Maintenance Tips for the Complete Rider

by Jonathan Jefferies

Polishing/cleaning. A system for polishing your BMW was suggested to me at the '49er. Use a hard carnuba wax for a base and then follow up with regular shines using Johnson & Johnson's spray Pledge - the non-lemon variety. The carnuba wax needs only be done once while the spray Pledge has the advantage of cleaning off bug and road goo while spiffing up the polish. Moreover Pledge has the advantage over automotive waxes in that it does not fill the cracks and crevices with a white residue which has to be cleaned out.
BMW saddle bags can be touched up where they've brushed up against other objects by using black vinyl spray available at most automotive parts shops, e.g. Grand Auto. Where there is paint or road-rash on the bags gently clean with a small dab of acetone or alcohol on a rag before spraying with the vinyl paint. For polishing and general cleanup some folks on Internet have suggested using a combination of Kiwi black shoe polish followed by a spray of WD-40. Now I haven't tried the WD-40 so use caution and test first.
NOTE: Use of silicone products on your saddle bags is not recommended as it is very difficult to remove when you need to repaint or touch up.