Small RO for bike detailing?

[Kevinch]

I know that there have been a few posts on bike detailing here, but a search didn't seem to show any that asked this question:



Is there a small RO available (with small pads) that would work well on a motorcycle?



Between my wife & I, we have 3 bikes. I ride a 1996 Suzuki Intruder (teal & cream colored), & a 2002 Yamaha Midnight Venture (solid black). My wife rides a 2003 Yamaha VStar Silverado, in a two-tone burgundy & platinum combo.



Our bikes are well maintained, both mechanically & paint wise - but they are also ridden. As an example - we rode home from Milwaukee last year with 9 other bikes after attending the Harley 100th Anniversary celebration in a constant rain, usually heavy downpours. It was brutal - on the bikes & us! :scared We all got home without incident, but the bikes really looked trashed.



I have yet to get started with my PC (the weather hasn't cooperated yet), but from all I've read so far, it seems that most of the experienced hands here feel that the best results are more easily & consistently gained by using an RO on a regular basis, as required, to remove minor paint defects & bring out the real shine the paint is capable of.



The problem as I see it (& I haven't tried it yet, so I'm assuming here) is that the 6" pads on a PC will just be too big to be effective on all but a limited number of areas on a bike. I thought I saw a 4" backing pad somewhere (I'm not sure where now), but does a selection of foam pads exist in that size? Even then, the PC seems big in itself for that kind of work. Is there a palm sized RO that might be more appropriate for the tank & fenders?



Keeping 3 bikes & 3 cars clean is a chore - and since I kind of favor bikes, the cars haven't received the attention they deserve I'm trying to change that!

 

[wifehatescar]

You can get a 3.5" backplate and 4" orange and white pads from cma. I have these and they work ok. If you use the PC without the handle it should work ok I would think.

 

[Jesstzn]

Simoniz/Wen/Meguiars makes a cordless R/O that is 4" and will go in smaller areas than the PC and is a lot lighter. Its only one speed but I have used it on my car with success. Just takes a little patience on a large surface. It may be something to look at for a bike. The Simoniz one came with 2 batteries and each battery lasts a long time.



Picture of it

 

[2wheelsx2]

You know, for the amount of painted surface area you have on those cruisers, I think you would be better off using cotton toweling by hand, like Scottwax. That's what I do. It'll take some elbow grease, but you can get results almost as good as the PC. Also, you would not be able to get an buffer into any of the tight spots anyway.



And before anyone thinks this is insane, I also have 3 bikes, one of which is a fully faired ZX7R sport bike, and another is a half faired BMW. So I have a lot of paint to buff.

 

[Kevinch]

Gary, I don’t think you’re insane! I’ve been detailing these bikes all along by hand. But – I always thought the best finishes were by hand (old school, you know). While that might have been correct 30 years ago, it seems as though things may have changed.



Concerning the surface area to be attended to, you may be correct concerning my Intruder. With the 3.2 gallon tank & abbreviated fenders there isn’t a whole lot of paint to deal with. However, my Venture might be a different story. I don’t have a pic of my personal bike (yet!), but here is one of Yamaha’s web site a year or 2 ago:

While not as expansive as a car or truck, there is a good bit of black paint to deal with here & believe me, the scratches will show up. I’m thinking that a small palm sized RO with a 4� pad might be able to reach a lot of it, & minimize the hand work.

 

[2wheelsx2]

Hmmmm....forgot that the Venture was a full bagger. You should be able to work the PC on the bags and on the tank, but the windscreen/half fairing is going to be a bit of a challenge if it is as flexible as the fairing on my sport bike. It's tough to exert any pressure to do the paint leveling when the panel flexes away. You can give it a shot, but by hand is probably still going to be the most effect route for that.



Just for grins, here are my bikes, prior to some mods and my wife's GS500 being added to the garage.

 

[Kevinch]

Thanks for the tips Gary. Can you offer any advice on what to use for hand buffing (products & how to apply/remove)? No major paint issues - say, moderate swirls?



I may try a 4" pad on the PC, might even splurge & try that small Wen palm orbital - TOL sells it for $50 - but as you said, there is areas that will have to be addressed by hand.