Bike cleaning topic

[MIKASAMUEL]

Hi guys, I am new to here and also newbie of riding.

Recently I am looking for a cleaning product to clean my bike, it's Yamaha R3, I found the product that called MOTOMUCK from Trademe.
After I did some research, some of you guys are using Dynamo. I am not sure is it safe for the bikes? And does it works well as the bike cleaner?

Making sure is this the one? https://shop.countdown.co.nz/Shop/ProductDetails?stockcode=577654&name=dynamo-ultra-laundry-liquid-eucalyptus-front-top-loader&searchString=washing%20powder

My friend recommend me to use Muc-Off, but that shit is quite expensive.

Newbie need you guys help. :first::first::first:

[caspernz]

There's quite a few choices, and as long as you stay away from the Sunlight dishwash, think neutral detergent basically.

Look at CT18 from Chemwash, available at Repco and Supercheap.

Or try Grapewash from Pacer.

Both are cost effective and kind to your paintwork while still cleaning thoroughly.

Beyond that the main ingredient is elbow grease and a selection of brushes and sponges. Oh and save the water blaster to clean your driveway obviously...

[EJK]

IMO the ones with "Motorcycle specific wash formulae" are marketing bull crap. Cars are made of metal and plastic, bikes are also made out of metal and plastic.

Get a cheap big bottle car wash from Supercheap or Repco. Sometimes I also mix a little Bar's Bug Windscreen Cleaner to clean off bugs during spring/ summer.

[Ifsn8u]

IMO the ones with "Motorcycle specific wash formulae" are marketing bull crap. Cars are made of metal and plastic, bikes are also made out of metal and plastic.

Get a cheap big bottle car wash from Supercheap or Repco.


This, don't need know fancy shit.

[SVboy]

MotoMuck is great on dirt bikes, but is bloody dear. The Dynamo trick I worry about-works well but I think it leaves a corrosive residue in hard to rinse and dry places.

[swarfie]

Dynamo. Great stuff.:2thumbsup Use it in my waterblaster (has a dispenser bottle) on all sorts of gear including the house, windows, car, motorhome and dirtbike. Stay away from sensitive areas like wheel and swingarm bearings because water in there will bugger them. Use it in a bucket with warm water with a brush on the road bikes and classics. Rinse off well and dry with a rag or chamois. Beats the hell out all those expensive cleaners that just simply cost more.

[R650R]

Yep just use meguirs car wahs tuff, big litre bottle on special quite often. Spray waxes are great, easier to use and lost long tiome.
Use metal polish to clean up a tired looking clear Perspex screen, water marks on mirros and petrified dry bugs in summer.
If need degreaser on your wheels for chain lube etc spray that first while bike dry then soapy water.
NEVER use water blasters unless you like replacing swingarma nd wheel bearings often

[pritch]

Yep just use meguirs car wahs tuff, big litre bottle on special quite often.

Yep (I think.) That's what I use.

[Honest Andy]

And don't just use wax on the paintwork, use it on your engine too cos it's covered in clear lacquer or silver paint that needs just as much protection from sun and rain and dust.


Use metal polish to clean up a tired looking clear Perspex screen
Never tried that! But my current screen is polycarb so that might be a bit soft for metal polish maybe? What do you reckon?

A mate of mine who was in the RNZAF always uses pledge furniture polish on his screens cos that's what they used on the choppers. Works ok too.

[Moi]

... But my current screen is polycarb so that might be a bit soft for metal polish maybe? What do you reckon?

A mate of mine who was in the RNZAF always uses pledge furniture polish on his screens cos that's what they used on the choppers. Works ok too.

You could try a wee bit of toothpaste in an out-of-the-way spot and see how that goes...

[george formby]

And don't just use wax on the paintwork, use it on your engine too cos it's covered in clear lacquer or silver paint that needs just as much protection from sun and rain and dust.


Never tried that! But my current screen is polycarb so that might be a bit soft for metal polish maybe? What do you reckon?

A mate of mine who was in the RNZAF always uses pledge furniture polish on his screens cos that's what they used on the choppers. Works ok too.

+1 Good stuff for buffing clear and shiny parts. Cheap, too. A can in the garage seems to last forever. Mine is rusty and still squirting.

I use generic car shampoo on the whole bike but I have yet to find a detergent that gets rid of oil residue from the chain and sprockets. I get anal with a toothbrush and kero to get rid of that spooge. I get anal first, then shampoo the bike.

After anal and a shampoo I take the bike for a wee ride to dry it off and then give it a bit of polish and detailing.

Being old, I'm a big fan of Solvol Autosol for polishing my exposed and unprotected alloy parts. It has a lustrous gleam when applied and removed with vigour.

