| Author | Message | ||
     Ponti1 |
Just thought I'd share my findings with everyone... As of yesterday, I hadn't washed my bike for about 1500 miles, and specifically hadn't even bothered with trying to clean the rear wheel since it's sort of impossible. As of today, I am a changed man! I decided to wash the bike, and was just staring at my black-but-used-to-be-blue wheel. I was thinking that something has to work to easily get all the brake and exhaust crap off of there. So, I tried the bottle of wesley's bleach white I happen to have sitting in the garage...WOW!!! This stuff is absolutely the ticket. I know it says all kinds of stuff on the bottle about not using it on painted or aluminum surfaces, but it works like nothing I have seen before. I just sprayed it on and let it soak for about 30 seconds...Then, just wipe with a damp towel and then rinse well. I still didn't spend much time on the wheels, so there's a bit of crud in the cracks. I just wanted to show how well it did on what I am guessing is like 5000 miles since I last scrubbed at the rear wheel at all.   | ||
| Brent1125russ |
Not too bad! I was tired of my 'coal' blue (obviously lacking that 'diamond' shine) rear wheel and I tried everything in the cabinet with no results..... As a last result, I ended up using brake cleaner. I had my garden hose and sprayer ready to go and as i'd hit the crud with the brake cleaner, it would dissolve and I would immediately rinse it off before it could eat into the paint. I really don't recommend this, but hey...it works. I think I'll try the bleach thing next time though. Either that or get a Drummer | ||
| Mr_incognito |
Ive been trying to find something to clean my rear wheel for a long time LOL....I used a bunch of Goo Gone on it with no luck, and gave up after that....I figured if goo gone didnt work then nothing would. | ||
| Pariah |
Pretty impressive clean up for such a brief application. To get things as clean as you've shown, I have to first use wheel cleaner (then rinse) to get off the first layer, then use a cloth and WD-40 to remove the remainder. Takes me much longer than 30 seconds! | ||
| Johnnysunami1967 |
I strongly suggest stop using Wesley's on your rims...over time, the finish will loose its satin finish...then you'll be pissed about having to shell out several hundreds of dollars for new rims...because youre not going to like dull looking rims... | ||
| Fresnobuell |
thanks for the tip. Where do you find this wesley's stuff? | ||
| White79bu |
I use simple green. It does really well. | ||
| Ponti1 |
Johnnysunami1967, I was wondering if anyone had a dissenting opinion of using this stuff. What is the reason for you saying it will ruin the finish on the wheel? No doubting you, but am curious as to what would cause it? Also, by "over time" do you mean like in a couple applications or a couple years? From what I've read online, the trick with the stuff is to use it and make sure to rinse it completely off. It does seem to be discouraged on bare aluminum, but on the painted surfaces everyone seems to just say to make sure it is rinsed really well. I guess my thinking is that if it does damage over a long time, I'll just buy a new rim at come point, or let the thing stay black. Otherwise, it will just be black and I won't like the look of it anyway. As far as where to get the stuff, any auto parts store should have it. I did spell the product incorrectly though...It's actually "Westley's Bleche-Wite" (http://www.westleys.com)  | ||
| Dave_bogue |
One of the attractive design features of the 1125 is the belt drive: no chain lube fling on the back wheel and swingarm to clean off. However, Buell has negated the above by routing the exhaust gas to the rear wheel. Hopefully that will be rectified in 2010. Meanwhile, an aftermarket can with turnout exhaust tip makes sense. Dave Bradenton Fl | ||
| Ccryder |
A word of caution with the Simple Green. I have seen it discolor powder coat on Buell wheels. Don't know if it was the mixing, the application or that particular wheel but it too discolored the powder coating. I can't speak for the Westly's, I use S100 cleaner and it seems to work very well. Always rinse throughly. | ||
| Usmoto |
Good info on the Bleche Wite. Used it this morning with great results. Sprayed it on the wheel, left it for only approx. 20 - 30 seconds, and sprayed off. I've used the stuff for years on tires and it always did a fantastic job. I'm going to the auto parts store today to look for parts to make some exhaust turnouts of some type. | ||
| P_squared |
I'm a lazy bastage who'd rather be out riding than cleaning my wheels. Having said that, they clean up real nice with 'goo gone' when you have them off for changing tires. Spray, let sit for ~1 min, wipe off. That's the only time I clean them so far. | ||
| Ron_luning |
Honda spray polish/cleaner works like nothing else to clean all manner of filth while actually making the paint look better. I don't think Honda puts their name on it anymore, but it is still available in most decent jap bike dealerships. | ||
| Jaimec |
Do what I did. Get the BLACK wheels. | ||
| Carbonbigfoot |
+1 on the black wheel thing. That was a major draw of the CR for me! R | ||
| Sparky |
