engine cleaning

hello all, I have a question, what do you guys use to clean the engines to make them look new, is it a home job. I have seen the homemade baking soda blaster. is there other ways. thanks

cleaning? any day nice enough to clean the bike is a day that is nice enough to ride. i know which task i prefer......

bullfrog_28560 said:

hello all, I have a question, what do you guys use to clean the engines to make them look new, is it a home job. I have seen the homemade baking soda blaster. is there other ways. thanks

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I like simple green for the most part. At a 1:1 dilution, it will dissolve most of muck that accumulates ( oil, tar, bugs). I use a small scrub brush and a toothbrush for the stubborn bits if/when necessary, but most stuff just rinses off after a short soak. It does seem to cause a light film of white corrosion to develop on the bare aluminum of the engine cases of my old airhead. At the Sedalia rally, Tom Cutter suggested using WD-40 to wipe on the cases. I used it after cleaning the bike after the rally, and so far it seems to be working great (sure looks good!). He says it will help prevent stuff from adhering to the cases as well- we'll see... so far, so good.

http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?t=58777&highlight=engine+cleaning

I did a search of the Forum and came up with this. Use 'search forum' and you'll probably get some other hits.

Soak with S100 & water, Rinse throughly, I use a Jet Blaster to dry.

I use aircraft simple green, approved by Boeing aircraft, aluminum friendly
With a cold engine and a spritzer bottle spray down engine, let it sit for a few minutes then rinse, repeat as necessary
Avoid electrical connections, cleans wheels and brakes also

Better be careful with S100. Its far too concentrated as sold and is one of the best ways to get water to wick into electrical connectors, etc. Not a good thing for long term reliability, especially if you live in humid, coastal climates, etc...

I use a cleaner sold by the gallon for less than $20 by my local J brands shop and dilute it at least 3 fold in a 1 gal garden sprayer. Still working on my first gallon several years later given the few times per year I clean the bike. I use S100 the same way but dilute it in a quart hand sprayer.

The Master Blaster is the easiest way one can dry a bike and gets that water out of difficult spots quickly. A bit pricey for what it is - guess it would be cheaper of Chinese- but works well and is reliable. Mine sits right next to my air compressor..

WD40 is essentially menhaden oil in petroleum distillate (or was- all of the fish oil plants in NC where it was harvested are now closed- a combo of decimating the resource with excessive harvest and their neighbors getting tired of the smells associated with them) Would work to minimize corrosion and adherence of heavy dirt but there are more modern and effective alternatives like some of the aircraft products...

racer7 said:

Better be careful with S100. Its far too concentrated as sold and is one of the best ways to get water to wick into electrical connectors, etc. Not a good thing for long term reliability, especially if you live in humid, coastal climates, etc...

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How do you know it "is one of the best ways to get water to wick into electrical connectors"? Please cite your proof of that comment. Myself and just about every M/C owner local to me all have used S100 right out of the spray bottle for many years with zero issues. All cleaners will warn you about electrical components, and even plain water isn't supposed to be used to soak electronics, so common sense is the rule and it apparently has served me well. Never had an electrical, nor aluminum, nor paint or rubber issue using it straight.

One thing I know for certain, do NOT use Castrol Purple Stuff on a hot engine, especially at full strength. It WILL remove the clearcoat, and etch the aluminum to its bare state. Heck, it even removes some anodizing.

For really tough stuff, Purple Stuff is good, if rinsed soon, or cut by 50% with water before spraying it on.

ANDYVH said:

One thing I know for certain, do NOT use Castrol Purple Stuff on a hot engine, especially at full strength. It WILL remove the clearcoat, and etch the aluminum to its bare state. Heck, it even removes some anodizing.

For really tough stuff, Purple Stuff is good, if rinsed soon, or cut by 50% with water before spraying it on.

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+1 on all in the above post.

I use Spray 9 cut 3:1. Works well. Leaves paint where its supposed to be.

Cleaning engines

Bike Bright, usually found in non dealership bike shops, about 10 bucks a pop but it works. S 100 sold by our friendly BMW dealers will cause seizure of bolts and metal to metal parts. Don't even think about it.

In my experience S100 is the best if I'm cleaning engine dirt. Use it after a ride with the bike warm, spraying it liberally. Then without delay spray aggressively with water. Good as new. However, don't spray it on shiny aluminum surfaces (GS wheels) and get distracted with a long phone conversation. S100 will etch aluminum to a milky haze if left too long.

a different kind of clean I meant

thanks for all the degreasing suggestions, The clean I was speaking of is a nice and bright factory annodized finish. The heads are darker than the rest, i wanted to make it all look factory fresh. any more suggestions besides high heat paint?

I've been using one product since 1986, Swish Facto AT30. It is the best degreaser I've come across, it is water based and safe on any surface used in the transportation industry. It is a commercial product. You can get it from Swish in Poland.

A clean motorcycle and clean car using Factor AT 30.

bullfrog_28560 said:

The clean I was speaking of is a nice and bright factory annodized finish. The heads are darker than the rest, i wanted to make it all look factory fresh. any more suggestions besides high heat paint?

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I used a product from Swish a long time ago that was used for brightening up aluminum and it worked very well. If you've seen the part of an R bike where the flywheel and clutch are, you know how dirty and corroded the surface of the aluminum can be in there.

This is after I used that product. All I did was brush it on and rinse.

I used a product from Swish a long time ago that was used for brightening up aluminum and it worked extremely well. If you've seen the part of an R bike where the flywheel and clutch are, you know how dirty and corroded the surface of the aluminum can be in there.

This is after I used that product. All I did was brush it on and rinse.



Aluminum that is protected from the elements by anodizing will look good for a long time. The problem is products being used by owners that is either abrasive or acidic.

I have had good results using Dow Scrubbing Bubbles in the aerosol can to clean wheels and engines. This works fabulously to clean wheels of brake dust and road grime. For really stubborn oil and grease I use Zep Products citrus degreaser. Home Depot sells it. You can use this on a hot engine and will not harm the finish. It was created to clean out greasy restaurant vents and just melts greasy oily dirt away leaving a nice clean surface.
I have had some success removing stains from the course natural aluminum finish of early K and airhead R bikes with Never Dull. If you ever served in the US military you probably polished a lot of brass with this stuff. It is a cotten wadding soaked in some chemical brew that shines up all kinds of metals without using any abrasives. On the bare aluminum of our engines it will remove stains, with some rubbing, without discoloring the aluminum. Wash the surface you work with lots of detergent and water afterwards to remove any of the chemical from the Never Dull wadding.