TUGA Chemie Biker's Super-Teufel® Motorcycle Cleaner 1000ml

Motorcycle cleaner: Biker's Super-Teufel as a pH-neutral gel formula with iron remover

What is the Biker's Super-Teufel? An acid-free, pH-neutral to slightly alkaline motorcycle cleaner from TUGA Chemie GmbH with a thixotropic gel formula. The pH sits between 6.5 and 7.5 — gentle on paint, glass, rubber and plastic. The main active, Sodium Thioglycolate, dissolves baked-on brake dust and rust film by binding the iron into complexes, while SLES and Capryl Glucoside emulsify bug splatter, chain grease and road grime alongside it. Not cleared for unsealed aluminium, black-chromated parts or open bearings — mind the maximum spray distance to exposed wheel bearings.

Biker's Super-Teufel® is the all-rounder for two wheels from TUGA Chemie, built on the gel base the Alu-Teufel family has proven over decades, tuned here for a full bike wash. The formula runs on Sodium Thioglycolate as the chemically active reducing agent, a surfactant backbone of Sodium Laureth Sulfate (anionic) and Capryl Glucoside (a non-ionic sugar surfactant), plus Xanthan Gum as a pseudoplastic thickener.

TUGA Chemie, based in Osnabrück, has made these formulas in Germany for decades and supplies professional detailers, repair shops and serious private customers across the DACH region.

Three cleaning mechanisms run at the same time. First, Sodium Thioglycolate binds iron(II) and iron(III) ions from baked-on brake dust and rust film into water-soluble iron-thioglycolate complexes — and that matters on bikes with open brake setups and exposed sprockets. Second, SLES and Capryl Glucoside lift lipophilic muck like chain grease and road grime by forming micelles. Third, Xanthan Gum keeps the gel sitting on vertical fairings, because the viscosity drops under spray pressure and shoots back up the moment it lands — so the surfactants get several minutes to work into the dirt instead of running off too early.

Unlike purely liquid rivals such as Liqui Moly Motorbike Cleaner or Nigrin Technischer Reiniger, the TUGA gel formula clings noticeably longer to heavily ribbed gearbox parts and cylinder cooling fins — so the brushwork shrinks down to the chain run and badly crusted rim edges.

• Three mechanisms in one pass. Bug splatter (proteins/chitin), chain grease (lipids) and brake dust (inorganic iron oxides) get attacked chemically in parallel. The active-indicator effect is less pronounced here than on the Alu-Teufel Spezial, because the dirt on bike parts is more mixed than pure brake dust on wheels — you read the cleaning off the rinse, not off a colour change.
• 14 EUR per litre in the 1 L bottle, 11 EUR in the 5 L canister. Market leader Dr. Wack S100 Total Reiniger Plus sits at around 26.65 EUR per litre — a 40 percent price gap at comparable cleaning power. Koch-Chemie Motorradreiniger (self-drying) at 19.99 EUR/L, Meguiar's EZ Clean (US import) from 29.60 EUR/L, the GYEON module system of APC + Iron + Bathe often over 30 EUR/L for specialist chemistry. SONAX Xtreme Motorradreiniger lands at a similar price (~15 EUR/L), but with a thinner consistency and no Xanthan adhesion.
• In 2026 increasingly an all-purpose weapon for e-bikes, quads and car engine bays. The off-label use across the DACH market keeps growing — pedelecs with tightly wired mid-motors, ATV knobbly tyres and engine-bay plastics all benefit from the same three-mechanism approach. Strict caution on e-bikes: never spray directly onto the display, battery contacts or open connectors.

Detailing1's tip from the shop: Day-to-day from our showroom in Nordhorn (Bosinks Kamp 8), the most common cause of baked-in damage on a bike is the "hot-surface error" — customers ride straight into the wash bay and spray the cleaner onto a still-hot exhaust header or cylinder head. The heat flashes the gel off instantly ("flash-cure"), the surfactants and inorganic salts burn into the surface and leave stubborn white marks. Rule of thumb: 30 minutes to cool down after every ride, 45 minutes for carbon-ceramic brakes. Plus the real-world usage: a standard wash takes about 100 ml, up to 170 ml on a heavily soiled touring enduro — anyone trying to get by on 50 ml just frustrates themselves with a half-cleaned bike. Keep the maximum dwell time strictly at 5 minutes, and never grab a coffee while the gel sits on the fairing.

Pre-rinse, spray from the bottom up, wait three minutes, wipe off.

The standard workflow starts with a pressure pre-rinse. Loose road dust, bug splatter and chain dust get knocked off roughly, so the gel doesn't have to fight through a layer of grime before it even reaches the fairing. Don't blast into open wheel bearings, carburettor intakes or steering-head bearings — the pressure is enough to blow seals or force water through gaps.

The bike should be cooled down to ambient temperature. In direct sun, move it into the shade or do the wash in the early morning or evening hours. Spray the Biker's Super-Teufel evenly from 20 to 30 centimetres away, working bottom to top across the fairing panels, rims, sprocket and fork legs. The direction matters: working top to bottom creates concentration gradients and run marks.

Let it dwell for three to five minutes. The red-violet colour shift in the gel (from the iron-thioglycolate complexing) shows where brake dust and rust film have been dissolved. On badly crusted spots (chain run, cylinder cooling fins, inner rim face), agitate with a soft detailing brush or a dedicated wheel-care brush — circular motions, no pressure, the gel spreads more evenly that way.

