Dry cleaners: Best motorcycle waterless washes

This product from cleaning and care giant Meguiar's is safe to use on all glossy finishes on the bike according to the manufacturer and in addition to removing insects, grease and road film well, will leave a smooth and shiny finish thanks to the inclusion of wax in its formula. It needed a good dose and effort to remove grease from the rear wheel but it did well with the rest of the material.

The name Triplewax has been around for decades and is one of the stalwarts of car-cleaning products and this works just as well on bikes as it does on their four-wheels siblings. It works well overall, needing additional dwell time and effort to get rid of stubborn insects and heavy grease on the rear wheel but it does bring the paintwork up fairly well. It's just a wash though, with no wax component, so the paint needs protecting afterwards with this waterless motorcycle wash.

The ArmorAll is another product that includes a wax component and in tests, this was found to work very well on dead and dried-on insects, cutting through and loosening them quickly and effectively. It also did well with general road grime, removing the remains of riding though it struggled with heavyweight grease and chain fling on the rear wheel. The wax element left a nice shiny finish though, even if it didn't feel quite as smooth as some of the others.

When RiDE carried out its test, this motorcycle-specific product from Dirtbusters hadn't been launched and the car-based product did a reasonable job, though it needed a fair bit of effort to get rid of flies and grease on the rear wheel. However, this bike version promises to get rid of dirt, mud, grease and oil without water and leave a premium wax finish. The car version's finish on the bike was acceptable but not as good as some others so hopefully, this bike product will redress the balance.

Designed to drastically reduce the amount of water needed to wash a motorcycle, this all-in-one cleaner and wax goes on easily from the pump-spray bottle and was extremely effective against dead insects stuck to the test bike's bodywork. It also left a reasonably slick surface that while not appearing particularly shiny, should mean future dirt finds it harder to stick. It also needed a generous application to get rid of grease on the rear wheel.

Like the rest of Muc-Off's cleaning products, this is pink so you can easily see where it has gone and if you need more in certain locations. In tests, it was very effective against road grime and general dirt and left the paint surface with a smooth finish though with no wax, it was clean rather than protected. It was also very good against dead insects despite needing heavy application when it came to dealing with a greasy rear wheel.

This was by far the most expensive motorcycle waterless wash product tested by RiDE but it also performed very well. It removed dirt from the bike's paintwork exceptionally well and left it feeling smooth and debris-free. It needed a little extra application with dead insects but was still not troubled by them and with some effort, the grease was also removed from the bike's rear wheel. The overall finish was smooth, suggesting that dirt would be easier to remove in the future and this meant it was awarded a Recommended triangle. Seal of Approval - We've tested this product and have found it performs well

Forming part of the tyre giant's Lifestyle range of products, this waterless motorcycle wash goes on as a foam so that it dwells on stubborn dirt, soaking in and loosening it quickly, particularly when it came to dried-on insects, which it dealt with effectively. It was also very good at removing the general grime from the road, leaving the bike's paintwork with a healthy shine and a smooth finish. The foam also did well against dried-on chain fling on the rear wheel, removing it easily and leaving a smooth finish. It was given a Best Buy triangle in the test. Seal of Approval - We've tested this product and have found it performs well