The New And Improved Unofficial R65 Forum V2
Technical Discussion => BMW Technical Q&A, Primarily R65 => Topic started by: R65_Mark on October 17, 2010, 08:01:47 PM
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My R65 gets maintained and serviced religiously so that it can fulfill its job as my reliable daily rider, but other than an occasional scrub down with a power washer, that’s about all the attention it gets. Something in the air this weekend led me to clean the cow tongue instrument cowl (I had it off to replace a failed instrument light). Then I got even more inspired, pulled out a can of “tire black/scrub” and gave the cowl a good coating. The scrub did its bit for ten minutes or so and Voila! – The cowl looks brand new. Now I’m trying to figure out how I can use the same technique on the inside of the RT’s fairing.
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Don't get that power washer anywhere near your wheel hubs. You can easily contaminate your bearings.
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Rob,
Thanks for the tip.
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Mark,
Please heed Rob's advice, it (pressure washing) can lead to huge problems. In fact I would go so far as to advise you to replace all the drivetrain fluids after a +20 mile warm-up ride; Transmission, Swingarm, and Final Drive soon. Don't want to sound like Chicken Little but I've had to rebuild a transmission due to water contamination and it's very costly. Not to mention the possibility of water entering your wheel bearings. And, check the condition of that speedo cable boot regularly. Water, "if' entered to these areas can lead to a slow death of these components.
On the restoring of the plastic; I use a technique I may get laughed at but it works quite well for me. I use silicone grease rubbed into the plastic, then buff with clean cloth. It does little for UV protection but will bring back a nice luster and revitalize discolored and dried-out plastic.
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...I use silicone grease ...
AKA Plumbers Grease and available at most any Big Box home improvement store.
Monte