Chemicals, Lubricants, & Miscellaneous Materials for Motorcycle Repair

Beyond your basic tools, advanced tools, and after setting up your workspace, you’ll want to get your hands on some chemicals, lubricants, and a few other miscellaneous items to make your motorcycle repair project as successful as possible.

The items listed on this page will prove useful in assembly, cleaning, restoration, and general motorcycle maintenance. You can find most items listed on this page at your local auto supply store or hardware store.

Items for Motorcycle Rebuilds, Repairs, and Cleaning

The following items will be useful as you tear-down, service, and repair your motorcycle.

Penetrating Oil 

If your motorcycle has been sitting for a long time, penetrating oil will be absolutely necessary to loosen up stuck bolts, screws, and nuts. Whenever you come across a seized bolt, apply a generous amount of penetrating oil and let it set.

Acetone 

Acetone is useful for cleaning and removing any oil/grease/moisture from metal parts.

Washing Soda 

Washing soda is useful if you plan to perform electrolytic rust removal on your motorcycle’s gas tank.

Armor All & Wintergreen Oil

You may be able to restore rubber and plastic parts that have hardener or become discolored overtime with Armor All or by soaking them in Wintergreen oil.

Vinegar

Distilled vinegar, which can be bought by the gallon at most grocery stores, is extremely useful for breaking down and removing rust from old parts. After a soak in vinegar and a scrub, the rust comes right off.

Electrical Contact Cleaner

As you go through your motorcycle’s wiring harness you should use electrical contact cleaner and a wire brush on the electrical contact to remove any dirt or corrosion that may have built up. The contact cleaner removes all moisture and dries completely.

RedKote

After you clean and remove the rust from your gas tank, you can use a gas tank sealer like RedKote to seal any pinholes and ensure that no new rust will form on your tank.

Carb Cleaner Dip 

A bucket of Berryman’s Carb dip works well for breaking down gas varnish. Be sure to remove any rubber parts before soaking your carbs.

Carb Cleaner Spray 

Before you reassemble your carbs, spraying each passage with carb cleaning spray will ensure each is clear.

Gasket Remover 

Gasket material can be extremely difficult to remove from engine cases and surfaces. Gasket remove acts as a solvent.

Items for Motorcycle Assembly & Maintenance

The items below will prove useful as you reassemble and preform regular maintenance on your motorcycle.

2-stroke or 4-stroke Oil

Get a spare quart of oil that you’ll eventually use in your motorcycle’s engine. You can use it as you re-assemble parts so that they don’t go together completely dry.

Non-hardening Gasket Maker 

You’ll need non-hardening gasket on certain seals and gaskets on your top end.

ThreeBond Liquid Gasket 

If you’re doing a motorcycle engine rebuild you’ll need a liquid gasket to seal your engine’s cranckcase halves.

LocTite

Some nuts bolts on your motorcycle shouldn’t move at all. Check your shop manual for where you should apply any thread locker and what strength to use.

Grease

As you assemble your wheel bearings, steering stem bearings, axels, and swingarm, you’ll need to grease them.

Anti-Seize Lubricant

Anti-seize lubricant is useful for engine case bolts.

Motorcycle Chain Lubricant 

Find a good O-ring-compatible chain lubricant to make sure you motorcycle’s chain stays lubricated.

Seafoam or Fuel Treatment

A periodic treatment with Seafoam or a comprable fuel treatment can help keep your carbs, fuel delivery, and gas tank in good shape.