Toothpaste is a very fine abrasive which is good for softer, clear plastics, but newspaper is cheap and just as effective. A bit like me....:lol:

I avoid water blasting the bikes not because of potential damage to me greasy bits but more because getting your hands on the bike is a form of maintenance. It's amazing what you notice needs attention when your getting anal with a toothbrush.

Oh. Don't use your own toothbrush.

[EJK]

Oh. Don't use your own toothbrush.

How about wife's?

[GazzaH]

Whose wife?

[CB ARGH]

While we're on the topic of bike washing...

Has anybody had any experience with foam gun washing?

I had a little go with a cheap alternative but failed miserably. Does anybody know a cheap way to do this?

[Laava]

I use xt88. This is what the local truckers all use. It goes in the waterblaster dispenser and foams on. Then give it a good swirl around with a soft brush and we're done. Note, no one cleaner is going to do everything, ie, tar spots, chain grease etc, but this is as good as motomuck. It is on trademe I believe, but I get it from the seller, take back my 4l container and pay $20. Also use it in a spray bottle for cleaning the shower, is odourless so works for me!

[russd7]

buy commercial truck wash, those fuckers are fussy bout their rigs and trucks are made of steel and plastic and chrome and fibreglass and all sorts o shit.

first bike, fuck my first bikes all got stripped down on a regular basis and scrubbed and polished and i must have owned shares in armourall (made the seat nice an slippery for moving round on it easy), good quality polish is your friend also, makes it easier to keep the bike clean.

as for using general house hold cleaners, don't put that shit near my bike (tho chemco is awesome for cleaning rims). in reality commercial vehicle wash works out cheaper and works better than household cleaners and unless you have access to a steam cleaner and are proficient in the use of one then elbow grease is your best answer

[granstar]

Polish smolish, are going to admire your reflection all day, or are you going to ride? :scooter:

[rastuscat]

Polish smolish, are going to admire your reflection all day, or are you going to ride? :scooter:

Yesterday we had a guy turn up for a course on a GN125. A loose bolt had seen the chain guard rest against the chain.

If you clean your bike for no other reason, it's a good idea just to help you identify minor maintenance issues before they become major issues.

[LinkNZ]

Mothers Waterless Wash and Wax. Not the cheapest and definitely not as a great as a proper wash and detailed wax but good enough for an easy to please guy like me and if you cbf spending more than 5 minutes cleaning your bike on a regular basis.

[Jeff Sichoe]

Silicon spray and paper towels on the plastics and instruments. Leave the real cleaning for the next owner.

[MIKASAMUEL]

Thanks for replying, I am just wondering is the car wash harmful for the bike? Cause some part like Chains/ Breaks might not good if using car wash for long time?



IMO the ones with "Motorcycle specific wash formulae" are marketing bull crap. Cars are made of metal and plastic, bikes are also made out of metal and plastic.

Get a cheap big bottle car wash from Supercheap or Repco. Sometimes I also mix a little Bar's Bug Windscreen Cleaner to clean off bugs during spring/ summer.

[MIKASAMUEL]

Thanks for the info, gonna try out some stuff.



There's quite a few choices, and as long as you stay away from the Sunlight dishwash, think neutral detergent basically.

Look at CT18 from Chemwash, available at Repco and Supercheap.

Or try Grapewash from Pacer.

Both are cost effective and kind to your paintwork while still cleaning thoroughly.

Beyond that the main ingredient is elbow grease and a selection of brushes and sponges. Oh and save the water blaster to clean your driveway obviously...

[MIKASAMUEL]

I am gonna try out this weekend, Thanks for that





Dynamo. Great stuff.:2thumbsup Use it in my waterblaster (has a dispenser bottle) on all sorts of gear including the house, windows, car, motorhome and dirtbike. Stay away from sensitive areas like wheel and swingarm bearings because water in there will bugger them. Use it in a bucket with warm water with a brush on the road bikes and classics. Rinse off well and dry with a rag or chamois. Beats the hell out all those expensive cleaners that just simply cost more.

[Honest Andy]

Something that hasn't been mentioned: Try not to get too much detergent or wax on your brake disks and brake pads, and rinse thoroughly with water. If you contaminate the brake pads with wax or oils they wont work... (although Brakekleen usually fixes it)... and be ready for your brakes to be less effective while they're still dripping wet :niceone:

Old story, and only partly on topic: Once upon a time, long long ago, I looked at bike for sale. The guy had just finished cleaning it and it looked quite shiny and there was a can of crc556 and dirty rags nearby, and the familiar smell of kero. Funny way of cleaning your bike I thought. I took it for a ride and sailed straight through a red light with the brakes hard on :eek5: Killed bike to stop it and walked back. Jesus I was :angry2: Told the guy he was a fucking :tugger: and ought to be :ar15: and he better buy some new brakepads before he tries to ride it home :oi-grr:
(in fact if he wasn't so big and strong I may have hit him... I was a bit more impulsive then...)

