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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Last ride of the year.
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Message started by PRH111 on 11/01/04 at 21:08:56

Title: Last ride of the year.
Post by PRH111 on 11/01/04 at 21:08:56

Cold, wet and dark with only one near miss.

Well time to pack her away for the winter. She will be mistreated this year and left out in the cold because my roommates (who have lived here longer) already paid for the garage space (it is filled with junk from floor to ceiling) and there is no way I am going to try to get her up the stairs.

I can't wait to move into an apartment on the ground level...or even better rent a house by myself with a small garage space. I had plans for an EFI setup but my senior project is taking up too much of my time. I had also pondered sending off my head to the guy I had work on my car's cylinder head but the funds are just not available for that. I might not do anything to her this year...

Title: Re: Last ride of the year.
Post by Greg_650 on 11/02/04 at 03:53:42

PRH111 wrote:

Well, if you must leave the bike outside, it would be good if you prepare the bike for storage, put the battery on a tender, and put a cover over it....you were going to do this anyway, right?

Title: Re: Last ride of the year.
Post by PRH111 on 11/02/04 at 07:34:00

She lives under a cover at ALL times. The only times her cover isn't on is when I'm riding her or when I am waiting for her to cool down after a ride.

Battery is inside the house. I'll just check the voltage every few weeks and put it on a trickle charger if I see the voltage drop too much. Full tank of gas with fuel stabilizer already as well.

Title: Re: Last ride of the year.
Post by Greg_650 on 11/02/04 at 07:40:03

Also, wax, ArmorAll, and WD40 are good items to liberally apply to your bike under the cover. Without it, moisture can creep into a lot of little places and reward you with new rust spots in the spring.

Title: Re: Last ride of the year.
Post by PRH111 on 11/02/04 at 07:44:18

Good idea. I did make sure to dry her off before I threw the cover on.

I also found out that even without the lower and upper belt guards (pulley guard still intact) the belt doesn't even get wet when riding through the rain.

Title: Re: Last ride of the year.
Post by PerrydaSavage on 11/02/04 at 08:14:02

:(Sadly Riding season has come to an end here in eastern Newfoundland as well, and my Savage has been in "winter-hibernation" for the past few weeks. Fall last year was glorious, with warm temps and sunshine right into Christmas ... even saw some Bikes out on Christmas Day! Very unusual for here ... this year though is a completely different story ... Autumn has been very wet, windy, cool and dull ... rain most every day ... hell we even had a freak snowfall last Saturday.
Spring is soooo far away ... :(

Title: Re: Last ride of the year.
Post by donq on 11/02/04 at 14:34:35

can anyone give me some tips on winter storage for my savage this is the first winter for me. live in penna.

Title: Re: Last ride of the year.
Post by rkutzner on 11/02/04 at 15:27:16

I'm right below the Mason Dixon line and I refuse to 'put her up' for the winter. Warm her up and take her out for a few rides throughout the winter. As long as the salt is off the roads.....

Fill the tank now and add feul stabilizer. Get a trickle charger with the connectors you can permanently connect to the battery and leave it on the charger when not in use.

Title: Re: Last ride of the year.
Post by Michael on 11/02/04 at 16:38:53

PerrydaSavage wrote:

:(Sadly Riding season has come to an end here in eastern Newfoundland as well, and my Savage has been in "winter-hibernation" for the past few weeks. :(

Perry.

Same story here in New Brunswick, but I refuse to stop riding till I see ice and snow ahead of me.
Was4 degrees celcious when I left for work this morning. I took the bike instead of the car. Crazy, I know, but I am a die hard. This is my first year back riding, since about 1988, so I am trying to squeeze in all the riding I can.

