There are those folks who have immaculate motorcycles, bikes that look better than new. The paint glistens, the chrome is blinding and the engine looks like it’s been put in an autoclave. This is not my bike. I hate washing my motorcycle, and it’s usually covered with a fine coat of grime. If you’re like me, you wish somebody had a touchless carwash for motorcycles, where you ride up, turn the bike over to an attendant, pay a few bucks and go have a cup of coffee or eat a microwave burrito (mmm, textured soy protein!) while your bike is cleaned for you. A few minutes later, out pops your ride, gleaming and sparkling clean.
Of course, there is no such thing…or is there? Enter Washworld, a Wisconsin-based manufacturer of automated carwash equipment. Washworld is manufacturing the MOTO EXPRESS WASHTM Touch – Free Motorcycle Wash, a fully automated touch-free patent-pending motorcycle washing system. The system – developed by Harrell’s Car Wash Systems and licensed to Washworld, will be debuted at the big Car Care World Expo – the big carwash-industry event of the year – in Las Vegas, Nevada April 1-4. What, you’re not going?
The system, which according to Washworld’s Rich Andreas will be priced somewhere around $75,000, sounds practical and well-developed. The rider pulls up to the machine and pays a point-of-sale box with a credit card or cash (Andreas expects the retail price to be from $10-15 per wash), then follows lighted direction signs and voice prompts to ride his motorcycle into a front-wheel capture system. The computer takes over, measuring the bike to adjust the equipment to clean bodywork, engine, upholstery and even the wheels, which are turned to get every inch cleaned. A sealant is applied to the whole bike and it’s then rinsed twice with a spot-free solution. Worried about damage from a high-pressure spray? Don’t be: Andreas told me the “mid-pressure” 600-700 psi spray (those wands at the self-serve washes are usually 1000 psi) will be held at a safe distance from sensitive components by a special self-adjusting robot spray arm. “It won’t get water anywhere it wouldn’t get normally riding on the highway in the rain.”
The system has been thoroughly beta-tested and will work on a variety of bikes, from full-dress tour boats to mud-spattered dual-sports. Five units have been pre-sold: two at Orange County Choppers in New York state, (Paul Sr.’s wish for a motorcycle wash was the inspiration for Harrell’s founder to invent the system) two at the Harrell’s Dirt Stripper carwash, near the Indy Speedway, and one at a Harley-Davidson dealership in Wisconsin. That last installation makes sense: the unit installs easily in an existing washstand and sounds like a great way to get customers into your dealership. You can find out more about the system here.
