vintage bike cleaning tips

motorhead

motorhead

Member
Looking for tips and tricks on cleaning up an old bike. Pulled out my 77' yamaha ty250d yesterday to rebuild stuck motor and clean her up real good while apart. The white plastic fenders are a little off-white now and the silver hubs are lightly stained from dirt. The rest of the bike came alive with some super clean and warm water from the water heater.
But those hubs and fenders clean would make it SANO.
I lusted after this particular bike for years so dont want to paint anything,want to see it the way I remember it back in the day.
Thanks
 
Supposedlybstarting fluid will bring back some old plastic color. I would try in an inconspicuous spot.
 
i have had pretty good luck with comet kitchen cleaner powder.. make a paste and get after it..

still use it for scratches like boot marks..
 
Comet works pretty good. You can also bring them back with fine grit wet sanding. We have a local guy here that restores old Yamaha bikes and you would swear he bought new plastic. Just figure out the process on an old piece of plastic you don't need. The fine paper can be bought at any auto supply store.
 
All good tips!! Don't forget you can use a heat gun or hair dryer to get discolored plastic back to the original color. They can also be used to smooth scuffs and scrapes if you are patient and careful as it actually melts the plastic smooth. To clean the motor, I use Castrol Purple or one of the knock-offs, then I use carb cleaner followed by soapy water. As you can see on the Maico, the sand cast cases respond very well to this approach! The final thing is that I clean just about everything else with WD-40 or something like it using paper towels or rags. The 1983 Cagiva 125 is the best example as the plastic and seat are originals!!

Eric



 
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