Won't start after washing bike

Do I just let it dry out.

I would.

What choice do you have?

Is there a specific place on the engine I can blow dry it to help it out.
Or is this the worst thing you can do to a bike and it will never run again?

I imagine it'll dry in time, but maybe check around the spark plugs for
excess water. Park it in a warm, dry place if possible.

I washed it with a pot scrubber and soapy water. This I had to do to the

What kind of bike? What parts of the bike did you wash like this? I hose my
bike off, wash with a soapy mitt, rinse with hose, dry with towel. But I
don't force a ton of water all over the top of the engine, and I go easy
with the water around the electronics and instrumentation.

back wheel because after spraying the chain I almost got dumped twice going
slow as can be in the rain when putting on the brakes. Why don't they
warn you about that. I should have stuck with phil's tenacious oil but I
ran out.

After spraying the chain with what? If slippery stuff got onto your tire, of
course it's going to reduce traction. What kind of warning would you expect?

That is a big thing I don't like about spray on chain lubes - how the hell
do you keep it on just the chain. I depress the nozzle just enough to
get a small spray, but I still have to use a piece of carboard to catch
the spray (I generally use gear oil, but I got 4 cans of chain lube for
free, so I use that every once in a while).

- Kurt

Regardless, whatever you're putting on your chain shouldn't be on there
sloppy enough to get onto your tire in enough quantity to cause any
problems.

Time will tell. My mc shop is closed sun/mon.
Another thing. Now that I tried starting it till the battery was out and it
did thankfully come back will that damage the battery?

Probably ought to put it on an appropriate battery charger. They're cheap,
and readily available retail and online.

!. Use much less chain lube.

2. You'll probably be able to charge the battery back up, however,
a low battery will spin the engine a long time after it doesn't have
enough power to actually start the bike.

3. If a car or bike won't start when it's wet, the first place you
look is the plug wires.

When I used bike oil I only place drops.
With the MC spray it said hold it back 10 inches. Thus the tire spatter.
I do not think the chain spray is a good idea. Waste of $4 and possibly
someones life.

As a general rule, don't allow garage chemicals (solvents, lubes, etc) on
your tires.

I bend a piece of cardboard into an L shape and stuff it between the chain
and the rear wheel, Then start the bike in neutral... the rear wheel
should turn slowly. Spray the lube onto the chain in front of the
cardboard. The back piece catches the spray and the bottom piece gets the
drips. Works good. If chain spray weren't a good idea, then most everybody
wouldn't use it. But they do. Because it _IS_ a good idea if you want your
chain to last.

I do the cardboard trick on the occasion that I decide to use up some
of the spray lube that I have sitting around (although I don't start up
the bike, I just spin the tire).

I don't go anywhere near the chain with my hands if the bike's running. If
power was somehow transferred to the drive sprocket, even at idle, that's a
good way to lose finger parts. And it's unnecessary for the task of cleaning
and lubing the chain.

But, gear oil seems to work just fine. Putting one drop per link may take
longer than the spray stuff, but the benefit is the chain never needs to
be cleaned because the gear oil doesn't attract *everything* to it. The
chain gets a basic cleaning each time it is oiled, and then wiped down with
a rag. The oil protects, and the grease in the O-rings lubricates. Plus,
I've been using the same bottle of gear oil for the last 30K miles and there
is still plenty left. With one drop per link, there is no flyoff on the
wheel.

That sounds almost exactly how I do it, except that I'm not so meticulous as
to put one drop of gear oil on each link. My $5 quart jug of gear oil has a
skinny nozzle, and I just let the oil drain out in a tiny stream onto the
chain, as I spin the rear wheel by hand. One or two chain revolutions, and
it's good to go. Quick and easy.

- Kurt

The bike took 24 hours to dry and running it at least 20 minutes before it
would not konk out in idle. I had to push start a few times. That is a
great skill to have.
I tried to find the book by Hugo Wilson and it is just available used.
Guess I will find something eventually cause I need to save money.

It's available for $8.50 from Amazon. I suggest also getting "Proficient
Motorcycling" by David L. Hough as well. That's an excellent book all about
how to be a smart, competent rider.

Did he put you on his ad staff in Oregon a few years back?

Nah, we just talked about motorcycling and travel and stuff. He's a good
guy, and has some very cool stories. Plus I like his books. I read them kind
of later in my riding career, and still learned some new things. If I had
read them earlier, I probably would have been better prepared for some of
the iffy situations I managed to get into.

I have the one you suggested sitting on my coffee table. A guy at
work I got into riding had it, but his wife put the kabash to his
riding so I inherited the book. Some rainy day I'll get around to it.

