TOPIC:

A pressure washer is a bad idea. You will likely end up with water in the electrical system and it can even force its way into wheel bearings and such.

I have used simple green many times over the years on many different pieces of aluminum and saw no indications of short or long-term accelerated corrosion. All I know is that it works for me as a degreaser and all purpose cleaner and brightener for aluminum and other materials. If you need it, here is the whole 9 yards. ▶ Aluminum — Is it safe to use Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner on aluminum?
When used with caution and according to the instructions, Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner has been safely and successfully used to clean aluminum. Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner, Crystal Simple Green Industrial Cleaner & Degreaser, and Simple Green Pressure Washer Concentrates have been used on aircraft, automotive, industrial and consumer aluminum items for over 20 years. However, caution and common sense must be used: aluminum is a soft metal that easily corrodes with unprotected exposure to water. The aqueous-base and alkalinity of Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner can accelerate the corrosion process.

Therefore, contact times for unprotected or unpainted aluminum surfaces should be kept as brief as the job will allow - never for more than 10 minutes. Large cleaning jobs should be conducted in smaller-area stages to achieve lower contact time. Rinsing after cleaning should always be extremely thorough - paying special attention to flush out cracks and crevices to remove all Simple Green product residues. Unfinished, uncoated or unpainted aluminum cleaned with Simple Green products should receive some sort of protectant after cleaning to prevent oxidation.

Simple Green has also developed break-through water based cleaners that are safe for use on metals, plastics, rubber and high tech alloys. Extreme Simple Green Aircraft & Precision Cleaner, Pro Series Simple Green Automotive Cleaner, and Simple Green Pro HD are available on both the industrial and retail markets, respectively. These products were initially developed for the aircraft industry and extensive testing shows that they are safe and effective on a variety of metals and other sensitive surfaces even in the most extreme circumstances.

Simple Green Stainless Steel One Step Cleaner & Polish is another option for cleaning polished aluminum. This product is designed for light duty metal cleaning and polishing.

Rick H. wrote: I am somewhat confused on the Simple Green comments though.
are we talking "normal" Simple Green or something else?

Simple Green (the company) makes multiple products. The original (green) Simple Green is probably the best known.

However, they also make a purple version.

Rick H. wrote: ... Most immediate is the fact it has an oil leak from the front head gasket area...

A leaking or weeping tach drive can precisely mimic a leaking head gasket just by the way airflow pushes oil around on the external head surfaces. We'd suggest to rebuild that first, with new O-ring and oil seal before taking down the top end.

Next thing we'd try if the tach drive doesn't stop the leak would be to simply re-torque the head fasteners to spec when the motor is cold.

The motor cosmetics look pretty good to us as is. We've used jewelers rouge to good effect on cases, cooling fins & covers, but it's extremely labor intensive. Some chemical potions might reduce the white corrosion, some, but are unlikely to really brighten the aluminum. The thing with jewelers rouge, or any polishing agent is, once started, the entire motor must be completed so you aren't left with obviously different surface finishes.

Speaking strictly for ourselves, unless there's a compelling reason to remove & clean the carbs (performance or leaks), we'd not touch them just for cosmetic reasons. The patina currently on them is even & correct for their age. But that's just us...

If there is a compelling reason to remove & clean them internally, we prefer Yamaha Carb Cleaner Dip in an ultrasonic tank. It cuts gum & varnish quite well, but will not brighten. Follow label directions.

Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

slmjim+Z1BEBE wrote:

Rick H. wrote: ... Most immediate is the fact it has an oil leak from the front head gasket area...

A leaking or weeping tach drive can precisely mimic a leaking head gasket just by the way airflow pushes oil around on the external head surfaces. We'd suggest to rebuild that first, with new O-ring and oil seal before taking down the top end.

Next thing we'd try if the tach drive doesn't stop the leak would be to simply re-torque the head fasteners to spec when the motor is cold.