[aws]

I use silicone WD40 on all the black plastic and electrical bits, then wipe off the excess. Keeps them shiny and helps protect them from water and it's easy to spray into all those difficult to reach area. Also the silicone spray takes chain lube off the wheels in a flash and leaves then with a nice shine.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[george formby]

I use silicone WD40 on all the black plastic and electrical bits, then wipe off the excess. Keeps them shiny and helps protect them from water and it's easy to spray into all those difficult to reach area. Also the silicone spray takes chain lube off the wheels in a flash and leaves then with a nice shine.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

Yeah, I use sillycone on me lectrics, too. Or. LP1, a very light spray oil but not, I believe, kero based, from Repco. A fraction of the price of WD40 or CRC aerosols. Comes in a 4 ltr container and I just pour it into a wee squirty bottle. Cleans oil and tar spatter very easily. Do not get it on your tires..:weep:
Good for cleaning the chain and does not seem as harsh as kero. Not convinced it's good for the chain, though.

Thanks for the reminder on truck wash. That's what I used in the UK and it's still the best all round cleaner I have used, it was actually called Truck Wash... Cheap, too. Must keep my eyes open for some.

[oldiebutagoody]

Leave the real cleaning for the next owner.

Every bike I have ever bought, I seem to have bought off you.




If you clean your bike for no other reason, it's a good idea just to help you identify minor maintenance issues before they become major issues.

THIS!:weird::niceone:

[AllanB]

If you clean your bike for no other reason, it's a good idea just to help you identify minor maintenance issues before they become major issues.

Simple stuff really but how many shitty bikes do you see riding around that look like the only person who ever runs a eye over them is the WOF man.

Me - I like mine looking better than new.

[Berries]

This thread has made me feel so guilty I went out and brought a bottle of kerosene today. Tomorrow I am going to try and clean a bike chain for the first time ever. My regime for the last 20 odd years has been to bang some lube on if it has been raining hard and change the chain and sprockets when it can't be adjusted any more.

God knows why they can't put shaft drive on all bikes. This home maintenance malarkey is so 1950's.

[rastuscat]

This thread has made me feel so guilty I went out and brought a bottle of kerosene today. Tomorrow I am going to try and clean a bike chain for the first time ever. My regime for the last 20 odd years has been to bang some lube on if it has been raining hard and change the chain and sprockets when it can't be adjusted any more.

God knows why they can't put shaft drive on all bikes. This home maintenance malarkey is so 1950's.

I first got shafted about 15 years ago. I've been belted a couple of times too. Such is the life of a Beemer Phile.

Chains are dirty greasy oily things. Can't see a need for them myself.

[oldiebutagoody]

I've had two shaft drive bikes. GS850G and an XJ750 SECA.

Kinda reminds me of that era back then, you know, the time when the Rocky Horror was playing every Friday and Saturday night at the Hollywood in Avondale.

Come to think of it, it was always a "jump to the left, and a step to the right" riding a shaftie.

[rastuscat]

I've had two shaft drive bikes. GS850G and an XJ750 SECA..

I had a ride on a Seca about 18 months ago. I remember being in awe of them when I was a kid, but after riding one again I wonder how we ever enjoyed riding the bloody heavy, relatively powerless things.

Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

[oldiebutagoody]

I had a ride on a Seca about 18 months ago. I remember being in awe of them when I was a kid, but after riding one again I wonder how we ever enjoyed riding the bloody heavy, relatively powerless things.

Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

Quite so. Time and technology marches on. Some things I still cannot forget, flashbacks to wallowing waterbuckets still give me PTSD.

However I still get a bit dewey eyed thinking back to some of the bikes I owned from the late 70's through to the late noughties when I took a break from riding.

My first real WOT on the Kwaka turbo I had just purchased lives long in the memory...............sigh.

Back on topic; Elbow grease, neopol, kero, crc, lotsa clean rags is all you need.

[Berries]

This thread has made me feel so guilty I went out and brought a bottle of kerosene today. Tomorrow I am going to try and clean a bike chain for the first time ever. My regime for the last 20 odd years has been to bang some lube on if it has been raining hard and change the chain and sprockets when it can't be adjusted any more.
Well bugger me, it was gold underneath.

[russd7]

Yesterday we had a guy turn up for a course on a GN125. A loose bolt had seen the chain guard rest against the chain.

If you clean your bike for no other reason, it's a good idea just to help you identify minor maintenance issues before they become major issues.

ahhhh i see you have fallen in to granstars lil trap, don't be fooled, he knows his bikes wayyyy better than most, after all he still has and rides his trumpy that gets pulled down most years, the hornet is just so we don't get to take pics of him praying by his bike whilst out on rides.

[granstar]

Yesterday we had a guy turn up for a course on a GN125. A loose bolt had seen the chain guard rest against the chain.:killingme

If you clean your bike for no other reason, it's a good idea just to help you identify minor maintenance issues before they become major issues.

