How to: Clean Your Motorcycle

Storing your bike

Motorcycles are exposed to some of the worst weather possible - especially if you are riding through the cold winter months – so a regular cleaning can keep your pride and joy looking as good as it did the first day you claimed it. Keeping your motorcycle parked undercover or in a garage is the most ideal solution for storage, but this is not always possible.

A motorcycle cover is an invaluable investment no matter if your bike will be kept outside or indoors.

Only use the necessary motorbike cleaning products

There are right and wrong ways of cleaning your motorbike – using the wrong cleaner could potentially damage the paintwork or damage components leaving your bike worse for wear than when you started.

You’ll need to understand what products you need based on the materials of your bike. Each material on the bike may need a different type of cleaner, so it is best to use the recommended cleaner for every specific part and prevent the chance of causing any damage.

Take a look at the range of motorcycle cleaners that we stock right here. Give the instructions of every cleaner you are planning on using a good read to make sure there are no warnings for non-recommended use.

Ensure that you dry your motorcycle correctly

Keep a separate cloth handy for when you need to dry the bike, a chamois or microfibre cloth is best. You can use compressed air or something like a power dryer from the Bruhl range if you are a bit more serious about your drying. Using forced air to get to those hard-to-reach areas makes life easier and quickens drying time.

Do you need to polish your bike? A polish does provide some extra protection, especially on your paintwork. Polish or wax acts as a kind of sunscreen for the paintwork and it can give your bike a brighter, more vibrant look. Always check your products with the materials on your motorcycle to make sure they will not cause any damage and avoid using silicone sprays as this can get into your tyres and become a safety hazard. A detailing spray is a quick way to get a great, clean finish on your paintwork, and waxes are a better option but require a bit more time and some extra work on your part.

1. Degrease your bike chain

Start by removing the dirt and grease off your motorcycle chain. 

Your bike chain accumulates dirt and grime the fastest due to the tacked-on grease, and cleaning this area first will prevent accidentally splashing dirt all over the rest of your machine when cleaning the body. 

Apply a good motorcycle-specific chain cleaner that is safe for use on all types of chains including O/X/Z chains and scrub off with a chain brush to get into all the links of your chain. 

The powerful degreasing agent in this cleaner will effectively liquefy and remove oil deposits from your bike chain, and because it will evaporate quickly, it will leave no residue on the swing arm and drive train areas, preventing flash rusting. (Flash rusting is caused by exposed metal reacting to corrosive environments that often occurs when wet surfaces are left to dry naturally.) 

We will need to reapply lubricant to the bike chain to ensure it runs smoothly, but don’t worry about this now – we will do this later in the process. 

2. Pre-rinse and spray bike cleaner over your bike

Give your machine a rinse with cool water from a hose, bucket or pressure washer before cleaning your bike. This will help to break down dirt and grime on the body of your bike before applying the suds. 

Spray your bike with a decent motorcycle cleaner designed to be safe on all surfaces and leave it on for a few minutes to soak and loosen any debris.  

If your bike has a matt paint finish, make sure you use the appropriate cleaner or car wash soap and apply a microfibre cloth to work it in. Even the slightest bit of dirt can scuff the paint, so be gentle with this. 

3. Scrub and wash!

Once you’ve left your bike to soak in its suds, now it's time to apply a bit of elbow grease! 

Grab your sponge and bucket and give your bike a good ol’ cleanse; you may use an auto-approved detergent to help agitate particularly dirty areas of your machine. Refreshing your sponge and changing your bucket water every now and again will help to clear away muck and prevent you from reapplying dirt! 

Make sure to get right into every crevice of your bike with a specially designed-brush. Surface dirt and rust can build up in concealed areas of your machine including your brake discs and pads.  

A good but gentle scrub will be enough to clear this and don’t forget the metal parts of your machine. Avoid abrasive cleaners and tools that could potentially damage the finish or paint of your bike. For your tyres, a bit of chrome cleaner wouldn’t go amiss! 

Once you’ve cleared your bike of dirt, rinse your bike again to wash off any excess dirt and soap. 

4. Dry and detail

Don’t leave your bike to air dry – give your machine a wipe down to prevent water spotting. 

A micro-fibre cloth and a gentle rub down should be enough to make your bike shine, thanks to the residue in your cleaning formula. 

Now on the surface, your motorcycle may appear dry, but there may be leftover water in the nooks and crannies of your bike such as the switchgear. If left unchecked, this could cause corrosion over time. 

To prevent this, we would recommend using a motorcycle dryer or an auto approved compressed air canister. A dryer will help to force water out of those hard-to-reach places of your bike, prevent rusting and prevent the appearance of water spotting. 

5. Protect your machine

Once it's all clean and dry, it's time to apply some wax and protection to make your bike shine and prevent corrosion.

Use a specially designed motorcycle protectant spray to provide a non-sticky protective film over your machine and its bearings, so everything runs smoothly, looks shiny and prevents future dirt adhesion and corrosion. 

Ensure that the protectant you use is safe for use on all areas of your bike including the frame, metal parts, plastics, rubber and of course, the paintwork itself. Most motorcycle-specific protectants will be fine, but a silicone-based formula will do wonders for your bodywork and plastics. Its natural water-repellency will make plastics appear jet black again. 

For your motorcycle seat, apply an approved vinyl protectant or leather care cream, depending on what type of seat you have. This will prevent fading and cracking over time, plus it will look a lot nicer! 

6. Reapply the chain lube

Lastly, don’t forget to reapply the lube that you removed from your bike chain. 

Make sure to apply a non-fling, deep-penetrating lubricant; this will ensure that the grease doesn’t ‘fling’ off your chain when you start the ignition and won’t evaporate quickly when applied. 

Most chain lubes will work for both O-rings or X-rings, make sure to check the product instructions, but depending on how you’re planning to use your motorcycle, you may need a specific type of lubricant. For example, Motul offers two variants of chain lube: C2 Road and C4 Factory Line. 

C2 is a colourless, sticky formula designed to lubricate motorcycle chains designed for everyday road use and karts. C4, on the other hand, is a white-coloured, highly sticky lubricant specially designed for high-performance racing motorcycles – its extreme clinging properties prevent the grease from flying off at extremely high speeds. 

Whichever you decide, apply this lube all over the chain links so everything flexes smoothly and reduces internal wear. This will increase the lifetime of your chain and ensure that it performs well in even the most extreme weather conditions.