[Jasons03Corse]

I was curious if it would be harmful to spray my engine with an aerosol cleaner/degreaser? I wipe it down everytime I wash the bike with household orange cleaner, it works really well. But for the nooks and tight spots I can't seem to get, I wanted to spray it with a cleaner/degreaser and then hose it off as the directions say, and see what happens. Would this damage my bike in any way shape or form? I'll be the first to admit I am no master detailer, that is why I was looking for an easier way to do it all at once. And while I got you here, do you think the 409 Orange is harmful? I don't use it on the paint. I mainly do the rims, engine, exhaust and the swingarm.

 

[murrill]

Some of that orange stuff is potent! Some of it in concentrate can be used for paint stripper and the engine is painted. Regular 409 can spot aluminum, I don't know about the orange stuff.

I use soap and water in a spray bottle, then gently with a hose. There are some good looking commercial products out there but I'm too cheap.

 

[MarkV]

i'm a cheapo too and usually it's auto soap and water... but when things are getting really grimy i've found s100 does the trick. engine looks new after spraying it down. it's important to wash that stuff off real well because it'll spot when the engine gets warm.

 

[Jasons03Corse]

what is s1000?

 

[Gman86]

S100 is an all around bike cleaner.. They also have some other stuff such as waxes, etc... It can be used anywhere on the bike, but you do have to wash it off completely. It works great! Don't know if any of the sponsors sell it, if not check your dealer. I got mine at Iron Pony http://www.ironpony.com/
They are in my hometown though.

 

[crossi]

I've used S100, Simple Green and automotive wheel cleaner for aluminum wheels. They all work great. S100 is a bit on the expensive side.

 

[mmoore]

In case you haven't seen it, Scott Gardner wrote up a really excellent FAQ on m/c cleaning & detailing:
http://www.ducatimonster.org/faq/faq_detailing.html
He likes S100. Just be careful of any overspray onto carbon fiber. There have been reports of simple green permanently discoloring c/f. Haven't seen it personally, but thought I'd pass it on just in case.

 

[wwumonster]

Use a tooth brush to get the crannies.

 

[Norm]

Be careful of S100, simple green, & the like. If you leave it on bare alum too long, it can leave nasty stains. I use Gunk engine degreaser on a cold engine to get all of the really nasty stuff off the bike.

 

[Duc_N_Har]

I use Simple Green all the time , but never spray on a hot bike, always wet the bike first, rinse very thouroughly, and I usually always wash the entire bike with soap and water after rinsing the Simple Green. but it gets the grease and gunk off really well!

 

[MarkV]

be very carefull of simple green around carbon fiber... it can cluge it up pretty bad. i fixed it by wet sanding and spraying down a few layers of clear but that was the least of my problems at the time and actually gave me something to do with the down time. pretty sure my bike was cool when the fillmore family cleaned it up a week a so after the wreck. oh well it was the thought that counts, better a clean bike with white out on the carbon than a butt crack in the seat.

the s100 is great but don't apply it to a hot engine and be sure to rinse it off real well... if it's even a bit slick to the touch you need to keep rinsing.

with any cleaner always spot check before spraying willy nilly... be sure to read what it's compatable with (or not).

 

[max mariner]

Spray degreaser is safe because it is less concentrated and it is easy to use and it also gets cleaned up easily

 

[Duc96cr]

Krud Kutter, which is a degreaser, paint prep, works well. Don’t let whatever you use dry in place or sit there too long. I know it seems difficult, but read the label.