Only saw 2 other bikes today, and they were young daredevels on crotch rockets, so I suspect I am the last of the cruiser and touring crowd.
Gonna have to give in soon, it takes me 20 minutes to get all my warm gear on, just to find out I have to pee when done..... ???.........getting old sucks!.........cheers

Michael

Title: Re: Last ride of the year.
Post by thehoghunter on 11/02/04 at 19:06:42

Yea, winter is coming. No more going to work on the bike. No more winding down a country road letting all your troubles so far behind. The wind in your face, the roar of the engine causing birds to fly from the trees. Waving to other bikers going the same way in the opposite direction. No more running down to the beach for a sunset, to the lake for a lazy afternoon, to the local night club for a few drinks with buddies.

No more concerts in the park with a wonderful moon lite ride on the way home.

No more until spring...once winter is over. Sure hope January and February aren't too cold this year here in Florida. I don't know if I can stand the wait! :o ::)

Title: Re: Last ride of the year.
Post by Greg_650 on 11/03/04 at 03:15:47

Yesterday was probably the last day trip of the season. Because of weather forecasts that predict a cold front, the spouse took a "mental health day" so that she could ride one last time. We headed west towards Tennesse on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but as we neared 6000 feet we found rain and turned around to chase the sun going east.

We stopped at one of those "retro styled" diners (you know, look like a shiny trailer?) and had a real homemade hamburger and listened to "oldies". Then we continued south to a popular biker bar by a lake for a cold one (not even one HD there). Then we completed the loop to home and made it no more than 15 minutes before the rain started. Total ride time was 6 hours and we covered 115 miles. A good time, and maybe the last real ride for 2004.
http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/Groups/215/215131/folders/156030/1296393Nov22004rideweb.jpg

Title: Re: Last ride of the year.
Post by Savage_Rob on 11/03/04 at 05:20:53

Man, that's some pretty country in the background. It seems like it's been raining for the past couple of weeks here but it's looking up. The rain is supposed to stop today and, though today's high is supposed to be about 54, the next few days are supposed to be sunny with highs in the 60's and 70's. I am looking forward to getting a bit of riding in during the next few days.

Title: Re: Last ride of the year.
Post by Greg_650 on 11/03/04 at 06:08:47

Savage_Rob wrote:

Yeah, that's looking towards north Georgia and Tenn at about 3000 feet. The Blue Ridge Mountains are nice, and I'm blessed to be living only 5 miles from a parkway entrance. It is always our 1st choice of a way to get to other places....nice 45 mph speed limits for cruisin' with neat tunnels and picturesque views. It's interesting to go through a tunnel in the mountain and find a different climate on the other side too.

That's what happened yesterday going west. We were heading to the peak at 6500 feet, but ran into rain at around 6000. Turned around and started the long rolling descent back into sunshine.

The riding season in western NC is kind of strange come winter time. It may not be cold cold like up north, but it tends to be totally unpredictable. It can be cold and sunny but by the time you've gone 20 miles a storm front has rolled across the mountains and it becomes cold and wet. The parkway usually ends up closed to traffic around Dec. and stays that way until March. Too much ice and snow.

Title: Re: Last ride of the year.
Post by Savage_Rob on 11/03/04 at 06:48:44

Yeah, I grew up in San Antonio and I love the hill country down there. I live in the Dallas area now and it's a bit flat for my taste. So far as winters go, we sometimes get some snow but not much. I't unpredictable here too. Sleet and ice are common. It's important to note though, that it's common to have shirtsleeve weather in January and February (though the following day might be 20 degrees and sleeting).

I always thought the job of weatherman must be sweet. I mean, you get paid to guess and nobody expects you to get it right. Also, you get a cool title like "meteorologist" when everyone knows you don't study meteors.

Title: Re: Last ride of the year.
Post by Greg_650 on 11/03/04 at 07:06:22

Savage_Rob wrote:

I always thought the job of weatherman must be sweet. I mean, you get paid to guess and nobody expects you to get it right. Also, you get a cool title like "meteorologist" when everyone know you don't study meteors.

A very astute observation...paid to guess. Now where's my cyrstal ball.....