Winterizing Your Bike???

[xkartracer]

I was wondering since winter seems to be on the way here in NC. is there anything special I need to do for winter storage?

[NC Hammer]

The last 2 years, I put my bike in the basement for a few months. I did nothing as far as what you would call winterizing. Every Saturday, I rolled it outside, started it and ran it for about 10 minutes (or untill it would idle on it's own). I reved it some so it wouldn't carbon up the carbs. Then I put it away. It always started and the battery stayed charged.
This year, I'm riding. Today, I wore my winter ski gloves. Gortex/Nylon. They were a little clumbsy, but my fingers were warmer than with the winter MC gloves. PS. It was 27 degrees this morning when I left home.
A hooded sweatshirt works great under the leathers. The hood keeps the back of my neck warm and if any wind tries to go up my sleeve, the sweatshirt gets in the way.

[Mer]

Winterizing? What is that? LOL

[DAR]

Sorry about that; I had to turn off the air conditioner before I responded to this. Winter- is that the time of year that things get just a little chilly and you have to put on more clothes? Hmmmmmmm. Nope, no winterizing down here. There are more rain days than cold days. :biggrin:

[Big-X]

I did the same as NC, started it when I had not riden for a while, but on nice days (above 40 degrees) I try to ride once a week.

[Yosamite]

I am trying to ride my bike in NC to work everyday. As long as the night temp.
does not go below freezing. I am afraid of black ice at night. I will continue to ride and not wimp out. Bikers are a tough breed.

[mfmaloney]

Winterize? The only month I didn't ride last winter was January, in Minneapolis. Rode into November so far this season. If we get a warm day, I'll ride it again. I just put Stabil in the tank and run the carb dry then put it on the lift. I ride down into the high 30s. Any colder and ice becomes an issue. Who says you have to live down south to ride all year?

[Retro Rich]

Best thing to do for winterizing: If stored for an extended period, Honda recommends pouring a tablespoon of clean oil into each cylinder (which is virtually impossible and a pain in the keister), running the carb dry, etc. My methods for winterizing a bike: Stabil in the gas tank, run it for a few minutes after you add the Stabil and/or drive it around and you usually don't have to worry about draining the carb (since the Stabil will keep the gas from gumming up). You can use fogging oil, available at any marine/boaters store and spray one oz. of that into each cylinder for the same effect (and it's a lot easier to use). Spray the tips of the spark plugs as well to prevent corrosion. You can even spray the carb with the fogging oil if you want (I'd do it light, but have done it with my boat every year and never had a problem). Other than that, I would either get the bike up on a secure lift or at least roll it around to a different position every few weeks, just to keep from getting any flat spots in the tires.

Hope this helps.

[Captain X]

Winterizing??? I guess some of you guys up north have to deal with that! LOL We only have a few months that are not riding weather here in Texas. I just put a small trickle charger on the battery so that it is fresh and ready to go when it warms up. Then I just un-plug the X and let her rip!

[BigAL]

I live up near Cleveland, OH by Lake Erie. We get all that fun weather from our friends in Canada across the lake, and man sometimes it gets down right COLD up here. We stop riding not just because of the cold but the roads here are pretty bad during the winter.
I usually fill the tank, put some Stabil in and run it for a minute or three. Change the oil and final drive, and connect my battery tender up and waite until Spring. You could proform all the recomended maintance stuff, but some guys just hold off on that and do that in the Spring as well.

[VTXDeadhead]

I live in Cary, NC. I keep bike in garage, In winter I add a gas stabilizer to the tank and start the bike once a week if I'm not riding. Haven't had any problems for three years.

[DillDawg]

If you're not going to be riding often (a real ride)....then just change the oil, add fuel stabilizer and then fill the tank. Used oil contain acids that are bad for your engine to sit in. A full tank has less room to create condensation..and of course, unstabilized gas can cause gunk in your carb.
If you do get to ride....make sure you can ride long enough to get it up too full operating temps (around 1/2 hour) fill it up and add the appropiate amount of stabilizer before putting it back to sleep. Add a battery tender if its going to be more than a month between rides.
It's a bad idea to head out to the garage and start it up to let it idle.
#1 - you dont need to do that
#2 - you're drainin (not charging) the battery at idle
#3 - getting it "sort of" warm will just build up condensation in the crankcase, tank, and mufflers (rust)

If your not riding it...just let it set.

[tejasvtx]

The summers are brutal here, but the pay off is the mild winters and able to ride and don't have to winterize.

[NC Hammer]

If you're not going to be riding often (a real ride)....then just change the oil, add fuel stabilizer and then fill the tank. Used oil contain acids that are bad for your engine to sit in. A full tank has less room to create condensation..and of course, unstabilized gas can cause gunk in your carb.
If you do get to ride....make sure you can ride long enough to get it up too full operating temps (around 1/2 hour) fill it up and add the appropiate amount of stabilizer before putting it back to sleep. Add a battery tender if its going to be more than a month between rides.
It's a bad idea to head out to the garage and start it up to let it idle.
#1 - you dont need to do that
#2 - you're drainin (not charging) the battery at idle
#3 - getting it "sort of" warm will just build up condensation in the crankcase, tank, and mufflers (rust)

If your not riding it...just let it set.

