Thanks, Datesfat.

 

wrote:


What happened when you rode in the rainstorm? Did the hot parts of
your engine disintegrate when they were hit by the cold rainwater?

 


If it were air cooled, I might worry.  Maybe.

Shouldn't be a problem on yours.

With cars, it's a bad idea to introduce cold water into the cooling system
without the engine running, and even then, if it's dry, it's best to go
slow.  I'm sure it's the same with water cooled bikes, although not quite as
dangrous.

Externally, unless your driving into a lake or something, it's not a big
deal.  The really hot parts of the engine are buried in metal and surrounded
by coolant.

So, whip out the hose (uh, garden hose) and spray away!

Not sure what you have back in Michigan, but in California, all the coin
washes I've seen use pressurized water.  THAT is bad for the bike.  These
can force water into electrical doodads, bearings, and other places water
doesn't belong.  If you get water under the spark plug caps, you'll be
stranded until they dry out.

A garden hose, some Costco microfiber rags, a car wash sponge, a bucket, and
some detergent is all you need, and all you really should use on your bike.

On another note, I just had my bike detailed.  Cost $125.  Even though it
looks great, I hated paying the money.  The only reason I did was because
there was overspray from a paint job on my pool, and that crap managed to
float all the way over to my bike.  They did a damn good job getting it all
off, so it wasn't a waste.  They also waxed the tank, which wasn't done
after it was painted last year.

CS

 



Because it blows back and burns, not because the engine blows up.


Even if they're air cooled?


--
Beav

VN 750
Zed 1000
OMF# 19

 

On Thu, 27 Aug 2009 20:55:25 +0100, "Beav"


Not blow up, but I was taught you could crack a head under the right
conditions.  There were a couple occasions when the lesson seemed to
hold true.  I only remember one clearly because they had borrowed the
car, a Landrover.  A guy drove up and ask me why the engine sounded
different and the exhaust was kind of white.  I gave the exhaust a
sniff and smelled the sweet smell of anti-freeze.  Then I asked them
if they'd had to fill it with water.  Yes they said, it had
overheated, so they shut it off and filled it with water.  I explained
what I was taught.  When refilling an overheated engine low on
coolant, have the engine running.

I wash my bike at home, spring and fall unless I don't get around to
it in the fall.  I don't wash it when it's hot out of fear that
something bad would happen, but I don't know that it would.  As has
been mentioned, nothing bad happens when a person rides through a
large puddle/small pond, so washing hot probably doesn't hurt
anything.

Robert



I've always washed my bike at home, and always before riding it.