For my car i'll take it to the power washer dealies, but with my bike I'm afraid the jet if water might be too much... plus cold water on a hot engine I'm not sure what that would do.
I don't have a hose avaliable to me (crappy apartment, whatever) so what I have is:
Bucket of soapy water (Any avaliable car soap, I use Meguiar's)
Bucket of clean water
Microfiber sponge
Wheel Brush
Synthetic Chamois
Abundance of microfiber cloths
I'll use the soapy water with the sponge to give the actual cleaning. Scrub all the parts, use the wheel brush for wheels, frame, swingarm, etc. Then, take the clean water and use a cloth (towel, whatever you have) to rinse off the bike (usually by wringing out the water over the bike, then wiping again with the cloth.
Then, chamois the water off to make it nice and clean.
Afterwards, I break out the wax. I'm a huge fan of Meguiar's Gold Class liquid. Lil pricey (far as wax goes) at $20 or so per bottle, but it's awesome. Goes on easily, comes off easily, and shines like none other.
When I wax, I go in sections. I'll usually apply to a large enough segment that by the time I get done applying, the first part is dry. So I like to do say the front fairing and wheel cover, then the side fairings, then the tail. Buff off quickly and lightly with the microfiber cloth... you can tell that it's nice when it's shiny, and very smooth. (Example: the first time I waxed my car, I started with the roof. I put the bottle of wax down, didnt move. When I finished waxing the roof, the bottle would just slide right off, and it's very very slightly curved. )
Finally if i'm feeling fiesty, i'll SOMETIMES armor-all the black plastics. I tend not to do things like the seats/handgrips, as the protectant makes them slick and well... I don't like my gloves slipping off the throttle at inopportune moments.
