Best Cleaning Products & Engine Oils

[Street Hawk]

Hi All, Im New to the Forum, Glad i found it too!

I own a Yamaha XT125r only had it a few months so nice 08 Plate!

Not a bad bike had 72mph top end out of it so far but i want to keep it in good nick if ever i want to sell it & besides i like to look after me gear so my question is this...

I am new to the whole bike cleaning & tunning side of things & i am learning. I ride me bike to Work & out and about with a few pals of mine so it gets plenty of use & dirty pretty quick the cleaning products ive tried have been pretty good & want to share them with you if your looking for some good cleaning gear to keep your bike lookin good.

Swarfega Alloy Cleaner - Works great, powerful cleaner that makes life just that little bit easyier when baked on oil & road grime is tough to remove from the bike this puppy stripps it off without turning into molly maid the scrubber!

Then just some good old soapy water give it a rub down & jet the rest off, whack a leather over it & once ive dryed it down, i use some ....

Silkolene Chain Lube - I find this to be pretty messy as i get back spray of the lube over me rims after i just washed the damn bike lol but it does the job.

Finally to finish it off ....

Wurth Silicone Spray/Sealent - quality sealent , leaves a good shine, showroom look.

but whats better? is there a better cleaner you use or have tried?? any recommendations on better chain lube or alloy cleaners? i have recently baught some "muck off" cleaner but am yet to try it as ive heard its good cleaner but went straight in with the Swarfega cleaner, so when ive finsihed using that ill give the muck off a chance to show its skills! is there anything that i am using that shouldnt be using or something better i could use? would be good to know what you use or have found works better??

Drop a post & lets compare & share the info.

Street.

[Airhead]

Hi All, Im New to the Forum, Glad i found it too!

I am new to the whole bike cleaning & tunning side of things & i am learning. I ride me bike to Work & out and about with a few pals of mine so it gets plenty of use & dirty pretty quick the cleaning products ive tried have been pretty good & want to share them with you if your looking for some good cleaning gear to keep your bike lookin good.

Drop a post & lets compare & share the info.

Street.

Hello and welcome Street Hawk, I use muck off for any particularly dirty areas, leave it to soak in a little, Also some added to warm water also for washing down paint work

To remove that initial Fling off from a lubed chain, WD40 on a rag, just give the rim a quick wipe round

Solvol autosol and elbow grease for stainless header pipes...Never use it on chrome though, just soap and water for that.

Furniture polish for paintwork, spray it onto the duster away from the bike, you dont want to get it on your disks

[Guest Exupnutta]

Hi Street,

For the chain lube ... Not being funny, but don't spray the wheel... What I mean is, improve your technique, so it doesn't happen. The rear wheel should be off the ground for this for even application.

With respect to cleaning I never wash bikes...

Just my personal preference, because I found that if you always polish it with Autoglym polish, you never have to wash it, since everything cleans up so easily. For a proper clean I take the wheels etc. off for better access.

A friend came to see me with his bike... He'd used Alloy wheel cleaner, hot water and fairy liquid and still had a mucky rear wheel after an hour of trying...

A decent amount of Autoglym polish on a rag and it cut right through the thick layer of chain lube down to the paint and wiped clean on the first attempt...

He couldn't believe it only took me 10 minutes to the lot.

Never use a pressure washer on a bike!

I crashed my bike not long after I bought it, because one of the fork legs had rancid oil in it... most likely due to someone pressure washing the bike and forcing water into the forks VERY expensive to fix... all because of "lazy" (pressure) cleaning

HTH

Olli

[Street Hawk]

Wow, Guys thanks for the posts so far, its interesting to know everyone has different techniques in looking after their pride & joy.

Hi oldgitonbike & thanks for the welcome never used WD40 on my bike before as i thought that stuff was just good for around the house & pedal bikes but im willing to give it a go, thats what this post is about, learning something new. Ive not heard of the Solvol Autosol before but have plenty of elbow grease expirience my service is due on me bike in the next 2 weeks so ill ask at the dealers if they have some Solvol. have had the same sort of guidelines given to me on the furniture polish when i was told about the Wurth Silicone sealent keeping it free from my discs, might also give that ago, lol bet its cheaper than £5 a tin & does the same job.