The motor cosmetics look pretty good to us as is. We've used jewelers rouge to good effect on cases, cooling fins & covers, but it's extremely labor intensive. Some chemical potions might reduce the white corrosion, some, but are unlikely to really brighten the aluminum. The thing with jewelers rouge, or any polishing agent is, once started, the entire motor must be completed so you aren't left with obviously different surface finishes.

Speaking strictly for ourselves, unless there's a compelling reason to remove & clean the carbs (performance or leaks), we'd not touch them just for cosmetic reasons. The patina currently on them is even & correct for their age. But that's just us...

If there is a compelling reason to remove & clean them internally, we prefer Yamaha Carb Cleaner Dip in an ultrasonic tank. It cuts gum & varnish quite well, but will not brighten. Follow label directions.

Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

Thank you for the great advice re the tach drive. I never thought of that...DUH! After a brief ride and the bike is parked the escaping oil seems to flow off the timing chain bulge in the head and drops on the floor leaving a 1 or 2 inch puddle. I will definitely check out the tach drive and followup with a retorque of the head. Thanks to all for some really helpful advice in my questions. This is exactly the kind of forum I enjoy coming to!


Rick H.

If it's leaking from between the valve cover and the head I would recommend buying a new OEM valve cover gasket and replacing the old one.

Many weekend wrenchers don't have a torque wrench. It's one of the most important tools in the tool box. Valve cover bolts (I think there are 16) should be torqued to 70 inch pounds. Note that I said INCH pounds and not ft lbs. Any more than that and you risk stripping the threads in your head.

If it's leaking between the head and the cylinders then you will need a set of head gaskets. Not sure if your engine uses one big one or two halves. The book will show which.

Sorry, but I missed your post about the leak. That being said, once you get the leak fixed and the engine as clean as you want, my go to, back in the day polish for aluminum was, 'simichrome' polish. Very labor intensive but with mirror like finish results. Let's keep them old bikes lookin 'Better than New'...

650ed wrote: I guess to some degree it depends on the condition of the engine when you start. I cleaned my engine using metal polish. Yes, it took me several days, but when I was done I though it looked pretty good. Ed

What brand of metal polish did you used?

I used X-treem metal polish wadding rolled onto a popsicle stick for hard to reach places and S-100 cream type polish for places that were easier to get to. Ed

baldy110 wrote: Simple green is corrosive to bare aluminum unless it's the aluminum safe one which doesn't work on anything.

I would second and third this advice.

I helped a co-worker get a neglected loud and slow bike (a big dog chopper) running years ago. After I got it running and ride-able once again, he wanted to clean it up to sell it. He bought some mag wheel cleaner that said to test on the surfaces.. he sprayed the whole engine down with it, and it etched all of the polished aluminum into a shine-less dull looking mess.. You could see the area's that it had run down when he doused the motor with the chemicals.. In seconds he turned a nice evo engine that only needed some mineral spirits and a parts brush + water hose to clean the oil off of, instead of spending a week of rep-polishing all of the bare aluminum.

Also noting a different post, some of us own bikes that they bought new and have never sat outside in the weeds like a LOT of the rescue bikes. Also, I got caught in the rain a few weeks ago.. it was raining so hard the cars were pulling over.. I kept going and am thankful my bike did not die while being drenched.. I was soooooo freakin wet, that I was literally sloshing with my boots full of water... Point being some bikes NEVER see this type of use.

How much work to polish up this Kz650? As an auctioneer at a car auction I used to frequent used to say.. "knee deep in rubber, it only needs a little armorall on the seat" LOL

So was this 'mag wheel cleaner' called 'Simple green-all purpose cleaner' ?
bottle of simple green @ lower left in pic, still use it, always will.

urankjj wrote: So was this 'mag wheel cleaner' called 'Simple green-all purpose cleaner' ?
bottle of simple green @ lower left in pic, still use it, always will.

Nope, it was a chemical that ate the aluminum. I don't remember exactly what it was. Point being was for people to be careful what chemicals that they use on the aluminum. I am glad that you are happy with simple green. Use what works for you. There are a lot of different flavors of mag wheel cleaners and simple green.

Choose wisely.