The aim here is to find the one-bottle wash that will safely clean every part of your bike, and this huge test has indicated that some chemicals could have the potential, over time, to damage some of the finishes on your pride and joy… The results below show all the motorcycle-specific cleaners, but because people have been known to use all kinds of products not designed specifically for motorcycles, I tested several of those as well – these ‘all-purpose cleaners’ can be effective for their intended purpose, but my findings in this test method were that they either didn’t perform as well as the ones listed below, and many had the potential to seriously harm some of the sensitive surfaces – like polycarbonate – used on motorcycles. These aren’t specifically named in this test to avoid any potential confusion around intended use. Again, cleaning a motorcycle is very different to cleaning a car or a kitchen, but if I’m going to say that a motorcycle wheel cleaner is okay as long as you don’t use it on polycarbonate, for instance, the argument against cleaners not designed for bikes is harder to make. I didn’t test chrome as it’s a very hard surface that was far less likely to show any damage compared to the materials I already had.

It’s vital to remember that the cleaning performance is, to some extent, rather subjective, so all of the cleaners above offer good performance, but these stood out as being, in my opinion, the Best Buys thanks to their performance and value for money: Introducing our all new DrDownpipe premium formulation chain lube. This has been brought to market after extensive testing,trialing and analysis, to establish a premium product to market. Our premium chain lube follows on from our number one selling motorcycle downpipe cleaner. An aerosol spray lubricant with excellent penetrating properties specially formulated for use on all chains. It leaves a fine clear film of P.T.F.E., eliminating the need for cleaning of chains prior to safety inspection. A lot of people worry that washing-up liquid contains salts that will cause your motorcycle to rust, but this isn’t the case. I spoke to Professor Bob Eden PhD– founder and managing director of Rawwater and an Honorary professor at Manchester University, with a master’s degree and doctorate in Corrosive Science and engineering. Apply your cleaner, then agitate with a Vikan brush. Keep the brush rinsed clean. Consider using a noodle mitt or microfibre towel to clean the bodywork, as long as there’s no grit present.All the products worked best when agitated with a brush, and then the differences were relatively small in most cases. Most would remove my test ‘dirt’ in the end, and the effort required was not that significantly different in the scores between 8 and 10. Diluted to 20%, the XCP product just missed out on making it into the recommendeds, with a cleaning performance score of 7/10. But at 60p/litre when diluted to 20%, it’s the cheapest one I’ve tested by a long stretch, so the fact that it can be used as a degreaser at full concentration, a general cleaner at your choice of dilution, and that it’s safe on all materials means it’s another Best Buy for the Scottish chemical company. All the products made light work of the S100 White Chain Lube that was applied to the sample sheets; this is clearly an easy lube to remove from your wheels.

There’s nothing in a washing-up liquid that will exacerbate corrosion – there’s no sodium chloride salt to worry about. As per the instructions, I sprayed the cleaner on the pipes and waited a minute before agitating with the cleaning pad provided. The Unlimited Passion Thunderbolt Wipes are very effective, and while they can damage some materials, the risk is lower than other products as it’s less likely to run into nooks and crannies. I’d still be very careful around polycarbonate and acrylic, and while they can be folded multiple times to get the maximum use out of them, they are costly. The container also doesn’t seal brilliantly, so they can dry out over a period of several months. The slight swelling evident on the O-ring seems to tally with the strong smell of acetone from these wipes. I wouldn’t recommend these or any of the other wipes for use on helmet visors.Washing up liquid does contain a ‘salt,’” he told me, “but this is the active ingredient and should not be confused with road salt; the term ‘salts’ covers a very wide range of anions that dissolve in water. The waterless washes are really only intended for light dust and dirt. These can be surprisingly effective at ‘floating’ grime away, but the high scores here were down to the fact that a microfibre cloth had to be dragged across the surface; if the bike’s really gritty you could scratch the finish. Be particularly careful on screens. I drilled a 2.5mm hole (with a pillar drill for consistency) in all the samples of the three different plastics, then carefully inserted a stainless steel M3 6mm self-tapping screw. This creates a stress riser that highlights any incompatibilities between the material and the chemical. Another option is this Rust Remover from Pro-GreenMX. I will be reviewing it fully as soon as I can, but it’s claimed to include corrosion inhibitors.

Made by bikers for bikers. We are the peoples bike cleaning company. Raising money for charity along the way. Bikers asked us when we were going to bring out a chain lube. Well here it is and it’s a winner. Made right here in the UK. And it shows. Their appearance badly lets down an otherwise tidy bike. So I was keen to try the DrDownpipe exhaust cleaner to see what it could do to rectify seven years of oversight. DrDownpipe Exhaust Remedy is all you need to get your stainless steel Downpipes shining again. With its strong and aggressive formulated solution it will break down even the most in grained dirt on your Downpipes. Multiple reapplications, a couple of pads, a massive amount of elbow grease (my hands hurt) and around an hour later, you can see the result. Seven years of hard-baked dirt, grease and who knows what lifted away, revealing a shiny silver downpipe. Muc-Off and R&G’s aerosol degreasers stood out as being effective with minimal effort, and are great degreasers, though they do work out rather expensive so they’re best on the smaller, most grotty areas –I use these just on the greasy metal parts of the bike. R&G has a lower RRP, but my can’s nozzle leaked (as did both of the bottles of R&G’s liquid cleaners, so keep them upright). Muc-Off also smells the better of the two.They’re also the only wipes I’d be confident using on a visor as they proved safe on polycarbonate and acrylic, but the best way to get flies off, I think, is to soak them with a paper towel then let them float off. That’s what I do on my bike screen too.

Spray Dr Downpipe Chain Lube liberally onto chains keeping the aerosol upright. The addition of Anti-Fling Lubricants gives this chain lube excellent salt water protection and ensure extended chain life. Dr Downpipe Chain Lube is ideal for all types of agricultural, industrial and marine chains and is especially effective on motorcycles and fork lift chains.

My Kawasaki Vulcan S is seven years old. It is cleaned on a regular basis but aside from a wipe over with the same (admittedly excellent) cleaning products I use on the rest of the bike, the downpipes have never been treated to a decent, deep-level clean. Swelling measured on O-rings was generally very slight. A few years ago I tested several chemicals, and the damage caused by petrol and acetone was far greater than anything I saw here. None of the cleaners I test here will instantly ruin your bike, but it’s important to understand that some have the potential to cause harm, which is why we have the selection of recommended products above. As reactions between the materials and chemicals were, in some cases, immediately visible, I believe it’s worth considering. Many of the non-motorcycle-specific cleaners caused damage to polycarbonate during my immersion test. While this is an extreme test, it does highlight that while an all-purpose-cleaner might be effective for its market, it might not be 100% safe for use on motorcycle screens, headlights etc. For that reason, use caution. Spray directly onto cold Downpipes, leave to soak in for up to 1 minute, we recommend using the cleaning pad provided to agitate the dirt. If the downpipes are heavily soiled repeat this process to optimise the result. Finally rinse clean. Keep out of reach of children.