cleaning engine

[loui]

need help in cleaning engine m planning to enter my bike to a show can you guys sugest how to clean the outer engine so it would look great?

[clockworkorange]

That would really depend on it's current condition, please elaborate and PICS might help!

[knucklexyz]

need help in cleaning engine m planning to enter my bike to a show can you guys sugest how to clean the outer engine so it would look great?

All,

I have a similar question. Have a '67 CL77 that is in really pretty nice shape (have already won a couple of trophies at local shows) but the engine (especially the fins on the cylinders and the head cover) is not as nice looking as I would like. Back in '67 when I had a new '67 CL77 I used to trundle down to my local Harley-Davidson dealer and buy a can of "Harley-Davidson Gunk". I used that when I washed the bike and the engine would come out really clean and bright (the aluminum looked almost white, if that makes sense). I'd love for the CL77 that I'm caring for these days to look as good. Anyone have any hints on how to get that "really clean, nearly new" aluminum look to the engine without having to take it apart and have it blasted with something? Thanks in advance for any help.

Larry Stanford

[davomoto]

S100 and a good scrub brush will do a good job. I worked in a Harley shop back then, and I remember that gunk. It had some nasty chemicals, that have surely been banned by the EPA. The S100 products are available at moto shops, or check for a website.

davomoto

[Gunner_CAF]

My bike will be a rider and not a show bike, but I am taking it apart to clean it up and paint. I used engine degreaser from the auto store and a brush to get the heavy grime off. With the engine on the bench, I used more engine degreaser, scraper and a tooth brush for harder build up. Carb cleaner or mineral spirits work good for the tough spots. I used a medium abrasive wheel brush on a hand drill to get in and around the cooling fins. The brush is a nylon material and works nice. The aluminum covers polished up like chrome with a polishing wheel and polishing compound.

I have pictures here if you want to see what I started with, and the last picture is the motor as it is today.

http://www.honda305.com/forums/viewtopi ... sc&start=0

Gunner

[Spargett]

Your engine case looks great considering it wasn't sandblasted. Makes me really eager to tear into mine. It can be rather frustrating at times with limited resource (no sandblaster), but little things like that are really inspirational.

My bike will be a rider and not a show bike, but I am taking it apart to clean it up and paint. I used engine degreaser from the auto store and a brush to get the heavy grime off. With the engine on the bench, I used more engine degreaser, scraper and a tooth brush for harder build up. Carb cleaner or mineral spirits work good for the tough spots. I used a medium abrasive wheel brush on a hand drill to get in and around the cooling fins. The brush is a nylon material and works nice. The aluminum covers polished up like chrome with a polishing wheel and polishing compound.

I have pictures here if you want to see what I started with, and the last picture is the motor as it is today.

http://www.honda305.com/forums/viewtopi ... sc&start=0

Gunner

[knucklexyz]

S100 and a good scrub brush will do a good job. I worked in a Harley shop back then, and I remember that gunk. It had some nasty chemicals, that have surely been banned by the EPA. The S100 products are available at moto shops, or check for a website.

davomoto

Thanks, davmoto and thanks too to gunner (your engine looks great!). Mine is getting there, after a lot of elbow grease, and I will try the S100. I've seen their products in a bunch of the m'cycle places I frequent.

BTW, my CL is far from a show bike - the trophies it's won have been more along the lines of "Hmmm, XYZ is having a show and the proceeds are going to a good cause. I'll just ride the Scrambler there, enter it in the show, and spend a fun afternoon looking at cool bikes and talking with people about them." Having once owned a CL77 that I bought the year it was made, though, I could happily live with fewer comments like "Wow, that's just like the one Grandpa had!".