Silly me, pressure washers and classic motorcycles don't mix

[bobotech]

I decided to get busy with my bike and clean the heck out of it. So i dragged my 6 horse pressure washer to the front of the house and sprayed the bike down with simple green and went to town on the bike.

After an hour or so of cleaning, I was satisfied. Wen t to start it up and sure enough, it would not start.

Took the points cover off and some water poured out. Sprayed it down with brake cleaner and electrical cleaner. Bike then attempted to start but still no go.

Finally got my heat gun out and dried off the harness joints where the ignition was concerned. Success. Bike then fired up.

Lesson learned, either protect the wiring harness when pressure washing and be careful when spraying down the points cover area or just wait a day or so after you wash the bike off before you start it back up.

In the end, the bike does look a lot better now.

[Suzsmokeyallan]

Normally I would let this post go by BUT I (we) have still not seen it now its working and finally clean. So do you have any photos to grace these pages of your 550.

[bobotech]

Uploading as we speak. remember, this bike is far from perfect especially the tank however I don't think it looks all that bad.

[bobotech]

[bobotech]

Here is all the pictures including the ones before the bike was fixed
http://s904.photobucket.com/albums/ac24 ... T550%2075/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Suzsmokeyallan]

Thanks for posting up the photos, it looks pretty good for a scrapyard find, ok let me rephrase that. Its way up there for being a decent find condition-wise, even before you started working on it. I cant ever find a bike like that in my searches,,,
BTW, TC at 'pit replicas' on ebay has seat covers and those Honda indicators really need swapping out, thats if you choose to.

[bobotech]

To be honest, when I got this motorcycle, i wasn't looking for anything to restore, it was just a gift that got dumped in my lap. The original owner owned it for 35 years and just wanted to get rid of it because as far as he was concerned, it was just junk. So when I got it, it was just something to fix up and drive for fun. That is now what I have however i realize that it is a rather special bike due to its 2 stroke 3 cylinder uniqueness.

I'm not really wanting to buy the correct indicators and seat cover at this time. I'm happy with how the bike looks currently since its good enough to be a driver. I also like the idea of having running lights vs not having them. So for now I will leave it as it looks however I am going to get the left side side cover since that just looks cheap. And I am still kicking around the idea of painting the tank black but then I would lose the pinstriping.

[H2RICK]

Bobo:
Yes, IMO, a pressure washer is not to be used on ANY bike. You are guaranteed to drive moisture into places where it shouldn't be because pretty much everything is exposed on a bike, unlike cars/trucks.
That unseen moisture will corrode the heck out of your axles/bearings
and a myriad of other things like caliper pistons.
A gentle spray from a garden hose along with plenty of elbow grease with a sponge and a bucket of soapy water is the way to go. An old toothbrush can help you get in all those nooks and crannies.

Your 550 looks like a nice daily rider to me. After 35 years, I've seen 'em look faaaaarrr worse. If you just want to ride it as is then get out there and ride. Restoration, if desired, can be a long term project.
Enjoy !!!

[jkevinlilly]

Looks damn good to me.

Rick is right, a pressure washer forces water into places it would never normally go. It will even get into the guages.

Or so I have been told.

But if it got under the points cover, change the gasket. Rain may do the same thing and leave you stranded somewhere beside the road.

Kevin