Detailing the Hog

Proper Bike Care
Detailing a Hog!

I've detailed a number of bikes over the years but I've always treated them like cars. I've washed them, put a wax on tank and fenders and used a metal polish on the chrome. The bikes always looked good when I was done but I was never sure if I was using the correct product or procedure.

With my acquisition of a 2002, Harley Davidson Road King, I decided to seek professional guidance. Here in western Florida, the man to contact for bike detailing is Rick Norman Detailing out of Gainesville. Rick specializes in detailing Harleys and does contract detailing for several Harley Davidson and chopper dealers in western Florida. With over ten years of detailing experience, Rick is the guy dealers call to prep show bikes and solve finish problems with customer's bikes.

I contacted Rick and made arrangements for him to come to Tampa. Rick explained that a standard bike detail would take eight hours but since there was five hours of travel time involved (2-1/2 hours each way, Gainesville to Tampa and back) he would bring an associate with him so he could do the job in four hours and still get home at a reasonable hour. Rick also insisted on using his own products. With one exception, every product used in this detail was brought down by Rick. I make a special point of this because we did not give Rick a bunch of products and have him detail a bike. It turns out that we do offer most of the products Rick uses in professional detailing but these are the products Rick has selected based on his experience. The one product I did supply was Menzerna's new FMJ sealant. I use this on my car and wanted to use it on my bike's paintwork. Rick had never seen FMJ before but agreed to use it (more on this later). I should also mention that Rick only details Harley Davidson and custom choppers. He has nothing against Honda's, Yamaha's and even BMW's but he won't detail them. Rick details hogs!

Getting started:

Rick and his associate Ken Overstreet arrived at my home a little after 9 am on a cold (for Florida) December morning. The pair worked nonstop and finished the detail by 1:30 pm. I learned more about motorcycle detailing in that four hours than I learned in a lifetime trying to figure it out myself.

The Basics:

Rick divides the bike into a left and right side and each side into three sections. The front section includes the front wheel, fender and front forks. The center section consists of the gas tank, engine, exhaust and seats and the rear section includes the rear wheel, fender, rear suspension, saddlebags and sissy bar. Rick works on one section at a time and rinses each section between steps and again before going to the next section. His golden rule is, "Never allow any cleaner, degreaser or solvent to dry on the bike under any circumstances." Rinse, rinse and rinse some more.

Detailing the Hog:

Following is a step-by-step photo essay of Rick and Ken detailing my 2002 Road King. I purchased this bike with only 2,500 miles on the odometer. It had spent the last twelve months mostly in the garage due to the previous owners illness. The paint wasn't bad but the chrome was dull and starting to pit everywhere.

I hope you learn as much from this article as I learned watching these two professionals apply their craft.


Saddlebags are removed and a lift is put under the bike.	Windshield, side panels and seats are removed. Bike is raised on the lift.

The first thing I learned is how important it is to get the bike off the ground. While you could do everything with the bike on the ground, getting it up makes the entire job easier especially detailing the wheels. (I'm told that Sears offers an excellent bike stand) Note: Jacking this 700 pound bike off the ground is a two person operation. While one person is operating the bike lift, the second person steadies the bike.

The detail begins by removing the windshield, seats, side panels, saddlebags and sissy bar.


Ken scrubs the whitewalls while Rick sprays the engine with Eimann Fabrik Tire Cleaner.	Left, front whitewall cleaned, Ken rinses the wheel and starts cleaning the whitewall on the right side.

Ken starts by spraying the left side of the front wheel, tire and wheel, with Eimann Fabrik Tire Cleaner. Ken and Rick use this product as a total bike degreaser. While the cleaner is soaking on the wheel, Ken uses a 3M Scuff Pad to scrub the white sidewall. After scrubbing the left side whitewall, Ken uses an E-Z Detail Brush to clean the openings in the wheel and thoroughly rinses the wheel. Ken now sprays the right side of front tire and wheel with Tire Cleaner and starts the cleaning process over on the right side.


Rick cleans & degreases the left side of the engine using Eimann Tire Cleaner and an E-Z Detail Brush	Left side of engine degreased, it is thoroughly rinsed.

While Ken is cleaning the front tire, Rick has sprayed the center section, engine, frame, pipes and battery with Eimann Fabrik Tire Cleaner and uses the E-Z Detail Brush to get into every nook and cranny. Satisfied that he reached everywhere, Rich rinses the center section and proceeds to degrease the rear section of the bike. Rick continues this degreasing, brushing and rinsing procedure as he walks around the bike. When asked why he uses Eimann Tire Cleaner as a total cycle degreaser Rick states that he has tried all the name brand cleaners and degreasers and has not found anything that cuts grease and oils as fast and rinses as well as Tire Cleaner. Rick has never had this cleaner spot a surface but he is fanatical about rinsing every few minutes.


