Tips On How To Clean Your Dirt Bike The Right Way

After a muddy and fun-filled day on the dirt track, your motorcycle might be absolutely filthy. Washing your dirt bike can seem like a nightmare with the amount of mud covering it, but the process is actually very important to keep your bike lasting.

Many riders simply want to head straight to the car wash, break out the pressure washer hose and blast their bike until every clump of mud is off. However, doing this to your bike can wear down the foam inside your saddle, ruin your rubber seals and destroy your brake pads or disc. Simply put, the detergent in pressure washers can glaze over your disc or brake pads and ruin them.

Since there are so many ways you can actually do more harm than good to your dirt bike while washing it, here are some cleaning tips to ensure you won't ruin your ride:

1) Clean Off Thick Debris Or Mud First

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Before you get started on cleaning all the intricacies of your bike, take a bucket of hot water, a sponge or towel and a stiff brush, and remove the mud. You want to get the mud off before you do anything since trying to clean the other parts first would just be a waste of time with all the dirt coating your bike. Hot water is the absolute best way to safely remove mud from your ride without damaging any parts. Use the stiff brush for extra dirty parts. Also, make sure you check beneath your fenders, around the engine and both tires for excess mud.

2) Cover Your Exhaust

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Next, you want to cover your exhaust to prevent water from entering your system. If water collects in your exhaust, you could be dealing with bigger issues with not only rust but performance down the line. You typically don't need to cover the exhaust when you're using hot water to remove the mud, but if you feel the need to cover it first, do so.

To cover your exhaust, stuff a rag in your exhaust, use a rubber plug or apply duct tape around the opening. Remember to remove the rag or tape once you're finished cleaning.

3) Mildly Spray Your Bike

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Here's when you will want to use a power washer hose or even a home garden hose to help clean your bike. However, you want to make sure you are gentle when you spray your bike and that you're clearing the dirt and grime away from your bike and not just spraying it dead on. When you spray water directly at your bike, the dirt can actually move further into the crevices and lodge in your bike. Instead, spray the dirt away from your bike in a gentle fashion - otherwise, you'll be dealing with dirt in cracks and crevices for years. A good bike cleaner will also help clear away the grime.

4) Lubricate Your Chain

Chains are an essential part of your dirt bike and after all the water used to clean your bike, your chain could have lost some of its essential lubricants. You can purchase chain lubricant that is specially made for dirt bikes and simply apply it to a rag, and then wipe the rag along the chain. Make sure your chain is completely free of dirt before you do this and don't use too much lubricant as it will build up grime much faster.

5) Wax Your Bike

To make sure the next time you clean is even easier, make sure you wax your bike. You can purchase a wax spray that will help keep your bike's metal parts clean and protected. Following these steps will help make your bike last even longer.