Hi Exupnutta being a novice i do my best to apply sprays and other cleaning products to my bike when cleaning it but, your right i need to get more practice unfortunatly i have not got a duel stand? on my bike only a side stand, & think it might be worth while investing in the bike jack/stand thingy they use at the dealers to work on the bike etc but, i have heard from a little bird that there is another form of chain lube that is like a wax?? apparently i can apply this over my chain & it doesnt flick off & all over the rims, but again im learning & have to find these things out & weather or not it "does what it says on the tin" as to speak so thats why im putting it to you fine experts in my search for posibilities on new lubes.

i will say all your comments so far have been taken on board, especially with the jet washing part its worrying i have been jetting me bike down without knowing what could happen as a result , & thats a 1st ive heard of just using auto glym polish alone, forgive my ignorance but wouldnt that just be wiping the dirty already on the bike from one place to another?, or being so new to the biking thing, im just getting the wrong end of the stick.. any how im always open to new things & will give them a go the next time i clean up my bike.

ok Im going to throw another question at you all.....

(Bare with me here lol im still exploring me bike so dont know all the parts & names lol so ill do me best to build a picture so u know what im on about lol)

Q: where the spark plug sits on the engine it looks like a grill like part of the engine i assume is where the piston & barrell is incased?(sorry dont know the name of it & i maybe wrong) but trying to clean inbetween there is difficult & all i have been doing to get in between those gaps is a brush & soapy water, is there a easier method to clean this?

Also..

Q: Throwing another question at you (Again please excuse the Ignorance) again another engine part, it looks like something to do with the exhaust ..down pipe is it called? i dunno lol anyway its a nice brown looking rusty colour obviously from where it gets hot, but is there something i can do or apply to give this a nice chrome like finish? or is it forever that colour being apart of the engine exhaust system? the only reason i ask is because when i was last at my bike dealers there was an old triumph bike outside the shop, that looked as new as the day it came out the showroom & you could clearly see its donkeys old, still being used but clean! any idea's?? i might be asking too much on that question but hey why not ask anyway lol.

Thanks for the replys this far people i appriciate it, & knowledge is stimulating & can cheaper on the Pocket as you have already prob guessed i have alot to learn

Thanks again,

Street.

[Airhead]

i will say all your comments so far have been taken on board, especially with the jet washing part its worrying i have been jetting me bike down without knowing what could happen as a result , & thats a 1st ive heard of just using auto glym polish alone, forgive my ignorance but wouldnt that just be wiping the dirty already on the bike from one place to another?, or being so new to the biking thing, im just getting the wrong end of the stick.. any how im always open to new things & will give them a go the next time i clean up my bike.

Dont be too dismissive of jet washing, Exupnutta may not be aware that this is a trail (As in dirt) bike and youre not gonna get that clean with no magic duster, Also many Trail bikes have fork gaiters (Concertina rubber boots) over the fork stanchions to protect the forks from all that crud and water. Dont jetwash with power jets, turn it down to more of a rinse then you wont force water in to somewhere it shouldnt be

ok Im going to throw another question at you all.....

(Bare with me here lol im still exploring me bike so dont know all the parts & names lol so ill do me best to build a picture so u know what im on about lol)

Q: where the spark plug sits on the engine it looks like a grill like part of the engine i assume is where the piston & barrell is incased?(sorry dont know the name of it & i maybe wrong) but trying to clean inbetween there is difficult & all i have been doing to get in between those gaps is a brush & soapy water, is there a easier method to clean this?

You are talking about the cooling fins of an air cooled cylinder and cylinder head, rinse, spray muc off, brush it in and rinse off, much as you are already doing.

Also..

Q: Throwing another question at you (Again please excuse the Ignorance) again another engine part, it looks like something to do with the exhaust ..down pipe is it called? i dunno lol anyway its a nice brown looking rusty colour obviously from where it gets hot, but is there something i can do or apply to give this a nice chrome like finish? or is it forever that colour being apart of the engine exhaust system? the only reason i ask is because when i was last at my bike dealers there was an old triumph bike outside the shop, that looked as new as the day it came out the showroom & you could clearly see its donkeys old, still being used but clean! any idea's?? i might be asking too much on that question but hey why not ask anyway lol.

Your exhaust downpipe was painted in a black finish when new, however due to the extreme temperatures reached and having cold water thrown at it from the wheel this is usually the outcome...happens to mine too. Having tried many different paints over the years (Ive owned it since 1983) i have settled for repainting with barbecue paint from Wilkinsons, Its cheap, looks good, and is as good as any proprietry exhaust paint that ive come across. You will however have to keep doing it every year because it wont last, Just like the original finish didnt!