Finished with the whitewalls, Ken starts over cleaning the aluminum rim with S-100 Polishing Soap.	Left side done, the wheel is rinsed again and Ken starts cleaning the right side of the wheel.

Having cleaned the center of the wheel and the whitewall, Ken concentrates on the polished aluminum ring around the wheel by scrubbing it with S100 Polishing Soap. After scrubbing the ring on the left side of the front wheel, it is rinsed and Ken scrubs the ring on the right side of the wheel.


Ken now scrubs the front brake disc using Eimann Tire Cleaner and a 3M scuff pad.	The wheel is rinsed a third time.

At this point, Ken has cleaned the center of the wheel, the whitewall and the aluminum outer ring on both sides of the front wheel. He now sprays the left front brake disc with Eimann Tire Cleaner and scrubs the disc with a 3M Scuff Pad. The left side of the wheel is rinsed a third time.


Having degreased the engine (left side), Rick degreases and rinses the left rear of the bike.	With Rick degreasing the rear of the bike, Ken is scrubbing the right disc brake.

With Ken working at the front of the bike, Rick degreases and rinses the rear of the bike. Rick continues degreasing the right side of the bike with Eimann Tire Cleaner while Ken finishes scrubbing and rinsing the right brake disc. Ken is now finished with the front wheel and Rick has finished degreasing both sides of the bike.


Finished with the front wheel, Ken starts the same procedure on the rear wheel.	While Ken is working on the rear wheel, Rick is cleaning all the chrome with S100 Polishing Soap.

Ken now concentrates on the rear wheel using the same steps he used on the front wheel. This includes spraying the entire wheel with Eimann Tire Cleaner, scrubbing the whitewall, using a brush to clean the center of the wheel, rinsing, cleaning the outer aluminum ring with S100 Polishing Soap, rinsing again, cleaning the rear brake disc and rinsing a third time. While Ken is working on the rear wheel, Rick is cleaning every chrome surface with S100 Polishing Soap. Again, Rick works in sections, scrubbing all the chrome in each section, rinsing then goes to the next section.


Rick uses S100 Polishing Soap on the chrome on the front of the bike while Ken rinses.	Rick continues cleaning all the chrome on the left side of the bike while Ken follows, rinsing each section as it is cleaned.

Finished with the rear wheel, Ken now follows Rick around the bike, rinsing each section as Rick finishes with the S100 Polishing Soap. Rick even removes the license plate to clean the chrome license plate bracket! At this stage the entire bike has been degreased and brightwork has been cleaned with S100 Polishing Soap.


Having cleaned all the chrome on the bike, Rick now washes the paintwork.	While Rick walks around the bike washing the paintwork, Ken follows thoroughly rinsing the entire bike.

Now the paintwork is washed. Rick creates a bucket of soapy water using Eimann Fabrik Power Wash+ and washes all the paintwork using a Multi-task Detailing Cloth. Again Rick washes each part of the bike in sections while Ken follows rinsing the bike with a garden hose. As a side point, their favorite hose nozzle is the Firehose Nozzle. They actually brought one with them but I already had one on my garden hose.


Ken blast dries the bike using my Black Baron Motorcycle Dryer.	While Ken is drying the bike, Rick is washing the side panels and locking saddlebags.

Ken now dries the bike using my Black Baron Motorcycle Dryer while Rick washes the side panels and hard saddlebags.

The center panels and saddlebags are blasted dry and set aside.

White walls are whitened with lacquer thinner.

After blasting the saddlebags dry they are set aside and Ken wipes the white sidewalls with lacquer thinner. Note: This step is controversial. While it is widely done by owners of historic cars with wide whitewalls and I know of no harm this has ever caused, it is not recommended by tire manufacturers.


After whitening, the white walls are sprayed with Stoner Tire Shine. Note: using any tire dressing on a motorcycle tire is controversial.	While Ken sprays the tires with Tire Shine, Rick starts treating black surfaces with Pig Spit from Rolling Thunder.

Brightened with lacquer thinner, Ken now sprays the whitewall with Stoner Tire Shine and wipes any overspray off the polished aluminum ring. Note: While Ken is careful not to spray the tire's tread and brake disc, the use of any tire dressing on a motorcycle tire is controversial. Neither Classic Motoring or Stoner recommends using Tire Shine on a bike's tires. While Ken is dressing the tires, Rick is spraying black areas with Pig Spit.


Pig Spit is sprayed on the black cylinder heads, engine casing and black transmission casing.	Rick also sprays the floorboards with Pig Spit.

Rick uses Pig Spit on black cylinder heads, shock absorber boots, black engine and transmission casing, floorboards and brake pedal. He wipes the floorboards and pedals after spraying to reduce slipperiness. On other black surfaces, he sprays and walks away without any buffing or wiping. Note: The use of any dressings on floorboards and pedals is controversial. These dressings can create a slippery surface. Neither Classic Motoring or Rolling Thunder (the makers of Pig Spit) recommend using dressing on any clutch, brake or control surface.