So you're a "Proficient Motorcycling" poser! On the coffee table, but
haven't read it!

Oh, the shame of it all.

Whachoo talkin bout Jamin? I'm a croozer guy...a GENUINE poser!

Oh, right... croozer guy. Now it makes total sense!

A dealer said you top up oil any time it loses 25%. Compared to a car that

If your bike uses 25% of the oil, there's something seriously wrong
with it.

You should check (and top up if necessary) the oil before every ride. If
it's a commuter bike that you ride every day, check it every few hundred
miles. It takes 2 seconds and is a good habit to get into. 25% sounds like
a lot, I wouldn't want to let it get that low. Maintaining proper oil level
and changing it religiously at regular maintenance intervals are extremely
important for ensuring your engines long life.

DAve S.

is 1-2 quarts so it makes sense. MC use more I guess because it goes
everywhere inside the machine. I think I will change the oil filter every
3000km though cause that would get expensive.

Cheers for now.
No such thing as too many tools

thanks y'all

sounds like you should be riding a bicycle from your various posted
questions
go to a good motorcycle safety school and learn

Safety school isn't going to teach anything about bike maintenance.

Put it in the bathroom.
I get my best reading done there!

A book like this would be better for general maintenance info:

"Motorcycle Owner's Manual" -Hugo Wilson

The original poster has a lot to learn, that seems clear. But at some point,
each of us did as well.

I still say "don't wash bike"
I've seen people out with pressure washers cleaning their bikes. No No No.
I get the grime and stuff off with WD-40.
I use a sponge and soapy water to clean, and then a gentle stream of water
to get the soap off.
I'd barely call it a wash, much more of a cleaning that I do a couple times
a year.

What you describe (WD-40, soap & water) I think could still be called
"washing". Call it "cleaning" if you want, but it's the same thing I do, and
I call it "washing".

Pressure washer? That's pretty dumb. Anyone I know? Some of your lunch ride
buddies, perhaps?

You want to know a great way to get bug guts off your bike, helmet and

OK, semantics I guess. However, none of my bikes have failed to start after
a washing.

Mine neither. TomAYto tomAHto... in any case, we're agreed that pressure
washing is bad news. Plus, motorcycles just don't need to be that clean! :)

leathers that takes minimal effort? Go for a rainy ride. Works like a charm.

Nope, some punks in the neighborhood.

Figures. Kids these days, eh?

Well, by the time Triple-G is 5 years old, he'll be cruising around teaching
those punks how to bleed brakes and adjust suspension.

I haven't ridden since the Seattle 100. The Speed Triple is on the trickle
charger.
Fatherhood has its privileges.

"Privileges"? I think your semantics are confusing me again. :)

Speaking of the G-Man... I should come visit and see the little feller. I
don't think I have yet.

I hate washing the bike too. I just use a lawn sprayer full of dish soap,
set it for about 8oz/gal and suds the bike. I give it time to soak, hit the
tough stuff with a rag, then rinse. I dry it with a leaf blower, then take
it for a ride and WD-40 the chain to keep the rust off. I don't get any

We're headed to Houston for his 2nd BD.
Here is a vid of him from San Diego a couple weeks ago.
After we get back we should introduce you two.

Yes we should. I'm around. Email me when you're back and we'll work
something out.

grime 'cuz I don't use chain lube.

WD-40 is a BAD choice . It's full of solvents and will fly off quickly. It
is a penetrant, not a lubricant. It has a thin viscosity, which means that
it will penetrate behind the O-Rings of your chain and dissolve the
petroleum out of the grease inside the links, leaving only the clay binders.
You shouldn't be using it even to clean the chain, much less lube it.

WD-40 is an anti-corrosive. It does not "get inside" your chain. It
might keep it from rusting.

Yes it will keep it from rusting. So will butter. they lubricate about the
same, and stay on the chain about as long.

There's tons of debate on WD-40, a lot of folks swear by it, and a lot of
folks do not. I like spray chain lube, it's thicker and it lasts longer. A
can lasts a long time, and I don't think $10 for a big can is unreasonable.
WD-40 requires more frequent application.

Running a dry chain is about as good for it as running dry wheel bearings,
or, for that matter, running your engine without oil. Sure it's clean, but
metal on metal doesn't last very long. Your chain will wear exponentially
faster with no lube on it. As will your sprockets.

Use something like PJ-1 which is designed to stay on the chain, lubricate
properly, and repel dirt.

Or buy more chains. Your call.

Really? Well then I guess I shouldn't tell you I usually clean the chain
with kerosene and let it air dry.

Xlax removes his chain and lets it sit in 90wt gear oil.
To each his own.