Anyone got any good tips on keeping that grey engine looking like new? Anyone try that S100?

 

test.

 

..simple green and a blow dry.
Later

 

S100 I use--like it--havn't tried simple green--maybe next time.

 

simple green works very well as a degreaser

 

I am an s100 man. Spray on a cool engine and use a paint brush to loosen the dirt. Rinse with a hose and blow dry. Then spray pig spit all over it and wipe excess with a m/f cloth.

 

I was the bike useing regular ole car soap. If the engine is extremely dirty, then I'll use a little Simple Green, although this is rare. Ocne the bike is totally dry I'll spray the entire engine and all of the hard to get to spots with S-100. I don't know what's in that stuff, but it works awesome. Once everything is coated well, washing your bike will be a cake walk the next time.

I don't use S-100 every time I wash my bike, just when it starts to become harder to clean that I use it. Try it, you'll love it !!

 

Not sure how true it is, but I have heard that if you leave S-100 on too long or don't get it ALL off. It will actually do ugly things to the finish on aluminum parts.
So my advise would be that if you do use it make damn sure you thoroughly rise it off before trying to dry the bike.

 

This is really a good question. I saw a black FXST like mine earlier this summer at a Wednesday night biker hole and the motor was so dirty and faded it looked more brown then silver. Then last weekend I saw a 2005 black FXST for sale at the local dealer where the motor was really faded and dull looking, specially the front exhaust side of the front jug. The rest of the bike was detailed nicely, so I figured there wasn't much the dealer could do to clean up the faded motor. Gave me the chills thinking about what my '06 motor might look like in the future. I can only hope that the owners of these two bikes did not wash and take care of them. Maybe they sat outside all the time.

I wash my bike about once a month. I use Harley's soap for the tins, frame, etc, but then use S-100 on the motor. I let it soak on the bike for a couple of minutes and then use several soft brushes on the cases and jug fins. Some areas are really hard to get to like up front near the oil filter and exhaust port of the front jug, but I force myself to be patient and do a good job. Occasionally I ding my hands around the fins, so now I wear gloves. For intermediate spot cleaning, I use Simple Green on the motor. Occasionally I'll get these black soot like deposits on the motor, not sure where they come from. One source is if grease gets blown back to the motor from the steering bearings. So I check and wipe off the steering head bearings occasionally. I've found that the silver powder coat paint Harley uses is really tough and resilient, so I will use a little Goo Gone to get these black soot like chunks off. Most of them seem to find there way to the back of the motor where the motor connects to the tranny.

But what I keep wondering, is there a product that can protect the silver coast paint in between washes? Analogous to using wax on the tins. For that matter, since the power coat is just paint, why not just wax the easy to get to parts of the motor, like the cases?

 

Unfortunately wax will burn off the engine as soon as its warmed up.