Total Motorcycle Community Forums

I've used vinegar to remove rust from stainless steal/metal on a number of things, but I've never owned them afterwards long enough to be aware of any possible long-term effectives it might have. I'd assume that since everything turned out fine, that it'd be ok to use on my bike, but I wanted to know if anyone else had experience with this as well before I went ahead and did it.

Also: Does anyone use automotive engine/carb cleaners for their bike? I've done this with several old, higher mileage cars, and it really seemed to help (the Camaro has 310,000+ miles on it now! ). I understand that any sort of oil additives with 'lubrication' are a bad idea for 'wet clutch systems', too. Do most bikes have that sort of system?

Vinegar is a great cleaner if you can get over the smell. My wife often cleans our floors w/ vinegar and that's about the time I go out for a ride !!!

I don't use any snake oils in any of my bikes w/ the exception of one -

Marvel Mystery Oil. I put a tablespoon in the gas tank every other fill up - as the gas level goes down in the tank, the mystery oil sticks to the inner surface of the tank preventing rust. In addition, it also sticks to the metal parts of the carburettors, which helps keep them clean. (varnish doesn't stick to the film of oil) I also put a little bit in the crank case, because once again, the mystery oil sticks to the metal surfaces, which helps protect against acid etching. In addition, it's a creeping oil - as the parts heat up, the oil is attracted to them, so it coats the rod, piston and cyl walls as well.

-OPINION-
Finally, i'll go out on a limb here and say that I've personally never seen an additive (or oil for that matter) cause clutch slippage. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I've never seen it personally. I will say that the majority of bikes that I work on are pretty well taken care of and not thrashed about, but I really think unless you are really trashing your clutch w/ wheelies and the like, friction reducers aren't going to have much of an effect.
-END OPINION-

Vinegar is an acid, so it should clean half decent, as long as it's completely rinsed away afterwards. Not sure, I spend more effort making shiney things dull, myself......

Carb cleaner in a carbed bike might help clean out some grunge, won't hurt if used as directed.

Most bikes do have a wet clutch system. This means you want to run a good quality motor oil, but with NO 'friction modifiers' in it. You can use automotive motor oil or buy specific motorcycle oil, it's your call. And always change the filter when you change oil.

TechBMW wrote:Vinegar is a great cleaner if you can get over the smell.

I actually like the smell of vinegar. Always have. I was an odd child.

TechBMW wrote: I don't use any snake oils in any of my bikes w/ the exception of one - Marvel Mystery Oil.

And that happens to be exactly the product I was planning on using. Have half a bottle left in my cage, as a matter of fact.