Agree with that, saves a lot of time from being roadside with regular pre- ride and post ride inspections with a bit of a gentle wipe over with a rag.

Tyres, chain, brakes, oil level, battery, cables, spokes, etc


Also if you are buying a secondhand bike ( or car if you must), best thing to do is give it a clean, and see what is amiss, failing, or loose.

To much polish with harsh chemicals removes the protective coating that stops rust and road salt eating your bike to pieces. But are you going to stand there all day admiring it or go for a ride?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3WVIfDQMhw

[LinkNZ]

What's a good and readily available product to clean up a heavily oxidised exhaust, engine headers? Tried some Supercheap Auto metal polish which did sweet **** all.

[Honest Andy]

What's a good and readily available product to clean up a heavily oxidised exhaust, engine headers? Tried some Supercheap Auto metal polish which did sweet **** all.

Chrome or paint?
If chrome you can take off small rust stains with a steelo pad or a green scotch-brite, be careful not to rub too hard or you'll go straight through :shit: (this cure is usually only temporary)
If paint just sand the worst of the rust off and respray with VHT. You'll have to repaint it every couple of years :niceone:
That's for steel parts, if it's polished stainless I don't know...

[LinkNZ]

Chrome or paint?
If chrome you can take off small rust stains with a steelo pad or a green scotch-brite, be careful not to rub too hard or you'll go straight through :shit: (this cure is usually only temporary)
If paint just sand the worst of the rust off and respray with VHT. You'll have to repaint it every couple of years :niceone:
That's for steel parts, if it's polished stainless I don't know...

Polished stainless steel :(

[T.W.R]

Polished stainless steel :(

Some green scotchbrite & autosol.....but pound the buggery out of the scotchbrite to soften it up first as it's too harsh when it's fresh out of the packet. Use the autosol like rubbing compound on the scotchbrite

[Honest Andy]

Some green scotchbrite & autosol.....but pound the buggery out of the scotchbrite to soften it up first as it's too harsh when it's fresh out of the packet. Use the autosol like rubbing compound on the scotchbrite

Yeah, they're surprisingly scratchy when they're new. How do you mean "pound it"? Just put it on the bench and hit it with a bit of wood or a hammer or something?
(or do you mean "soften up" like they mean at Guantanamo, to make it see reason and cooperate...? ;))

[T.W.R]

Yeah, they're surprisingly scratchy when they're new. How do you mean "pound it"? Just put it on the bench and hit it with a bit of wood or a hammer or something?
(or do you mean "soften up" like they mean at Guantanamo, to make it see reason and cooperate...? ;))

Yeah pretty much....I usually cut the sheet into equal sized fingers (about 5 per sheet) and roll the finger up then bash it with a hammer :yes:

[granstar]

Yeah, they're surprisingly scratchy when they're new. How do you mean "pound it"? Just put it on the bench and hit it with a bit of wood or a hammer or something?
(or do you mean "soften up" like they mean at Guantanamo, to make it see reason and cooperate...? ;))

You could always present the new one to the wife at the sink as a gift, then use the old used one.

[caspernz]

What's a good and readily available product to clean up a heavily oxidised exhaust, engine headers? Tried some Supercheap Auto metal polish which did sweet **** all.


Polished stainless steel :(

There's a simple and gentle way. Go to your local Mitre 10 and get some 0000 woodworkers steel wool. Then just add a dash of soapy water for the rubbing process. Finish off with your preferred polish, I'd suggest Brasso.

[lenzod3]

Steel wool works great. Then you can use Lucas metal polish.

[oldiebutagoody]

For cleaning up stainless headers and exhausts, don't use anything abrasive or scratchy.

Go buy some Harpic "5x" extra strength toilet cleaner. paint it on with a brush, let sit 10 mins, then rub it with a damp cloth and hose the rest off if necessary. Rinse and repeat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXcM6g-JaBo

Finish off with Autosol metal polish. Only slightly abrasive but practically neither here nor there.

You can thank me later.

The active constituent you are looking for here is Phosphoric acid (not hydrocchloric). This is great for cleaning corrosion/oxidation off non ferrous metals. Also its the food acid in coca cola, and yes that works too but gets a bit sticky.

[Ghost Lemur]

What do you guys suggest for matte paintwork? Got a 2017 Matte Black Yamaha R3 coming and from reading the matte finish takes a bit more care in maintaining than a gloss finish.

A few products I've seen in my search so far.
-Rat Wax
-Ducky Matte Finish Detailer
-Chemical Guys

Some seem to suggest Windex(regular window cleaner?) or just car soap and water.

[ellipsis]

Some seem to suggest Windex(regular window cleaner?) or just car soap and water.


...or a big Tea cosy with your own knitted design/device on the sides would be another suggestion to add to those...