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One notable aspect about Harley-Davidson's, and in fact, almost every motorcycle, is that their engines are much more exposed than they are on cars. Bikes don't have hoods, or virtually any body work covering the engine in most cases, and combined with their engine layouts, there's always going to be at least one small part of the engine that's always exposed.
Naturally, exposed items mean that dirt, grime, rocks, and any other road debris and vermin can potentially ruin the factory shiny look of the exposed engine parts, like the fins. There are also a lot of parts on an engine that are painted black, especially on Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and once those are exposed to the elements, they can start to lose their shine and pop over time.
Specifically for Harley-Davidson engines, like the Milwaukee-Eight, there's a product called Harley-Davidson Engine Brightener. Although Harley owners generally seem to be satisfied with the Brightener, there are also some alternatives you might want to consider. Let's take a deeper dive and see how the Engine Brightener performs.
What's it like using the Brightener?
As Harley-Davidson owner RevelatorAlf explains in his YouTube video, before you do anything with the Engine Brightener, you need to make sure that your bike is totally clean and completely dry, and also make sure your engine is cold. Then, simply spray it on all the black parts of the engine, give it a wipe down, wait five to 10 minutes before starting, rinse and repeat to keep the black parts looking factory fresh and shiny. It's also recommended to use a snorkel to get to all the hard-to-reach areas. Other Harley owners in RevelatorAlf's comment section also praise the Engine Brightener, but over on Reddit, the sentiment isn't quite the same.
The H-D Engine Brightener has one major downside — cost. On Harley-Davidson's website, the Engine Brightener comes in at $18.95 for an 11-ounce can, and it might be even more at other retailers. For comparison, WD-40 Specialist Silicone Lubricant, which is the highest rated product of the sort on Amazon — 4.8 stars from nearly 20,000 reviews — comes in at $8.49 for an 11-ounce can, almost three times less than the Engine Brightener.
Why silicone spray? According to Harley owners on Reddit, riders shouldn't be wasting their money on the so-called Engine Brightener, as a lot of them claim that it doesn't really do a whole lot more than what a can of silicone spray can do. Another product that users recommend is Pig Spit, which also gets the job done as well as, if not better, than the Engine Brightener. However, Pig Spit is also a bit pricey, with a two-pack of 9-ounce cans going for around $29 on Amazon, although it is generally well-liked, with 4.8 stars from nearly 1,000 reviews.
Our methodology
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All of the information on the Harley-Davidson Engine Brightener's functionality and ability comes from YouTube reviews and demonstrations that show the product in action. The provided alternatives were chosen, firstly, based on recommendations from Harley-Davidson owners on websites like Reddit, and especially those who have tried one of the alternatives.
Furthermore, the alternatives were picked based on their cost, and we specifically selected ones that are cheaper, more cost-effective, or have proven to perform the task better than the Harley-Davidson Engine Brightener. For the alternatives, Amazon was chosen as the middle ground for prices, as the Engine Brightener product was only available on Harley-Davidson's website at the time of research. All prices are correct at time of research.
