Every approaching winter season I try to post a good article on winterizing your bike, for those unlucky folks that live where to bike is garaged for several months while the snow flies!
Everyone has their own “winterizing” system, but I felt this was a pretty good overview and good enough to repost!
This year’s contribution comes from here.
A List of Do’s:
Fill the gas tank. Partially empty tanks attract condensation, leading to rust and contaminated fuel
Add Sta-Bil fuel treatment, at least 1 ounce per 2.5 gallons. This preserves the fuel and prevents gummy sludge in the carbs or injectors. Cleaning that sludge is a royal pain.
Run the engine after adding Sta-Bil, so the fuel treatment gets into the carbs or injectors
Turn off the fuel petcock. Nothing worse than having an o-ring go bad during the winter and 5 gallons of fuel dribbling onto the garage floor. Been there….
If you have carbs, unscrew the drain valve on bottom of the carb and let the fuel out of the bowls. This prevents the floats from sticking.
Change the engine oil. Run the engine until the oil gets warm, then perform an oil and filter change.
If you have a water cooled engine, make sure it’s got enough antifreeze to handle the cold temperatures common to your climate, i.e. if you live in Montana and temps drop to -40, your coolant has to be rated to that level.
Fill tires to recommended highway pressure. Tires lose air all winter long, so a low tire in the fall means a flat tire in the spring. Storing a bike with underinflated tires leads to damaged tires.
Get a trickle charger and run it all winter long. Trickle chargers are a cheap investment -they help your battery last longer, and when you start the bike in the Spring you can be assured the battery will have a full charge. We have one charger for each bike in the stable. If you don’t have multiple chargers, then rotate the charger to a different bike every 2 weeks.
A quick coat of wax on the paint, a squirt oil on the chrome, and some vinyl protectant on the seat will keep your bike looking great thru the winter.
Some riders pull the spark plugs and squirt oil into each cylinder. We’ve never done this because it’s too time consuming, but in theory it’s a good idea.
Contact your insurance agent about reducing coverage during the non-riding months.
As you perform the above tasks, make a written list of needed minor adjustments, scheduled maintenance, etc. Then when the snow is falling and you’re bored out of your mind, you can refer back to the list. We use a large whiteboard in the garage, listing upcoming tasks, crossing them off as they get done.
If you don’t do your own wrenching, you can save big bucks if you schedule the work with a dealer during his slow winter months. We’ve seen discounts as high as 50% – timing is everything.
A list of DON’Ts:
Don’t store your bike outside, under a plastic tarp. Tarps collect moisture on the underside – by Spring your bike will be covered with rust. If you must store your bike outside, put a tarp on the ground and park the bike on that tarp. Pull the tarp up around the bike and secure it with bungees, then use a 2nd tarp over the top of the bike and over the 1st tarp. It’s a good idea to put an RV dehumidifier bowl (with crystals) inside the tarp – this sucks up any condensation.
Don’t change oil while the engine is cold. Oil needs to be warm for the contaminants to be in suspension.
Don’t spray Armor-All on the treads of the tires. Come Springtime the tires will be slippery and you’ll run a chance of a spill when you round the first corner
Don’t start the bike and run it for only a few seconds. If you’re gonna run it, let the engine get up to full operating temperature. Short runs don’t give the engine a chance to purge contaminants. Moisture develops in the exhaust pipes, leading to rust. Get the bike good and warm before you shut it down.
Don’t forget to do a pre-ride inspection, if a warm sunny day comes along and you decide to go for a spin. Check tire pressure, oil and fuel levels, mirrors, controls, lights,etc.
Don’t forget to reinstate insurance if you take the bike out for a spin.
Don’t forget to renew your registration. It seems that license tabs always come due over the winter – don’t get a ticket the next time you go out.
Do any of you have any “winterizing” secrets that you use??