Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Cleaning new tire sidewalls?

Just got a new set of metzlers and the sidewalls are very nasty looking. patches of dull or whitish areas interleaved with shiny black, etc. Tried soap and water......better, but still not good. Is there anything i can use on them that will smooth out the apperance? mind you, my last set i used automotive tire products (no need to lecture...won't be doing that again) and i believe they led to the sidewalls developing whether cracking. I asked a while back at rat and 9 out of 10 said thier metzlers aren't cracked at all so it must have been the products i used. i'm in so cal, so the weather isn't harsh either. So i need to clean em up but i wanna be sure i use something that doesn't cause this craking again. Any ideas?

I've always used Westleys tire cleaner. Get it at any auto parts store.

I may try that, but i noticed that rubbing it with a dry cloth gets the whitish residue off ok. But trying to get them even looking i don't think will happen because i'm noticing that the rubber acts sorta like suede......that is, you rub it and it looks darker, then rub the other way and it's lighter. So now i'm not sure cleaner will help.

i asked at a few forums, one of them the mothers wax forum and i was told stay away from any bleach products specifically. That after telling them i wanted to be sure i don't use anything that may cause cracking, which is my only real concern. I don't mean to sound like i'm doubting you guys, but who do i believe? i really don't know what to believe when being told the opposite from different sources. i don't put any more stock in any of these opinions than the other, but i have no idea which way to go....bleach or no bleach. Guess i'll just wait for more replies and see if theres some general concensus.

General concensus here? LOL

You might try this. I use the MrMuscle Orange Action stuff to keep my whitewalls clean. It even cleans up the black. I promise. And it's not at all harmful for the rubber.

Yea but Piper........you're in sweden......i don't think they make that here. Never heard of it anyways.

Oh, well... I got the tip from a guy in your country.

Well, i had the front tire mounted today and learned the probable reason for the sidewalls cracking. According to the dealer, age. (pro italia, ducati daler) the bike is just over a year old but the service guy looked at the code ohn the tire and it was made in 2003 ! he said thats surely the reason. So i guess i don't have to be so anal about what i use on them. he said they use simple green diluted with water.

Well Dazco, I have used Westley's for over 40 years on all kind of tires. Never a problem with cracking or anything. Just use exactly what you need & don't let any product stay on the tires & rims to long.