Ken polishes the shift linkage with Luster Lace.	Luster Lace is also used on the axle between the brake discs and the front forks.

Ken uses a Luster Lace Combo Pack to shine the clutch linkage and the axle between the brake discs and the front forks.


Rick's favorite metal polish is a mix of Menzerna Intensive Polish and Final Polish!	Menzerna polish is wiped over every chrome surface and buffed off with a Microfiber cloth.

At this point every part of the bike has been degreased, cleaned, washed, rinsed and blown dry. Rick now starts what he calls his "final polishing" by mixing a 50/50 blend of Menzerna Intensive Polish and Menzerna Final Polish II (about the size of two Nickels) on a Microfiber cloth (like our Multi-task Microfiber Cloth) and polishes every chrome surface. Because the chrome on my bike was starting to pit, Rick actually used a little more Intensive Polish (60% Intensive Polish to 40% Final Polish II). He carefully polishes all the chrome in one section and allows the polish to dry. Rick then uses a clean, dry Microfiber Buffing Cloth to buff off all residues. Rick explains that most enthusiasts use a metal polish for this task but most metal polishes leave a black residue on the cloth and if the chrome trim is on paintwork, the black residues are transferred to the paint. Rick also feels the abrasives in Intensive Polish do an excellent job of removing any remaining pits and stains left after cleaning with S100 Polishing Soap. I am surprised by this combination but I can't argue with the results. Watching Rick, this combination polish buffs off easily and leaves a mirror-bright, streak and pit free chrome surface.


The headlight nacelle, side lights and Lower fork tubes are polished with the Menzerna polish.	The upper fork "cans" on this Harley are stainless steel and polished with Luster Lace.

Rick continues working around the bike in sections polishing all the chrome with the Menzerna combination. He uses Menzerna on the headlight nacelle, light bar, side lights and lower fork tubes but not on the upper fork "cans". On my bike, these cans are stainless steel and Rick prefers to use Luster Lace on these cans.


Rick polishes the top of the cylinder heads by wrapping a cloth around an aluminum rod.	After all the chrome is polished, the same Menzerna combination is used on all paintwork and buffed with a Microfiber buffing cloth.

Rick polishes the top of the cylinder heads by wrapping his polishing cloth around an aluminum tube and working it between the cylinder head and frame. After the polish has dried to a slight haze, Rick uses a clean Microfiber Buffing Cloth wrapped around this same rod to buff off all residues. When all the chrome on the bike has been polished and buffed, Rick uses the same Menzerna combination to polish the gas tank, side panels, fenders and hard saddlebags.


For protecting the paint, I selected Menzerna FMJ.	Ken applies FMJ to the saddlebags and side panels.

We're almost done. Now it's time to "wax" the paintwork. Rick had never used Menzerna FMJ before (he didn't know about it) but agreed to try it on my bike's paintwork. I use FMJ on my car and like the shine, durability and way it sheets water. Ken was first to use FMJ on the side panels and saddlebags and was blown away at how slippery it made the surface.


Rick applies FMJ to the gas tank and fenders.	The leather seat is conditioned with BLACKFIRE Leather Conditioner and buffed.

Rick then used FMJ on the gas tank and fenders and was equally impressed. In fact, he was so impressed that I ended up giving him by bottle of FMJ as a bonus! FMJ was used only on painted surfaces. No protective product was put on top of chromed parts. While Rick finishes buffing the paintwork with a Microfiber Buffing Cloth, my wife Jan conditions the leather seats with BLACKFIRE High-UV Leather Conditioner.


The windshield is sprayed with Plexus and buffed with a clean Microfiber Cloth.	The windshield is installed on the bike and carefully inspected. The front is sprayed and buffed again with Plexus to remove any prints created by pressing the windshield in place.

Wrapping up the detail, Rick polishes the windshield with Plexus Plastic Cleaner and installs it back on the bike. After the windscreen is installed, Rick gives the front of the windshield one last mist and wipe to remove any palm prints created by locking the windshield in place.


The seat, side panels and saddlebags are installed.	The lower fork tubes on this bike are clear coated and given a protective coating of FMJ.

The seats and saddle bags are installed and both Rick and Ken do a final walk around looking for anything that might have been missed. The lower fork tubes on my bike are clear coated so Rick gave them a coat of FMJ. I didn't get a picture of it but during this final inspection Rick and Ken used S100 Detailing Swabs to remove residues on the cylinder fins and the "Road King" trim on the front fender.

If the bike doesn't get excessively dirty, Rick recommends only misting and wiping it after riding with S100 Detail+Wax.

Eight man hours later the bike is so shiny it casts reflections on my garage door.