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SuzukiSavage.com
/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> How to winterize? /cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1355527010 Message started by arteacher on 12/14/12 at 15:16:50 |
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Title: How to winterize? Post by arteacher on 12/14/12 at 15:16:50 Putting her down for the winter, and I have some questions: The manual says to drain the oil and fill it up to the filler hole with fresh oil, and change the oil again in the spring. Fill the tank up and add stabilizer. Put a tablespoon of oil in the spark plug hole and turn the engine over. Spray non painted surfaces with rust inhibitor. Put a coat of wax on painted surfaces. Spray all rubber and vinyl parts with preservative. If I do an oil change, will I have to do another in the spring? If so I will use cheap oil for the winter. What I had intended to do was change the oil as normal. Fill the tank completely., and not add stabilizer. Is stabilizer really necessary if I drain the bowl? Pull the battery and store it in the basement, charging once a month or leaving it on a battery minder. (on my Xmas list) Covering the bike with a vented cover. Putting it up on a motorcycle jack. Pull the seat off and keep it indoors to protect the leather. Am I good? Will it corrode? Will the tires develop a flat spot if I leave it on the ground? |
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Title: Re: How to winterize? Post by Charon on 12/14/12 at 18:06:48 Only things I do to my bikes: About two or three tanks prior to my wild guess as to winterization date, I start avoiding E-10 with the idea not having much in the tank for winter. I also start using Sta-Bil, even though I have seen no difference whether I use it or not (the red Sta-Bil makes the exhaust smell a little different). Come Winterization Day, I get the tank as full as I can (fill it at the station three miles from home), having made sure to drive the bike at least ten miles or so to make sure it is hot. I remove the battery and drain the carburetor. I make sure the tires are properly inflated (maybe a couple psi extra). The bike(s) then go onto a motorcycle trailer so they don't take up any more space than the trailer already does. That's it. I change oil on mileage, not time. The trailer gets parked under cover. If the batteries are fillable, I do so, and every month or two put them on a maintainer for a day or two. Come Spring, I remove the bikes from the trailer, check the tires and oil, put the petcock in Prime (not applicable to the 250 Ninja), install the battery, put the petcock back to ON, and the bike starts up just as if I had ridden it the day before. Winter storage is typically about six months, from sometime in October until sometime in April. |
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Title: Re: How to winterize? Post by WD on 12/14/12 at 21:42:52 The bike in longer term storage is completely filled with ATF, cheap motor oil, and off-highway diesel. And I mean fully, plumber's plugs in the intake and exhaust ports, kept pouring stuff in through a valve cover until it couldn't hold anymore. 1960s metric parts are hard to get and/or expensive. Savage and Intruder? Pull the batteries for the 2 days of winter we get, IF I feel ambitious. Otherwise they just get parked in the barn so they don't get soaked. When I did do true winter storage... tires to max sidewall inflation pressure, bike lifted up onto a milk crate under the frame. Engine full of kerosene or diesel. Fuel tank full of kerosene. Battery in the house. Come spring, drain the engine and fuel tank, pour into one of the tractors. Add oil, new filter, fresh fuel and hot battery. Why kerosene you ask? Doesn't freeze, doesn't let the cylinder bore dry out risking stuck rings, flushes a LOT of garbage from the engine sump, transmission and clutch plates. Smokes like a mosquito fogger the first running... |
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Title: Re: How to winterize? Post by thumperclone on 12/14/12 at 22:02:58 i go out to the shed and fire er up every couple weeks this will be the 6th winter.. low teens coldest so far |
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Title: Re: How to winterize? Post by 12Bravo on 12/15/12 at 05:25:29 How to winterize you ask? Buy warmer gear and keep riding ;D I top all fluids off and put stabilizer in the tank. I check tire pressure and when I start it every couple of weeks I move it around the garage (or take short ride). If I wasn't going to start it up for a long time I would probably fill the engine completely up with diesel. |
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Title: Re: How to winterize? Post by Gyrobob on 12/15/12 at 07:39:10 One of the few good things about living in middle Georgia is that you can ride all winter. Lots of days are too cold,... but,... there are lots of days even in January when it'll get up into the 50s. Winterization is not necessary for my bikes, but I do put sta-bil in the tanks of the lawn equipment in October and let the machines run for a few minutes before shutting them off the the season. Also, for those of you with pressure washers, make sure to always put in some protectant like Briggs and Stratton Pump Saver 6039. |
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Title: Re: How to winterize? Post by ToesNose on 12/16/12 at 05:17:24 Make sure the battery is filled properly and fully charged before putting it on a tender. Fuel tank full and stabilizer added. Carb empty! Tires inflated. I only change oil by mileage, unless I'm going to be laying the bike up for longer then a season. As far as waxing, anrti rust sprays and anything cosmetic, that really depends on the conditions the bike will face as far as where it is stored. When storing in a garage or indoors I just make sure it's clean before putting it away. If you do any type of projects in the garage throw a sheet over it or get a breathable cover. |
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Title: Re: How to winterize? Post by shorty on 12/16/12 at 05:42:31 reading the op gave me the feeling: "I must be lazy" All I do is add 2 ounces of 2-stroke oil to the gas, "Stabil" in gas according to directions, ride enough to get the stabil into the carb bowl, and put a 1/2 amp trickle charger on the Battery. (batt maintainer).. Be careful the charger doesn't boil the water out of the battery |
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Title: Re: How to winterize? Post by Cavi Mike on 12/16/12 at 05:53:28 If there's anything you do to make sure the bike runs come spring, empty the carburetor. Always empty the carburetor. Takes 5 seconds and saves you a couple hours or more of work. And trust me, you don't want to mess with stale gas. Anything and everything stale gas touches you may as well throw out because the smell never comes out. Never. And the smell is horrid. |
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Title: Re: How to winterize? Post by SaVaGeEaRL on 12/16/12 at 16:09:54 I've had mine since 2001, never done anything but park it, and never had any problem starting it right back up every spring. |
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Title: Re: How to winterize? Post by Dave on 12/17/12 at 05:06:09 6973747176776168040 wrote:
I'm guessing the winters in London, Ontario are a bit longer and tougher than the winters in London, KY. |
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Title: Re: How to winterize? Post by arteacher on 12/17/12 at 08:38:47 754E4354454952544F474A55260 wrote:
I'm guessing the winters in London, Ontario are a bit longer and tougher than the winters in London, KY.[/quote] 4 months anyway. |
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Title: Re: How to winterize? Post by Paraquat on 12/17/12 at 09:14:40 I sometimes put Sta-bil in my tank. I don't worry about the oil as I usually do a change at the start of the season. I try to keep a tender on the battery or learn a 60 dollar lesson every Spring. If I'm ambitious I put it up on a block of wood to avoid flat spots on the tires. Although I've only really done this once and never noticed any flat spots. --Steve |
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Title: Re: How to winterize? Post by Johnny57 on 12/17/12 at 09:32:59 Five bikes. Never had any problems with any. Fill tank with "good" gas. No ethanol......Use stabil......run it for at least five minutes with Stabil in it. Close petcock. Drain carburetors. If fuel injected you are done. Put rags in exhaust outlets to prevent moisture build up. Fill all tires to recommended pressures. Dirt bikes go up on stands. Road bike tires are parked on carpet remnants. Bikes are covered and kept in a non-heated garage. They get below zero temperatures every winter. If you have radiators on any of them make sure your antifreeze is good for -20. Batteries go inside house and are rotated on a "smart" charger all winter long. I never let the batteries get very low and have had a lot of success with my batteries. I usually start them in the spring with the old oil and warm them up and give them all a fresh oil change before the riding season. |
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