Five of the best... motorcycle cleaning products

Widely regarded as the king of cleaners, S100 Total Cleaner’s gel formulation sticks to the bike, getting a proper grip of the grime. You can just rinse it off, but agitating with a sponge or brush will get the best results. This cleaner has amassed 278 reviews to date, achieving a 4.64-star rating. Customers say it’s easy to use, leaves no streaks and can get through even the toughest of grime. This popular cleaner loses marks for its price, and while complaints say it can only handle two to three cleans per bottle, most agree it’s worth the premium. Five-litre refills are available, as is a new misting sprayer to get more coverage for your money.

The Vulcanet cleaning wipes form a waterless cleaning system. The wipes are impregnated with cleaner so you just wipe your bike all over, then polish up with the supplied microfibre cloth. It’s an ideal method for riders who don’t have access to a hose. They’re highly recommended by Sportsbikeshop customers, who awarded a 4.97 average score from the first 33 reviews. While they say the kit is expensive, you get 80 wipes, which reviewers say lasts a while as only three to five wipes are required to clean a bike. They say the product is easy to use, even on stubborn grime, and that they leave behind a streak-free finish.

Motul’s cleaner doesn’t attract as many reviews as some rivals, but it scores well among those who have used it. It’s taken an average of 4.88 stars from the first 24 reviews, higher than other spray cleaners in this list. It’s praised for being easy to use − spray it on, leave it for a while, work it in with a brush and then rinse it off. Reviewers praised the fact it leaves a streak-free finish. It’s safe to use on all surfaces and is a biodegradable formula. Unlike some cleaners here, there’s no option to buy a bigger refill bottle and save money long-term.

Harness your inner Karate Kid − Fuchs Off’s instructions are limited to ‘spray on, wash off’. It’s as easy as that – and it’s one of the reasons Sportsbikeshop customers gave it a 4.5-star average from the first 54 reviews. Many say it’s very effective, and doesn’t leave streaky marks - but it does need to be thoroughly rinsed off to avoid leaving any residue. Like other cleaners that involve simply spraying and rinsing, customers say it’s not so effective on stubborn grime, which needs a little more work. There’s no option to buy a bigger bottle, or a concentrate, for refills.

Probably the best-known and most recognisable bike cleaning solution around. This is their core cleaner, a shocking pink spray-on, rinse-off bottle that subsequently led to a huge range of bolt-on products. Some customers agree that simply rinsing it off will wash the dirt away, but many feel it needs agitating first to get the best results - and that something more robust (and expensive) like the S100 cleaner is needed when your bike is encrusted with grime. As with all spray-on cleaners, you need to make sure it’s all gone before you finish rinsing. Comes in a five-litre refill bottle or even a concentrate to save on packaging waste. It scored an average of 4.64 from the first 140 reviews.