[Need4Speed]

It's inevitable for those of us in the Northeast, and other areas that get hit with the cold winter months, but I found this and thought I put this up for future reference. winterizing your ride can be a royal pain...but its well worth the effort it takes..cuz if you dont do it, sooner or later, it'll come back to haunt you.

Depresses the hell outta me to think about not riding for awhile...I should be used to it by now, but Im not.

Possible sticky material shan ?

http://www.dansmc.com/winterize.htm

Every year lots and lots of people just come in from riding, push their bike over in a corner and walk away. They return in four or five months and wonder why their bike won't run... well DUH ! If you want that bike to work for you, you've got to take care of it. Let's take a look at how you do that.


The Minimum


Gas rots, so you must put in fuel stabilizer and run the engine long enough to get it completely through the carbs. Then, either fill up the gas tank to full ( To the bottom of the filler neck ) with gas that has no Alcohol ( Oxygenated ) in it, and has the proper mix of fuel stabilizer in it. Or drain all of the gas out of the tank and spray some gas soluble oil on the inside of the tank to keep it from rusting. The choice is up to you. Either way is OK.
Drain all the gas out of the carbs. Most carbs have a drain screw on the bottom of the carb.
Take the battery out and, if necessary, add distilled water to it and clean off the outside ( Battery Box Too ! ) with a mixture of baking soda and water. Then put the battery on a trickle charger ( No more than one AMP ) and charge it till it is fully charged. Do this at least once a month, till you start riding again.


The Maximum - Add The Following.


Wash and wax your Motorcycle.
Change the engine oil and oil filter.
Change ALL other oils and fluids, such as rear end oil, radiator fluid, brake fluid, etc.
Take out all the spark plugs and put about a tablespoon of engine oil down each spark plug hole. Now, before putting the spark plug(s) back in, turn the engine over several times to ditribute the oil around the cylinder. Be sure and ground the spark plug wires when you do this. This is to protect the ignition system. Now reinstall the spark plug(s).
Use a breathable motorcycle cover to keep dust and moisture out. Plastic tarps that don't breath trap moisture in, causing rust.


Something More


I like to put some type of water displacing, penetrating oil in each cylinder to sort of dry it out, before I put in the engine oil. Combustion makes a lot of water, and some of it always seems to get into the piston ring area.
I like to use some kind of Armor All type preservative on all plastic and rubber parts.
If you change the fluid in your bike's radiator, use distilled water and a motorcycle type anti-freeze. Car type anti-freezes use additives that can wear out your water pump.
If you change your brake or clutch fluid, use the type recomended for your system, Dot 3, 4, or 5. Which one ? It's in your Shop Manual. You do have one, don't you ?
It costs a bit more, but you can get a trickle charger that will shut off automaticly when the battery is fully charged and start up again when it's charge goes down. You can leave it connected and on all the time.
Aluminum does rust...sort of, so an application of spray wax or the like, to all surfaces of the engine, wouldn't hurt.
Keep the bike in a dry, heated garage, if possible.
Once a month or so, turn the engine over a couple of times, to keep things loose and lubed !
Keep it in the dark... sunlight thru a window can fade paint and the like.

Hey folks, at least do the minimum. If you don't, you might get away with it once or twice, but sooner or later You Will Loose

 

[Need4Speed]

Here's another one I found..alot more extensive, and would take up too much board space to put here, so I'll just post the link for reference.

http://www.motorcycleanchor.com/motorcycle/how_to/mc_storage.html#LTW

 

[ShanMan14]

Not here, and not when I lived in AZ. I'm so thankful I can ride year-round. :bike:

 

[Todd]

Good info for those of us in the North!

 

[Gas Man]

:iagree: I always run the gas stabil. in my bike. A side note: whenever adding any type of additive to your gas in any vechicle. The best time and place to do it is right before you put gas in the tank at the gas station. The filling of the tank mixes the additive well enough not to cause any problems. I usually run some in the bike for a small ride 5 or 10 miles. Just to make sure I got it running thru good. Then do like you say, top it off as high as I can get it.

I also pull the battery and put it on a battery tender. I usually put in fresh oil and change the filter the day I put the bike away. Then in the spring, I waste my money and drain the fresh oil. Putting in new oil, new spark plugs, put the battery back, turn the gas on and startin er up.

One thing that wasn't mentioned on the actual post is to get the tires off the cold concrete. A piece of wood usually will do and a good rolling always helps every few weeks or once a month. I put mine up on front fork and rear swing arm stands. That is best and they're good to have around.

However, I never got into any of the other things. Draining the carbs, oil in the cylinders, ect...I've never had a problem with the bike starting or anything. I might put the oil down the cylinders this year but never have in the past.

I've even heard of putting baggies over the exhaust to keep insect, mice or anything else out. But never did that before either....

O, well, if it doesn't start then just burn the garage down and get a new one... :lol:

:bluebike:

 

[Need4Speed]

yeah, i'll definately be taking the advice in this thread..it wasnt such a big deal when I had my 83 yamaha, as you can ride and beat those old beasts to death, and they just keep right on going and going and going..... but 750 kat, yeah, i'll be putting it on the center stand, wood chalks under the front wheel, and following chris's ideas...the other stuff, I'll have to read into more, as the winter gets closer, but right now, there's still too much riding left to be depressed reading about how I cant ride.. :shock: :lol:

 

[Gas Man]

Here's another one I found..alot more extensive, and would take up too much board space to put here, so I'll just post the link for reference.

http://www.motorcycleanchor.com/motorcycle/how_to/mc_storage.html#LTW

:ack: This is pushing the limit of my patience and I'm just reading about it.... :bonk:

 

[Need4Speed]

:ack: This is pushing the limit of my patience and I'm just reading about it.... :bonk:

yeah its quite extensive, and probably the best way to go about it, in a perfect world..however I dont know how much time/money I can put into doing it that way :shock: , but I'll try some of it

 

[Gas Man]

yeah its quite extensive, and probably the best way to go about it, in a perfect world..however I dont know how much time/money I can put into doing it that way :shock: , but I'll try some of it

No it's a good read if you can make it thru the list w/o having my eyes pop out :ack:

But these things are designed for such a extreme amount of beating that most people just don't do that to them...

 

[GSXR1000DJ]

One year I had put the bike in my house and had no problems. Started it up once or twice a week and was good togo riding time. Normally I just put it in my parents heated garage and still good to go. This year I may have to try some of these steps to take care of my bike.