Cleaning help... Big time

[1a2a3a]

Okay guys, I honestly need some cleaning assistance over here.

I spent the last 3 hours cleaning my bike but it seems like nothing changes! gosh!

I'm using some turtle 3 in 1 solution for the body work. Put into water, sponge it, wash and rinse. That is relatively easy.

Here comes the messed up area:
Wheel. Okay not so bad, use a cloth with the turtle solution, abit hard but relatively manageable. any recommended solution for wheels?

Chains. My.Effing.God. How do you do this?! All I get is my cloth dirty to a point of no return. My hands are fucked with grease, and the area around the chain seems to get more stain!

Exhuast. Another.bloody.B*tch. First off, the bikes comes with bad welding mark, so, so damage is already done, I supposed its not reversible? I tried several times, cant do shit about it.

Lastly, all those hidden inner area. Despite my tiny little hands, I cant figure a way to do it!

So for the love of god, pardon me, I'm so bloody tired now. If someone would give me a 101 on cleaning, you would be my Samaritan at the end of the messed up darkness.

 

[shadowmonkey]

First of cleaning is a bitch anyway.

For the wheels I use a oil based spray eg: gt85 or WD40 to help break down the chain residue. To start with a little blue came off the wheels but that's no longer a problem.
Chains take a long time to clean and very messy, again use something to break down the oil that's already on the chain (lube) I also take of the front chain protector off (just behind the gear lever) because that gets loads of crap in. If you have the means and time the best way is to take off the chain and soak it in diesel over night. Oh and I use toothbrush to clean.

With the exhaust I clean with sponge and normal cleaning solution to get the most off, then use autosol to help get rid of some rust and polish up at the same time.
For the last, all the best you can do is use toothbrushes again.

This is what I do hope it helps.

 

[Deleted member 20]

For chain cleaning, rims (or any other bike cleaning job where I have to remove oil or grease) I use lamp oil / paraffin oil / kerosene or what you call it in your country, cost me 4 EUR per L.
Same effect or better than any super expensive spray can chain cleaning product.
I use a lot of it on a cloth and/or a brush.

Then finish it of using regular washing-up liquid / dishwashing soap and lots of hot water from my garden hose.
Finally taking the bike for a quick spin to dry off and heat up the chain before I apply new chain wax.
Ideally letting the wax dry for several hours before riding so it doesn't fling off and mess up the bike again.

 

[1a2a3a]

Wont the petrol eats away the plastic paintwork on the blue rims?

So i'll use petrol to 'dip' them on the chains, let it 'sip' in for a few minutes then rinse it off? I'm pretty if I remove the chain, ill never be able to put it back in. (zero mechanics ability)

@shadowmonkey, are you able to find a way to remove the poor welding marking? Generally, ill just use some sort of wax to clean it over, then ill use a microfiber cloth to buff it around.

@and30ers, how do you get over the fact that, cleaning using the cloth, it get stained badly, and when you tried to clean again, the grease that was on the cloth gets transmitted back to the bike?

Is your chain wax in a spray can? I realize spraying the chain gets the bike all messed up again!

 

[Deleted member 20]

Lamp oil is not agressive on paint/plastic.
The cloths I use is my old cotton t-shirts, sweatshirts, towels, mother-in-law's old knickers etc. cut to pieces.
The key is lots of lamp oil. Once cloth is dirty, I just bin it grab another one.

Different brand spray chain lubes have different amount of overspray, I use a piece of wellpap / cardboard box as protection behind the chain if needed.
I usually apply the spray under the swing mid chain (between front and rear sprocket) where there is nothing behind the chain to mess up.
Bike is always on paddock stand when I perform my chain maintenance so I can rotate the wheel in the process.

 

[Igor]

Cleaning - the worst part of biking.

For all the niggly little bits you need a motorbike brush set. Dirt cheap off ebay, like big pipe cleaner it gets into all the nooks and crannies. Also bends to the shape you need.

Chain - get a chain brush (ebay) which brushes 3 sides of the chain at the same time. Then you get onto the age old discussion of what to use... Some say don't use wd40, I disagree with that but best bet is buy some chain cleaning fluid or parafin.

For all the oily crap on the back wheels etc I use a motorbike cleaner spray from biltema which is cheap and makes it easy to get chain oil/wax off the wheels etc.

With the right gear shouldn't take even 1 hour to clean.

