Injector Cleaners - worth it?

[Skids]

My 6th Gen has done 68k miles and I'm wondering whether the injectors need cleaning (no symptoms to speak of, just wondering).

 

Of course I can pay to have them cleaned professionally but that would cost, though I'm unsure how much. Nor do I know where I could find such a service near me.

 

So a cheaper and easier alternative, though less efficient, would be to try one of these additives that I keep reading about; Seafoam, Redex, BG44K etc. Question is; do they work and if so, which is the best value for money? Someone once told me that regular use (every 4 tankfulls) of 98RON fuel helps to keep things clean; how comparable is this to an additive?

 

Does anyone have any 'expert' knowledge or could point to some professional reviews?

 

Cheers.

[zRoYz]

I'm not a chemical engineer which is about the only person who I would listen to but that person specialty would have to be petroleum products. I have never used an injector cleaning product, mainly because a long time ago a chemical engineer expressed the view there pointless & so many of them actually do nothing & a very small number do more harm than good but that was along time ago. The companies selling them will always express there worth because they wish to sell there products but the simplest solution is run tanks of high end fuel like most 98ron mainly because most have cleaning agents added. But again beware some high end fuel can also do more harm than good. The only sure way to clean injectors for piece of mind is have them ultrasonically cleaned & also include a flow, spray pattern test. The injectors actually have little filter buckets so any real grit should stop there but to much will restrict injector, I just had my injectors done but lucky for me a friend was able to do them so zero cost except for new seals (old seals were fine but replaced them for peace of mind). My injectors were fine before clean so in the end didn't require a clean but bike has 100000kms so thought why not. Unless your bike starts showing symptoms due to fuel delivery I wouldn't bother doing anything.

[Knight]

Skids, I hope you pardon this input that has no expertise included, but it may help with some of your questions.

 

For us in the US the cost of cleaning and testing is in the range of $15 - $20 per injector. Since injectors are ubiquitous, there are no doubt shops in your region which do this and you can submit injectors via mail. The injector shop probably does a large volume of wholesale work from fleet owners constantly submitting injectors from high mileage vehicles. As a consumer/owner that has not been on your radar, but it is going on. Here are potential suppliers for you:

 

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=uk+ultrasonic+fuel+injector+cleaners

 

I have developed the mindset of putting every single component on some sort of maintenance schedule in order to get feedback and keep the bike performing at its peak. Granted, this personal opinion may not have any value to it. However, based on the costs, I think that cleaning and testing the injectors, which actually verifies how well they are working, is a better deal than paying repeatedly throughout the years for bottles of cleaner which provide very little, if any, feedback. Also consider the "free" cleaners in the fuel as part of the maintenance.

[Marooncobra]

Skids

 

I had my injectors ultrasonically cleaned a few months ago on my 2003 with 53,000k and I am the 4th owner.  Report came back all within spec, spray patterns good and flow test all the same. They fitted new filter baskets and seals and sent them back. When I refitted them I felt no difference as by the looks of it there was obviously nothing wrong with them to begin with!! Problem is that until you remove them and have them tested you don't know if they are out of spec as most of us don't have the equipment to give you that detail.  What I do know is that for piece of mind my injectors are good but it cost me AUS$135 to find out.  I think if one was faulty or well out of spec I wouldn't feel so ripped off.  Still, saves my liver by 20 - 30 beers!!!!!!!!

[MadScientist]

I'll echo pretty much the same sentiment as everyone else.  Unless you are troubleshooting a problem that points to a clogged or leaky injector, the cleaning service will probably find nothing wrong with the injectors.  Mine went out something like 4 years ago now while chasing down a high fuel consumption issue.  Sure enough, one was leaky, the other 3 were perfect. I paid somewhere in the $15-20 per range and they returned the old filters and gaskets. 

[Bent]

As sure as I type this, I will have an injector go bad.   I think fuel injector "cleaners" and name brand gasoline advertising are one of the most successful marketing coups ever pulled off.  For example, look at the Shell "nitrogen benefits".  I use Shell gas when it's where I am and I need gas and I can tell no difference and have no evidence that it is any better than the "Techron" that Chevron uses and "everyone" swears is the very best additive on the market. All of it is based on anecdotal evidence but never do you see any scientific based evidence that one is better than the other.  I suspect that it's because there IS NO scientific evidence that any of it works for the betterment of our engines.  Just another opinion.      

[Belfry]

On 22/06/2016 at 6:35 AM, zRoYz said:

I'm not a chemical engineer which is about the only person who I would listen to but that person specialty would have to be petroleum products. I have never used an injector cleaning product, mainly because a long time ago a chemical engineer expressed the view there pointless & so many of them actually do nothing & a very small number do more harm than good but that was along time ago.

 

I have a friend who is a chemical engineer and worked for Chevron for many years.  He also expressed the view that for such 'cleaners' to work they would have to be at a concentration that would make your vehicle run poorly and damage other components. 

 

48 minutes ago, Bent said:

As sure as I type this, I will have an injector go bad.   I think fuel injector "cleaners" and name brand gasoline advertising are one of the most successful marketing coups ever pulled off. 

 

Another friend did his MBA at the UW in Seattle many years ago.  For two years I visited Seattle (particularly the microbreweries around the university) several times a year.  I could never understand how gas stations across the street or within a block of a competitor with lower prices for the same grade of fuel got any business--yet they all seemed equally busy.  In my area of Canada, the station with the lowest price has a lineup and the others are deserted.  Here it's generally understood that government regulations as to what constitutes 'regular' gasoline (for example), are sufficiently strict that it's all basically the same.  My American friend put the difference (people paying more when the same grade was cheaper across the street) down to brand loyalty and belief in the marketing about additives. 

[Bent]

1 hour ago, Belfry said:

 

I have a friend who is a chemical engineer and worked for Chevron for many years.  He also expressed the view that for such 'cleaners' to work they would have to be at a concentration that would make your vehicle run poorly and damage other components. 

 

 

Another friend did his MBA at the UW in Seattle many years ago.  For two years I visited Seattle (particularly the microbreweries around the university) several times a year.  I could never understand how gas stations across the street or within a block of a competitor with lower prices for the same grade of fuel got any business--yet they all seemed equally busy.  In my area of Canada, the station with the lowest price has a lineup and the others are deserted.  Here it's generally understood that government regulations as to what constitutes 'regular' gasoline (for example), are sufficiently strict that it's all basically the same.  My American friend put the difference (people paying more when the same grade was cheaper across the street) down to brand loyalty and belief in the marketing about additives. 

 

Well, I think you hit the nail on the head.  Government knows what's best for us except for the "Brexit" issue.  Also, fuel is less expensive in the U. S. than Canada so that drives people to be more thrifty in Canada.  A perfect example of government taking care of us is the fact that they have endorsed VFR's as the best bike for us to own.  That's why you have one isn't it?