Thanks for the replys this far people i appriciate it, & knowledge is stimulating & can cheaper on the Pocket as you have already prob guessed i have alot to learn

Thanks again,

Street.

Newly painted exhaust

[G-man]

Alright, not be a broken record, but...*cough cough*...WD-40!

I clean essentially everything on the bike with it, frame, tank, side covers, wheels/spokes, mufflers, chain, whatever. It works. And then, a little windex on the headlight, mirrors, and bullet fairing lens, and I call it a day.

15 minutes, and I'm done.

[Street Hawk]

Thanks for the reply guys, will keep that in mind, & muc off it is, with a splash of WD-40 i guess on the next clean,

Q: any Idea's on the wax based chain lube & what type of results it would give as opposed to the flick off from the spray on chain lube i have been using?

Also.. it seems i have missed out on part of the topic..

Q: any recommendations on a good 4 stroke engine oil? i have heard about various engine oils that are good for this & good for that, but what have you used or found works better than the rest & is worth paying just that little bit extra for? ...

* i was once told by a guy that there is a form of 4-stroke engine oil that he uses on his go-cart & apparently runs really well but cannot remeber the name of the oil he used.. now being sceptical & new to biking, i wont take risks on using things i know nothing about especially if it will do more harm than good any idea's?

Thanks again for your posts guys i appriciate it

[Guest Exupnutta]

Thanks for the reply guys, will keep that in mind, & muc off it is, with a splash of WD-40 i guess on the next clean,

Q: any Idea's on the wax based chain lube & what type of results it would give as opposed to the flick off from the spray on chain lube i have been using?

Castrol Chain wax is what I use

Good stuff and it doesn't fling at all even when doing silly things like full bore burnouts and going really really fast

[G-man]

any Idea's on the wax based chain lube & what type of results it would give as opposed to the flick off from the spray on chain lube i have been using?

Well, we have a nice back and forth thread about the merits of chain lubes, but...I've used Belray Superclean. There's essentially zero flingoff once it dries. The downside is that the stuff is white in color (though some like that coz they could see what's been lubed and what hasn't). And of course, it's a road grime magnet like all chain lubes.

[Guest Exupnutta]

Hi Exupnutta being a novice i do my best to apply sprays and other cleaning products to my bike when cleaning it but, your right i need to get more practice unfortunatly i have not got a duel stand? on my bike only a side stand, & think it might be worth while investing in the bike jack/stand thingy they use at the dealers to work on the bike etc but, i have heard from a little bird that there is another form of chain lube that is like a wax?? apparently i can apply this over my chain & it doesnt flick off & all over the rims, but again im learning & have to find these things out & weather or not it "does what it says on the tin" as to speak so thats why im putting it to you fine experts in my search for posibilities on new lubes.

i will say all your comments so far have been taken on board, especially with the jet washing part its worrying i have been jetting me bike down without knowing what could happen as a result , & thats a 1st ive heard of just using auto glym polish alone, forgive my ignorance but wouldnt that just be wiping the dirty already on the bike from one place to another?, or being so new to the biking thing, im just getting the wrong end of the stick.. any how im always open to new things & will give them a go the next time i clean up my bike.

Thanks again,

Street.

Wow Street... 1 question at a time dude

some answers:

-you need a paddock stand to get the rear wheel off the ground

-for polishing a road/race bike I use a clean and a dirty polish rag and a clean one for buffing after.

If you rotate the cloth after wiping a dirty area, then you won't be spreading it all over the place.

I hardly ever ride in the wet, so my bike only ever has a bit of dust and some splashes. I wouldn't do it if it damaged the paint, but my bike was white and a bugger to keep clean, so this is what I came up with

Oldgitonabike wrote:

Dont be too dismissive of jet washing, Exupnutta may not be aware that this is a trail (As in dirt) bike and youre not gonna get that clean with no magic duster, Also many Trail bikes have fork gaiters (Concertina rubber boots) over the fork stanchions to protect the forks from all that crud and water. Dont jetwash with power jets, turn it down to more of a rinse then you wont force water in to somewhere it shouldnt be

I wasn't aware it was a trials bike, you're right. But I still HATE pressure washers and I will "not be very pleased" with anyone washing my car engine with a pressure or steam cleaner Very stupid thing to do, since it forces water where it shouldn't be causing rust and other water damage.

I have been working on cars (mainly mercs) for over 15 years as a mechanic and bikes for 7 years and I can see no reason whatsoever for the use of a pressure washer other than cleaning the floor of the workshop.

