916 all fresh and not a grain of dirt to be seen on her.
plan a ride on a nice weekend, head off towards wales and…
it hammers down with rain five mins after leaving the garage 
wasnt the only one, my brother and kev baker were in it too 
I know what you mean, spend more time cleaning the bloody things !!!
There’s a simple answer here…
Do as I do and only clean them once a year, or when you’ve got them apart to work on them*,brakes get cleaned when they need to be bled or the pads changed etc.
If I wanted something to sit and polish I’d buy my shelf some Horse Brass’s.
My bikes might not be spotless but then they’re used all year round and they’ve won a few best bike etc awards over the years.
*I last sat and actually cleaned my 851/916 just before last years TT, since then I’ve modified the swinging arm, rear cushdrive/sprocket, repainted the Mag’ alternator cover, swapped the entire frontend (apart from the carbon mudguard) and both wheels, so those parts are nice and clean…
Steve R
I just like them to look nice when I set off out, I know but each to their own !!! I wish I could do to mine what you do to yours Steve
Yes Martyn, “to each their own”. You and I are on the same wavelength. Clean out and clean when back, but I’m sure I’m not the only one, who’se cleaned their bike before a trip and found a fault on her. If you do the RoSPA 6 week advanced riders course, one of the things that you are taught, is “POWDER” before any journey. How many do it? or even know what “POWDER” stands for? { answers to this thread}
Dave Hughes
Liverpool
Petrol,Oil,Water,Damage,Electrics,Rubber (tyres)
Did my ROSPA for cars when i worked for Bentley a good few years ago.
Still had to look up what it meant though lol
My bikes don’t go short of frequent maintenance, safety inspections etc, it’s just I don’t suffer from the bike cleaning fetish.*
Because of this I don’t get pissed off if it rains when I’m out on them.
*I’ve already got enough bike related ones of those!
I change all of the fasteners, spokes etc for Stainless Steel,Titanium or anodised alloy ones, anodise all of the bare alloy parts, apart from the old Bevel motors (and carbs) which I spray with WD40, powder coat the frames, wheels etc to keep corrosion at bay.
I do understand the ROSPA thing.
A mate who tunes KTM’s always tells his customers to clean their bikes, because that way they might spot a fault before it becomes a big problem.
He also says that my Duclateries (his name for them not mine!) are some of the best prepared bikes he’s ever seen. 
But then every single nut, bolt, screw, circlip, shim, seal and part both inside and out (apart from the suspension internals which I trust to Maxton) was/is put there by me.
That way I know it’s been done properly…I build my own Ducati’s and funnily enough parts don’t fall off of them.
Steve R
Your bikes are some of the best I have seen Steve, wished you lived a bit closer !!!
Do I wash my bike before setting off today for seven valley rally? Weather forecast says no point. I’m going to get wet at some point over the weekend. But who cares I love riding what ever the weather.
I’ve always said bikes are for riding not cleaning.
dont get me wrong guys, i use my bikes every oportunity i get.
nowt wrong with wanting a clean bike now is there? 
i just like them clean, as i clean them i can see if anything is untoward. that way i can sort it before anything orrid happens 
My Multistrada is caked, so going by the above argument I’m in for a nice dry pleasant ride to work tonight. Hmmmm. Waterproofs again!
The answer is to have a garage full of Ducati’s then you always have a clean one to go out on.
Once they are all dirty it’s Winter again. Ho Hum back in the garage.
Thought this was turning into the Southern R appreciation society.
Haven’t seen you Mr R for a while.
Hope see you soon
Northern Mr R