|
(As seen in the May issue of Just Ride magazine)
If you’re like me, you’re
always wishing you had more time to ride. And like you, I take real pride in
the way my bike looks and spend many hours cleaning and polishing it. So after
hearing how this product claims to be a cleaner, polish and bug remover
all-in-one that’s safe for all surfaces - well I just had to try it for
myself.
BugSlide comes in three
sizes; a 4oz travel bottle that retails for $8.00 and is small enough to carry
with you, a 16oz garage size that retails for $20.00 and a 32oz refill that
retails for $35.00. Both the 4oz and the 16oz bottles come packaged with a high
quality microfiber polishing cloth. I was told the directions are simple; just
spray and wipe. The distributor told me it was not necessary to wash my
bike first, that BugSlide was designed as a waterless cleaner and presoaking or
prewashing would just be a waste of time (and water). Let me tell you I was
more than a bit skeptical and I told them my concerns about scratching. They
assured me as long as I use the microfiber polishing cloth that came with the
product, it would not scratch. BugSlide is a blend of polymers, detergents and
surfactants. When sprayed on the surface, it dissolves existing contaminants
allowing them to float on the surface. Then the microfiber towel soaks them up
deep into the fibers. Since the mircofiber doesn’t push the dirt around on the
surface like other towels, it can’t scratch. The product then leaves behind a
microscopic protective finish that repels future contaminants like dirt,
bugs, oil, and corrosives like salt and magnesium chloride. But would it really
do what they said? I couldn’t wait to try it.

My bike had a few hundred
miles on it since the last time I washed it, so there was plenty of bugs, road
grime and dust. I decided to start with a small area on my windshield that was
loaded with bugs. The directions say to let the product dwell on the surface
when removing bugs. So I sprayed on the BugSlide and waited for about 45
seconds or so and was shocked to see some of them look like they were
dissolving. A quick wipe with the microfiber polishing cloth and about 90% of
them were gone. The couple of stubborn ones that were left were history after
another quick application and wipe. The surface was left smooth and slick, but
not at all greasy.
Next I tried it on paint.
My tank had some road dust and dirt, so I again sprayed the product directly on
the surface but this time I wiped immediately. I flipped the polishing cloth
over and with just a light buff my dirty tank looked like it had just been
washed and waxed – but even better because there are no worries about
overspray. BugSlide is crystal clear and won’t affect things like rubber and
plastic. In fact it’s actually good for those things because it contains
a UV filter. So it prevents dry-rot and black things stay black. It
left the surface smooth, slick and really brought out the depth of color in the
paint.
Finally I tried BugSlide on
my chrome. I tested it on my pipes and on my chrome wheels and let me tell you
it did just as good a job here as elsewhere. It removed the brake dust with
ease and left the chrome sparkling. I got so excited I was looking around for
other things to try it on, when I remembered what the distributor had told me –
“the product will not fingerprint”. Well, I had to give that a try. I touched
everything I had just cleaned and no fingerprints, no smudges! I was sold.
This product did everything it claimed. And I could really see how much time I
was going to save. Now some people might say that BugSlide is a little on the
pricey side. But think about it. Now I only need one product instead of five
and frankly, my time is priceless. I guess sometimes you do get what you
pay for and with results like this, I think BugSlide is worth every penny.
In conclusion, if you like
your ride to have that showroom look and not spend all day getting it, I think
BugSlide is the product for you. On the other hand, if you’d rather invest the
better part of the afternoon and use several different products to achieve
similar results, then go ahead and get your wash bucket. I’ll wave to you as I
ride by.
You can get BugSlide from
many Harley dealers nationwide or you can buy it directly from the national
distributor by calling 1-800-963-1961 or shop with them online at
www.JackieBlueWear.com. They even
have an email sign-up on their homepage that will get you a 20% discount
on your first purchase.
|