Kawasaki Z1000SX - Owner's Manual > Cleaning Your Motorcycle

General Precautions

Frequent and proper care of your Kawasaki motorcycle will enhance its appearance, optimize overall performance, and extend its useful life.

Covering your motorcycle with a high quality, breathable motorcycle cover will help protect its finish from harmful UV rays, pollutants, and reduce the amount of dust reaching its surfaces.

WARNING Build-up of debris or flammable material in and around the vehicle chassis, engine, and exhaust can cause mechanical problems and increase the risk of fire.

When operating the vehicle in conditions that allow debris or flammable material to collect in and around the vehicle, inspect the engine, electrical component and exhaust areas frequently. If debris or flammable materials have collected, park the vehicle outside and stop the engine. Allow the engine to cool, then remove any collected debris. Do not park or store the vehicle in an enclosed space prior to inspecting for build-up of debris or flammable materials.

• Be sure the engine and exhaust are cool before washing.
• Avoid applying degreaser to seals, brake pads, and tires.
• Avoid all harsh chemicals, solvents, detergents, and household cleaning products such as ammonia-based window cleaners.
• Gasoline, brake fluid, and coolant will damage the finish of painted and plastic surfaces: wash them off immediately.
• Avoid wire brushes, steel wool, and all other abrasive pads or brushes.
• Use care when washing the windshield, headlight cover, and other plastic parts as they can easily be scratched.
• Avoid using pressure washers; water can penetrate seals and electrical components and damage your motorcycle.
• Avoid spraying water in delicate areas such as in air intakes, fuel system, brake components, electrical components, muffler outlets, and fuel tank openings.
• After cleaning your motorcycle, check the rubber boot covering the shift pedal ball joint for correct installation.

  Be sure the sealing lip of the rubber boot fits into the groove of the ball joint.

1. Boots

• If the boot is damaged, replace it with a new one. If the boot is not positioned in the groove correctly, replace it in the correct position.

1. Wrongly set lip not in the correct position
2. Lip set correctly in the groove

Washing Your Motorcycle

• Rinse your bike with cold water from a garden hose to remove any loose dirt.
• Mix a mild neutral detergent (designed for motorcycles or automobiles) and water in a bucket. Use a soft cloth or sponge to wash your motorcycle. If needed, use a mild degreaser to remove any oil or grease which build up.
• After washing, rinse your motorcycle thoroughly with clean water to remove any residue (residue from the detergent can damage parts of your motorcycle).
• Use a soft cloth to dry your motorcycle.

  As you dry, inspect your motorcycle for chips and scratches. Do not let the water air dry as this can damage the painted surfaces.

• Start the engine and let it idle for several minutes. The heat from the engine will help dry moist areas.
• Carefully ride your motorcycle at a slow speed and apply the brakes several times. This helps the brakes

NOTE

• After riding in an area where the roads are salted or near the ocean, immediately wash your motorcycle with cold water. Do not use warm water as it accelerates the chemical reaction of the salt. After drying, apply a corrosion protection spray on all metal and chrome surfaces to prevent corrosion.
• Condensation may form on the inside of the headlight lens after riding in the rain, washing the motorcycle or humid weather. To remove the moisture, start the engine and turn on the headlight. Gradually the condensation on the inside of the lens will clear off.

Semi-gloss Finish

To clean the semi-gloss finish;

• When washing the motorcycle, always use a mild neutral detergent and water.
• The semi-gloss finish effect may be lost when the finish is excessively rubbed.
• If any doubt, consult an authorized Kawasaki dealer.

Windshield and Other Plastic Parts

After washing use a soft cloth to gently dry plastic parts. When dry, treat the headlight lens and other nonpainted plastic parts with an approved plastic cleaner/polisher product.

NOTICE Plastic parts may deteriorate and break if they come in contact with chemical substances or household cleaning products such as gasoline, brake fluid, window cleaners, thread-locking agents, or other harsh chemicals. If a plastic part comes in contact with any harsh chemical substance, other plastic parts after washing use wash it off immediately with water and a mild neutral detergent, and then inspect for damage.

Avoid using abrasive pads or brushes to clean plastic parts, as they will damage the part's finish.

Chrome and Aluminum

Chrome and uncoated aluminum parts can be treated with a chrome/aluminum polish. Coated aluminum should be washed with a mild neutral detergent and finished with a spray polish. Aluminum wheels, both painted and unpainted can be cleaned with special non-acid based wheel spray cleaners.

Leather, Vinyl, and Rubber

If your motorcycle has leather accessories, special care must be taken.

Use a leather cleaner/treatment to clean and care for leather accessories.

Washing leather parts with detergent and water will damage them, shortening their life.

Vinyl parts should be washed with the rest of the motorcycle, then treated with a vinyl treatment.

The sidewalls of tires and other rubber components should be treated with a rubber protectant to help prolong their useful life.

WARNING Rubber protectants can be slippery and, if used on the tread area, cause loss of traction resulting in accident causing injury or death. Do not apply rubber protectant to any tread area.

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