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Who's holding back on winterizing there bikes?

16K views 44 replies 28 participants last post by  Masher66 
#1 ·
That time of year. I hate putting the bike away for the winter. As soon as I do ..... the weather gets warm for a couple of days and I miss out on one last ride.

Who's still riding?
 
#8 ·
This is the first year where I have to think about winterizing my bike. I have antifreze in there now, and it wil sit on race stands in an insulated garage. In previous winters, it sat on stands in a warehouse and was cranked a couple times a week. But I am on the fence about how far to winterize it being that I plan on doing at least a couple mods over the winter. Not gonna get too crazy with them, as I'd like to judge most of them individually and that's kinda hard to do when the riding season is over. But I figure that the flapper valve mod, 15/41 520 kit are safe. That, and I'm tempted to drop the swingarm and send it off to be powdercoated as I have picked up some chips in the paint.

If any fellow 51 owners see fit to provide some commentary as to over-the-winter projects, here is your opportnity to chime in.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Mohave, it took you a whole 7 minutes to jump on this thread. You are slipping, man!

Jon, I am still riding, but not for much longer. We had a snow melt last week. It's 34F right now and it should get higher later today so I'm going out this afternoon.

DevilDawg, winterization is easy. I drain the water/water wetter and replace with Honda Pro (tm) antifreeze regarding the 954. Antifreeze replacement every other year with the other bikes. Then all three bikes get oil/filter changes, tanks drained and filled with fresh gas and Stabil (tm), air up the tires, up on stands, plug in the Battery Tender for each, a cover to keep the dust off, tinfoil over the exhaust to keep the mice out and walk away until Spring. The hard part is deciding when to walk away.

Then I poke pins in a voodoo doll that looks like Mohave for 5-6 months.
 
#20 ·
Nice and easy down under - a warmer pair of gloves and the occasional need for wet weather outers.

Probably not what you wanted to hear. Sorry

Regards,
Dave aka ICHSNOO
 
#25 ·
If you aren't going to ride at all for about 4 months due to cold weather, the best thing to do for your bike is to winterize it. Put antifreeze back in if you've switched to distilled water for the track. Fill the gas tank, put in the appropriate amount of Stabil, and run it for about 10 mins to get the Stabil throughout the system. Change the oil, do not store your bike with dirty oil. Hook the battery to a tender and leave it on it. Or, bring the battery inside, and put a 1 amp trickle charger on it overnight once a month. Put a good coat of wax on everything. Wouldn't hurt to spray metal parts with WD40 if you're in a particularly humid area. If you can't get the wheels off the ground, park in on some thick pieces of corregated cardboard, with tires fully inflated. Put foil over the ends of the muffllers to keep critters out. Cover it with a sheet and dream about Spring.

The worst thing you can do is just go out and start it now and then and not ride it. Since it doesn't get up to operating temperature, the condensation won't burn off. Water = bad. You're much better off charging the battery by one of the methods mentioned above.
 
#36 ·
If you aren't going to ride at all for about 4 months due to cold weather, the best thing to do for your bike is to winterize it. Put antifreeze back in if you've switched to distilled water for the track. Fill the gas tank, put in the appropriate amount of Stabil, and run it for about 10 mins to get the Stabil throughout the system. Change the oil, do not store your bike with dirty oil. Hook the battery to a tender and leave it on it. Or, bring the battery inside, and put a 1 amp trickle charger on it overnight once a month. Put a good coat of wax on everything. Wouldn't hurt to spray metal parts with WD40 if you're in a particularly humid area. If you can't get the wheels off the ground, park in on some thick pieces of corregated cardboard, with tires fully inflated. Put foil over the ends of the muffllers to keep critters out. Cover it with a sheet and dream about Spring.

The worst thing you can do is just go out and start it now and then and not ride it. Since it doesn't get up to operating temperature, the condensation won't burn off. Water = bad. You're much better off charging the battery by one of the methods mentioned above.
I put a 4X8 piece of 1/2 inch plywood under my bike. Makes me feel like I'm keeping the dampness from getting up into the bottom. How many kilometers would you consider dirty oil? Thanks.
 
#29 ·
My commute is less than 4 miles (horrah for the Midwest!), just long enough to warm it up. I'll be riding till it snows, and maybe even then some. "Winter" for me last year only went from the middle of December to the beginning of March.:thumb:

I doubt I'll get to any long rides to the twisties. I won't do that anyway unless I complete my winter project, to get the %$@%^$#@^!!! Helibars on the bike!:pissed2:
 
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