I'd read the fine print on the label a little closer if I were you. Westley's is a WHITEWALL/BLACKWALL TIRE CLEANER -- not meant for wheels, aluminum or painted surfaces! Do ya think that's why the bottle recommends against using it on wheels? | ||
| Jaimec |
WHAT?? Read the instructions?? What are you... some kind of HERETIC??? | ||
| Dynasport |
I too use S100 on my bikes various surfaces. I was highly criticized by a number of on a Harley board I briefly participated in. I was told to NEVER use it on the paint, but if I did to immediately rewax the bike, as it removed all wax. I can neither confirm nor deny whether S100 removes wax from paint, but I can tell you that while it is not a miracle cleaner, it does a good job on a variety of surfaces. I can also say that, though my Harley is a 2000 model with over 40,000 miles on it, it is often mistaken for one right off the showroom floor. In spite of my use of S100 and failure to immediately rewax. So, I know people do sometimes come down a bit hard on how damaging something can be to a surface, S100 claims it is safe and my experience seems to confirm it. Bleche White, on the other hand does not claim to be safe. I think I'd look for something that claimed to be safe if possible. If I couldn't find anything, I'd probably use Bleche White as carefully as possible when I couldn't stand how dirty the wheels are and start saving for a new set. | ||
| Thurstonbuell |
Get the wheel cleaned up , and make something like this to deflect the exhaust , saves a lot of time !!!  | ||
| Ccryder |
Ron: I'm with you on the "Honda" spray, just didn't want to get laughed off the board (like I care). Yeah Honda went green and decided that the small amount of VOC's was too much. Honda actually was only re-labeling someone else's product anyway. I did notice last weekend when I bought a new can that Honda's name is back on it, still pink and black label. Since I am now wearing an environmental hat for my company, I tend to read the labels and MSDS before I apply ANYTHING! I did note that the Westley's is advertised as high ph (meaning above 7 and maybe caustic) so use caution when spraying or even washing it off. Our 4 footed friends may also be tempted to drink the run off downstream. Time2Run Neil S. | ||
| Usmoto |
I know the instructions might say not for use on wheels and such, but I always seem to get it on the wheel when when I spray it on a tire. In the 20+ years that I've used it, I've gotten it on everything, wheels, paint, eyes, etc and never had any negative results. ( The wind helped with getting it in my eyes). The goal is to spray it on and let it do it's work for a short time and then make sure you rinse it off completely. I have to tell ya, I've cleaned the wheels on my R many times but after using the Westley's my rims and brake rotors look like new. | ||
| Buellfanatic8814 |
Clean the bike..WTF..what for ?? It's just gonna get dirty again. If i want it washed i just wait till it rains(happens alot here in seattle). I remember i brought my ol X1 into the shop to get some work done & after it was done one of the "newguys" at the shop asked if i wanted it cleaned..needless to say the entire rest of the shop broke out in gales of laughter..Plus it was a friggin monsoon outside at the time. Have a great day, Pete Wash your bike..humph.  | ||
| Xl1200r |
I don't understand what the big fuss is about getting the wheel clean. I use simple green with a soft brush and all is well with the world. Neil - Not sure how I feel about your claim the Simple Green will discolor powdercoat, for two reasons. One, I've been susing simple green for the last three bikes I've owned, all with combinations of chrome, bare aluminum, paint and powdercoated surfaces with no ill results. Second, S100 is nothing more than a 2/3 diluted mixture of Simple Green and water. Save some cash and make your own. I go with 2/3 mix for most of the bike, and anywhere from 1/3 to full strengh for the dirty bits like wheels, bottom of the bike, engine, etc. | ||
| Ccryder |
Mark: I saw it with my own eyes on a friends S1W. I also still remember the "sad sack" look on his face when he could not get the streak off his wheels. Where did you ever hear that S100 was diluted Simple Green? That's a wild one for sure. Take a look at the MSDS sheets and you may change your tune on that one. Heck, even S100 will white streak polished Aluminum if you don't rinse the heck out of it! I stopped using it on my S3T and X3 because of all the polished Aluminum I had. Later Neil S. | ||
| Bearly |
I've been having great luck with the Genuine Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Wheel & Tire Cleaner. I just spray that on and wipe all the exhaust-brake dust and road dirt off with a damp rag or a soft brush. It's works great! It is supposed to brighten my white walls, but I haven't seen that work on my 11 yet. You know guys, I really was shocked on how fast those Translucent Amber wheels look dirty on the 1125R. The HD Wheel & Tire Cleaner works for me. And it's Biodegradable! (Message edited by bearly on June 18, 2009) | ||
| Ccryder |
Please, please show us your white walls! :+} | ||
| Bearly |
No, You all would want them and would be able to pick my bike out in the crowd!  |
