The 'Wing is supposed to be shiny; I have a feather duster hanging next to where I park for when it gets dusty (this was needed more often when it sat outside at work all day after driving on dirt/gravel roads to get there) and it might get an extra wash if we decide to go to the cruise night and it has been out in the rain. I always plan for it to have its annual bath in the fall before storage but there have been years when it was too cold out so it had to wait until spring. Just don't look at the wheels too closely because the only time I give them any particular attention is when I'm changing a tire.
The CX is only shiny where something rubs. The left side cover, for example, has an area where my pant leg fluttering against it has been buffed through the colour the bike has been since 2007 leaving rings of the 2 previous colours around a patch of bare plastic, all of which couldn't be any smoother or shinier if I used the buffing wheel. I re-painted the cover the first couple of years but finally gave up (one of these days I'll find something metal to put over that area but I'll probably replace the cover first). It is a really bad idea to wash a vehicle during the winter because the water can get into nooks & crannies and freeze (this tends to make the brake pedal stop returning after application). Also, water is what actually causes the rust (salt is just a catalyst) so it won't rust much under a coating of salt & dirt (especially if you oil spray in the fall) but if you wash and don't get it thoroughly dry (hard to do when it is cold out) rust will take hold fast. So it doesn't get washed until the street sweepers have been around in the spring and it has rained twice to wash away what they missed (by then it can sit in the sun afterward).
But you missed part of the question. It should be "Ride, shine or wrench?" Even in years when there are no major projects to be done on them I tent to spend more time working on the bikes than shining them
