Best way to clean ATV shocks?

[Canadian144]

Hey everyone, what would you guys recommend for cleaning ATV shocks? The white springs on my LTR450 are really dirty, even after I spend a hour washing the whole bike last weekend. I tried just soap and water and rubbing that over them but it didn't do much..... next weekend I am going to try to finish washing it (detail it I guess).

I think I will try just getting an old towel and wetting it and running the edge in between.... do you guys think this will work?

[Tommy Warren]

got to canadian tire and pick up some spray nine it will kick the dirts ***

[Haulinbass]

simple green FTW, spray nine is caustic stuff and will eat hard anodizing and aluminum if not rinsed right away.

[ZBlaster]

Originally posted by Haulinbass
simple green FTW, spray nine is caustic stuff and will eat hard anodizing and aluminum if not rinsed right away.


Yessir. Simple Green when you wash it, then when it dries hit it with some WD-40 and a rag.

[coryatver]

I use wd-40 and a rag it does take some time.

[yellowzo3]

Like these guys said, Simple Green does a great job and cleaning basically the entire bike! After you get them super clean this time around, think about investing in some shock covers. They'll keep most of the mud and sand out of the shocks. The shocks will still get dirty but you just un-velcro the covers and give them a quick washing. The covers will wear the color away on your springs after some time though.

[Scro]

Originally posted by yellowzo3
Like these guys said, Simple Green does a great job and cleaning basically the entire bike! After you get them super clean this time around, think about investing in some shock covers. They'll keep most of the mud and sand out of the shocks. The shocks will still get dirty but you just un-velcro the covers and give them a quick washing. The covers will wear the color away on your springs after some time though.

If you ride for extended periods of time, they can also cause the shock to fade quicker.

[Haulinbass]

Heat is the mortal enemy of all shocks
im suprised no one has come out with a larger bore shock, In the Rc racing world up untill two years ago all our shocks were 12-13mm there were allot of problems once the shocks heated up the centistroke(properway of mesuring viscosity/ there is no actual way formula for WT) was to light as the silicone oil gets thinner with heat.
Then 16mm shocks came out and our shock no longer heated up and faded but they needed to have the right centistroke oil for the outside temps as the oil stayed at a consistant temp. Sure our shocks got heavier but our cars were much better in the rough sections and landing off big jumps they were also the same for the whole main (45-60 minutes)

[Canadian144]

Awesome, thanks for the help guys, I'll look for some simple green and see how it works, as well as look into some shock covers.