There are two things that I really dislike about riding…One is cleaning air filters and the other is washing bikes when I get home from the track. I usually just get the ol’ Simple Green out, spray, and power wash, but after a couple months of doing that the bike begins to look dull and damaged from the harsh chemicals that are in Simple Green. I love the grease cutting effect of SG, but it does damage plastic and some engine parts if not used carefully. After seeing Slick Products blow up on my social media timeline I thought I would give these products a review to see if washing with Slick Products would make my life easier when I come home to do my dirt bike “chores”.
I ordered the bundle for off-road which includes the foam cannon, soap, brush, mit, micro fiber towels, cleaner/degreaser, and the detail/shine spray. I am not going to lie… It sat in my garage a long time because quite frankly I thought it was a pain in the ass to do the step by step process that Slick recommends, but when I finally got off my dead ass and used the product I found it to be quite easy/helpful.
Per the instructions, I mixed the appropriate 4 ounces of wash solution into the foam cannon, then filled the rest with water. Prior to applying the soap, I sprayed the bike down with my Karcher power washer (yes, Steve I will do a review on this soon as well, chill down) to get the bigger pieces of mud off, then sprayed the Slick degreaser on the engine. After that, I attached the foam cannon to the power washer, pulled the trigger and giggled like a 12 year old school girl. My 13 year old son and I had a pretty good time seeing how it blasts a huge pile of foam onto the bike to cover it completely with soap. I never thought washing bikes would make me smile this much! It works great to get full coverage on the rims, tires, and eery part on the engine.
After completely coating it, I let it sit for 5 minutes without touching it. Rinsing was the same as normal with the power washer; just rinse off the foam and that’s it. After rinsing, I was looking to see if I noticed any differences between my normal routine against the Slick Products way of washing and to me the slight post wash shine of the Slick wash was better. I will say that Simple Green (over the Slick degreaser) has a stronger grease cutting effect with chain lube, dried fuel marks, and oil stains, but over time I could tell that there was less abrasive chemical damage to the machine using the Slick stuff.
Is it worth spending $150.00 for the kit? That would have to be your call and how deep your pocket book is, but I can tell you a couple things though. Having the Slick Products Pressure Washer Foam Cannon has made my son WANT to wash all the bikes when I get home! To me that’s a win! Dad can chill out and the kid can do the work! Boom! We got around 17 washes out of the kit, but the good news is that after the large initial expense, the next expense will only be half of that because you will to have to purchase the “Foam Cannon” again. I also liked using the Slick Foam Cannon with my vehicles at home as it sprayed the soap evenly across the entire truck, which made washing much easier/pleasant.
If you’re serious about having a clean bike and want to keep your washing products inside the motocross/off-road community, then Slick Products is the way to go! They support the sport and the products they do offer work well for what we as dirt bike riders are trying to accomplish. Just be ready to fork over some dough initially to get you going.