 

[shadowmonkey]

@shadowmonkey, are you able to find a way to remove the poor welding marking? Generally, ill just use some sort of wax to clean it over, then ill use a microfiber cloth to buff it

Luckily I have the Akra exhaust so weld markings are not that bad, I do however use a dremel with the polish kit to polish such problems.

 

[DJP]

I seldom bother cleaning the chain or rear sprocket because if you do get them really clean then they tend to rust anyway. But if you must, I've found that Motul spray-on chain cleaner works well: Spray 7 or 8 links at a time, work in with an old toothbrush and then wipe off with a clean cloth. It's a solvent so it evaporates fairly quickly.

For the wheels and hard-to-reach parts I use SDOC 100. Spray on, leave for 10 minutes and hose off. For any residual spots of chain lube left after that, I use a bit of WD40 on a cloth.

For the rest of the bike, the painted parts, seat mirrors etc. I just use any car shampoo - Turtle Wax Zip Wax is as good as any and leaves a nice shine.

Ander's tip re mother-in-law's old knickers is a good one, too!

 

[Hammerian]

Hi,

I agree with previous comments for wheels oil based spray like wd40 on a rag works superbly.

For chains without a doubt the cheapest and by far the best solution is Kerosene to clean the chain with one of those u shaped brushes from amazon they're only cheap.

Once clean to relube the chain i have been informed that by far the best option is a product called blue... Do not use wd40 as it can damage the o rings ....

Hope this helps..

Ian

 

[Noggie]

I plan to put the ultrasonic cleaner to work on my chain when needed.
Not sure if I'm going to use kerosine or just a diluted degreaser as cleaning medium.

I got some Castrol chain lube spray that I intend to use afterwards, and for normal maintenance lubrication.

I guess the trick here is "less is more", apply thin and wipe off any excess oil, then you won't make a mess of your rear end.
Also, a wet chain means dust and sand gets into the lube, turning it into a grinding compound.

 

[nobull]

Kerosene (paraffin) shouldn't be used on some modern O/X ring chains according to owners manual. I also use motul chain cleaner spray - spray it on, wipe it off with the wax 30 seconds later then leave any residue to evaporate before re-applying. I use same method as anders with a piece of cardboard between chain & tyre to avoid getting any on tyre/disc. Looks like new this way, I use old rags then throw them away don't even try to wash chain wax off with water based solvents! Personally I use petrol on the wheels (pour a little on the rag, wipe wheel, then wash as normal for water based deposits) & have done for almost 20 years - it is OK on plastics but I always wash it off immediately, don't use it near transfers & definitely don't use it on screens or transparent plastics (I ruined a screen this way once). I just use turtlewax branded car wash on everything else, did it all yesterday for first time in weeks & bike looks like brand new! Took me about 40 mins.

 

[1a2a3a]

Okay guys, so heres what I did.

Bought the S100 Weissess kettlespray (cleaner and lube) plus a grunge brush.
Also bought the "Universal Easy Stand" to jack up the rear wheel. (https://www.facebook.com/EasyStandUniversal)
I believe this set of item will fulfil the chain area, probably need a cloth here as well.

Next, bought a turtle wax shampoo 3 in 1 for the bike body.
I believe I would need sponge and a dry cloth after.
I would need a separate cloth for the rims and some dirty area.

and that should roughly conclude it? did I miss out anything?

Over here in Singapore, unfortunately, we do not have a garage or any sort. the closes we had are shelter "carparks" for our bike. Hence dust accumulation is inevitable.
Spraying hose is definitely a no go as well. The closes we have is a public water dispenser where at the cost of $0.20, you get uh say, a bucket worth of water.

It's kind of a challenge here, but I aint exactly sure how to rinse off dust compound given that I wont have a hose?

 

[wirld]

For the chain I've found the best thing (once you have it clean) is a chain wax of some description - prevents the fling that you get from normal chain lubes.

I've had some success with this stuff: Maxima Chain Wax - Motorcycle Superstore
I ride the bike until the chain is warm, spray on the wax, let it set until the propellant evaporates and I'm good to go.

I clean the chain very rarely now, but every two weeks I give the chain a spray with chain wax. My chain is 8000kms old, and looks like new - best of all is that I don't have to clean oily dirty lube off wheels, chain guard and swingarm anymore.

As for the small nooks ands crannies - no advice there I'm afraid, I may try the brush set recommended above.