I also own a 4x4 Merc and that gets dirty, but I never pressure wash it. I use degreaser and a brush to clean the engine (while warm and running) and wash it off gently with a normal hose.

[rockerted]

WURTH dry chain lube, and only ever gently wash the fairing!!

[Biker Bird]

You are talking about the cooling fins of an air cooled cylinder and cylinder head, rinse, spray muc off, brush it in and rinse off, much as you are already doing.

Also..

Newly painted exhaust

Can i ask you olgitonabike what you used on the exhaust? I used back to black which was recommended off a friend and it more or less burnt off within a week! it was left to dry properly!!

[Guest Exupnutta]

Can i ask you olgitonabike what you used on the exhaust? I used back to black which was recommended off a friend and it more or less burnt off within a week! it was left to dry properly!!

Back to Black is for PLASTIC!

VHT (Very High Temperature) PAINT! .... You will need to take the exhaust off for this

[Airhead]

Can i ask you olgitonabike what you used on the exhaust? I used back to black which was recommended off a friend and it more or less burnt off within a week! it was left to dry properly!!

Hi BB, Yes after using many different VHT paint specially made for exhausts I have now discovered that BBQ paint made by plasti-kote is just as good, That is what i used and I got it from Wilkinsons, its also much cheaper than exhaust paint and good for 425 C

It wont last forever though you will need to remove the exhaust and rub down the rust, clean it give it a wipe down with a lint free cloth with some white spirit to de grease it, let it dry before painting

As Exupnutta has said, Back to Black is for plastic, its often used for bumpers on cars, (the ones before they started to paint them)

[YamaHead]

Welcome to the forum Street.

Chain Lube: Bel-Ray Superclean......VERY minimal fly-off....easy to clean...especially after using a generous coating of Armour-All on everything after washings.

Oil: Castrol 20/50 ......has NEVER let me down in 22 years of riding.

Exhaust paint: VHT & also have done the Econo route with bifferent BBQ paints.

BTW OldGitonaBike......

VERY clean little DT you've got there.

[steve 1052cc]

i use muck off and a garden pressure sprayer from wilkos to apply it spray whole bike hose or pressure wash off, then wash polish as normal done in a couple of hours. Its also good to get winter salt and grime off when you dont have time to clean it properly spray on hose off then spray bike with scottoil FS365 dont even have to get your hands wet.

[druid]

I use WD40 to clean my chain and Castrol chain wax to lubricate it.

http://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-760-castrol-ch...ax-aerosol.aspx

These videos might help, but he is a bit anal about cleaning.

I'd recommend getting a paddock stand.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HREqf4wIukA&...feature=related

5 vids in all to watch.

_________________

[Guest Exupnutta]

I use WD40 to clean my chain and Castrol chain wax to lubricate it.

http://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-760-castrol-ch...ax-aerosol.aspx

These videos might help, but he is a bit anal about cleaning.

I'd recommend getting a paddock stand.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HREqf4wIukA&...feature=related

5 vids in all to watch.

_________________

Brillian vid*... Nice find

*(except the pressure washing part, but he knew that aswell. "It should be OK!" Well on a bike that looks like that, surely the odd seal here or there won't be perfect and WILL let water in )

To clarify, I don't use Autoglym Super Resin polish unless for polishing a painted surface, that hasn't been polished for a long time.

I use Autoglym Radiant Wax polish(not normally available). I think you have to order it. It comes in a 5lt tin and is a very light polish that leaves a nice thick Wax coating (much like the spray in the vid) and a VERY smooth finish (like running your hand over silk). Because of the thick Wax coating, hardly any dirt sticks to the bike in the first place and then at most I might use a wet cloth to wipe an area and then use a clean dry cloth to wipe it clean.... AND then polish it again (just a light wipe over) with Radiant Wax, protected and ready for the next ride.

If anyone has ever tried Radiant Wax, they will agree it's VERY good stuff like all Autoglym products

[Ttaskmaster]

I clean the bike as follows;

Spray over with Muc Off.

Leave for 2-3 minutes.

Wash off with cold water - NEVER hot as this can assist road salt in breaching the parts you'd rather it didn't.

Rub dry with old towel.

Spray over with either Muc Off water displacement stuff and/or ACF 50.

I do not polish my Cruiser. I am funny that way.

I have used one of those B&Q fence sprayers (designed for woodstaining fence panels) as a 'low-pressure' washer, though this was when cleaning a fleet of bikes as well as my own!!