Engine casing cleaner

[kevin2306]

as part of my refurb this winter, I will give the bike a really good in-depth clean.
Has any1 tried bilberry alloy wheel cleaner on their engine casings?

Thanks

Kev

[steve hawkins]

nope.

report in triplicate required.

rev. Light

[marcmax]

I have tried an alloy wheel cleaner available here in the colonies, Eagle Mag Wheel Cleaner. It is an acid based cleaner and works well but it also removes any protective coating. The engine casings then oxidize much faster than before and you end up spending all your time trying to keep them looking clean.

Best I have found is Simple Green, a set of stiff bristled brushes in a variety of sizes and a lot of time.

[Bob_Roller]

The problem is that when you get an aluminum alloy nice clean and looking like new, you have removed a thin layer of oxidized aluminum .
The one thing that alloyed aluminum likes to do, is to oxidize to that gray look .
Only way to prevent this, is to apply some sort of coating to the metal surface, to prevent oxygen combining with the aluminum .
I've been around aluminum skin aircraft for the last 40 years and I've watched this repeatedly the last 4 decades .
You have an unending cycle of cleaning and oxidizing, unless you get a coating on the bare clean metal, you will chase this endlessly .

[kevin2306]

I think I will just try a stiff brush and soap to remove the grime,  not worried about it looking shines as that wouldn't look right
It's not badly oxidised so I'm just being picky.

Kev

[Ed Miller]

I keep mine covered up with road slime so it does't bother me.

[montmil]

It's that old axiom of One Thing Leads To Another.

You buff up the front engine cover and the crankcase now looks like a red-headed step child. Work that bugger up to your new specification and then it's gearbox lookin' grungy...  Before long, you're spending too many hours detailing snowflake webs and too few hours enjoying a nice ride.

I actually read a "confession" from a rider that had spent hours cleaning up all the bolt heads he could get loose. Painted them silver, reinstalled them and then touched up the tool marks. Same type of person that organizers his sock drawer by color, dark-to-light. Or is it light-to-dark? Who cares!

[Barry]

I keep mine covered up with road slime so it does't bother me.

Mine's a bit like that after a wet ride to work today.  It's just a protective layer of muck on top of the waxoyl and it will all come off in the spring.
If I was to keep spraying oil on top of the muck it would build up an excellent protective layer.

[Burt]

[I actually read a "confession" from a rider that had spent hours cleaning up all the bolt heads he could get loose. Painted them silver, reinstalled them and then touched up the tool marks. Same type of person that organizers his sock drawer by color, dark-to-light. Or is it light-to-dark? Who cares![/quote]   [smiley=shocked.gif]

Life is too short to worry about anal crap.  Hell, I'm just lucky to get all my socks in the same draw (or is that room?)  

[Crossrodes]

I use Simple Green and scrub it with a brush.  Seems to work well.