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Message started by rl153 on 08/30/09 at 17:35:49

Title: winter storage
Post by rl153 on 08/30/09 at 17:35:49

What are the most important things to do to store your bike for the winter .Is Stabil in the gas ,removing the battery, oil change,and a cleaning, enough?Thanks.

Title: Re: winter storage
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 08/30/09 at 17:40:19

Change the oil. You might want to put a trickle charge on it.
Before the Ethanol thing I would have filled it as full as possible, to minimize the surface area in contact with air, now, I dont know what to do.
I didnt use stabil & mine sat for at least 2&1/2months, maybe longer. It fired right up & it never acted like the gas was bad,,I am in East Tx. Doesnt get real cold, high humidity.

Title: Re: winter storage
Post by jabman on 08/31/09 at 00:11:09

where are you gonna store the bike? keep a old curtain or cloth sheet over it

Title: Re: winter storage
Post by Sir mick on 08/31/09 at 00:46:48

Mine goes in the living room,I sometimes sit on it and watch TV,
Hang some lights and tinsel on it over the holidays.
I use Stabil,you can run it for a while get it into the carb,or just drain the float bowl,and I use a battery tender,I also jack it up and turn the wheels half a turn once a month or more.

Title: Re: winter storage
Post by drharveys on 08/31/09 at 02:50:48

I make sure to take it out at least once a month. We can get some seriously cold snaps, but there's always a monthly "thaw".

Now, for the outboard motor, that I'll run dry and put Sta-bil in the gas tank. Also I don't fill the gas tank till spring launch, so there's some fresh gas when I start it up!

Title: Re: winter storage
Post by voldigicam on 08/31/09 at 04:47:00

Is it bad to just drain all the fuel?

Title: Re: winter storage
Post by Oldfeller on 08/31/09 at 05:06:21

Running it dry makes it a bit of a pain in the butt to get it cranked up the next spring. Since Sta-bil made it on the scene I haven't dry run a single bike or other 4 stroke item, but I still dry run all my two stroke stuff though as that is always easy to restart the on the next use.

Title: Re: winter storage
Post by Duane on 08/31/09 at 05:45:14

I just wipe the buggs off and toss a towel over it. I usally start it a few times through the winter when we get warm enough days. I change the oil over the winter on a warm enough day that I want to tinker in the garage. I might even do the valves this winter. I know I will get taking of the back tire to get it replaced over the winter this year. I usally top the tank off too. We have about a 4 month streach that you can't get much sadle time in. I have never had a problem with the gas unless something has sit idle for 6 months or more.

Title: Re: winter storage
Post by bill67 on 08/31/09 at 06:01:20

Charge the battery over night with 2 amp charger. Run Sea Foam in gas,Don't start or charge it til I can ride again,The battery always has enough charge in it to start it. Thats normally 3-4 months before I can ride again.Bike is kept in garage never gets below 30.

Title: Re: winter storage
Post by 4carbcorvair on 08/31/09 at 06:06:26

With the ethanol gas, I'm leary of draining the tank and carb. Rubber parts seem to dry up quickly, especially if they are not in fuel. :shrug: I have to admit, last year, all I did was add some sta-bil.....

Title: Re: winter storage
Post by Skid Mark on 08/31/09 at 08:01:56

I added gas sabilizer to a full tank and ran the bike so it got into the carb. A good wash and oil change was also done. I kept the bike in the garage. At least 2x a month I started it and ran it for about 15 min. We had a couple of cold snaps to -40 where I couldn't run it, but when it warmed up she fired up with no problems. Part of the spring maintenance was to top up the battery's water. I'll do that in the fall this year when I do the final oil change. The no riding season last year was Nov. to mid-April this year.
Weather permitting I will some basic maintenance this winter so come spring, I can just hop on and ride.

