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WashWorld friction machine

Etowah
Yes, please someone post their opinions on these two products. I didn't go to the show but heard a lot of chatter on the frequency about them. What did you think?
 
The motorcycle wash is a thumbs down idea for me personally.

Leather and polished aluminum and lexan in a touchfree trouble me, as does the motorcyclists' love of self serve washing.

I can't comment on friction, but I love the Washworld touchfree. LOVE IT.
 
Someone told me that the friction unit was manufactured by Broadway. Hard to really judge it without seeing it in action. It looked rather dated. I would think that if they were going to come out with a friction unit they would at least have had some type of friction wheel cleaner instead of some spinners that almost looked like an after thought. I wasn't that impressed so I really didn't give the machine a hard look. I guess I expected more from WashWorld.

I agree with Waxman on the motorcycle wash. I view it as more of a novelty than a viable wash option. No one I know that owns a bike would want to expose their leather and instruments to all that chemical. How would someone ride out of that machine after a wash without soaking their butt on the seat?
 
I have been riding MC's since 1972. I log almost 10,000 miles annually and have friends who own rice-burners, BMW's, choppers, rat-bikes, HD's, Moto Guzzi, Boss Hog, Triumph, etc. I don't believe that a single one of them would ever pay to have their machine cleaned by an automated bike wash.

My 2003 Low-Rider has almost 64,000 miles on it and it has seen it fair share of rain. However, I clean it at least once every two weeks by hand and have never used water to do so. It still looks like new.

In my opinion, the folks who would probably use an auto-bike wash would be older folks who ride trikes and Honda Goldwings, wanna-be weekend warriors, yuppies and the like. Another customer would probably be bike dealerships who want to cut their labor costs.
 
I will always use the good ole self-service bay to wash my bike ('07 Honda 750 Shadow). I can pick and choose if, where and when I want chemicals. I don't need wax on my chain and sprockets or seat, nor do I want presoak or any other chemical getting into my controls or cables. The high pressure wash (directed only where I want it) and spot free rinse is what I'm after. Cost me $2.50 for a squeeky clean bike. My friends (yes, I have a few) with bikes told me the same.

Although pretty cool to watch, the cycle wash is a gimmick if you ask me. You won't catch my bike on one.

Just my humble opinion.

PS: Wouldn't a PDQ Laser or equilivent "size" the bike and do nearly the same thing? I guess you'd have to park it and hop off in a hurry (unless you want your helmet waxed too). I think I'll pass on that one too.
 
I heard Wash World took 50 orders for the bike wash at the show (I doubt any other manuf. took more than that), I used the prototype for the last 2 summers where it was set up in Indy, It does a very good job, especialy the wheels (it rotates them while there being cleaned), the drier does a decent job (no wett butt when you leave). Like it or not, be prepared to see one near your wash soon (the wash in Indy is replacing 2 of there 10 self serve bays with them). I was a sceptic too, but I'm sold, I'd rather be riding than cleaning.
 
If it is who I think it is the car wash in Indy is also the guy who was involved in developing the motorcycle wash and gets royalty on sales. 50 orders seems a bit high. Are you able to verify that or was it from the Show floor rumor mill?
 
Yes, we were involved in the development of the machine, Wash World was selected as the manuf. From that point forward it's thier baby to market and sell. The information from the show was their feedback to us, of customers wanting to purchase (lots of intrest from overseas), I think maybe they were a little surprised at the response. My post earlier was from someone who used this wash to clean my own bike (not from one of it's developers).
The comment of riders not wanting to use the wash (would rather use a self serve bay), was shared by ourselves during development, but the potential for the "service department" and or "rental companies" in the motorcycle industry was still a large enough market for us to pursue the project.
We installed the first prototype in Speedway IN. two summers ago, within two weeks we had riders coming from 50 miles and more to check it out, those riders soon turned into regulars, during those summers the revenue generated from the bike wash was more than the 9 self serve bays put together, (the unit is designed to slip right into an existing bay). After removing the unit from the site to prepare for production, we started getting nasty notes from our "regulars", "where did the bike wash go?"

In this industry you have to adapt to survive, a long time ago someone saw dirty cars on the gravel roads and thought "maybe I can make money washing those", then they saw tractor trailer rigs, duallys, and so on.
We saw motorcycles.
 
John,
There is information available at the Washworld Website at www.washworldinc.com, go to the "Info Center" and then to "Product Information", click on Razor Touch Free Wash. If you have any further questions on the Razor or any other inquiries feel free to give us a call 1.888.315.7253 and speak to our Technical Support Department, we would be happy to answer any questions you may have.
 
What is going on? What is it that you guys at Wash World do not get? You are not suppose to have a manufacturer relationship with your customers, no fair giving good tech support, don't offer parts that are not proprietary, don't use stainless steel, no vertual treadles, skip automatic arm resetting and sizing, ignore pleas from your purchasers for assistance and don't advertise on good Forums. What is wrong with you, do you not belong to the old school of destroy and conquer. Who needs a great professional video of the new Razor anyway? Keep it coming!
 
Rick,

What kind of baseline improvements have been made to the Razor that are not currently seen on the HV? The Razor looks like a really nice machine, but what makes it better than the HV?

Thanks!
 
Bubbles Galore said:
Rick,

What kind of baseline improvements have been made to the Razor that are not currently seen on the HV? The Razor looks like a really nice machine, but what makes it better than the HV?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

John-
Thank you for your interest,
I will just give you a few of the Razor?s features without sounding like a sales pitch:
? Like all Washworld systems it?s all stainless steel
? It?s belt driven to eliminate tires & tubes, less rolling resistance
? Carriage design results in less weight and increased structural rigidity
? Standard Flex Pass allows you to complete two passes in a single cycle
? Eliminates overhead swivel, lowering bay height requirements
? E-chain cable carrier eliminates festoon,overhead assembly, no limitations of vehicle size(Smart cars,etc.)
? Smooth radial arch motion for non-stop cornering
? Sealed gearboxes eliminates oil changes making it maintenance free
These are just some of the highlights, so if you have any other questions feel free to email me or call us at Washworld - Rick
 
I looked over the Razor at the ICA show and think it is a good design. Going to the belt drive system is a great thing. It is basically a copy of the ryko OHD drive system. I have been using the ryko version for 6 years and very rarely have any kind of drive problem. They also have gone with a similar delivery system for trifoam wax which speeds up the wash process. I would have liked to seen seperate manifold delivery for presoak and HP water. THe ryko uses 2 different ones on the wash arm instead of one and I think it save some chemical costs. The other thing I noticed on the Razor is that it only uses one ultrasonic on the passenger side of the wash. It sizes a car by what it sees by this one ultrasonic. They told me the reasoning for only using 1 ultrasonic is that people tend to be within one or two inches of where they pull into a bay. I can tell from many years of experience with these open bay setups that that is not the case. People will often be 1 to 2 feet off of center when they pull in and a dual ultrasonic measuement is often needed. I will consider the Razor for my next automatic but would like to see the 2 items mentioned addressed. It looks like a great machine that is very easy to work on.
 
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