Inmate secrets for dazzling engines

I have tried many purpose built cleansers for bikes and cars and big rigs. Off the shelf and also My sister in law sold industrial cleaning products for years and used my bikes as experiments for new products - everything from Aluminum cleaners, shampoos, detailing etc etc etc for big dump trucks to rims and all in between.


The best best cleaner I have found.... easiest and cleanest is.....

A good quality powdered dish washing machine detergent. For some reason the powder works better than gel.

I don't know why but it works really really well.

Thing is - it is made to cut slimy grease from fat and other crap - loosen the hard baked on bits and get all kinds of heat/stagnant kind of grime off.

Also it is made to leave a very clean and shiny surface with no water marks and a nice sparkly surface.

The stuff is cheap and mixes well with warm water - I get the water as hot as I can put my hand in it. Use a soft mitt and a brush.

This works on most all parts of the bike very well - I use Gunk for some hard grease areas of the engine/rims and a few squirts of brake cleaner where necessary.

The dish washing machine detergent is also safe for wind screens, plastic and the rest.

The stuff works well for me.

I've actually been thinking about washing my bike. I've only had it three years, and I think it was washed when I got it.

What I'd really like to know is how to clean the stainless steel pipes. They look like they're rusting. I don't know if it's actually rust, or something else, but I'd clean them if it keeps them from rotting out.

If I were to clean the engine, I'd use brake cleaner. It's always what I've used on cars, if I need to cut through old, built up grease and dirt. It needs to be rinsed thoroughly and not inhaled. And it's probably best to use it in a fallout shelter or on another planet, to avoid wrecking the atmosphere...

Your SS exhaust pipes are chrome over copper plated and will last for the life of the bike.

Unless you routinely clean and polish them, they are going to pit and corrode with time. The best option is to ceramic coat them using a service like http://www.jet-hot.com/ .

Also, there are DIY kits to ceramic coat your own pipes.

Back in the day, cleaned only using tide and water, cold water rinse, low pressure.
Armour All in place of wax. Semi Chrome Polish on the pipes. 1974 R90/6
Sold at 68,000 miles.



Same treatment, Tide to wash, cold water rinse and Armour All in place of wax. Semi-Chrome polish on the pipes with plenty of elbow grease.
1979 R100 RS, (Began life as a Phoenix Gold RT, hence the gold wheels and lowers)
70,000 miles


Same treatment again,
1982 R100S motor, 1985 R80RT frame and running gear.
100,000+ miles


Same treatment,
1983 Kawasaki GPz 550 Restoration and rider,
ugly motorcycle as rescue.


Cleaned up, The chalkiness on the black motor went away when I accidentally spilled some Armour All on it. I used a brush and cloth and screw driver to get at the tight spots. I never found a good tank or fairing as a replacement and sold the bike at about 40,000 miles once I'd found the CBR.


1997 CBR900RR, same treatment as all my bikes, but began using Wax Shop wax as it would clean off chain goo. And make it hand-wipe cleanable after. Very nice stuff. Closest I've found since is Mothers wax I think. Tan plastic bottle with a black cap. That wax really kept the wheels clean and easy to spruce up.
100,000+ miles
This is from it's last road ride, prior to me retiring it to track duties, then selling it after I bought the Adventure and parked the trackbike under a tarp in the corner of the garage.

I want the red '79. How much? When can I pick it up?

Long, long gone.
The guy who bought it trashed it. It came back to the dealer a couple years later and was a rattling dented and dinged faded paint POS.
The other mechanic there didn't want me to go outside and see it.
That was a sad day.

Yet another of the many bikes I never should have let go.

Dishwasher detergent is extremely caustic. Can damage the anodizing on pots and pans. I would not use it near wheels or painted surfaces including the 94 and up powder coated engines.

Use the same stuff you use on your head and shoulders. Shampoo.

I use a cheap toilet brush. The wire inside bends to whatever shape I need and bends back. I use a three step method for my road bikes (4 step for dirt bikes) 1.S100 soak and rinse, 2.car wash soap mixed with hot water then rinse, and third step rinse, rinse, rinse. Blow dry with dog grooming blower on hot which works better then my air compressor at 115psi.

Not quite sure how to reconcile your two points. If you read the label, you'd realize that Simple Green, by the manufacturers own admission, is not safe for aluminum. Yes, you might not incur any damage if you rinse it off quickly enough, but why would you even bother with the risk when they specifically make a product that is safe for aluminum?

BMW put two new wire wheels on my 95 r1100gs. I used their BMW wheel cleaner (S100 I was told) the dealer gave it to me with the purchase of a new bike and it etched the finish on my wheels. Just a heads up.

That was a beauty. Pity.

I use warm water and dishwashing liquid soap and plenty of cold water from a low pressure hose to rinse. It takes the wax off so if you have bodywork it needs re-waxing. Any car body wax will do, I like Turtle Wax. I clean up my stainless pipes with wire wool and I polish any chrome or uncoated alloy with any polish sold for the purpose. We have chrome spokes on our BMW R1200GS's I clean each spoke individually, cleaning two bikes kinda sucks, but the Mrs has other duties.

Either Colleen or James or BOTH have won awards at the BMWMOA National for bike showing. Even after riding 10,000 miles to get there. Colleen has won Long Distance Female Solo Rider AND 'Best Oilhead Form and Function' at the same time, more than once.

It's funny people say they never wash their bike, yet I don't know anyone that would buy a dirty bike unless it was dirt cheap.

Ever go to a Motocross track? See the bikes in the pits before the race? All look like brand new right?

Ever go to a (Vintage) road race? See the bikes in the pits? All pretty much look like new eh?

I used to 'Café Race' in the mid/late 60's.....it was like a shine and show deal at the café. Guys had a bike for the rain/winter and a bike for 'show and tell and café racing' there was little chrome, mostly polished alloy and polished paint.....like a race bike.

We have guys we know who leave the bike dirty as 'badge of courage' it seems. To 'show' people they ride. All you have to do is look at the Odometer and you can see who rides.

Do whatever you want...your mileage may vary

My experience with cleaning agents, no matter how mild they claim to be, is clean a small area at a time and rinse very thoroughly. I have seen black surfaces discolored and streaked by highly regarded expensive products that claim to be incapable of harming finishes. The less elbow grease a product requires to remove dirt, the more caution I observe. Back in the mid-sixties, MAC (NAPA) made a GUNK style engine degreaser that came in a pint paint can. It was as clear as water and smelled like a petroleum based degreaser but where GUNK left a dulling film, this stuff made bare aluminum castings sparkle. I always suspected the stuff was mildly acidic, but not enough to harm anything if rinsed properly.

As mentioned earlier, there is very little bare aluminum on the BMW. Spray on Simple Green, scrub where necessary, and rinse thoroughly. If you follow these simple directions you will have a very clean bike, with minimal work, and quickly done.

Jim

I run mine through an auto car wash and just hold my breath.

Seriously guys... thanks for all the great info!

Just curious, would that be simple green surface prep, cleaner and degreaser, these are the only two that have the spray bottle. There are about ten other options in four liter bottles. I used delutied fantastik in the past with good results...

Thanks

I found full strength in the spray bottle at Home Depot. Gallons at almost anywhere. It was the basic Simple Green. Apparently at Walmart as well: http://www.walmart.com/ip/16881399?...1=g&wl2=&wl3=21486607510&wl4=&wl5=pla&veh=sem

Jim

Thanks Jim!