Whats the best product to use to get a greasy-grimey dirtbike engine sparkling again?

elbow-degreaser and a brush. I'd try strong soap and water and some brushes. Engine degreaser can take off paint.

Simple Green will do an ok job and keep it safe for you. As a mechanic, and over the years, I've used diesel, Safety Kleen, and orderless mineral spirits. Never use gasoline. The solvents I mentioned are relatively safe and will cut crud well enough. You can follow up with a warm soapy solution if using solvents. Just remember not to pour the solvents out, rather, collect them in a leak proof container and take them to a recycle center (like the ones that take used oil). Like gasoline, I would also NOT use carb cleaner or brake cleaner partly due to cost and the are really made for specific tasks. Hope this helps.

I use Simple Green. I spray it on and let is soak in for a few mintues and then just rinse it off. On ocassion, I will take an SOS pad and lightly rub over the surface (and any other aluminum parts like the kickstarter, etc.) while the Simple Green is soaking in. That gets it really clean without scratching it up. I find that if I clean my bike weekly, then it is much easier to clean and it seems to look newer, almost like there is a cumulative effect of using Simple Green on a regular basis.

Good luck.

I agree 100%. Simple Green, if used on a regular basis, is an excellent cleaner. I use a pressure washer as well, but use extreme caution around seals/electronics. If you keep up with it cleaning the bike will not take long at all and the results will be much better.

As far as breaking down built up gunk, carb cleaner and a stiff brush is hard to beat. You can get small wire brushes of different materials at most tool stores. Use one with small diameter bristles to prevent scratching. And as mentioned, avoid contact with paint and plastic.

Couldnt bring myself to buy the more liquidy type stuff like simple geen or purple power.
Went with Gunk Foamy Engine Degreaser. Worked pretty good (not Excellent) but did no damage to the paint or surrounding rubber parts after 20 minutes. Did get rid of lots of nasty crap though.
thanks for the opinions.

-CUBE-

engine brite, stuff is amazing!

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I would use a GOOD Carb Cleaner (anything at Pep boys or CAnadian tire Sucks) and buy a couple 1 dollar brushes from the buck store. I use this to get all the chain lube gum up and on the swing arm.

Simple Green or Castrol Super Clean

Mean Green's been working good for me for many years.

Simple green and an old toothbrush will do wonders for small areas. Spray on the simple green, let it set for a min, then dip the toothbrush in a container with simple green in it. The grease will rub off really easy, you just have to keep rinsing and re-applying the simple green to the toothbrush. Works great! Cheap electric toothbrushes work even better!