If you are like me, you have seen the videos hundreds of times by now in your Facebook and Instagram feeds for Slick Products. It looks really cool since it shoots the soap out of a foam cannon and coats your vehicle. Then rinse after letting it sit for 3-5 minutes, and boom! Good as new!
According to the ads, they say it works great on dirt bikes, ATV's, trucks, cars, campers, and pretty much everything that needs washed. Plus the GOAT himself Ricky Carmichael says he uses it, so it must be awesome right?
After seeing the ad so many times, I wanted to get to the bottom of the hype for all of our moto readers out there. I ordered the bundle for off-road which includes the foam cannon, soap, brush, and the detail/shine spray. While I was at it, I ordered their metal polish too since I figured it wouldn’t hurt.
Since I have been anticipating receiving the slick products, I did not wash my bikes for 5 days since riding them last. My previous ride was was on a clay track and I figured that would be a good test since it dries like concrete, and is a real pain to get off. My KTM SX250 just had a top end and suspension service so I did some light break in riding, whereas the Honda CRF450R was a little more caked in mud, but not terrible. I have attached some starting point pictures here:
Per the instructions, I mixed the appropriate 4oz of wash solution into the foam cannon, then filled the rest with water. Prior to applying the soap, I sprayed the bike down with the power washer to get the bigger pieces of mud off. After that, I attached the foam cannon to the power washer and pulled the trigger. It’s pretty awesome how it just blasts a huge pile of foam onto the bike to cover it completely with soap. It works great to get full coverage on the rims, tires, and engine.
After completely coating it, I let it work 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 the bike was any different than my normal routine of rinse, simple green, and rinse. Honestly, it looked about the same. The simple green seems to be a stronger detergent and probably works a little better, but is also more abrasive on the metals of the bike.
One thing that I did notice was that the chain still had a lot of gunk in it after washing. I ended up using Maxima chain cleaner and a brush to get it really cleaned up nice. The kit also comes with an aerosol spray shiner witch also seems to have the same smell and affect that I have used previously from other brands.
It makes the bikes look great in pictures, but I generally put some WD-40 on a rag and wipe it off, especially under the fenders (pro tip).
The bottom line is this: If you want to look really cool in the pits and/or have the most cutting edge product for bike cleaning, then this kit is for you. At $94, you can expect about 15 washes or so for your bike. It is less expensive when you re-order since you don't need to repurchase the foam cannon. With that said, there are more cost effective solutions out there for cleaning your dirt bike. However, I can see this saving quite a bit of time if you are using it to wash an RV, truck, or oversized vehicle that you do not want to use harsh chemicals on. Personally I'm not that picky about it for my bike since I ride it in the mud anyways, but a lot of riders are, and this product may be perfect for you.
