SCRUBBING
Cleaning off the winter grime.
Spring is round the corner and I haven’t seen my old Honda since November when it was pushed into a damp container and abandoned. I feel a nagging sense of guilt about this mistreatment, although
I did remember to over-inflate the tyres, connect the solar powered trickle charger and spray it with anti-corrosion spray before parking it.
With immaculate timing Jon Slater from mobile bike cleaning specialists Mo-clean gets in touch, offering to give the bike a thorough spruce up. The team turn up in a Merc Sprinter stuffed with cleaning solutions, polishes and sprays. ‘Give us an hour and we’ll have it looking like it just left the showroom,’ says Jon as I wheel the ageing Honda out of its winter tomb. I glance at the rust spots on the axles, the filth on the exhaust downpipes and the general air of neglect. From where I’m looking it seems an unlikely boast. There follows a flurry of activity and a synchronised routine that bodes well for a spot on Strictly. One of the team starts by degreasing the chain and back wheel while the other is at the front of the bike administering to squashed bugs and encrusted brake calipers. Coloured products are applied from an assortment of squirting devices. What’s the secret of keeping a bike really clean? ‘There’s no secret,’ says Jon. ‘It’s just doing the right thing in the right order, using the right products and spending enough time and effort on it. But you have to degrease it properly otherwise the soap won’t work. The only hardware that we’ve got that an owner doesn’t have is a hot water jetwash which does help to shift greasy marks and road grime.’
The back of the van is decked out with shelves containing potions and polishing cloths, but there’s also a water tank, a generator, a diesel fired hot water jet wash, air-blower for drying the bikes and an air brush for applying a thin film of ACF50 anti-corrosion spray to appropriate parts at the end of the job.
‘You need to work round the bike in a really systematic way,’ explains Jon. ‘We split the bike into three sections on each side and work each process through each area in turn. That way you don’t miss anything.’
With two people working hard it takes an hour and 20 minutes to turn the bike from shonky to showroom. Well, almost. There’s nothing to be done for 23 years worth of stone chips and scuffs, but I’m really impressed with the finish. Especially on the previously crud covered exhaust headers and the brake calipers. How d’you do that? ‘Ah,’ grins Jon enigmatically. ‘Now that is a secret, though to be fair you can get a similar result with elbow grease. Our way is just a bit faster.’
Mo-clean’s mobile service operates within a 75 mile radius of north London, offering a variety of wash options. My bike got the £120 Dream Wash, for which the fairing remains on the bike though they do clean under the seat, and it’s definitely added more than that to the value of the bike. They also offer bike restoration and storage at their Hertfordshire base.
Now that the Honda is clean it really shows up the scratches on the belly pan; I may have to sort that out.
Get instruction
The majority of trackdays have racers on hand to show you lines and give advice. These boys know their stuff, so if you want to improve (as opposed to just lark about, which is fair enough), march over and book a slot before your first session – they’ll be fully booked by lunchtime.
Go extreme
If you haven’t been on track for a while, your body position will probably be far too mellow. For optimum control and safety your inside arm needs to be very bent, which will bring your head down and to the inside. If it feels extreme, you’re probably nearly there. Set your body position before braking.
Go faster
Most crashes are early in sessions, either on the first few laps when the tyres are cold, or a few laps in when people assume the tyres have warmed up. The best way to warm up tyres is to gradually ride harder – don’t be tempted to dawdle then go ballistic. Heavy braking warms the front best.