Oil on tires

[tsettel]

What is the best way to clean oil off of tires? When the sight glass went, it coated the rear tire and I need to clean it off. Any ideas? Thanks in advance

[BMathison]

I had an incident early in my bikes life that left the rear tire coated and dripping with oil. Made for an exciting ride home.

All I did, was use the regular, mild car-wash soap and water that I use on everything else. It did make me nervous on the next ride, but wasn't even noticeable once it was carefully re-scrubbed and heated up. The tire was only 400 miles old, and I wasn't about to toss it if it was still usable.

[roger albert]

That will work. Better still, contact cleaner or a harsh dishwashing detergent like Dawn.

[Guest24]

Simple Green will cut the gas and not harm the alloys.

[signit98]

...fist, you douse it in aceton... then you pour laquer thinner over it... after that, you sandblast it and then pressure wash it...

When you are done, let me know the outcome... I was always curious what would happen in such a scenario... you know, how much paint will be left and such...

[markjenn]

If you don't plan on exploring super-duper lean angles immediately, I'd keep the harsh chemicals at bay, use soap/water, and ride conservatively and explore greater lean angles progressively for a few tens of miles.

- Mark

[R111S]

Would Brake Disc Cleaner Spray work?...isn't that what you'll have to use on the Brake Disc as well?...what about the rear Brake Pads?...aren't you going to replace them?

[onekiwi]

Slow day Ralf?.....shouldnt you be doing my stickers lol

[signit98]

...you black www's are done, carl... was there something else??? I forgot...

[tim22]

Nail, have you ever actually used Simple Green? That stuff is kinda slimy and I'd be afraid of using that my self.

I would also be afraid of using any chemicals that could dry out or otherwise change the chemical composition of the rubber. Like others, I've had success washing off kersoene (from cleaning the chain) and small amounts of oil with liquid dish soap. Then, CAREFULLY scrub them in and "sneak up" on the full lean angle.

[Guest24]

Used it extensively to clean the underside of my PA-24-250 Piper Comanche which gets a good coating of asperated oil on it. It is aluminum alloy friendly. Joy dishwashing soap and Amway LOC (liquid organic cleaner) are also alloy friendly with Amway LOC being the best of all. FWIW

[tomn]

Ride through sand, cleans tires and rims come out shinny

[IvanTT]

Ya Simple green does leave a residue...

Dawn works great. Once the tire is dry scrub them in as if you just put on a new tire.

[PFFOG]

Dawn power dissolver, sprays on and is thick so it has time to work. Nail it would probably work great on the belly of the piper. Cheap and pick it up in most grocery stores. Best stuff I have found to clean the bike.

http://www.dawn-dish.com/en_US/powerdissolver.do

[Guest24]

Originally Posted by Yeskino

Dawn power dissolver, sprays on and is thick so it has time to work. Nail it would probably work great on the belly of the piper. Cheap and pick it up in most grocery stores. Best stuff I have found to clean the bike.

http://www.dawn-dish.com/en_US/powerdissolver.do

I read the warning and it says do not use on copper and that tells me I'm not going to use it on aluminum or magnesium alloy.

[roger albert]

Yikes, simple green is horrible on tires. Better than actual oil, but...

Skip most 'mild' soaps too. Too many have lanoline or glycerine in them.
Even a lot of car-wash soaps have some paint 'moisturizers' in them.

Brake cleaner works fine and is about all I've ever used trackside.
It's harsh, but I've never seen it compromise the rubber in any way.
It's not like you're soaking in it.

If you're in a place you can deal with water and flush well, plain old cheap Dawn rules.
Trackside, it's contact, or in a pinch, brake cleaner. None of those leave any residue.
You can go out as hot as you want the first lap (or block or corner or whatever on the street)
As hot as you ever would on cold tires.

I probably clean 2 or 3 tires per trackday this way (loose breather hoses are stupidly common and the primary recurring culprit)

[signit98]

Originally Posted by roger albert

Brake cleaner works fine and is about all I've ever used trackside.
It's harsh, but I've never seen it compromise the rubber in any way.
It's not like you're soaking in it.

In all seriousness, Brake cleaner will probably work best of all... it is so highly volatile, that it evaporates before it even has a chance to dissolve any of the rubber components... even if it did, it would just be a microscopic layer of rubber.

Keep in mind, that tires are made to be highly resistant against chemical and environmental impacts...

Just be careful when you use it, to not get to much on your paint, and if you did, let it dry... DON'T wipe it off... you might wipe your gloss-coat off as well... not with never paint, but if your bike is a few years old, that might happen...

Don't ask how I know...

[PFFOG]

Originally Posted by Nail24

I read the warning and it says do not use on copper and that tells me I'm not going to use it on aluminum or magnesium alloy.

Been using it for 2 years, no problem. Engine castings look great .

It seems gentler to me than S100 and the other specialized cleaners.

[roger albert]

On top of that, and least on our R11Ss, there's not much aluminun exposed anyway.
Tons of silver paint, but little Al. I've used it on actual Al on older bikes, and like Yeskino, found it to be fine (I like the way S100 works better, but it's much harder to rinse. The Dawn, both varieties, is dead easy)

[Guest24]

I'll try it then. Never really used simple green on my bikes just aircraft. I still like the LOC from Amway (no I don't sell it)