never done it myself...

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?board=tech;action=display;num=1101159870

Put on gloves and an extra long sleeved shirt.    Ain't Texas nice?

The advantage to starting every so often is to flush out the stale thickening gas out of the carb and flush oil thoroughout the engine.

When you do run it, run it long enough to thoroughly heat the oil.  This will drive off any moisture accumilation.

Some people recommend draining the engine oil shortly before storage to get rid of the nasty chemicals from combustion blow-by and any water that might be in the crankcase and then leaving it empty.   I don't like to leave the engine without oil so I change the oil before storage.  That way I get rid of the nasty stuff and have oil in there when I start it up in the spring.  Otherwise I might forget that the case is empty.

Some also argue that oil left in the engine over the winter is not good.  There is some truth in that, moisture condenses and not all the sulfur compounds were totally flushed out when it was changed in the fall.  So I don't keep that winter batch in there all that long.  I change it out again before I start riding on a regular basis later in the late spring or early summer.  I do the same for my riding mower.

I would like to hear any recommendations on some easy places to attach leads so the battery can be easily charged without removing all the usual hardware.

I got the battery out, hook to charger every week or so. Crank the bike once or twice during winter, jump it from the car and let run for around one cigarette long. Rev a few times for good measure. On spring, oil&filter change and yipeeeeeee!
Having said that, had I not been doing the engine start - I would consider changing the oil BEFORE the winter. Or not... there's different theories pro and con. Pick what makes you happy. I enjoy hearing it run a few times over winter...

Howitzer wrote on 11/23/11 at 07:08:20:


I live in Idaho and we've had a couple snow storms already, but currently it's all melted again and the roads are clear. Mine rests in a heated garage at night, so that's a non-issue for me. I rode to work this morning and plan on riding as much as reasonably possible throughout the winter too. One extra thing to watch for while riding in the winter/spring is the excess sand/gravel that is thrown onto the road when there is snow. Feels like ball bearings in the corners if you're not ready for them.