You make some good points. Been riding this year - about 50 miles per day when the lows are 'not too low'. Rode 140 miles yesterday to Charlotte, NC and back.

How do you justify your point #2 - I always thought that if the generator was generatin', the battery was chargin'.

[DillDawg]

How do you justify your point #2 - I always thought that if the generator was generatin', the battery was chargin'.

Well...yes and no.
The alternator isn’t either full on or full off....it puts out less at lower rpm and more at high rpm.
The 1300 charging system puts out around 350 watts - but that is at 5000 rpm...it puts out much, much less at idle (900 rpm).
So, you say....O.K. , so it may not be putting out at full capacity....I'm still charging the battery, albeit a little more slowly....right?
NOPE
The bike running regardless of rpm requires the same amount of voltage to run things like the lights, coils, computer, fan, etc......and at cruising speed...the alternator generates enough juice to keep all that going with the extra going to charge the battery. At idle, that doesn't happen. It's not putting out enough juice to keep everything going, and its drawing what it lacks from the battery.

SO yes - idling your bike in the garage to charge the battery is in actuality running it down....not to mention the unnecessary cold start wear you’re getting.

I hope that sheds a bit more light on the subject.

[NC Hammer]

Yeah, that makes sense. Thanks for the info.

[dirtdobber]

Well put dilldawg!

[KenDoll]

You Texas guys have it good for riding weather, I'm envious. When I was in Utah I would store my Shadow 750 (my training wheels before my VTX) for 6 to 7 months with some stabil and that's it. I know it sounds neglectful but I would do a full once over on it in the spring and it would be fine.

[pearlwhitevtx]

We're in Michigan. Gets down in the teens frequently. We do no winterizing. We do have a garange (not usually heated). We do start the bikes up every once in a while. Never had a problem with anything gumming up or the batteries going down. Just lucky maybe, but we've done it this way since 1997.

[ErieVTXRdr]

Great advice and well stated, Dilldawg. Do you shut off the fuel valve and empty the carburetor before you tuck it away for the winter?

[Green Ghost]

I was wondering since winter seems to be on the way here in NC. is there anything special I need to do for winter storage?
I too live in NORTHERN NC. And I also keep my bike in my shop. So if stored outside or under a carport this may be a little different for you. Add sta-bil to your gas, run the bike till it's had enough time to get to the carb. This will prevent varnish in the carb and related parts. Fill the gas tank back up as close to the top as you can. This will cut down on the condensation inside the fuel tank that promotes rust to form. If you have a trickle charger this is also a good idea. If you have a lift or jack, lift it up high enough for the tires to be completly off the floor. If you don't have a jack, Follow the advice of RETRO RICH and move the bike around a couple of times a week. Change oil, filter, and diff- oil if your'e not going to be riding at all this winter. If you get the bike out on a nice day, Fill the tank up when your'e done to cut down on condensation. I do all my toys pretty much the same way for years and never had a problem. Hope this helps and maybe spring will come early next year. :D

[epiphysis]

I'm thinking of getting some tirechains for the bike and using it all winter!!:cheers:

[dku7]

Just put mine away for the winter. I drained the tank but left a litre in it and added fuel stabilizer and isopropyl alcohol. Ran the bike for 10 minutes and shut off the fuel valve to drain the carb till it stalled. Took out the battery and charged it. Changed oil and put the tarp on it. Done. Won't see or touch it till next spring. I have parked my bikes for 6 months without moving them and have never had a problem with tires. If you have the proper pressure in them when they are stored you are ok. Just my experience and opinion.

[dblshockpower]

Simple winterization from WI.: Only run her if you have time for an hour ride to get EVERYTHING red-hot, keep your fuel full & Seafoamed.

[jarubio]

Winterizing? What is that? Sorry, we don't do that in Texas.

[2ndchildhood]

I was wondering since winter seems to be on the way here in NC. is there anything special I need to do for winter storage?

What's winter?:stirpot:

[ErieVTXRdr]

There is nothing like a ride on a 50 degree, blue-sky day through trees that are changing colors in Autumn. That's awesome! The trade off for us "Northeners" is that our bikes must hibernate for the next several months. I am currently debating when to winterize. I am holding off as long as I can in case there is another ride ahead, but the days are numbered.

[2ndchildhood]

Hey, well we gotta be somewhere. BTW, I'm from central IL and moved to AZ after I retired. I've been here 5 years now and wouldn't trade.. when I want to see snow, I know where to go... you have some real snows in Erie, no?