Why Brian Klock Decided to Create His Own Motorcycle Cleaner
Before Klock Werks became synonymous with the Flare® Windshield, 14-gauge steel fenders, and the custom touring builds that earned founder Brian Klock the title of King of the Baggers and a place in the Sturgis Motorcycle Hall of Fame, Brian ran a detail shop and managed a body and paint operation. That background gave him a working knowledge of cleaning and surface protection products that most riders never develop, and what that experience taught him was straightforward: nothing on the market was doing the job the way it should.
Too many products. Too many compromises. Too much marketing language wrapped around underwhelming chemistry. Brian knew what a good cleaner needed to do because he had spent years watching existing products fall short of it. Something that would clean the grim and wax and shine at the same time.
Shop Klock Werks full Shine Werks collection.
Mom Wouldn't Be Proud – But We Are!
The origin story of Shine Werks comes down to one unfiltered moment at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally that Brian Klock will be the first to tell you his mother would not have been proud of.
A gentleman approached Brian while he was installing a windshield and asked why there were so many different cleaning products on the market. Brian looked up and replied with complete honesty: he was not too sure, and in his experience they all fell short. The bluntness of it caught the man off guard. Brian caught himself, turned to shake the gentleman's hand, and offered an apology. His mom, he admitted, would not have been proud of that answer.
Grease, Grit, and Genuine Conversations
Rather than walking away, the gentleman stayed curious. He asked Brian to explain specifically what he disliked about each product. Brian walked through them one by one. The gentleman listened, and then told Brian that one of the products he had just criticized was actually his.
The moment landed hard. Brian felt genuinely bad. But instead of ending the conversation, the admission opened it up. The two kept talking, kept testing, and kept refining until they found the right formulation: a cleaner and wax combination that handled both jobs in a single application while leaving a light protective coat that repelled the next layer of bugs and road grime. That conversation at Sturgis became a long-term friendship, and Shine Werks was created.
Skepticism Be Gone
This is the part of the story that surprises people who assume Shine Werks was a calculated business move. It was not. Brian has been open about the fact that he built the product primarily for his own Krew. He saw a gap in the market that was not being served correctly, and he wanted a cleaner he could actually stand behind when someone asked what he used on the bikes coming out of the Mitchell, SD shop. Whether anyone else bought it was, at least initially, beside the point.
Word-of-Mouth Magic
Shine Werks quickly grew to be a major sales product at every event. "The word-of-mouth had really been the biggest boom. It cleans and applies a light coat of protective wax that repels the next layer of bugs and grime," said Brian.
From there, Shine Werks became a product line adding in Matte Werks, Engine Werks and a travel size cleaning kit, further demonstrating the brand's adaptability and responsiveness to various needs.
Overall, it's a compelling narrative of entrepreneurship, collaboration, and the journey from an honest admission about existing products to the creation and success of a specialized line like Shine Werks.
Check out the full Shine Werks collection and give your ride the spotless shine it's been craving. Got questions about which product to pick or how to use it? No worries, just hit up our friendly Krew for the lowdown.
Drag Specialties Gets Onboard With Shine Werks
Jim Matchette at Drag Specialties told Brian upfront that they already had enough cleaning products in the catalog and that submitting the new line likely would not result in selection. Brian understood the position. Jim was not wrong about the market being crowded. Brian sent a bottle anyway.
A few months later, Jim called back. He had used Shine Werks across multiple applications and loved what it did. That call blew Brian away because it was exactly the real-world, cross-surface versatility he had been aiming for from the beginning. Jim accepted the product into the Drag Specialties catalog, and Shine Werks had its first major distribution partner.
From One Product To a Full Line
Word of mouth did most of the work. At every event Klock Werks attended, Shine Werks became one of the strongest-selling products on the table. Riders who tried it told other riders. The formula spoke for itself: clean the surface, apply a light protective wax layer in the same step, and make the next cleaning session easier by repelling the grime before it bonds to the finish.
