bonneville cleaning questions

[steamfitter]

hi there. i am need of some good recommendations for some cleaning products. can anyone recommend a good engine cleaner and something to clean road grime and chain lube from the wheel spokes?-keith

 

[DandyDoug]

Basic easy cleaning = any car wash soap. Do not use dish soap too harsh on painted surfaces.:rtfr: Rinse with a lite spray of water and dry.

Serious cleaning = S100, be sure to wet the bike down with a spray of water from a hose ( not a pressure spray) and do it in the shade.:yawn2:

Chain cleaning = once or so per year I use some parifin or kerosene and a "Ketten Rheiniger" a specific set up for cleaning chains. Don't need to over do it or over think it, modern chains are pretty much indestructible with common sense and a bit of lube now and then.

For serious wheel cleaning I use a very soft tapered brush to get in between the small areas. Apply liberal coats of wax to the paint and chrome on rainy days in the shed. :lol2:

 

[bluesforchallah]

Basic easy cleaning = any car wash soap. Do not use dish soap too harsh on painted surfaces.:rtfr: Rinse with a lite spray of water and dry.

Serious cleaning = S100, be sure to wet the bike down with a spray of water from a hose ( not a pressure spray) and do it in the shade.:yawn2:

Chain cleaning = once or so per year I use some parifin or kerosene and a "Ketten Rheiniger" a specific set up for cleaning chains. Don't need to over do it or over think it, modern chains are pretty much indestructible with common sense and a bit of lube now and then.

For serious wheel cleaning I use a very soft tapered brush to get in between the small areas. Apply liberal coats of wax to the paint and chrome on rainy days in the shed. :lol2:

+1 to everything DandyDoug listed above. Make sure to cover your spark plug boots to prevent water from seeping in. When I washed mine the first time, I couldn't for the life of me figure out why the bike was running so crapy after I washed it.

Drying = I use an electric leaf blower to blow the standing water out. Quick, easy and you're done in a matter of minutes.

 

[becket]

Careful with the leaf blower, as the intake is not filtered as well as some bike-'blasters'. I was educated on another forum about that when i used one a couple of times, before i got a used 'blaster'. A foam filter duct-taped around the edges to the leaf blower intake will save some bigger particles from maybe scratching paint and-or clearcoats, which is certainly cheaper than getting another bike-blower.

 

[Kingmoham]

Basic easy cleaning = any car wash soap. Do not use dish soap too harsh on painted surfaces.:rtfr: Rinse with a lite spray of water and dry.

Serious cleaning = S100, be sure to wet the bike down with a spray of water from a hose ( not a pressure spray) and do it in the shade.:yawn2:

Chain cleaning = once or so per year I use some parifin or kerosene and a "Ketten Rheiniger" a specific set up for cleaning chains. Don't need to over do it or over think it, modern chains are pretty much indestructible with common sense and a bit of lube now and then.

For serious wheel cleaning I use a very soft tapered brush to get in between the small areas. Apply liberal coats of wax to the paint and chrome on rainy days in the shed. :lol2:

Most car wash soaps claiming to be safer for your paint finish will tell you that they are "phosphate" free...well so is dawn dishwashing soap and it cost 1/10th the price. I have washed my vehicles by hand with dish soap to 'show' condition on regular basis for the last 30 years with no issues. The car soap/dish soap IMHO is nothing more that targeted marketing.

 

[Keith Harding]

"For serious wheel cleaning I use a very soft tapered brush to get in between the small areas. Apply liberal coats of wax to the paint and chrome on rainy days in the shed."

Seriously? I didn't know this and I've been wondering how to protect the chrome rather than just cleaning it. Is wax or polish OK on the chrome?
Cheers.
:brit:

 

[JimVonBaden]

"For serious wheel cleaning I use a very soft tapered brush to get in between the small areas. Apply liberal coats of wax to the paint and chrome on rainy days in the shed."

Seriously? I didn't know this and I've been wondering how to protect the chrome rather than just cleaning it. Is wax or polish OK on the chrome?
Cheers.
:brit:

Absolutely it is, and the best protection you can get, within reason!

Jim :brow

 

[em_dot]

I stay up on the bike cleaning pretty frequently. I've not had to used water on this bike yet, but I've not taken any long trips either.

So far I've been able to just dampen a soft rag with WD40 and wipe clean. Then wipe again to get the WD-40 residue off. After that I polish per the recommendations above. Tank, fenders, side covers, casings, chrome.

WD-40 works great for getting the bugs and road tar off!

 

[Kirkus51]

Does anybody still use Lemon Pledge anymore??:eeek:

 

[koifarm]

I'll buzz over to the Martha Stewart website and drop a question over there for her to see how she'd do it....seems to me I remember seeing her on a large motorcycle riding with Malcom Forbes.....

 

[steamfitter]

sorry guys, i appreciate the answers, but i guess i didn't clarify my question too well. i already keep a pretty clean bike. i am, actually, pretty anal about it. i use mcguire's gold car wash, mcguire's polish, and gold wax. i also use mother's chrome polish. so that part is pretty well taken care of. where i had a question was on cleaning the spokes on the wheels. what i have been doing now is using a shoe lace and, literally, cleaning each spoke! i was asking if there is any product that you can spray on and get the grime off rather than doing what i have been doing? also, i was asking about the engine cleaner. i have some tough spots to get to and thought some engine cleaner might make the job a little easier. just wondered what everybody recommended. thanks for the help, keith

 

[koifarm]

Spokes are always a problem, doesn't matter what you use you still have to go after them one at a time. I just cut a nice fluffy towel into 1-2" strips and use them like you would a shoelace....don't know if I'd use something as strong as engine cleaner on my bike...just a good soap, water and elbow grease..
And follow any wash with a good coat of wax, even the chrome....

 

[becket]

i had real corroded spokes on an old shovelhead Sportster, and for the hell of it tried Easy Off oven spray (keep it off the fender paint!). Washed it off very well after 5-6 minutes, and they freaking shined! Do the botom half of the wheel, and hold the can close to avoid overspray. After you rinse, move the bike foreward till' the dirty half is facing down, and repeat. I never did the on-your-knees single-spoke-shuffle again. These were basic spokes; i DO NOT KNOW what they would do to aftermarket stainless rims, and I kept it off the calipers and pads. Read the can. I am sure there are less caustic concentrated cleaners that'd work; maybe industrial degreasers you spray on, or wash auto parts with. Ask your local car jockey whats safe around paint!

 

[AceT100]

I use a H*rley D*vidson Wheel Cleaning Brush, and their Spoked wheel cleaner, it works wonders.

I also use Meguiars Quik Wax on the paint & chrome, never 'washed' the bike since I got it in 2007

 

[steamfitter]

thanks for the replies. that is the info i was looking for. there is a harley dealer on my way home, so maybe i will check what they have. one thing about the harley guys, there bikes freaking shine with all that chrome! -keith

 

[KingBear]

I suggest everyone meet at my place this Saturday and let's put all these ideas to the test. My poor little Bonnie is filthy.

 

[Easy13]

The best all-around bike cleaner I've seen is Suzuki Motorcycle Wash. Spray on, rinse off, does an awesome job. Dry it off with a chamois and go get it dirty again.