Use S100 which is an amazing foaming cleaner and degreaser. Soren's bike went without a bath for years, and when you spray that on, then rinse it off with a hose, most of the grime rinsed away. I either use S100 or McGuires for my vehicles. S100 is a great deep clean and shine product, no matter which one I've used, pump or spray can. McGuires is my after each ride detailer, and the clay bar is good to get a smooth clean finish that holds polish very well. Black bikes, any imperfection shows.
Now if you want to really shine it up for a show, I prefer Mcguires clay bar to take the last of the imperfections and dirt off. Each ride I find more than a few bugs, I use the quick detail.
My excuse is that my time cleaning the bike is also my time to inspect it for potential problems. Kind of like preflight checks of planes...time to make sure there are no problems. A friend let us borrow his bike though, and it came back spotless. Kind of have a thing for clean.
