Shining Up a 78 750k

[jvanleir]

I have a 78 cb750k with a bit of dirt, tarnish and all sorts of rubbish built up on the pipes, rims and engine. What cleaning products do you guys recommend to get stuff like this off?

Update: I've decided to blog my motorcycle adventure at "www.polishtherocket.blogspot.com"

[Spitfire]

Hi there, it all depends on how bad the condition of the bike is. For chrome and paint work I only use Turtle wax, for alloy I use Solvol Autosol, nothing aggressive.
Give the bike a really thorough clean, use a cleaner such as Gunk or paraffin to remove oil and grease, then you can really see what you have.
However if your chrome is really bad then you will have to get a bit rougher with it, for rusty pipes I always used to rub them down with wire wool (Brillo) and used heat proof aluminium paint to make it look better.
For alloy if it is really bad you will have to cut it back to a smooth surface, again Brillo pads (used wet) are good for this or use progressively smoother grades of wet and dry followed up with a metal polish, again my favourite is Solvol Autosol, but there are others.
If the chrome is that bad think about either re chroming, replacing, or if money is tight painting.

Cheers

Den

[Seamus]

Don't forget that the engine was painted, with exception of the outer cases.
personally I use Belgum Alloy for polishing (but that is a personal preference) I polished the cases on mine with a made up kit and it will depend on the stte of things when you start.
Got any pictures?

The sort of thing that you can do is illustrated below:



Polished forks. Removed the laquer with a bit of abrasion and polished with various wheels.

[Spitfire]

Forgot to mention the engine cases being painted !
For years on my bike I put up with rusty spokes because I could not afford to replace them, so I rubbed them down and painted them with aluminium paint, worked for me !

Cheers

Den