Steam Cleaner For Motorcycles - Anyone Tried This?

[mberk01]

I'm thinking of buying a light-duty steam cleaner for cleaning my motorcycle. I'm leaning toward a McCulloch MC1385; $199.99 on Amazon. Intended use would be on metal parts only, like the engine, frame and wheels. I would never use it on plastic parts. I'm interested in hearing from members with first-hand experience; good or bad. Does it clean well enough to make it worthwhile? Did it harm any paint or clear coat?

[dingdong]

I haven't tried it but there was a thread regarding this a couple of months ago. The guy stated that he had no problems with plastic or paint as those questions came up. Worked great according to him. ???

[AZgl1800]

One Word of Caution.

If you put steam onto any of the Wiring Harness, when it cools off, it will suck in water and start corrosion in a BIG way.....

then later, you will start fighting all kinds of weird gremlins....
my advice is to forget the steam cleaner for the bike's internals.

wheels? maybe okay, as long as no vapor gets inside the main bike parts and wiring. and preventing that will be hard....

I say no.


Ever buy a Used Car from the dealer? open the hood and it is oh, ever so clean....
Grandma only drove it to church on Sundays.....
yeah, right hogface.

6 months or a year later, that car is giving you so much trouble, you have to dump it.

[minimac]

Care needs to be taken also that the pressured moisture, if using a steamer or pressure washer, doesn't get to the wheel bearings as well as the wiring. While I'm sure some will chime in and say they do it often with no issues, there is no need to use a pressure washer or steamer when cleaning your bike. If you decide to do it anyway, a leaf blower will help the drying process- but that presents a different set of possibilities!

[mberk01]

Now you have me curious. I've been using a leaf blower to dry my bike for years. What problems have you experienced or heard about? By the way, I wrap my handle bar controls with Walmart bags to keep the water out. I know they are supposed to be water proof; but since I started doing the Walmart bag thing I haven't had any trouble with intermittent or sticky switches.

[alwrmcusn]

JMO: When I was stationed at NCS Londonderry in the '60's, I would use the galley outside pot/kettle steamer to clean my Matchless 650. It did a great job and I never had a problem caused by the steam cleaner. HOWEVER, that was before vehicles became rolling computers!