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I have never been particularly good at keeping my bikes clean. The same can be said for cars I own. I take my car every few months to be washed and cleaned inside and out. That is actually more for the inside then the outside. I don't care how it looks on the outside except for the windows and mirrors.
I doubt if I actually wash my bike more than once a year. Every time I bring it into the dealer, I make sure to get it washed. If it gets real dirty, I'll wash it, like after riding in the rain. But California rains are predictable so the bike hardly ever gets that kind of dirty.
I want the bike to be in perfect running order. But I don't mind riding a bike that is less then newly cleaned.
I clean mine after every time out on it,it helps if you don't let the bugs get to piled up on it,usually about 30 minutes and it's good to go for the next time,if I haven't had time to ride in a while or the weather hasn't been good then I will dust it off mid week.
When I had a black bike I washed it way more often. It looked like crap a day after detailing it. Half the reason I bought what I own is for the ease of maintenance. I haven't washed it since last summer. It still looks good. Sure, I'll wipe some stuff down here and there, but it's not some sparkly thing that gets pampered. On long trips I'll usually go to a self service wash and get the bugs off. When we get home I'll take the bike apart and give it a thorough cleaning and inspection.
Once, on a ferry crossing, I was amused to see three guys on their bikes whip out the rags and spray bottles to detail their bikes when staged in queue. I guess there's nothing wrong with pride of ownership, but they seemed so serious about it.
Just finished, warm wet microfiber to remove yesterday's bugs and a quick lemon pledge wipe down. 10 mins at the most now I'm just sitting in the EZ boy in the Harley den staring at it while waiting for riding buddies to show up
It has rained 17 out of 21 days this month, and I have ridden in almost every one of them. After a 10 hour day and a 90 minute one way commute, cleaning the bike is not generally the top priority when I get home. I did stop by the Jiffy Wash on my way home Thursday and spray bomb mine, but rode to work in the rain again this morning, so it is filthy again.
I like to use my mcguires quick detailer spray after a long ride, lots of bugs here in mobile. The practice of wiping down your ride after a ride helps you find any developing issues, oil leaks, loose bolts, chafing wires. I am not a big fan of washing bikes, but will do it when road grime gets out of hand. My biggest peeve is rusting hardware. The humidity down is rough on machinery.
In a tropical country like mine it rains unpredictably and I'm a freak when comes to keeping my rides clean so it's washed and often detailed very regularly.
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