Title: Re: winter storage
Post by prechermike on 08/31/09 at 08:20:51

I really feel for you guys that can't ride all year. I ride about every week of the year, not necessarily every day, but I pick my days, bundle up and go! :D

If it is any consolation, while it is 95-100 degrees here, with 100% humidity, you guys are nice and cool. :(

Ride when you can!

Title: Re: winter storage
Post by Skid Mark on 08/31/09 at 09:59:34

Preachermike:
Abstenance makes the heart grow fonder. It is a great feeling to hop on the bike in April, atfer 5 months of not riding. :D

I'm sure it's an even great feeling to ride all year!!!!!
You luck dogs!!!

Title: Re: winter storage
Post by bill67 on 08/31/09 at 10:03:58

My girl friend told me that once,So I cut her off so she would grow fonder of me. :)

Title: Re: winter storage
Post by PTRider on 08/31/09 at 10:10:46

Oil...good idea to change the oil before lay up to remove any acids that have accumulated.

Fuel...either get tank & carb completely dry (and run a risk of rust in the tank if you're in a humid climate) or use a stabilizer. Or, pull the vacuum and fuel hose from the petcock, run the carb dry, and fill the tank with gas plus stabilizer.

Tires...good idea to inflate to the max shown on the sidewalls for storage, then air down to the usual pressure before riding.

Battery...batteries do self-discharge. A discharged battery will freeze easily. A fully charged lead-acid battery freezes at -65°F. The battery that didn't fully discharge last year might discharge this year...its capacity has lessened due to its age. An automatic trickle charger in the .75 to 1.3 amp range works well--a de-sulfating trickle charger works better. A non-automatic trickle charger in the same range connected one day a month works--if connected longer it'll boil out too much water. A battery that is allowed to go dead or way low then recharged will have its life shortened. Do refill the electrolyte up to the marks with distilled water before starting off in the Spring, and also in the Fall if needed. The sealed absorbed-glass-mat (AGM) batteries like Big Crank don't need the electrolyte checked, self-discharge less, and certain brands may have a shorter service life...or not. These often cost more.

Title: Re: winter storage
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 08/31/09 at 11:58:08

A discharged battery will freeze easily. A fully charged lead-acid battery freezes at -65°F.

I did not know that.

Tires...good idea to inflate to the max shown on the sidewalls for storage, then air down to the usual pressure before riding.

Hadnt even thot of that. Just makes sense

A dirty windshield fogs up easier than a clean one.

Title: Re: winter storage
Post by Skid Mark on 08/31/09 at 12:16:56

My girl friend told me that once,So I cut her off so she would grow fonder of me

Bill67:

Abstenance makes the tart go younder

Title: Re: winter storage
Post by Duane on 08/31/09 at 13:10:04

My exspeience is a lady never goes without except by choice.

Title: Re: winter storage
Post by rl153 on 09/01/09 at 10:21:06

A non-automatic trickle charger in the same range connected one day a month works--if connected longer it'll boil out too much water.

This is the kind of charger I have .About how many hours every month should I charge the battery in the winter ? Thanks

Title: Re: winter storage
Post by Digger on 12/03/09 at 21:37:01

0E07140B0C0753505B5B620 wrote:

I, too, use "dumb" chargers for four of my five bikes (my Savage (see signature), being the "daily rider," gets the "smart" charger). I have them connected to a common timer that comes on for 40 minutes every night. The whole "charging station" is mounted to the ceiling in my garage.

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee201/Digger109/Chargers-1E.jpg

Title: Re: winter storage
Post by PerrydaSavage on 12/04/09 at 04:29:49

I keep my battery on a ledge in the laundry room during winter ... hooked to a small solar panel type charger that hangs in the window. This is a low-amperage charger that is capable of keeping the batt topped up without over-charging ... cost 10 bucks on sale at a local auto supply store and works great! I even keep the quick disconnect pig-tails connected to the battery when it is in the Bike and connect to the solar panel hung in the shed window during season ... just disconnect to Ride and yet to have a flat battery!