From that single original formula, the Klock Werks cleaning line expanded to address surfaces and finishes that the original Shine Werks formulation was not designed for. Matte Werks was developed specifically for matte and satin finishes, which require a fundamentally different chemistry than gloss paint and react poorly to wax-based products designed for high-gloss surfaces. Engine Werks addressed the specific challenge of cleaning high-heat engine components, primary covers, and exhaust without damaging gaskets or leaving residue that burns off at operating temperature. A travel-size Klean Werks Kit brought the core of the line into a format compact enough for the saddlebag on a long tour.
Each addition followed the same logic as the original: identify a real problem, build a product that solves it correctly, and do not put it in the catalog until it actually works.
Formulated for All Motorcycle Finishes
The core of what makes Shine Werks different from a standard spray cleaner is the dual-action formulation. Most cleaners do one job: they break down and remove surface contamination. You clean the bike, the product does its job, and the surface is bare and unprotected until the next coat of wax or sealant goes on separately.
Shine Werks cleans and deposits a light protective wax layer in the same application. That wax layer does not just make the finish look good immediately after cleaning. It creates a barrier that makes the next layer of bugs, road grime, and dust easier to remove the next time you clean because the contamination is bonding to the wax rather than directly to the paint or chrome. For riders who put real miles on their bikes and clean them regularly, that difference compounds over time in a meaningful way.
People Also Ask
What is Shine Werks and what makes it different from other motorcycle cleaners?
Shine Werks is a motorcycle cleaning product developed by Brian Klock of Klock Werks after years of dissatisfaction with every existing option on the market. What distinguishes it from standard spray cleaners is the dual-action formulation: it cleans surface contamination and deposits a light protective wax layer in a single application. That wax layer repels the next round of bugs and road grime, making subsequent cleanings easier. The formula was developed collaboratively with an industry contact Brian met at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally after an unfiltered conversation about the shortcomings of existing products, including that contact's own cleaner.
Is Shine Werks safe for all motorcycle finishes?
Shine Werks is formulated for gloss paint, chrome, and standard high-gloss finishes. For matte and satin finishes, Klock Werks developed Matte Werks specifically to address the different chemistry those surfaces require. Standard wax-based cleaners designed for gloss finishes can alter the appearance of matte paint over time, which is why a separate formulation matters. Riders with matte finish panels should use Matte Werks rather than Shine Werks on those specific surfaces.
What is Matte Werks and why does matte paint need a different cleaner?
Matte Werks is the Klock Werks cleaning product developed for matte and satin finish paint. Matte finishes achieve their appearance through a surface texture that scatters light rather than reflecting it uniformly. Wax-based products designed for gloss paint can fill that texture and create uneven sheen or permanently alter the matte appearance. Matte Werks is formulated to clean matte and satin surfaces without wax compounds that compromise the finish, protecting the paint without changing how it looks.
What is Engine Werks designed to clean on a motorcycle?
Engine Werks is formulated specifically for high-heat motorcycle components including engine cases, primary covers, rocker boxes, and exhaust systems. Standard cleaning products can leave residue on engine surfaces that burns off at operating temperature, producing smoke and odor and potentially damaging gaskets and rubber seals. Engine Werks addresses those surfaces with a chemistry designed to clean effectively without leaving residue that causes problems once the engine reaches operating temperature.
How did Shine Werks end up in the Drag Specialties catalog?
Brian Klock sent a single bottle of Shine Werks to Jim Matchette at Drag Specialties after Jim told him upfront that the catalog already had enough cleaning products and that selection was unlikely. Brian sent it anyway. Several months later, Jim called back to say he had used the product across multiple applications and loved the results. That real-world testing converted the initial skepticism into acceptance, and Shine Werks was added to the Drag Specialties catalog. The story is consistent with how Brian Klock has always operated: build something that works, put it in front of the right person, and let the product make the case.