Then rinse off with pressure, leaving no residue. First bottom to top (lifts the lower fairing edge), then with clean water top to bottom (flushes all the residue safely down into the lower section). Never wipe dry while there's still a cleaning film on the surface — the microfibre would drag loosened dirt particles across the paint.

The most common slip-up is too little mechanical help on crusted chain grease. Just spraying it on lifts the top layer — the bottom of the sprocket stays gummy, because the surfactants can't get through. A dedicated chain brush with bristles is non-negotiable here.

Paint, glass, rubber and plastic, yes. Unsealed aluminium and trim strips, with care.

The Biker's Super-Teufel is cleared for painted fairings (all common clear coats), glass visors and windscreens, rubber hoses and gaiters, plus every plastic part from front cowlings to rear fairings. The pH-neutral profile stops plasticisers leaching out of rubber components — a key difference from strongly alkaline APCs like the Sonax MultiStar or Koch-Chemie Mzr.

Strictly off-limits, or at least test-first, are unsealed aluminium parts (polished rim lips, bare swingarms, anodised parts with a damaged surface). The reactive Sodium Thioglycolate matrix can trigger oxidation on non-passivated aluminium surfaces — showing up as dull, milky patches that no polish will ever undo. Clear-coated aluminium rims (standard on modern bikes), on the other hand, are no problem.

Black-chromated trim strips and galvanised badges are a second special case. The thin chromate layer is vulnerable to any reduction chemistry — keep your distance or mask it off with tape before you start. Exposed carbon parts (often on sport bikes) are cleared, as long as the clear coat is intact.

Touchscreen displays on modern bike cockpits (KTM, Ducati, BMW) are an absolute no-go. The alkaline-reductive surfactants attack anti-reflective coatings and oleophobic layers — showing up as permanent hazing or clouding. Cover these with film before the wash or frame them off with tape.

The key limit for professional use: never spray onto open bearings, exposed cam-chain tensioners or directly into carburettor intakes. The surfactants would strip the lubricating grease out of the bearings — even brief exposure causes follow-on damage that only shows up weeks later.

Spring detailing, bug high season and the 5 L argument.

Demand for quality motorcycle cleaners in the DACH market follows two clear peaks. The first is spring detailing between March and May, when the winter break leaves road-salt corrosion, standing-water marks and storage dust to wash off. Anyone who doesn't keep the bike maintained over winter gets twice the headache back after six months in storage — baked-on brake dust plus road-salt deposits plus oxidised chain dust.

The second peak is high summer (June to August), when bug splatter on the front fairing and helmet visor becomes the main cleaning job. Insect proteins cross-link under UV and heat on the paint surface — wait until the next ride comes round and the stuff is already burned in. Weekly care through the main season is the standard for serious touring riders.

The 1-litre spray bottle at around 13 to 14 euros is the easy entry point for one or two bikes in a private household. With a weekly wash and roughly 60 to 100 ml per full clean (fairing, rims, chain), one litre lasts for about ten to fifteen cleaning cycles — a quarter's supply in everyday use.

The 5-litre canister at around 56 euros saves roughly 20 percent per litre and is the right size for repair shops, smaller detailers and households with several machines. Per litre the price then works out at around 11.20 euros — just under 25 percent below the 1 L bottle. The pump head on the 1-litre bottle unscrews and goes onto a separate empty bottle, which you then top up from the canister — the established fix, since the original 5 L canister isn't suited to spraying from itself.

Safety note for professional use: the product falls under GHS07 with hazard statements H302 (harmful if swallowed) and H317 (may cause an allergic skin reaction). Thanks to the water-based formulation, the VOC content is negligibly low for pro users — the cleaner also works for mobile detailing services in closed garages with limited ventilation. Nitrile gloves are a must with frequent use, especially on sensitive skin.

Goes well with: car shampoos compared • Biker's Felgen-Teufel (wheel pre-clean) • Shampoo-Teufel (car wash)

Application of Biker's Super-Teufel Motorcycle Cleaner

Complete wash in one go, from cockpit to rear wheel

The bike should be cooled to ambient temperature – wait at least 30 minutes after riding on the highway or pre-cool with cold high-pressure water. If in direct sunlight, move it into the shade – black fairings can reach 50 degrees in 10 minutes, where the gel evaporates too quickly.

First, rinse roughly with a high-pressure water jet. This removes loose road dust, insect cadavers from the front fairing, and chain dust. Never spray directly into open wheel bearings, carburetor intake ducts, or steering head bearings – the pressure can damage seals or force water through cracks.

Spray Biker's Super-Teufel evenly from bottom to top onto all fairing parts, rims, sprockets, and fork tubes from a distance of 20 to 30 centimeters. Let it soak for three to five minutes – the reddish-purple discoloration of the gel (due to iron thioglycolate complexation) shows where brake dust and flash rust have been dissolved.

For encrusted chain grease on the sprocket or cylinder cooling fins, agitate with a soft detailing brush or a motorcycle rim brush. Then rinse residue-free with high pressure – first from bottom to top (loosens the lower fairing edge), then with clear water from top to bottom.

Notes: Strictly not for unsealed aluminum (polished rim flange, bare swingarms), black-chromed decorative strips, or touchscreen displays of modern cockpits. Never spray directly into open bearings – the surfactants would dissolve lubricants from the bearings, visible only weeks later as consequential damage. Maximum exposure time 5 minutes, never on hot engine blocks or in direct sunlight. Store frost-free between 5 and 30 degrees, shelf life 24 months after opening.