Engine Cleaning

[blazer8689]

Now that i got the engine running and riding... I love my KZ650 ,
I wanted the engine to have a good shine or gleem (if thats a word) to it, also im trying to avoid taking the whole engine out but i will remove the carbs and knick knacks to get around it.

So im asking on some tips to what i should do to get the engine looking good, now i know the 30 yrs has a beating on the motor so i know it wont shine like new but i want it pretty close.

- Repaint it? (mask other parts)
- Use polish?
- Is there a certain cleaner that would help with all the tight spots? (heat sinks all over engine)
- Power wash? (will water get in the engine)

Any available tips are welcome!!!

Thanks and ride safe!!!

--Eric

[MFolks]

Avoid any cleaners that mention they might tarnish/harm aluminum. Castrol has a strong cleaner would be one to not use.

I'd see if simple green is safe for aluminum along with some of the STP cleaners. Gunk is a brand I use on my black engined 82 GPz1100 B2, a new soft bristled wide paint brush will help clean the dirt and oil trapped in the cooling fins.

A through rinse followed by using compressed air or a shop vac hose set up to blow the warm exhaust should remove most of the water.

I used to take my bike to the local car wash with the cleaners and some clean rags to remove the water. After it got fairly dry, I'd get on the highway and blow any excess water off, by the time I got to where I lived(at the time) the bike was pretty well dry.

[StarGate]

If the engine is bare aluminum (not painted) you could do one of the things I found to work best to remove oxidation from between the fins and shine up the aluminum a little. It takes a few sheets scotch-brite and lots of time and elbow grease but works well. You fold the scotch-brite so it's double thickness. Then insert the fold in between 2 of the fins and use a sawing (back n forth) motion to clean and shine between those 2 fins. It takes some time and it's best not to try to do the whole engine at once because your hands will get tired. Spread it out over a few days concentrating on small areas each time. What I did was to clean the left side one day, then right side the next day and the front the next etc. The results are well worth the work and materials are very cheap.

I pulled all my side covers off as well as the carb caps and bowls and took them to a friends body shop that has a commercial grade polisher/buffer. I did all the work but his machine saved me a lot of time and effort.

[650hardtail]

heres a pic of the 350 triple engine i painted...harley high temp silver case paint...seems to hold up well so far...the paint is kinda pricey(bout $20 a can ) but seems to
work/look/hold up well.. ( and the harley paint hasnt added any weight/oil leaks yet...lol )

[wdhewson]

There's no substitute for a good stiff brush with patience and work. I even have some old dental picks to get off things too tough for the brush. I think some silver colored engine block paint looks very fine and it is quite durable.

[Kawa 1982]

I discovered that the best thing to dry the bike with was my leaf blower.

[wdhewson]

I've too have used the leaf blower, but have a preference to move the bike rapidily through the air rather than air over the bike. Plus the hot engine boils away what I've missed. But be mindful of wet brakes.